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Survey Says Harley-Davidson and BMW Motorcycles Less Reliable Than Japanese – But Owners Don’t Care

A new survey conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center finds BMW and Harley-Davidson  owners are much more likely to report major problems with their motorcycles than owners of Honda, Kawasaki and Yamaha motorcycles. The survey, which will appear on the April 2013 issue of Consumer Reports, says one in three BMW owners reported experiencing a major problem with their bikes in the last four years. Harley-Davidson owners were slightly better, with one in four reporting serious issues.

Vespa goes back to the future

IT'S been a while coming, but the gorgeous Vespa 946 - EICMA 2012's Best of Show - has finally introduced something to the two-wheeled world that our four-wheeled counterparts have had for a while.  I call this 'reverse retro-futurism' - the art of borrowing lines from models past and imbuing them with a sleek sense of future direction (as opposed to retro-futurism, the pre-1960s design trend of depicting the technology of the future. The term 'decopunk' may come close, but feel free to tell me if there's a more exact term.) It's what the New Mini and the New Beetle (both 1997 and 2012 versions) have done so well, and so successfully: building an all-new model as a tribute to a classic, something that's modern yet already timeless, with a widely-appreciated, inclusive aesthetic (and here we eliminate the Plymouth PT Cruiser from the conversation). The biking world is great at retro, indeed thrives on it, but not so good at adding in a taste of the 21st century.

35 years ago this month

IT'S 35 YEARS since Evel Knievel attempted to jump 13 London buses at Wembley Stadium. Riding a heavy, slow Harley-Davidson XR750, the American daredevil had serious reservations about the jump, admitting the take-off ramp was too short, therefore limiting the bike's speed. But even though the plucky American knew his chances of pulling off the stunt were slim, he was reluctant to disappoint the 80,000-strong Wembley crowd.