imported post
imported post
I have never actually made use of a warranty on a motorcycle and have owned 5 new ones over the last 10 years (hondas, ktms and a beta).
I have made use of the warranties on all of my Japanese 4 wheel vehicles all purchased new(88 mazda rx7, 89 honda civic, 90 acura integra, 00 honda accord, 03 honda van). Most minor (<$500) but 2 major (>$1000).
My new 4 wheel NA vehicles (80 Ford F100, 96 Jeep GC, 02 GMC Sierra and 05 GMC Sierra), I have had two issues, a rear seat belt in the 05 GMC was locking all the time, and computers on the 96 GC blew up twice. The jeep was a piece of crap and will never own another, the second time the computer blew up it had just run out of warranty and I had to pay $600.
I'm pretty sure some of the hondas I have owned were actually assembled in NA (probably using Japanese built components), so I guess they could be considered NA vehicles. I think some honda bikes are built in SA and some kawis in Taiwan or ????. Isn't the new BMW 450X using some kind of asian motor (taiwan/china or korea).
My Beta's build quality is as good as any honda or ktm that I have owned and zero problems over the last 18 months, so I have no problem with Italian bikes.
All that being said, I think it is just the luck of the draw. Overall I believe the build quality of Japanese / European based vehicles is better than NA vehicles but they all have the potential to have problems and the dealership selling them should be dealing with any issues in a timely manner.
Back to the original topic there are a number of brands (motorycles and cars) that don't honour the warranty across the border.
