Honda build quality

[Supermofo]

Is not what it used to be it seems. I've heard/read/seen some very iffy bits on Africa Twins but also read some really good reports on CB1000s but this is a bit of a shocker. Bit of a long video as his had crap follow up from Honda/dealers as well but around 5mins in. Basically engine case full of casting bubbles and the paint fell off the engine of a 6 month old bike.

[G.P]

Funny, I've been watching loads of tests of NT1100, CB500X and ATs over the holiday and the only comments I recall were that build quality was good - especially on the NT1100 (Same motor and frame as the AT). Mind you, I think in some reporters, its just muscle memory when talking about Honda.
From casual observation I'd still put them ahead of Yamaha and Suzuki but behind Triumph and Ducati.

[KungFooBob]

The only @ issue I've heard about is the spokes.

I think Dazzler is right about the manufacturers having to use paints and materials that are environmentally friendly, that are not as good as the toxic stuff they used in the 90s.

[Skub]

Up until the disaster that was the VF750,in my experience Honda were little different from any of the Jap builders,ie they all went furball on UK Winter roads.
When they built the VFR,Honda build quality shot through the roof and for a time they were ahead of the other three. Buld quality seems a bit more patchy to me now,as they farm out a lot of models to other countries,it certainly isn't a given if you buy Honda it's a class ahead.

I had one of the early 2004 Innovas and it was extremely well put together. Used all year around,it stayed looking good cosmetically. I've looked at some of the later subcontracted Innovas and they are visibly poorer quality.

The SH300i is another example. Parts like the wheels were indestructible,but the paint fell off the fork legs,caliper brackets and exhaust in the space of a single Winter. General finish was pretty good,but other bits were rubbish.

Back in the 70s we all bought a shitty old Honda to use as a Winter bike,mostly because they were half fucked anyway and cheap as chips.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Before I bought my Suzuki I looked at 2nd hand Honda 650s in the Honda dealers, they all had corrosion on the shocks, brake centres and ABS rings, I thought this was pretty poor on year old bikes, my Suzuki is finished a lot better.

OTOH if you look at the expensive Hondas like Fireblades and CB1000Rs, the finish on these is superb, with Honda you definitely get what you pay for.

[Supermofo]

On Africa Twins there are various reports of rusting frames. Even MCNs test bike had 2 rust patches on the frame that's on top of the iffy spokes and that was in their usual 8 months or so of testing

[Cousin Jack]

IME Honda quality is now a myth, based on a historical fact but no longer true.

Rear footpeg hangers on my VFR were beginning to show some signs of corrosion, after 36k miles and 13 years, the last 5 of them sat outdoors near the sea.
Rear footpeg hangers on my new CB500F show very similar marks of corrosion, after 2k miles, 12 months, and most of that time under proper cover.

[Taipan]

My 90s Honda Bros was amazing. Rode through 3 shitty winters with salt-a-plenty, but one wash and it was back to showroom condition again. Sh300 peeled its wheels, fork lowers engine casing and the paint burnt of the exhaust. Bodywork never dulled though. NC700X has best part of 45k on it yet still washes up surprisingly well. I can only imagine former owner used good products?

BMWs went downhill, but never as bad as the Suzukis and Kawasakis I had. The 80s Z550 was like a soluble aspirin! You could hear the bastard fizzing when you got off of it after a wet ride!

[Bigjawa]

My 2009 Indian built CBF125 has significantly better build quality than my 2008 K1200R.

[Couchy]

IME Honda quality is now a myth, based on a historical fact but no longer true.

Rear footpeg hangers on my VFR were beginning to show some signs of corrosion, after 36k miles and 13 years, the last 5 of them sat outdoors near the sea.
Rear footpeg hangers on my new CB500F show very similar marks of corrosion, after 2k miles, 12 months, and most of that time under proper cover.

Isn’t that because the vfr wasn’t a budget bike built in Thailand ?

My own experience of new Hondas has been good, my Africa twin was finished superbly and always cleaned up like new despite off road use. The high end Hondas built in Japan are still the best finished bikes you can buy.

As for the video in the first post my bro has the same bike and has used it for 2 years and 12k miles in all weathers and has looked after it,cleans up like new too.

[Asian Boss]

He's hidden the information on the issues well in 15 minutes of broadly irrelevant on-board footage and lots of 'and another thing'. Sign of a nutter IMO.

[mangocrazy]

The Late '80s VFRs were pretty much the high water mark for Honda quality, as they had some serious reputational damage to repair. The early/mid '90s VFRs were still better than the other Japanese manufacturers, but couldn't quite match the finish of the earlier models.It's all a question of the parts that are bought in from component suppliers and the level of quality (ie.e. depth of plating) that Honda specify. On the budget stuff they buy cheap, on the premium stuff they spend the extra. But I doubt you'll ever see a return to the quality levels of yesteryear. It's not in their interest to do so.