Are These Motorcycles UNRELIABLE?? (Ducati, Aprilia, KTM, BMW)

In this video, Yammie Noob discusses brands like Ducati, Aprilia, KTM and BMW to compare their reliability to bikes like Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha.

------------------------------------------------------------

Best Beginner **Sport** Gear:

Best Beginner **Dual Sport/ADV** Gear:

Best Beginner **Retro/Classic** Gear:

---------------------------------------------------------------

FAQ:

What should my first bike be? A Turbo Hayabusa.

Very funny, no seriously. What should I get? A TURBO BUSA.

What is this channel? The premiere source of motorcycle edutainment (educational + entertainment) on YouTube. We take on everything from the best bikes you should buy all the way to praying to our lord and savior Rossi.

Why should I subscribe? Because you want the highest quality motorcycling videos on YouTube delivered to your feed *every single day* (seriously, we do daily uploads)

Why do you guys make these list videos? Like any good capitalist, we supply the demand the market has.

NOTICE: Elements utilized from other videos are fair use and fall under U.S. copyright law because it is transformative in nature, uses no more of the original than necessary and has no negative effect on the market for the original work. It is against the law to fraudulently claim a copyright on a video you do not own under the DMCA or to abuse YouTube’s copyright claim tool.

[EzzyAlaba]

i owned an aprilia bike and people around me keep telling ill regret buying it because of its reliability issues. First 2 years was really hell for me, because it kept giving me problems. I went to different workshops for fixing, as much as 10 different workshop, but problem still persist. I started to believe aprilia bike sucks. But one day i went to this workshop and the mechanic only work on aprilia bikes. He fix my bike and so far no issue for 4 years. Finding the right mechanic is soo important especially when it comes to italian bikes guys.

[mattwithamonster]

Working at a dealership that sells and services Triumph, Ducati, and KTM...the biggest problem we see is people not riding properly. Buying a V4 or hypermotard, or super duke, and riding around town in 4th gear at 30 mph...they are built to be run in higher revs. Then they bring it to us, we beat on it for 5min and they run perfectly again.

[goose]

There's always a Honda parked in front of the Ducati dealer's service department. It's owned by the mechanic.

[matthewcaldwell]

I bought a Ducati Hypermotard for its looks comfort and performance.While expensive to maintain I am extremely pleased with the ownership experience.It’s a simple air/oil cooled engine and is lightweight, so much so that on roads with dips and rises when powering thru the gears it has been known to go skyward ! A feature that I LOVE !!! Plus people will cross the street to admire it.Over my life I’ve had 17 different models of M/C’s, the Duc is my favorite.I was faster on my KTM but the Ducati has the nod !!! People’s choice award👍💪✊❤️Ride On‼️

[phreenom]

After being a faithful Japanese bike guy for most of my life, I recently crossed over to the dark side. First, I sold my faithful Versys 650 and bought a Husqy fe501s. Then I bought a Ducati Monster 1200s. I love them. Not to say I'll never have another Japanese bike (I do love a good inline 4), but the Husqy and Duc are next level good... No problems so far. Definitely some quirks, but every vehicle I've ever owned has quirks.

[flatcapcaferacer]

I go by documented information from the NHTSA (U.S.) and recall numbers say a lot about the reliability that should be expected. The brand with most recalls from 2016 through October 2021 was BMW with 174, Harley 120, Ducati 119, Indian 105, Triumph 88, Yamaha 74, Honda 48, Kawasaki 44, KTM 25, Suzuki 25, Moto Guzzi 12, and Royal Enfield 6.

The recall numbers aren't affected by units sold either. Recalls are issues affecting safety whether it hits one model or ten, whether it is five bikes or five million.

Most new issues take a year or so to show as recalls. A new bike may have recall because it has the same issue as a bike sold two years ago.

One issue that the recall doesn't explain is customer complaints. Some companies like Honda and KTM have a large percentage of complaints before they take action so their recall numbers are artificially low. Aprilia, Suzuki, Moto Guzzi and Indian have a low customer compliant percentage meaning the are quicker to respond to issues.

The biggest recall item across the board are front and rear brakes -25.66%. Electrical controls is next at 13.41%. Overall 71.1% issues are mechanical the other 28.9% is electrical or other.

[Schenevey]

I own an 09' Aprilia Tuono, 07 Moto Guzzi Griso, and an 03 BMW R1150RT. After owning dozens of Japanese sporty bikes for over thirty years, I wanted something different. I have found my Aprilia to be just as reliable as any Japanese bike. I have had only one issue with my Guzzi, a simple valve cover gassket leak. My BMW however, seems to always need something. I enjoy working on my own stuff, so I have not required dealer help with any of my issues thus far. I buy my Aprilia and Guzzi parts from AF1 Racing and so far it has never taken more than a few weeks to get the little things I've needed. The Aprilia is the most exciting bike I've ever owned, and the Guzzi is the coolest bike I've owned, and I love riding both of them.

[JDye-youtube]

2008 Ducati 1098, starter sprang clutch, regulator rectifier, that’s it. 40, 000 miles and still going! Totally worth!

[seans_shed]

I've owned many Japanese bikes (R6, ZXR400/750, SV650, GS550) and found that they are all good, no complaints, I now own two Ducatis as well 750SS and M696, I had an SV650 along side these and enjoyed the quirks of them all. Being simpler platforms they are easy to work on myself and only marginally more expensive/frequent.

The Monster IS more refined than the SV, but you pay more you get more quality, the SV is a totally brillant, fun and reliable bike don't get me wrong, but brakes, suspension and weight play a big part in the experience, for me this is where the M696 has it.

I do feel a bit more 'special' on a euro bike, but is that bias because I'm european, subconscious or real, who knows but placebo is real and I experience the novelty on a more 'high end' branded bike.

[martyaquino]

my daily ride to work is a 2019 KTM 390 Duke. Nearly 2 years old, ridden in mixed conditions (including heavy traffic and warmer weather here in the Phils), 18k kms and counting, no issues at all.

[norcal]

A few years ago when KTM made the RC8, I only knew of one guy that had one and he told me the engine had to be replaced after something like 3k miles. The Panigale had six recalls in its first year of production. When the BMW S1000RR first came out, I recall reading a story about seized engines. I test rode a new Tuono a few years ago and before I even left the parking lot, I had to turn around because the rear brake was inoperable. A couple years ago, someone at a Euro dealership was telling me that they've been waiting for months on a part they needed to fix someone's Aprilia that was only a couple years old. I've heard of MV Agustas constantly having issues with one thing or another. Now to give credit where credit is due, Italians know how to make some really good-looking bikes. Oh, and I remember reading that the 1098 and 1198 needed valve adjustments every 6k miles and that the belts had to be replaced every two years regardless of miles.

[ConorHildebrandt]

I've had 3 BMW's over the last 10 years and they've been the most reliable bikes I've ever ridden.

[hapyharyhardn]

I own 2 Ducatis. a 2012 streetfighter and a 02 monster. both have about 17k on them with no issues. im ahead of the curve as i do my own maintenance including valve services. love these things and wouldnt trade either of them for anything. ...i wouldnt be against owning an R1 some day. but if i had a choice between an R1 on a Penigale, id take the Duc.

[BMK]

Despite the issues my RS660 has been rock solid.

Only issue I had was that they accidentally installed smaller valves from the factory but that was a day long fix and she’s been great

[aramparonian]

Like an other YouTube-er said “Italian supermodel or a Japanese housewife” depends on you

[MarcusW]

Having owned a BMW S1000RR and now a K1200S + Ducati Panigale V4: zero issues in 6 years of ownership in total. Fresh oil every year, never skip/cut costs on maintenance and never ever thrash them within the first 20 minutes of riding.

[martymcfly]

I'm still going to ride Japanese bikes. If you consider something like the new Honda Hornet, it's more than adequately fast enough to serve my needs. It's an incredible bargain in England which leads me to believe that it will be an incredible bargain in Canada when the price is released, and it comes with Honda reliability. For those people who think it's boring, you have my permission to buy a Ducati.

[AntaresSQ]

3:40 Whilst this is very very true, many people moan at "reliability" but don't actually realise what the word actually means. Yes, a KTM may have electronic gremlins, but it's other components are vastly higher quality than an equivalent japanese bike. You'll almost never hear issues regarding suspension and brakes from a KTM. Same with BMW, there may be the odd grenading engine, which is extremely rare nowadays, but corrosion is neigh unheard of and the quality of engineering that goes into protecting semi wear items like bearings and bushings is far superior to that of a japanese bike. On a Japanese bike it's perfectly accepted to replace a wheel bearing after 20-30k miles, especially on the lower end models, whereas you'd be surprised if it wasn't original bearings inside a 50k+ BMW.

Difference also lies in actual feel of the components when brand new. Of course you'll notice sticky brakes on a Brembo Stylema + RCS17 combo, how are you gonna feel the same thing on the wooden Nissins used on a Ninja 650? Something that's sharp, and precise you'll feel the degradation much quicker than on something dull and sloppy to begin with.

[JoseLgamer]

Likely many of the guys that complain about the reliability of a said euro bike, probably don't follow manufacturer procedures when it comes to regular service intervals, only change oil, maybe other basic consumables and expect it to work indefinitely. That is to say that they don't take proper care, and still expect it to work as intended.

[andrewhansen]

Red 1999 Ducati ST4 still going strong, starts right up, never let me down yet. Two electrical modifications taking about 3 hrs total to modify and all good. Timing belts easy to change. Valve adjustments were still within spec after 25k but easy enough to set to tighter tolerances. Fun and cheap to insure and to ride. Still get many thumbs up even with the hard paniers attached. A reliable commuter bike for me for over 14 years.