I just recently got back into bowling and I need some new equipment. I sold my Venom Shock which I now regret but I don't see Motiv stuff in my area like I once did. I'm also hearing some chatter about bad batches and quality issues. Is this a real thing or just people talking smack?

I say total bs.

100% false.

Right now I can’t stop throwing the Forge and the Rogue Blade. The Abyss has been great on flat patterns and they still roll like the first day and I haven’t touched the surface of any yet.

I’ve had at least 50 Motiv balls and only one cracked.

Don’t believe everything you hear, Motiv makes great equipment and they also have great customer service.

I doubt that's true, they have occasional issues with their neomark labels cracking, but it's no different or more prevalent than with anything anyone else does.  I wouldn't worry about it. 

I just recently got back into bowling and I need some new equipment. I sold my Venom Shock which I now regret but I don't see Motiv stuff in my area like I once did. I'm also hearing some chatter about bad batches and quality issues. Is this a real thing or just people talking smack?

Chatter from who? Other company staff/fan boy hacks?

Motiv balls are the same as the other companies. I have had a couple of them crack, but then again, I own over 50 at this time, 30 or so that have been drilled.

In my experience, their failure rate is no greater or worse than Storm or Rotogrip. I can't really compare to Ebo or Mexico made balls as I don't throw enough of them to measure.