Manufacturer you're most disappointed in lately

[sammyseaman]

Hmmmm????........

[Rincewind]

Suzuki for not bringing any new 2010 street models to the States.

[bomber]

Lately? Can Lately be defined by about a year?

HD, for the whole Buell/MV stupidity. It'd be nice to have a US based brand that sold something other than cruisers.

Less than that?

Nobody specific comes to mind. Given the great choices available, these just might be the good old days.

[chornbe]

Honda.

[Rincewind]

Lately? Can Lately be defined by about a year?

HD, for the whole Buell/MV stupidity. It'd be nice to have a US based brand that sold something other than cruisers.

Less than that?

Nobody specific comes to mind. Given the great choices available, these just might be the good old days.

I'm changing my vote.

[chornbe]

41 views.
4 replies.
6 votes.

Awesome community involvement.  

[MadOzodi]

41 views.
4 replies.
6 votes.

Awesome community involvement.  

Uhhh, I'm just not really disappointed in any particular mfgr. lately...I mean, I'd really have to    to come up with one.  But I can jump on the Harley disappointment bandwagon if ya want.  

[bomber]

41 views.
4 replies.
6 votes.

Awesome community involvement.  

I'm from Chicaga -- I could vote again, if you'd like.

;-}

[expatbrit]

KTM -- jinxed by my amazingly broken and breaking 950SM

[Fourstring]

Suzuki for not bringing any new 2010 street models to the States.

Lately? Can Lately be defined by about a year?

HD, for the whole Buell/MV stupidity. It'd be nice to have a US based brand that sold something other than cruisers.

Less than that?

Nobody specific comes to mind. Given the great choices available, these just might be the good old days.

These two got mulled over, but the asinine bobbling of Buell wins out.

[Galo]

I voted HD, but it was not a slam-dunk vote, what with Honda's new VFR to think about.  

That said, HD took my vote for the reasons above (Buell & MV Agusta) and more of the same 'new bike made up of old pieces' mentality.
I may not like the new VFR, but at least it's a radical departure from the prior one. But, the 1200XR.....welllllllllllllllllll....... ..see above

[AutoXer]

Yamaha - for dropping the FZ6;  for replacing the 6 with the FZ6R with full fairings and boy-racer graphics I wouldn't be seen on;  and bringing in the FZ8 in only the stupid ugly nekkid transformer-look version.   After owning 2 Yamaha's, when the FZ8 turned up mutt-ugly I went and bought a Suzuki 1250SA Bandit ...

[1000lbs]

Since I'm not particularly brand loyal I can't say I'm personally disappointed by any, but the H-D/Buell thing pushed my vote that way.  If it weren't for that, I'd say H-D does what they do pretty well.

Second would be Honda for a string of new bike intro's that seem like square pegs for round holes.
I'm obviously not in tune with the bike categories they are looking at, but there are other Mfgs that keep me looking.
Honda examples
Fury - Their top custom cruiser running without the 1800 VTX mill  
DN01 - overpriced and under functioned (I kinda like the way it looks though  )
Deauville - Not bad, but not modern/potent enough to draw much attention
VFR - I read it somewhere, and I think its pretty fitting "the bike no one asked them to build".

I'm not a Honda hater by any stretch and enjoyed my ST while it was around.  These examples just don't seem to fit their respective roles as well as Honda seems capable of.
 

[squeezer]

Lately? Can Lately be defined by about a year?

HD, for the whole Buell/MV stupidity. It'd be nice to have a US based brand that sold something other than cruisers.

Less than that?

Nobody specific comes to mind. Given the great choices available, these just might be the good old days.

I was about to vote Honda because it seems they've lost their innovative edge.

But Harley closing Buell -- not even allowing them to be sold -- trumps all.

They brought in a CEO who had never ridden but knew a lot about brand identity. It's showing.

[nater]

Suzuki--they are non-existant still.  I may have to become a Kawasaki fan if this keeps up...  Those new ZX-6s sure are getting some good reviews.

[sammyseaman]

Harley is disappointing because of the whole Buell fiasco but it's Harley and what else would you expect from a company run by a bunch of "suits".

Suzuki is very disappointing due to the lack of any new models. I know they were sceered and didn't want showrooms full leftover models but....

Which leaves Honda. Honda for me is the biggest disappoinment lately (and the last few years). They hype the feck out of the VFR and it's a big fat meh (and expensive). The dullsville is just plain old and dull (and expensive). The Wing?. Fury? DN-01? Expensive, silly and weird (and expensive). I've owned more Hondas than any other brand and I used to hold them to a higher standard but that has changed. Thinking about it, it changed about 20 years ago. They still make amazing dirt bikes, the CBR1000RR is an awesome bike and I like the overpriced Ruckus but these three aren't nearly enough for me.

[JReazor]

Honda but only because I expect so much more from them.

[birdrunner]

Honda but only because I expect so much more from them.

Exactly why I didn't vote HD.   I expected them to act like they did, so no dissappointment.

Honda, on the other hand.   Other than their CBR1000 and the CBR600,  they've been totally stuck.  It's now run by accountants.

[Frankienuckles]

Harley, because of Buell and MV Agusta. Mostly Buell, and then I read about Harley having trouble attracting younger riders to the brand . Maybe they make a line of lark style scooters or golf carts so they can keep up with their aging typical customers needs.

[stevent]

Honda for answering questions no one asked. They truly are a car company now, poor Soichiro must be spinning in his grave.