These are the general impressions of the ‘big four’
Honda – Generally pretty comfortable with a rock solid engine
Suzuki – Generally seen as some of the fastest motorcycles around, more of a ‘ricky racer’ type of bike.
Kawasaki – Generally seen as ugly, but kawasaki engines are pretty reliable. Also known for their dirt bikes.
Yamaha – Good bikes, but in my mind they are ‘poser’ bikes. Everyone and there mom wants a Yamaha r6. They are very high fashion.
If you want a bike that will last a long time I would go for either a Honda or a Kawasaki. Most bikes i’ve seen rarely get past 25k before they are crashed and totaled. The ones with the longer lives are usually sport touring bikes since those riders generally take less risks and ride for longer stretches. The most mileage I’ve seen on any bike personally was a friend who had a early 2000 Kawasaki Ninja 250 with 80,000+ miles on it. I don’t know if I would recommend that for everyone, but it speaks to the quality of kawasaki bikes.
If I were going to get 1 bike to last me for ages I would probably go with a Honda VFR or maybe a BMW. That being said a lot of bikes will last quite a while if you keep up with the maintenance.
Ben
~Best Beginner Motorcycles Admin