Originally Posted by
daveinva
To be technical about it, the 998 is a *rock*, as dead-reliable a bike engine that's ever been manufactured-- it's the other quirks with first-gen Spyders that come into play.
I'm curious about the survey dates; knowing the likely lag time, I wonder if CR caught a whole slew of seriously peeved 2013 owners up in their reliability survey.
BTW, RE: BMW bikes... they're like BMW (and other German) cars: outstanding mechanical marvels that are the equal of or superior to anything else on the road... when they work. Thing is, the Germans love to build to tolerances and precision that no other manufacturers seem to do, which makes for a fine product, but expensive routine service and even more expensive, sometimes nightmarish, repairs. I *still* have nightmares knowing I needed special tools to swap out Volkswagen batteries and headlight bulbs. :banghead:
Still, I'd buy a BMW bike tomorrow, no anxiety whatsoever. Heck, I bought a Can-Am Spyder, what could I possibly be worried about? :joke: