Look, here's the deal for me in a nutshell; call them bargain bikes, jap crap, poor mans tourer, whatever, I've never been impressed with spending more for the sake of belonging to a click of riders. I have owned probably a dozen bikes in my lifetime. All Asian makes, and that's on purpose. Usually it's two fold; 1. They always start. Period. 2. They are usually cheaper to buy and keep maintained. I DO consider value long term. I DO appreciate the vehicle more because of that perceived value. Perhaps that's old fashioned? Not sure.
The BMW crowd is exactly like the crowd I hung around growing up as the kid of a guy who sold European cars. They were all convinced the European cars were better than the jap copies. The Jap car didn't have 'soul'. pfffttt, whatever.
Every single British car my Dad has ever had, or has ever worked on is actually a pile of junk. They actually rusted from the factory. They had to fix them off the delivery truck. They were really just crappy cars. But they had something about them that ALOT of people really liked. But to me, they just looked neat, sounded cool (when they ran), but were really just a big hole to throw money into. The first car I bought with my own money was a 1990 Honda Civic Si. Now that little car didn't just have a Soul, it had a heart.
Every bike I've had from Japan has been the same. They are simpler bikes. But I subscribe to the KISS philosophy.
I suspect the BMW is a wonderful bike. Like I said, I had an 86 BMW 325, and I loved that car. But I would have traded it in a New York minute for a Datsun 510. It's simple, Japan build machines that are build to last. My wife owns a 2003 Honda Accord. I swear to god it's as good as it was the day we bought it brand new from the lot. We've replaced tires, oil and a battery in that time. I am pretty sure any European make you want to mention couldn't hope to accomplish the same.
Different strokes, different folks. I liken it to buying a Harley to be in HOG. ppffffttt, whatever.
