IceCreamMan
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An interesting read, MCN is by no means at the forefront of motorcycling journalism however this is a JD market research article
The 2006 J.D. Powers Motorcycle Competitive Information Study rated 10 motorcycle brands in 5 key areas: product, quality, cost of ownership, customer's sales experience, and service. The brands were rated on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest. 6916 owners who purchased new motorcycles between Sep 2005 and May 2006 participated in this study.
In the 3 areas that rated the actual products the mfgs produce - product, quality, and cost of ownership - Suzuki beat BMW.
Product: BMW 4, Suzuki 4 = tie
Quality: BMW 4, Suzuki 5 = Suzuki wins with a 20% higher score and ties Honda as the highest of all 10 rated brands
Cost of Ownership: BMW 2, Suzuki 4 = Suzuki wins with a 40% higher score.
Combined Score for these 3 product areas: BMW 10, Suzuki 13
A clear win for Suzuki in the quality dept and combined score.
Only Victory Motorcycles beat Suzuki in these 3 key areas, with a combined score of 14 vs. Suzuki's 13.
In the 2 human areas - sales and service - BMW tied for first with Harley Davidson and Victory. Suzuki suffered in these areas badly.
The study noted that there was a 21% improvement in quality over last year's study. Quality "is becoming the price of entry" says Tim Fox, research supervisor at J.D. Powers.
In summary then, the results of this study show that if you can stomach the "less than the best" sales and service experience at a Suzuki dealer, you will be buying a motorcycle with the highest quality rating in the industry and a very low cost of ownership.
If sales and service are more important to you than quality or cost of ownership is of least concern, then BMW is the better choice.
Source: Motorcycle Consumer News, March 2007, pg 8
The 2006 J.D. Powers Motorcycle Competitive Information Study rated 10 motorcycle brands in 5 key areas: product, quality, cost of ownership, customer's sales experience, and service. The brands were rated on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest. 6916 owners who purchased new motorcycles between Sep 2005 and May 2006 participated in this study.
In the 3 areas that rated the actual products the mfgs produce - product, quality, and cost of ownership - Suzuki beat BMW.
Product: BMW 4, Suzuki 4 = tie
Quality: BMW 4, Suzuki 5 = Suzuki wins with a 20% higher score and ties Honda as the highest of all 10 rated brands
Cost of Ownership: BMW 2, Suzuki 4 = Suzuki wins with a 40% higher score.
Combined Score for these 3 product areas: BMW 10, Suzuki 13
A clear win for Suzuki in the quality dept and combined score.
Only Victory Motorcycles beat Suzuki in these 3 key areas, with a combined score of 14 vs. Suzuki's 13.
In the 2 human areas - sales and service - BMW tied for first with Harley Davidson and Victory. Suzuki suffered in these areas badly.
The study noted that there was a 21% improvement in quality over last year's study. Quality "is becoming the price of entry" says Tim Fox, research supervisor at J.D. Powers.
In summary then, the results of this study show that if you can stomach the "less than the best" sales and service experience at a Suzuki dealer, you will be buying a motorcycle with the highest quality rating in the industry and a very low cost of ownership.
If sales and service are more important to you than quality or cost of ownership is of least concern, then BMW is the better choice.
Source: Motorcycle Consumer News, March 2007, pg 8
