I've been reading this thread with interest since I am a long time BMW owner (I am on my 4th Beemer and approaching 80-90,000 miles on that marque) but decided to buy an S10 for my new adventure bike. Some of you may consider my comments as bashing; if they do, I'm sorry to offend you but these comments are my perspective/ experience.
BMW bikes are great fun to ride and have a cachet that (for reasons unknown to me) the Japanese brands don't have. That is in spite of having the worst reliability record according to Consumer Reports (link provided and suitable for work).
http://www.autoblog.com/2014/02/22/consumer-reports-motorcycle-reliability-report/
New BMW models are the worst for reliability. While some BMW owners are blindly loyal, most BMW fans and riders (like the members of the three BMW clubs I have been a member of) know that buying a new model or design change is not a good idea. It always takes a few years for the manufacturer to work out the bugs. That is why I bought a 2009 R1200RT. It was the last year they made that engine and bike before a design change in the engine. I've had no problems; just gas, oil, tires and a couple valve adjustments.
Regarding brand bashing. I've been in one BMW club where they heckled you if you showed up on something other than a BMW. I've been in another where all they cared about was that you rode a motorcycle. For many years, the president of the club rode an ST1100 and had not had a BMW in at least five years. I don't know how my current club is. Guess I'll find out when I ride the S10 to the next meeting.
Why am I moving to the S10? Couple of reasons:
- I liked it better on the test ride than the BMW GS, the Triumph Explorer, the Suzuki V-Strom and the KTM Adventure 1190. The dealer (on all but the BMW) was kind enough to let me take long test rides so I was confident in my choice. The BMW dealer let me take it for a very short ride (not much more than around the block) and could not believe I wasn't going to buy it on the spot after doing so.
- The maintenance interval on the S10 and the bulletproof reliability of my 2004 FJR. Gas, tires, oil, repeat...
- Consumer Reports rating
- Colorado Springs has two very good Yamaha dealers. The BMW dealer here in Colorado Springs is so bad that (as far as I know) none of the members of the local BMW club use them for service. Everyone I talk to rides to Denver for service by one of the two excellent dealers there.
- I want to simplify my life. I want to neck down to one bike so I no longer have to ask myself, "am I on the RT or the V-Strom" when I see an interesting dirt or forest road that I want to explore.