If you hang around forums enough you will see lots of brand loyalty.
In some cases it will be general statements like European bikes are unreliable pieces of crap.
Get a Japanese bike if you want your bike to last.
Or it will be brand-specific, such as KTM make the best enduro bikes, all the others suck.
When we choose a bike, we like to think it's a logical process.
But of course we are emotional creatures.
And advertising executives know how to play us to the max.
That's why there is an advertising industry.
Read through an dirt bike magazine and the ads are all carefully crafted shots
of top riders doing crazy stuff on their bikes.
Deep down we gumbies know we will never ride like that.
But there is always that secret hope that a particular brand of dirt bike
will magically make up for a lack of talent and turn us into a superstar.
The advertising industry, and dirt bike manufacturers, love brand loyalty.
It's based on emotions rather than cold hard facts.
It means riders are likely to stick with the same brand regardless of its faults,
how high its price is, or whether a competitor's bike could be more suitable.
I find brand loyalty amusing as a lot of guys seem to really tie
themselves up in knots trying to decide on which dirt bike to buy.
And of course they want to know what I think and I just repeat my old mantra.
I believe it's 80% the rider and only 20% the bike.
So spend more time worrying about your technique
and skill development than what you are putting between your legs.
And the current crop of dirt bikes, at least the
European ones, are all marvels of up-to-date design and engineering.
I seriously doubt you could make a bad choice.
I've been lucky to ride most of the enduro bike models at
some point in the past three years and they are all good...
so forget brand loyalty.
So does brand loyalty matter if this or that brand won the enduro championship last year?
Personally I doubt it.
I have had a few quiet chats with top riders.
A surprising number of them aren't concerned about what they ride.
It really comes down to which manufacturer will pay the most and provide the best support.
And then of course they are required to publicly say how good that brand is.
Regular viewers will know I have a soft spot for a certain Italian
brand because its characteristics suit my sort of riding very well.
But the last thing I'm going to do is claim it's the best bike for everyone,
or that other brands suck.
I'm sure I would have almost as much fun on a KTM, Gas Gas, Husky or Sherco 300 two stroke.
If you really believe one brand is best for everyone,
then as our Nova Scotian philosopher says.....
bugger brand loyalty.
The old two stroke versus four stroke debate
is a classic example of how narrow minded people can get.
I did a very tongue-in-cheek video about this.
Afterwards there were still viewers saying 'but which is best, two strokes or four strokes?'
Sigh.
So get all brand loyal if you want.
But personally I don't like manufacturers and advertising executive telling me what to think.
I value my independence too much.