Africa Twin is HERE !!!

[tyclyd]

Thats interesting... I have 2500 miles on my AT in the last 10 weeks - my wheels, accessory bar and heated grips are all being replaced under warranty due to corrosion and in the case of the grips and well know non heating failure. DCT is great in cities two up (presently in Berlin with my wife) - a different bike from my GSA - neither one is better - they are two different types of machine

 

[Captain Black]

Thats interesting... I have 2500 miles on my AT in the last 10 weeks - my wheels, accessory bar and heated grips are all being replaced under warranty due to corrosion and in the case of the grips and well know non heating failure. DCT is great in cities two up (presently in Berlin with my wife) - a different bike from my GSA - neither one is better - they are two different types of machine

That's a fecking joke ... 10 weeks !!

A balloon on a stick would last longer than that.

How do Honda defend their name working on a 10 week corrosion program ?

Are they yesterday's recycled coke and baked bean cans ?

 

[Nutty]

That's a fecking joke ... 10 weeks !!

A balloon on a stick would last longer than that.

How do Honda defend their name working on a 10 week corrosion program ?

Are they yesterday's recycled coke and baked bean cans ?

And some people are saying the LC GS has corrosion issues.

What on earth are Honda thinking?

 

[Engineer]

And some people are saying the LC GS has corrosion issues.

What on earth are Honda thinking?

Don't forget the dodgy switchgear and the DCT with a mind of its own

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

And some people are saying the LC GS has corrosion issues.

What on earth are Honda thinking?

Looking forward to seeing the AT in a year, after all that road salt has destroyed the casing paint

 

[Rushy]

Local H dealer says latest Glasses lists as best selling bike so far this year, 650 units sold Jul/Aug now for a new one.

No they haven't Den . These figures get quoted as sales every now and again. If you could read it then you will realise it will have said registrations which is a completely different thing , especially when a new bike is launched. Why? ....... Because that will include all the dealer demonstrators too.

I have no idea how many Honda dealers there are but I would guess around 110 minimum , some have had a manual and a DCT demo too . Add in some press bikes and the Honda off road school have some too according to another post in here and you could probably take 150 off that number to get a more accurate figure of actual sales.

Total registrations for 2016 will be interesting as Honda could have undoubtedly sold more this year if they had the stock. It's clearly been a really big hit for Honda and dealers are already now suffering from very short supply and are unfortunately losing sales/ returning deposits......

 

[Melch]

I'm sure it'll be short-lived...new bike on the market and all that, plus it'd give Enginerd a heart attack if his beloved GS wasn't back at the top of the sales figures before long. Makes me wonder tho', so many people say they wouldn't buy a first year run of a new machine so that they can benafit from getting all the teething problems sorted. If we all took that attitude, manufacturers wouldn't be in business for too long.

Which means they would have to up their game and stop treating customers like mugs. Conversely, the more customers that buy into the new model thing and rely on warranties the less chance of manufacturers taking such issues seriously and producing a decent, finished product that will last.

 

[Big Den]

You're probly right Rusty when you break it down like that. The demos at my dealers are due for replacement but they cannot sell them as they don't know when they will get replacements due to the disruption at the factory. Was going for a dct nc but June delivery maybe so manual in blue out the showroom for me

 

[Rushy]

Which means they would have to up their game and stop treating customers like mugs. Conversely, the more customers that buy into the new model thing and rely on warranties the less chance of manufacturers taking such issues seriously and producing a decent, finished product that will last.

Yes but are teh manufacturers customers continually demanding more for less money and therefore cost cutting is impacting in other areas? How many of these recalls and warranty issues are down to 3rd party suppliers cutting corners to meet the budgetary demands of the manufacturers ?

Just wondering?

 

[Melch]

Yes but are teh manufacturers customers continually demanding more for less money and therefore cost cutting is impacting in other areas? How many of these recalls and warranty issues are down to 3rd party suppliers cutting corners to meet the budgetary demands of the manufacturers ?

Just wondering?

I honestly don't know the answer. I suppose it is human nature to buy the best value/cheapest we can. I guess part of the problem with bikes is it is a comparatively small market compared to cars so the profit margins will be far smaller so development budgets smaller too. They are though still big companies answerable to shareholders and as such their one God is 'profit' and the only thing that will change behaviour is if profits shrink. The manufacturers are responsible for who they outsource to and if cheapest wins everytime, then quality/reputation/sales will suffer.

 

[rodooo]

Thats interesting... I have 2500 miles on my AT in the last 10 weeks - my wheels, accessory bar and heated grips are all being replaced under warranty due to corrosion and in the case of the grips and well know non heating failure. DCT is great in cities two up (presently in Berlin with my wife) - a different bike from my GSA - neither one is better - they are two different types of machine

My spokes also turned a black colour even only after 400 odd miles and never been wet... no point changing wheels like dealer offered until Honda come up with a proper fix ,as in fit stainless spokes...
heated grips were changed at first service but made no difference.. still pretty useless

 

[Davy F]

Which means they would have to up their game and stop treating customers like mugs. Conversely, the more customers that buy into the new model thing and rely on warranties the less chance of manufacturers taking such issues seriously and producing a decent, finished product that will last.

You could add BMW's name into that and it'd mean the same.

 

[Davy F]

Looking forward to seeing the AT in a year, after all that road salt has destroyed the casing paint

I wonder will they replace the engines like BMW do with theirs......

You have to hand it to BM tho', their warranty dept is outstanding. Pity it needs to be so good.

 

[Melch]

You could add BMW's name into that and it'd mean the same.

Absolutely you could. BMW would seem to be one of the worst for it. I specifically said 'manufacturers' not Honda.

 

[Nutty]

You could add BMW's name into that and it'd mean the same.

You could add most manufacturers names. Releasing new bikes on to the market before they've been properly tested/ finished, seems to be commonplace. And at the prices they are charging for these bikes, is not acceptable.

 

[Nutty]

Absolutely you could. BMW would seem to be one of the worst for it. I specifically said 'manufacturers' not Honda.

BMW are a victim of their own success. They're selling more bikes than anyone else, and bringing more new bikes to the market than anyone else, so we'll hear more reports of problems. The accountants want their profits, bikes have to be rushed through testing, and the end result is some unhappy customers. Unfortunately.

 

[Arsey]

BMW are a victim of their own success. They're selling more bikes than anyone else, and bringing more new bikes to the market than anyone else, so we'll hear more reports of problems. The accountants want their profits, bikes have to be rushed through testing, and the end result is some unhappy customers. Unfortunately.

So how do you explain why KTM sold more bikes than BMW in 2015 and the new Africa Twin is the best selling bike so far this year with over 600 units by the end of March ? Apart from that......

 

[Davy F]

Maybe we should think ourselves lucky that we can rely on our warranties these days ? Maybe because motorcycling has changed from being a cheaper form of transport into a leisure arena that we've become more fussy, more demanding than we did back in the 'good old days'. Have bikes become less well developed before being released to the general buying public or is it the environmental necessities (water based paint for one) that has pushed back the standard of finish on our chosen products ?

Anyway....I've just ordered the full Arrow system got my AT. At least it looks like a nice quality piece of kit.

 

[DING-DONG]

So how do you explain why KTM sold more bikes than BMW in 2015 emoji12]

When ktm release there stats they include all bikes including there Exc range (enduro range) and you only have to go to any enduro meet to realise they dominate mass sales, remove the EXC and SX range from stats and they actually don't sell as many road bikes as you think.

 

[Melch]

BMW are a victim of their own success. They're selling more bikes than anyone else, and bringing more new bikes to the market than anyone else, so we'll hear more reports of problems. The accountants want their profits, bikes have to be rushed through testing, and the end result is some unhappy customers. Unfortunately.

It's the usual scenario when manufacturers growth increases. Quality control often seems to drop. Look what happened with Mercedes. You can dress up BMW's issues how you like but they are THE most unreliable big bike brand, even less reliable than Ducati. Sure they sort out the issues and no doubt weigh up the cost to them of either upping their game compared to sorting warranty issues. To me that is not good enough. I would rather not have the hassle (I may have that hassle with the new KTM, who knows). I also want a bike outside of a warranty period that I can reasonably trust to not explode.