75% of HD, 74% of BMW and 72% of Honda rider were satisfied with there brands and would buy them again. Opposed to 63% of Yamaha owners and 60% of Kawasaki owners.
Typical Consumer Report survey, means absolutely nothing in the real world.
Its just an article.
I for one, IMO, would NEVER own a BMW (just for personal reasons). Most HD guys are hard core old school or nothing, even the V-rod HD guys are shunned by the regular HD guys.
My friend owns a BMW (and at least a dozen before that- he changes bikes about every 6 months).
I grew up mostly on Yamaha's but have worked on most including BMW's (not alot) and HD and have owned a few HD's.
The only other bike I would even consider at this point is the new '14 FJR. However, for my current riding, the FZ suits my needs to the T. Super low maintainance, about as dependable as a brick.
I subscribe to several other forums, including several BMW's and ADV Riding. Reading threads from actual owners with issues, the problems,
some designs, the newer bikes are not very user (mechaning) friendly.
The Yamaha's have issues too (as do ALL BIKES) but IMO, are designed for easier maintainance, lower operating costs (alot of BMW's with the same compression ratio as the FZ REQUIRE high test), etc.
I could go on, but again, its just an article and each individual has his own favorites..