Crappy Bikes

[Cpl Punishment]

I know this was done before in the olde tyme sport touring net, but I thought it worthy of revival. With thanks to whoever thought of it first-forgive the plagiarism of your idea. It's not mine-it's yours.

The worst bike I ever had was a Yamaha XS250. Didn't handle, didn't stop, and despite my efforts to kill it (wrote it off 3 times) carried on going. Sold it to a probation officer. Zombie bike.

[scubadoguk]

I had a honda dream for about a month it was a impossible to like bike gutless and shite

[Cpl Punishment]

I had a honda dream for about a month it was a impossible to like bike gutless and shite

Yup. that was not a bike that set the world on fire, but a bike that the world needed to set on fire.

Agreed. Shite bike. Join the club of ex-shite bike owners.

[scubadoguk]

ok but I want a tee shirt and not a red one

[Gaolee]

Worst bike that I ever had that ran was a CB650.  It wasn't so bad, just really heavy and ponderous.  The Norton might be a terrible bike, or it might be a great bike.  Beats me.  Right now it is a blanket stand.

[bogthing]

A 1973 Sportster that had been "built", It was awful...

(This was during my bewildering 2-3 yr. Harley phase)

[Atitalongtime]

1975 HD Superglide... It gave me shivers when I saw the new one...

3 crankshafts later I found a sucker to buy it. (the 1st crank was warranty, the second was 50% on me, the last one took me months to pay off on a credit card.

I bought it when I made my Kawasaki H2 750 into a race only bike, the HD was to keep me slow on the street.

Yep, 2 Harley's at once... First and Last

[JonS]

I have two worsts. :headscratch:Is that a word? Anyway, the first was a 1974 CB750 Honda. It was like riding a 55 gallon drum and wasn't very fast either. The other was a 1982 Yamaha 550 Vision. Ugly, very soft suspension, and ran very warm all the time. It had heavy shaft effect and with the 16" front wheel was kind of twitchy. I bought it new instead of going over to the Kawasaki dealer and buying a GPZ550. What a maroon!

[OmegaSix]

1988 Honda Shadow VT 800...

I dunno what the f*ck I wuz thinking.

[TRaGiK]

My best and worst are one in the same.

1983 Honda Magna 750. Worst because I had to replace the tank as soon as I got it (was rusted through), replaced battery after it left me stranded, replaced clutch, replaced headlight, replaced fuel pump, and a few other things I'm forgetting. All happened within the first 5k miles of me owning it.

Was the best because it was my first bike, and I'd love to find one in good shape to keep.

[Brad1445]

I don't want to bash a name plate so I won't mention the manufacture.  But it was a characterless bike.

Honestly
Obtuse,
No
Direct
Ability

It's hard to describe, "nothiness"  is that a word?

[stromgal]

Honda CX500. Only bike I owned for merely a month- as soon as I could unload it.

[Nesbocaj]

Honda CX500. Only bike I owned for merely a month- as soon as I could unload it.

   How could you?
   
   I commuted to college on some of the worst roads NYC had to offer, every day for 5 years on a '78 CX.
   Not once did it fail, not one breakdown, nothing ever fell off, started every time

   When set up with a good suspension is was surprisingly nimble. I really liked my CX. Besides, it looked like it had a Guzzi motor.

   The bike that I hated was a 1968 Triumph Tiger 650. Leaked oil all the time, stuff worked loose all the time, electrics from hell, shit for brakes....
   

[sammyseaman]

This may up my ignore number but '85 V65 Sabre. The motor was nice. Tranny weak. I've owned cruisers that handled better. Top heavy. But that damn motor was sweet. V4's always sound nice. Right Larry?

[Busy Little Whiner]

 But that damn motor was sweet. V4's always sound nice. Right Larry?

Right... V4s got that distinctive syncopated beat going for them...

[Black Ice]

Yamaha XS 650.  What an absolute piece of dogshit.  Shit steering head and swingarm bearings, shook so bad you felt you were operating a jackhammer, too light for the highway and too heavy for anything else.  And the one I had holed a piston for no reason at all.

Yamaha builds good bikes for the most part, but their early parallel 4stk twins sucked major ass.  The only consolation regarding that thing was that at least it didn't tick.      

[woodyfjr]

There's no sure thing as a bad bike as they're all better than driving a car in the South of France on nice sunny day.

[gregc]

Yamaha XS 650.  What an absolute piece of dogshit.  Shit steering head and swingarm bearings, shook so bad you felt you were operating a jackhammer, too light for the highway and too heavy for anything else.  And the one I had holed a piston for no reason at all.

Yamaha builds good bikes for the most part, but their early parallel 4stk twins sucked major ass.  The only consolation regarding that thing was that at least it didn't tick.      

My first bike was a XS 650, my god did I hate that thing. It's a surprise I still ride after owning that as a first bike.  Mine had electrical problems.  I finally gave it to charity and took the tax write off.  I didn't want to deal with it anymore.

[ianbh]

Buell Lightning-1998  Ian, Iowa

[chornbe]

I know this was done before in the olde tyme sport touring net, but I thought it worthy of revival. With thanks to whoever thought of it first-forgive the plagiarism of your idea. It's not mine-it's yours.

The worst bike I ever had was a Yamaha XS250. Didn't handle, didn't stop, and despite my efforts to kill it (wrote it off 3 times) carried on going. Sold it to a probation officer. Zombie bike.

Concours.

[Albie]

Toss up for me. Honda CL 360 or BMW 1150 GS Adv.

[spinalator]

I had a YZ 125 with the radiator mounted on the forks. Took a swan dive over jumps. I also put 4 pistons in that beast. I bought a CR 125 next and was so used to riding on the YZ I would be on the rear wheel most of the race.

I had a lemon KZ750. Almost everything was replaced on that bike and it still would not run properly. Carbs, electrics, Ignitor, Coils, Plugs, R/R, alternator, starter, starter clutches. Bah! Sold it to a friend and he hated me for 2 years until he sold it to a guy who already had 2 KZ's. At least he got a parts bike.

[Yamadog]

For me it was a Hasty-varna WR450. Could not get it tuned properly, could not keep pistons in it! Finally gave up on it and built a 4-stroke. For something resembling a street machine it was the old KLR.

[ctfz1]

A man told me there's a seat for every ass, uh , was that backwards? Probably.  If it goes....

[bikerider]

Yamaha GTS1000

[sammyseaman]

Yamaha GTS1000

Those were so cool.

[dan.fitzgerald]

1986 Kawasaki Ninja 600  

That bike HATED people, and me in particular. Would get the most violent tank slappys any time you decelerated below 65 Mph.

Lots of power, handled like absolute crap.

[timmitch]

1983 Honda Nighthawk 750.

A royal POS!

Gutless, ugly and a kickstand that was an inch too long so that every once in a while it would just tumble over. Nothing like having to pick up your bike every few weeks.

[mcoyote]

I've been blessed by being able to own a number of great bikes.

So, when I say "the worst" remember that it wasn't all that bad. In my case, that was the 2002 BMW K1200RS. Three tows w/in one year and 14k mi -- two EVO brake servo malfunctions on the road (leaving me with little/no braking) and a fuel pump malfunction. Cruise control also never worked for any stretch (fixed three times).

Upsides were several -- it was not half-bad looking, pretty comfortable, kinda fast, and the ABS brakes did save my bacon at least once. I would have probably not strayed and gotten the 'Busa and might still ride it if it had just started and gone without incident.

The CC was funny because I never really cared about it or had need for it on the east coast, but its constant not working-ness just glared at me from the handlebar.

[bizarro]

BMW R1150GS. Farging hated that bike. What a colossal and expensive mistake that was.

Best bikes I've owned, so far, are my Speed Triple, the 954RR I had, and the '95 VFR750 I rode to the first WCRM.

[Dakota]

1986 Kawasaki 440 LTD.  That bike stranded until I wanted to douse it in gas and just burn it.  I ended up selling it to some sucker.

[Barabus]

1988 Harley XLH 1200 Sportster.  Refused to run if not started every 3-4 days.  No suspension because it had been "slammed".  Shook at any speed and parts would rattle off as I ran down the road.  45 mph was top "cruising" speed above that was vibration city and no assurance of stopping quickly.  But hey it had the "Harley" name and a few after market parts that said "Ride to Live and Live to Ride."  Also had "polished aluminium"- stupid for spending hours hand polishing the heads, case, forks, ect.  Aluminum oxidizes almost immediately.  Poor man's chrome.  Sold it for the same as I paid 8k miles and 8 years later.  What a POS, but the stupid biker bitches loved it!

[Nitro]

my 02 concourse!!.hands still throb thinkin bout that clunky buzz vibrator!!..The connie wins this one easily...almost ties with a old 70's xs650 twin yammy I had...

uh-oh..new update on this for july 07...connie still wins over my new dl 650. Geeze..cant believe I bought this thing...oh well.... the Yammy drops to third...

[dm_gsxr]

In my opinion, the worst bike I've owned was the 2003 Honda Goldwing. We bought it, rode it, and put it away after a month. I didn't ride it more than a couple of times to keep the battery charged and the gas ok. I didn't reregister it and sold it about 6 months later I guess.

It was gigantic. I felt like I was wallowing. It killed my butt, back, and forehead after half a day's riding. Heck, we should have just gotten the convertable

Carl

[miles]

I had the worst Norton Commando to ever roll off the assembly line.  Only sheer determination and youthful stupidity kept that hunk on the road at all.

Oh, and I had a raft of Kawasaki 2-stroke triples.  They all sucked, but never really ran enough for me to get worked up about them.  Eventually I sold all four of them (in boxes, mostly) to some other idiot for more than I bought them for, so I guess that took a lot of the sting out.

On the flip side, one of the best bikes I ever owned was a '78 Yamaha XS650e.  I flogged that thing mercilessly for 75,000 miles, including more than 10,000 in Central America, and it just kept going.  I did quite a number of 1000 mile days on that thing...



miles

[Lowlander]

1980 KZ1300 , was a six cylinder , heavy sail of a faring , top heavy , crap .
cost me 1000 bucks in 86 and I was plowed into after 2 weeks of owining it , thank god , I got a 86 Aspencade after that now that was a nice bike  

When i got my concours in 2001 i was like this bike is shit , but now after my adjustments and additions its ok , but I'm Jonesing for a new ST

[FJRmgm]

1976 Kawasaki H1-500 two stroke.

Many a mosquito met his fate at the smoking tail pipe of that evil-handling, no brakes, poor gas mileage P.O.S.

But - it would ZING though.

[Against The Wind]

1998 BMW K1200RS

Left radiator cracked.

Right radiator leaked.

Thermostat leaked.

Turn signal control failed.

Heat grip failed.

Heat grip control failed.

Heat grip failed again.

Rear brake seized "ON" while riding and the engine kept on trucking. By the time I stopped, the entire rear end was not much more than melted aluminum and plastic.

Windshield bracket broke.

ABS brake system failed.

....................................... ....................................... ...............................

[Chronic]

My "88 Honda Magna V45 (bought new).  This ill-handling POS would scare me shitless everytime I took into the hills.  

[Shhted]

'68 Honda CB350.  To be fair - it wasn't the bike's fault.  It had been rode hard and put away wet far too many times.  By the time we got our hands on it, it should have been melted for scrap.

[Kootenanny]

I had a honda dream for about a month it was a impossible to like bike gutless and shite

Now, I learned on a mid-60s Honda CL72 250 Scrambler, pretty similar to the Dream, and it really wasn't that bad.  OK, I had to remove all the lights, and indeed pretty much all the electricals, to make it run, and it was heavy and slow, but I got it cheap and I did learn a thing or two on it.

It seems that every bike I've ever owned has seemed to make all the previous ones seem old and crude (except the mid 80s Yamaha XT175 I had, that one was old and crude when I got it), but I'm still glad I owned every one of 'em.  

[bizarro]

1998 BMW K1200RS

Left radiator cracked.

Right radiator leaked.

Thermostat leaked.

Turn signal control failed.

Heat grip failed.

Heat grip control failed.

Heat grip failed again.

Rear brake seized "ON" while riding and the engine kept on trucking. By the time I stopped, the entire rear end was not much more than melted aluminum and plastic.

Windshield bracket broke.

ABS brake system failed.

....................................... ....................................... ...............................

Dayum.......

[CafeTBird]

The bike that I hated was a 1968 Triumph Tiger 650. Leaked oil all the time, stuff worked loose all the time, electrics from hell, shit for brakes....
    

How could you?  I had a '69 Bonnie, and obsess over that bike to this day.  It had more personality than a heard of Hondas.

Wanna buy a Honda CX500?  I'll sell you one!

My worst bike was a '81 Sportster 1000.  Ride for an hour, work on it for two....

[Y.B Slo]

My worst bike was a '66 Triumph chopper with the Lucas electrical system. I think I pushed that bike more miles than I rode it!

[JamesG]

Worst bike I ever owned? KLR-650. Not that its a particularly bad bike. But I tried to fit a round peg into a square hole by building it into a motardy streetbike. After many months and more money than it was worth, I gave up and sold it away.

Wost bike I've ridden, but thank God never owned? Honda "Rebel" 250. Rode the gutless wonder thru my MSF course and then got a beat up one running and somewhat rideable for a guy who came begging me to fix it up for him. Got the engine "running", and spent a month trying to get it to accelerate, stop, or handle, before realizing, "Thats as good as she gets Jim"... I hope that guy took my advice to throw it away.

[Busy Little Whiner]

1965 Ducati Parallel Twin... one ugly duckling and an unreliable engine to boot...

[BBB]

Laverda Mirage 1200TTS. I bought it new in 1983. Finish was patchy, the vibration above 4500rpm was dreadful and the support from the UK importer was poor. I went to the Bol D'or on it in 1984 and whilst down there it started to run on 2 cylinders from time to time then it would chime in with number 3. I got it home and took it to the dealer who discovered a valve spring had broken allowing the valves and piston to collide. A known fault apparantly, but the importer said tough (it was 3 months out of warranty) its done a high mileage (10000 miles in 15 months!!) so we won't help. The factory were no good either, citing the lack of importer intervention as one of the reasons why they couldn't help. So I wrote to the UK importer again, enclosed a copy of the factory letter and asked if they would reconsider. "No, we stated our position in our last letter".

I had it repaired and sold it on. What a HOS. I was actually pleased when the company went down the pan about a year later!

Oh, I just remembered, the chain snapped on it one day, damaging the engine cases. Luckily I managed to keep it upright. I discovered later that the factory had fitted a batch of chains which had not been hardened properly and became brittle and eventually snapped. But they never bothered telling anyone about it, or doing a recall.

[GilaMonster]

1965 Norton Atlas

featuring:

Lucas, Prince of Darkness, electrics and magneto.
Front drum brake that acted as a horn by squeaking incredibly loud
     while not slowing the bike one bit.
Dry  clutch that got oil soaked every time I oiled the primary chain.
The motor was so flaky that many put a Bonneville 650 in them and
      called it a Triton.
Logo mispelled, should have been Notrun rather than Norton.
Famous for ride on Saturday and rebuild on Sunday.

However, it was a great handling bike for its day.

[chaserkeywest]

All British Bikes built before 2000, pushed 4 or 5 further than I rode them.

Most Ducati's

[ttewejnodnarb]

I've only owned 3 bikes but the only bad one was my second, a 2002 Ducati M620ie.

I loved the bike but (and this may not be indicative of the majority of Ducs):

1) had to replace the slave cylinder after 5K
2) stalled on me as I was entering the Queensboro bridges lower level.  Had to paddle walk it backwards down the ramp in the middle of the 2 lanes while traffic continued to pass me on both sides.  Thanks NYC.
3) stalled on me 100 yards before the toll booths across the Triboro bridge.  Try walking a bike across 4 lanes.  I've lived here my whole life but someone please tell me, why the hell are there no shoulders in NYC?

The bike had 20K on it when I finally got rid of it.  It was very forgiving of many things but I couldn't trust it's split personality anymore.

P.S.  I had it looked at by the dealer several times and they could never fix it.

[CafeTBird]

All British Bikes built before 2000, pushed 4 or 5 further than I rode them.

I think you mean before Brit bikes before 1990?  The '90's Hinckley Triumphs (885 triple) are basically bulletproof.  One early 90's Triumph Trident logged 250,000 miles....

[sprint EX]

My 75 CB550K, after I turned it into a cafe racer, put in a cam, never could get it to run right. always wobbled when pushed hard, must have been those plastic bushings in the swing arm. Sold it to my brother in law and bought a Guzzi.

[Bueller]

Laverda Mirage 1200TTS. I bought it new in 1983. Finish was patchy, the vibration above 4500rpm was dreadful and the support from the UK importer was poor. I went to the Bol D'or on it in 1984 and whilst down there it started to run on 2 cylinders from time to time then it would chime in with number 3. I got it home and took it to the dealer who discovered a valve spring had broken allowing the valves and piston to collide. A known fault apparantly, but the importer said tough (it was 3 months out of warranty) its done a high mileage (10000 miles in 15 months!!) so we won't help. The factory were no good either, citing the lack of importer intervention as one of the reasons why they couldn't help. So I wrote to the UK importer again, enclosed a copy of the factory letter and asked if they would reconsider. "No, we stated our position in our last letter".

I had it repaired and sold it on. What a HOS. I was actually pleased when the company went down the pan about a year later!

Oh, I just remembered, the chain snapped on it one day, damaging the engine cases. Luckily I managed to keep it upright. I discovered later that the factory had fitted a batch of chains which had not been hardened properly and became brittle and eventually snapped. But they never bothered telling anyone about it, or doing a recall.

I had two Laverda 1200TS and a Jota 120.  The first 1200 was badged as a Mirage, but was bulk standard.  Standard the 1200s had an uncomfortable vibration through the handgrips from 98 kph to 120kph.  bit of a bad spot really.  They needed a little bit of work to get around it, mainly a bigger tooth on the front to gear it down, and a mod to the advance which is a tuning issue.  (Very few people and almost no dealers were able to modify the advance.)  Once you did that the bikes were a dream.  I had a valve spring collapse, but luckilly I heard it and didn't ride the bike.
If your bike was a true Mirage it will have been cam'd like my Jota.  They needed a third party CDI to run easily in big cities.

Sorry you had a bad run.  I managed about 200,000 km on Laverdas without too many hassles

[chornbe]

I know this was done before in the olde tyme sport touring net, but I thought it worthy of revival. With thanks to whoever thought of it first-forgive the plagiarism of your idea. It's not mine-it's yours.

The worst bike I ever had was a Yamaha XS250. Didn't handle, didn't stop, and despite my efforts to kill it (wrote it off 3 times) carried on going. Sold it to a probation officer. Zombie bike.

Concours.

Horrible build quality. Toothpick forks. Undersized braking components. Buzz machine. Clunky shifting. Sub-par components. 6k valve interval.

Great seat, tho'.

[Jake Harsha]

Never met a bike I didn't like...  However, if I had to pick the one I liked the least, it'd have to be the old '78 Honda XL 250 (enduro with turn signals) that I bought used during college to ride to class...  It ran poorly, handled poorly, stopped poorly, and the camshaft grenaded a few weeks after I bought it.  

Still, motorcycles are kinda like pizza or sex in that even when they're bad, they're still pretty good.  


Jake

[BBB]

I had two Laverda 1200TS and a Jota 120.  The first 1200 was badged as a Mirage, but was bulk standard.  Standard the 1200s had an uncomfortable vibration through the handgrips from 98 kph to 120kph.  bit of a bad spot really.  They needed a little bit of work to get around it, mainly a bigger tooth on the front to gear it down, and a mod to the advance which is a tuning issue.  (Very few people and almost no dealers were able to modify the advance.)  Once you did that the bikes were a dream.  I had a valve spring collapse, but luckilly I heard it and didn't ride the bike.
If your bike was a true Mirage it will have been cam'd like my Jota.  They needed a third party CDI to run easily in big cities.

Sorry you had a bad run.  I managed about 200,000 km on Laverdas without too many hassles

Interesting your comments on the speed range where the vibes affected your bike. I found mine was fine up to 125-130kmh but above that the vibes were awful.

Mine was the 1200TTS, finished in silver with the handlebar fairing. It had the 8-1 compression pistons and standard cams, not the Jota cams. I believe it was the early Mirages which had the Jota cams and the low compression pistons, but they changed to the normal cams with the TTS model. I did have the airbox modified by a company called Motodd which liberated a few extras ponies. I also fitted a frame mounted full fairing made by a company called Sprint Manufacturing. I never heard of the mod to the ignition advance though.

I suspect that one of the reasons I got no help from the factory was that they were in their death throes, but the attitude of the UK importer really pissed me off at the time.

[Cpl Punishment]

I think you mean before Brit bikes before 1990?  The '90's Hinckley Triumphs (885 triple) are basically bulletproof.  One early 90's Triumph Trident logged 250,000 miles....

British bikes pre about 1973 were ok too-even Triumph. Remember Velocette, Vincent? Build quality was fantastic. 1930's BSAs-go on forever.
Then quality control went tits up...never buy a late 70s/ early 80's Bonnie-might be ok but probably not. If you want a pre-Hinckley Triumph, get a 60's one.

[Dichotomous]

suzuki savage

[gundog]

1999 Buell Cyclone. It was fun the first year. After that,
it slowly became an evil mistress. More and
more money, less fun in return.

[bomber]

BSA Victor 441 -- revenge for the American Revolution, I'm thinkin

Hard to start, not a particularly good handler (on tarmac or dirt), kinda ugly, did I mention hard to start?

on the other hand, my '74 TX650 Yamaha was a trooper --

[Mr. Average]

2003 Ducati ST4s.  It was Nirvana when it was running correctly...just didn't very often.  

[lilwing]

Honda CX500. Only bike I owned for merely a month- as soon as I could unload it.

I had it's more sedate and heavier (is that possible?) half brother the GL500.  I even tried converting it into a semi sport tour.  I couldn't believe how top heavy that little 500 was.  That's where I got my screen name - lilwing500...

[r2t2]

'97 Buell S1. Part of it's problem was PO's half-assed repairs and mods... The other problem was it's really wasn't meant to do what I wanted from it... A close second in the bike that replaced the Buell, my '94 Ducati 900SS. Lesson learned is... Don't buy rolling "basket cases"!

[Lowlander]

1980 KZ1300 , was a six cylinder , heavy sail of a faring , top heavy , crap .
cost me 1000 bucks in 86 and I was plowed into after 2 weeks of owining it , thank god , I got a 86 Aspencade after that now that was a nice bike  

When i got my concours in 2001 i was like this bike is shit , but now after my adjustments and additions its ok , but I'm Jonesing for a new ST

WOW I since  this post  I got a ST1300 to replace the concours , this bike is really what I want out of a MC !

[2006 800SS]

2 bad bikes in my life out of 11, 4 being new.

#1 a 73 Suzuki 350 enduro (used).

The clutch slipped so bad in it I could tear it apart in my sleep. I sold it before it could agrivate me anymore and bought a 74 Kawasaki KX125.

#2 a 2006 Ducati 800SS (new).
It had a severe vibration and surging problem when I took it off the lot resulting in the countershaft being replaced at 600 miles, the bad surge is in the critical rpm range (still to this day, Im told thats the way they are), chain adjuster plate bent, fairing screws falling out, sound deadning material coming off behind fairing, left muffer baffle loose resulting in muffler repalcement, clutch squealing and not disengaging resulting in clutch being tore apart several times. The items are were covered under warranty but the dealer network in my area leaves a little bit to be desired.

9 months of ownership (2600 miles) the bike has been in the shop almost 50 days. I don't ride the bike anymore since the clutch problems for fear of my life and fear that I would have to take it to the dealer again when it breaks (and it will). Its in the hands of the lemon law lawyers and the court date isn't until Nov. I hope to settle before then but as usual Ducati is dragging there feet. When its finally gone I want to get something I can ride without the fear of it breaking. Most likely a used bike (a BMW) so I don't have to deal with incompetent dealers. I have 2 BMW's now and they have been great.

Other good bikes I have had:  87 Honda Hurricaine 1000, 84 Honda Nighthawk 700S, 72 Honda XR 75, 73 Yamaha 100 enduro, 74 Kawasaki KX 125, 86 Ninja 600, 80 Kawasaki 440 LTD, 88 BMW R100RS, 65 BMW R50/2.

No more Ducati's or Suzuki's for me, I learned my lesson.    

[Bueller]

Yamaha XS 650.  What an absolute piece of dogsh*t.  Sh*t steering head and swingarm bearings, shook so bad you felt you were operating a jackhammer, too light for the highway and too heavy for anything else.  And the one I had holed a piston for no reason at all.

Yamaha builds good bikes for the most part, but their early parallel 4stk twins sucked major ass.  The only consolation regarding that thing was that at least it didn't tick.      

Cool looks, great thump, no sense, no feeling.  Hard to relax in a corner especially when the brakes hardly worked in the wet.

Yep.  The XS 650 is a great bike  - for a museum

[lilwing]

Concours.

Chornbe is a welcome poster over at www.concours.org...

[atypical1]

No more Ducati's or Suzuki's for me, I learned my lesson.    

You're basing this off of two experiences? Damn, you're a tough customer...

james

[Mach VIII]

My "88 Honda Magna V45 (bought new).  This ill-handling POS would scare me shitless everytime I took into the hills.  

Wow, I find that quite surprising.  As cruisers go, I find these bikes handle very well.  In fact, when I go to the mountains on one (I've owned a number of '87 and '88 Magnas) I take great delight in regularly catching, chasing, and passing sportbikes.  No, it's not a repli-racer by any stretch, but it's surely no "ill-handling POS."  Perhaps you forgot to check the pressure in your tires.  

[radman]

Actually found something good in all of 'em, always an adventure in my early days.  Guess the worst of the lot was my 67 XLCH, bought new, finally tired of it after 30 years.  Had several XS650's, and while they had their issues, were reliable and simple to repair for the most part.  Electrics were no worse than any other ricer of the day.

[2006 800SS]

You're basing this off of two experiences? Damn, you're a tough customer...

james

I may be a tough customer but I am looking out for my safety as well as sticking up for what I believe is right, particualarly in the case of the Ducati being a new bike. I was pretty young when I had the Suzuki but still, never looked back. I have never had problems with any other bike (until the Ducati) that wouldn't be expected.

I.E. routine maintanence, worn out parts, tires, etc. Both these bikes had clutch problems and the "brand new Ducati" had major internal problems. NO other bikes I have had ever had any clutch issues. If your clutch decides to fail in traffic or your engine locks up your life could also fail to continue at that time.

I see you have a Ducati. I have friends who have them and were influential in me buying this bike. You have probably had a good experience with yours as well as my friends. Although, my friends don't deal with the area dealer more than they have to. I like the bike, it just isn't reliable nor is the dealer. If you don't have a good dealer for warranty work (or anything for that matter) what good is it continuing to make your life miserable.

If you would be in my shoes having to deal with all the problems with the bike, dealer, and Ducati maybe you would understand. I'm sure if it wasn't for the bad Ducati dealer network in my area and all the MAJOR PROBLEMS I have had with the bike I would think different.  

In either situation I compare it to walking by a neighborhood and getting bit by a dog, once bitten you don't go by there again. No sense in taking the chance on continuing to get bit, which in the Ducati case is sure to happen.

Walk in neighborhoods you don't have to worry about getting bit. For me I prefer the BMW and Honda neighborhoods as first and second choice, then Yamaha, & Kawasaki. Problems are unlikely with the experiences I have had with them.  If it does happen with any of those I will avoid them as well.

Like the thread says, "crappy bikes" these are mine. It is the way it is, not what I wanted. I'll keep with good experiences.

[airborneXX]

1973 Triumph Tiger 750...

Loads of vibration
parts flying off
oil leaks
oil consumption
Lucas electrics

It was a 3 kick bike. If it started in three kicks you knew you were pushing it home. At some point during the ride the prince of darkness would show up and your lovely day of riding became an afternoon of pushing.

If it didn't start in three kicks you push it back in the garage and go drink cold beer while thanking God that Lucas didn't build your refrigerator.



And yes I would buy another one in a heartbeat  

[photomd]

The only bike I've owned and didn't like was a '92 Vmax. It was given to me as it didn't run after sitting through a divorce. It had problems: it stopped running for three days after getting wet and it wouldn't charge a battery when it did run. Several dealers in KY tried to fix it, but they found nothing wrong. I trailered it home and dug into it. The ECU got wet when it was washed and the R/R wasn't grounding properly. $1.99 for Form-a-gasket and wire from the R/R to the negative side of the battery fixed both problems.

It was good bike: you could drag pegs, do wheelies in the first two gears, spin up the rear tire at will, it was reliable, etc. However that thing was just uncomfortable. 20 minutes was my limit: no wonder it had such a small gas tank.   I sold it and gave the money back to the girl who gave it to me: she and her daughter needed it more than me. I had fun just fixin' it up.

[keystonejenks]

This thread has taught me one thing - you guys are old!  

[atypical1]

This thread has taught me one thing - you guys are old!  

  Yeah, no joke. Me included. I honestly can't remember a crappy bike that I have owned. I mean I might not have liked some but none were really crappy. Hell, I haven't really ever had a bad experience with a bike (well, besides crashing one... ). I guess I am just really, really lucky.

james

[Cpl Punishment]

This thread has taught me one thing - you guys are old!  

Outed again. Thank fuck all new bikes are perfuct.  

[emillard]

2002 KTM LC4 (or maybe 2001...don't remember...don't want to)

I tried to make it my do all bike; dirt, around town, interstate.  It didn't like to do anything.  The brakes squeaked so loud, chasing neighborhood dogs would retreat in defeat.  There was no aftermarket support...not much from KTM either.  It vibrated like crazy above 60mph.  I was never able to ride it far enough to take it off road.  It sucked.  

[Chronic]

Wow, I find that quite surprising.  As cruisers go, I find these bikes handle very well.  In fact, when I go to the mountains on one (I've owned a number of '87 and '88 Magnas) I take great delight in regularly catching, chasing, and passing sportbikes.  No, it's not a repli-racer by any stretch, but it's surely no "ill-handling POS."  Perhaps you forgot to check the pressure in your tires.  

Oops, sorry, your right, I shouldn't have used a term like POS for the Magna .  Like most Honda's it was a well built motorcyle and could really get it on in a straight line.  But for the life of me I couldn't strafe curves worth a damn on it... and yes, I played with different tires & pressures  

After untold close calls in the mountains, I sold it in '96 and didn't ride much for about 8 years (was spending most of my time & $$ on Quarter horses anyway).  Then in '04 I bought a new Moto Guzzi Ballabio and......Oh - My - God!! what a revelation .  All those roads I struggled on with the Magna were now total bliss

I'm certainly not knowlegeable or experienced enough (I only have maybe 100K miles under my belt) to say why I couldn't ride the Magna well in curvy stuff .  The one thing I seem to remember is that it would really like to to stand up quickly in curves when I got on throttle.  Enough to where it would startle me sometimes  

Well, anyway, truth is, the Magna is NOT a POS.....it just didn't like me or something

BTW, nothing I've ever riden comes close to working as well as the 675 in really tight twisy stuff.  It can hang right in there with good riders on Motards....seriously.

[Aero]

Interesting your comments on the speed range where the vibes affected your bike. I found mine was fine up to 125-130kmh but above that the vibes were awful.

Mine was the 1200TTS, finished in silver with the handlebar fairing. It had the 8-1 compression pistons and standard cams, not the Jota cams. I believe it was the early Mirages which had the Jota cams and the low compression pistons, but they changed to the normal cams with the TTS model. I did have the airbox modified by a company called Motodd which liberated a few extras ponies. I also fitted a frame mounted full fairing made by a company called Sprint Manufacturing. I never heard of the mod to the ignition advance though.

I suspect that one of the reasons I got no help from the factory was that they were in their death throes, but the attitude of the UK importer really pissed me off at the time.

I also have had nothing but pleasure from the four Laverdas that I have owned (two 750SF2 twins and two 1000cc Jota triples). Very well engineered bikes with above average finish, the only problem I had was with the second Jota which was one of a batch fitted with faulty centre main bearings. Although out of warranty, Laverda picked up the tab for the bearing replacement.
I want another 750SF2!

[Wilbur]

1983 Honda Nighthawk 750.

A royal POS!

Gutless, ugly and a kickstand that was an inch too long so that every once in a while it would just tumble over. Nothing like having to pick up your bike every few weeks.

I don't think I've ever heard anyone say they hated a Nighthawk. I had a 1983 650 and it was a great bike. I had a friend who drag raced a Suzuki 1100 and he had to flog that thing to stay in front of me. Above 7,000 rpm that bike just screamed. It had good brakes, shaft drive and hydraulically adjusted lifters - all I ever did was change the oil and plugs. Of course I don't run my bikes hard, just drive 'em really.

But it definitely did have too long of a kickstand. Especially when you have an idiot for an apartment manager that insists you have have a block of wood under the kickstand no matter how many times you try to tell her that it's not a stupid Harley with their 45 degree lean angles. But I digress...

[RideAboutNow]

'81 Honda GL500 Silverwing. Like a Goldwing with a CX500 engine. Basically too much bike and not enough engine. I didn't hate it, it just wasn't fun. One thing I didn't like the wierd-ass back draft I got from the Giganto-fairing. The engine mad some cool V-twin noises, though not much kick.

[pkovo]

While I've not yet had a bike that I hated, I have had a few that I wasn't thrilled with.

Motobecane Moby 50cc moped (no idea what year it was).  We used to call it the blue goose.  It could pull 34 mph, which wasn't bad for a moped back in it's day.  It had this really bizarre clutch and a belt drive.  I remember I had to constantly fabricate bushings for the clutch to keep it running.  

1991 XR250L.  I bought it used, but in near new condition.  It was pretty gutless for the street, and needed a lot of suspension work to make it trulely dirt worthy.  I didn't keep it long.  I replaced it with higher mileage DR350S in much worse condition, which proved to be a lot more fun.

1985 BW200.  It was interesting to look at, but it handled really weird.  I couldn't keep up with friends on true dirt bikes, couldn't jump well on it because it bounced around on those tires like a hippity hop.  Plus, it burned oil something awful and it had two chains and four sprockets and ate them up quick.  On the plus side, I could dust everyone when there was snow on the ground.

I guess I'm a minority because although I know it's crude, and the electrical system has stranded me before, I love my '79 XS650.  The engine has been bullet proof and simple to work on.  My father bought it new in '79 and I've had it for the last 15 years and I don't plan on ever parting with it.  Then again, it's main duty for me is short distances on backroads only, and usually just when the wife wants to go for a ride with me.  It's got a comfortable seat for 2 up.  I do agree, that the stock bearings up front and the original swingarm bushings were junk.  I think the original bushings were actually plastic!  Installing tapered roller bearings up front and bronze swingarm bushings in the back are a must on this bike, unless you like a bike that shimmys and feels like it's hinged in the middle.

[Mach VIII]

Oops, sorry, your right, I shouldn't have used a term like POS for the Magna .  Like most Honda's it was a well built motorcyle and could really get it on in a straight line.  But for the life of me I couldn't strafe curves worth a damn on it... and yes, I played with different tires & pressures

Hehehe, fair enough.  I WILL say that a set of Progressive fork springs, a braided brake line, and some better (stiffer) shocks in the rear go a long ways in improving the mountain manners of the SuperMagnas (as well the Gen 3 Magnas for that matter).  In the end, they ARE still cruisers and not track weapons, but there is something very fun & gratifying about passing sportbikes in the twisties on a mere "cruiser" - especially a 20 year old one at that.    Of course in the end it all comes down to how comfortable YOU feel on a given bike.

As for the 675, I really read nothing but good about them.  Dead sexy too.  For sure I'd like to play on one sometime.

[Walker]

I had a YZ 125 with the radiator mounted on the forks. Took a swan dive over jumps. I also put 4 pistons in that beast. I bought a CR 125 next and was so used to riding on the YZ I would be on the rear wheel most of the race.

I had the YZ 250 of that year with the radiator on the the top like that... yep, top heavy, and yep, broke it open on the track, also broke the 2nd gear.  But boy what a powerband when it kicked in!  

[GTS_Rider]

Yamaha GTS1000

Hmmm, you must have mis-read the thread title, thinking it said best bikes of all-time...    

[BBB]

If it didn't start in three kicks you push it back in the garage and go drink cold beer while thanking God that Lucas didn't build your refrigerator.

That's the reason we drink warm beer here in England.........................Lucas made the fridges!

[Bueller]

I also have had nothing but pleasure from the four Laverdas that I have owned (two 750SF2 twins and two 1000cc Jota triples). Very well engineered bikes with above average finish, the only problem I had was with the second Jota which was one of a batch fitted with faulty centre main bearings. Although out of warranty, Laverda picked up the tab for the bearing replacement.
I want another 750SF2!

I had a 750 SF2 as well as the 3 triples.  I rode more than 60,000 miles on it in 9 years, and when I sold it it still had the warranty seals.  I replaced a couple of chains and sprockets, plugs when the electrodes disappeared, brake pads from time to time, and I got a consistent 8,000 miles for a rear tyre, 16,000 for a front.  60 mpg on the highway.  I think I've picked the wrong forum.

Perhaps I could mention a few little "features" like the sinful vibration.  It wasn't painful like the 1200 but everything broke off or just broke.  I fitted a fibreglass front mudguard because the tube that connected the standard guard to the forks broke all of the time.  The highway may still be littered with my indicators, and while the bike still had the warranty seals at the end it was lucky to have an engine.  I fitted nylock nuts to all of the engine mounting bolts.  One bolt under the right peg was impossible to tighten so I replaced it with a hex head, and I carried a socket wrench an allen key everywhere so I could keep the motor tight.

The front end was perfect, but unlike the triples (1200s and later 1000s) the rear shocks were too upright which meant that speed was limited by chatter in all but the smoothest of corners.  I loved the bike, but I wouldn't get another one.

[Bueller]

Interesting your comments on the speed range where the vibes affected your bike. I found mine was fine up to 125-130kph but above that the vibes were awful.

Mine was the 1200TTS, finished in silver with the handlebar fairing. It had the 8-1 compression pistons and standard cams, not the Jota cams. I believe it was the early Mirages which had the Jota cams and the low compression pistons, but they changed to the normal cams with the TTS model. I did have the airbox modified by a company called Motodd which liberated a few extras ponies. I also fitted a frame mounted full fairing made by a company called Sprint Manufacturing. I never heard of the mod to the ignition advance though.

I suspect that one of the reasons I got no help from the factory was that they were in their death throes, but the attitude of the UK importer really pissed me off at the time.

Both my 1200s had the 8-1 compression pistons and the standard cams.  They were both the Silver with the bar mounted fairing.  The bar mounted fairings worked quite well, but your frame mounted one is a better way to go.

The guy who tuned my bike was nicknamed "The Flying Dutchman"  (his name I think was Carl).  He worked for a local bike shop, and I only found him by accident.  He was a professional tuner for racing bikes.  The advance mechanisms on the TS1200s were mechanical.  They may still have been on the TTS.  The Dutchman rigged  up a drill, and he spun the advances up to tune them dynamically.  It made a huge difference.

The Jota 120 had a rubber mounted motor and I think the advance was electronic.  It is strange that the 1200s didn't go the same way (I don't remember the TTS here in Aus).  (Some said that the 120 degree crank created a really nasty vibration which is why the Jota 120 had the rubber mounted motor, others said that the lack of vibration was due to the balanced crank angle).  The 1200TS was a 1981 - 1982 model manufactured in 1981.  The Jota 120s were 1982 models, and the RGS came out only a year or so after that, so by 1983 all of the triples could have had 120 degree cranks and rubber mounted motors.

I said in a reply a bit futher back that I wouldn't get another 750, but I would like an RGS Corser.  The RGS I test rode was an extremely refined bike, I regret not buying it.  The Jota 120 was thirsty.  A lead glove could get you to reserve (12 litres) in less that 100 km.  I could never get the rated 19 litres into a tank, so my backside had it pretty easy.  Still I bought the triples for handling and braking and that's what I got, which is why I kept buying them.

I think that the UK importer for Laverda was Slater Bros.  They had a big reputation world wide.  It is a shame that they have left you with a nasty taste for what I think are great machines.

[Playinthestreet]

1969 XLCH.  But I'd pay 3 times its new price to have it back.

[BBB]

I think that the UK importer for Laverda was Slater Bros.  They had a big reputation world wide.  It is a shame that they have left you with a nasty taste for what I think are great machines.

Bueller,

By the time I got my Mirage Slater Brothers had lost the concession and it was taken over by Three Cross Motorcycles. I didn't find them a good company to deal with. I only know of Slaters reputation, but it would have been a tough act to follow, given it was they who took the 3C and created the Jota back in 1975/6. I can't remember how they came to lose the Laverda concession in the UK as it is going back to about 1981/82.

[Fourstring]

So what's a crappy new bike that anyone's owned?  Something made since the mid-nineties that you'd never buy again?

[bizarro]

So what's a crappy new bike that anyone's owned?  Something made since the mid-nineties that you'd never buy again?

2004 R1150GS. It wasn't crappy per se.... I just absolutely loathed it by the time I sold it.

[Fourstring]

2004 R1150GS. It wasn't crappy per se.... I just absolutely loathed it by the time I sold it.

I felt the same about my Burgman.  Great handling (probably in line with some supermotos), storage, mileage, protection, and even kind of comfy.  Couldn't get past the motor with no pull, buffeting, tank range, and that vague feeling of emasculation.

Jadzia rides it now, no problem with buffeting or emasculation.  

[bizarro]

or emasculation.  

[Bjorn Toulouse]

1977 H-D XLCR "Cafe Racer"  aka "the sheep in wolf's clothing".

I could sit in the garage and look at the damn thing for hours....all gnarly, bare-knuckle styling.
Couldn't stand riding it...... 124 miles in the year I owned it.
Sold it to a self-described "serious collector". Better him than me!!


Rex

[BBB]

So what's a crappy new bike that anyone's owned?  Something made since the mid-nineties that you'd never buy again?

Any Triumph. The attitude of the warranty department sucks arse beyond belief and I have no intention of buying again thanks to them.

[RideAboutNow]

Any Triumph. The attitude of the warranty department sucks arse beyond belief and I have no intention of buying again thanks to them.

That's good to know, thanks! I had been thinking of getting a Triumph (Street Triple 675), but maybe it's not such a good idea?

[bizarro]

That's good to know, thanks! I had been thinking of getting a Triumph (Street Triple 675), but maybe it's not such a good idea?

One individual's bad experience does not a crappy manufacturer make. I had great experiences with Triumph, both the bike and my dealer. Never needed anything warranteed. My brother has also had excellent experience with Triumph and he has had an item or two warranteed. When I have the money I will buy another Triumph for sure.

[Cpl Punishment]

One individual's bad experience does not a crappy manufacturer make. I had great experiences with Triumph, both the bike and my dealer. Never needed anything warranteed. My brother has also had excellent experience with Triumph and he has had an item or two warranteed. When I have the money I will buy another Triumph for sure.

Seems so to me. One shite dealer does not a shite make...um...make.

[BBB]

Seems so to me. One shite dealer does not a shite make...um...make.

In my case it wasn't the dealer (who was excellent)it was Triumph themselves. If you want to buy from a manufacturer who's response to paint peeling off components within a year of delivery and corrosion on the engine cases is to turn down the claim (despite the dealer supporting the claim and stating the bike was properly looked after), refuse to even inspect the bike ( I only live 120 miles from the factory and would have been happy for them to inspect it) and to then write to me and say that I should follow the instructions in the owners handbook on how to clean the bike, then you go ahead and get one.

[bizarro]

Never had such problems with mine nor do I know anyone else who has. I'm certainly not saying your issues aren't genuine, but if I had a dollar for everyone who's had similar stories about your pick of manufacturers I could put a nice deposit down on a new bike. Hell, I used to hate my current dealer, but that's because at the time Japanese-make riders were a total non-issue for the service department and were treated like red-headed step-children. I bought a Triumph and I got some of the best service i've ever had.

All I can say is I'm really sorry you had that experience because Triumph and their bikes are tops in my book.

[scotteroni]

my 02 concourse!!.hands still throb thinkin bout that clunky buzz vibrator!!..The connie wins this one easily...almost ties with a old 70's xs650 twin yammy I had...

uh-oh..new update on this for july 07...connie still wins over my new dl 650. Geeze..cant believe I bought this thing...oh well.... the Yammy drops to third...

I test rode a 1st gen Concours thinking It would be an upgrade to my older CB900C. I was greatly disappointed. Engine threw a lot of heat on the rider, handling and motor was very unrefined compared to my CB with shaft drive, air shocks and smooth as butter inline four. I tried three different connies thinking maybe it was unusual but no.. they all rode the same.

[Papa Lazarou]

This seems to be a list of ex-STNers...

[Jim M.]

My present bike. 2006 BMW K1200 GT. This is bike #24 for me and it is by far the most troublesome. It just seems that every few months, something screws up. This is the first bike I've ever had to trailer to a dealer. There are many inherent problems with this bike that is well known on the owner's forums that BMW knows about, but will not recall. I will never own another BMW.

[ConPilot1]

'81 Honda GL500 Silverwing. Like a Goldwing with a CX500 engine. Basically too much bike and not enough engine. I didn't hate it, it just wasn't fun. One thing I didn't like the wierd-ass back draft I got from the Giganto-fairing. The engine mad some cool V-twin noises, though not much kick.

Yep I had an '82 in reddish chocolate brown as you see here. Good bike, reliable, comfy, but didn't have enough power to get out of it's own way.
Forget getting around 18 wheelers on the slab with this one.

I sold a pretty pristine one for a song. Wish I still had the bike, it's worth 4x what I sold it for now. More of a collectors' item these days I would imagine.

[ST-DocLizard1]

1983 Yamaha XV500 Virago traded for a 1983 Suzuki GLZ850 straight up & no cash. One was a bad as the other.


Doc

[retro]

Mine was a 1983 Honda V45 Sabre. I LOVED that bike but wanted to choke the #$*& out of the engineer who thought a plastic instrument pod help on with 2 plastic screws was a good idea. Hit one good pothole on a trip to the UP (yah hey dere!) and rode home with the whole pod dangling over the handlebars.

The rest of the bike was great and I loved the sound of the V4 but Honda wanted more for the pod than I paid for the bike. It was changed out for a 89 Hurricane.  

But really, out of the 4 bikes I've owned I've loved them all. None were really what I would call a lemon.

Retro

[sagerat]

2006 Moto Guzzi Breva 1100.  

POS made me walk three times in 8,000 miles in about four months.   Guzzi/Triumph dealer in Portland, OR, got it squared away, but I never trusted the bike again.  Only bike I've ever owned for less than a year.

[ceilingcat]

Hands down my vote for the most crap bike I have ever owned was an ’86 Honda VF1000R (the captain America bike).  Yes it looked cool….but…..

First – the metal coolant lines on the engine were pressed in with a cheesy o-ring/back-up ring which lead to the numerous coolant leaks.
Bike had two radiators – upper and lower – the lower always had issues with air binding.
Aux cooling fans would not come on due to a troublesome temperature switch which was replaced not less than 6 times, finally I hardwired a switch to turn them on when I wanted.
The VF1000R made the ZX7RR I replaced it with seem comfortable – amazing isn’t it?
The seat was narrow and hard as a rock making it seem like you were sitting directly on your b*lls.  Long reach to the handle bars made you practically lay down on the tank and bash your ribs on it.
The suspension rebound was via a retarded air bladder which you filled with a special miniature air pump, but it really didn’t matter what pressure you filled it to as the air bladder would leak.  This was only solved when I replaced the rear suspension with a Showa HRC unit I managed to purchase under the table from a mechanic on the HRC team who had a coke habit.  Picked up forks from the same guy to replace the stockers; which were shit, not ‘the shit’ (seals, springs, and that retarded anti-dive TRAC stuff).  I was able to get a bunch of HRC parts which were adapted to this bike, most were from a VF750F factory race team but easy to adapt to the VF1000R

Even with all that stuff on it – the bike was still crap.  It just looked cool.  Sold it to a guy in California who wanted to put it in a museum.  As far as I know he did, he paid me more than I originally bought it for and the cost of the HRC parts.  I was happy to see it go.

[FJRmgm]

75 Kawasaki H1-500.   Three cylinders, two stroke.  Either full power and ZOWY or lame...

Smoked like a biatch, flexy frame, mediocre brakes.  But every now and then when you got on it and hit the powerband - ZING!!

[Papa Lazarou]

75 Kawasaki H1-500.   Three cylinders, two stroke.  Either full power and ZOWY or lame...

Smoked like a biatch, flexy frame, mediocre brakes.  But every now and then when you got on it and hit the powerband - ZING!!

The Widow maker, as it was called over here. I road both this and the 900. Fecking dangerous machines.

I did have a KH250 triple-not bad. Fecking dangerous in the wet, as the middle cylinder would cut out and then cut in at the worst possible moment.

Moving on:

I had the Kawasaki 550GT shaftie (I don't think this model made it to the US) as a winter bike. This had to be the lowest quality (and that includes my Jawa 250) macine I have ever ridden and about as exciting as a Toyota Camry with two spark plugs removed.

[mjrfd99]

75 Kawasaki H1-500.   Three cylinders, two stroke.  Either full power and ZOWY or lame...

Smoked like a biatch, flexy frame, mediocre brakes.  But every now and then when you got on it and hit the powerband - ZING!!

 Yeah had a bunch of em over the yrs. 350 500 and 750. Some good some bad some scary.
 1 of the 72 500's I had was the worst.  It went where it wanted when it wanted-the real original flexable flyer. A 72 750 was a good one, rode it all over in the 70's.  I still have this 75 500 that runs great but changed a few things to tighten up the handling issues.

[stevent]

Worst one I've owned was a '97 VFR 750. Fun to ride but the piss-poor electrics had me on the side of the road 3 times in a year. In fact of the two doaen bikes I've owned including 4 AMF era Harleys the Honda was the only one that left me walking. A major dissapointment. I traded it for a 2nd gen Bandit 1200 and never looked back.

[Geno]

Two of my early bikes that bring back memories were (1) a '72 Kawi H1.  Very fast, left that bitchin' blue smoke cloud everywhere I went, handled like a slinky.  I thought it was pretty cool till I rode a bike that handled, then sold it for more than I paid.  (2) '73 Yamaha TX750. Loved that bike till its crank seized.  Found out later those models had weak oil pumps.  My present FJR seems like the Starship Enterprise in comparison.  I'm lusting after something from Italy or England right now.

[hazra]

My crappiest was a Kawasaki 550 LTD.  I actually had two of them, but the first one was a rolling basket case... ran on three cylinders except near full throttle, leaked as much fork oil as it burned engine oil, and it would burn out headlights weekly.  I had another one later on that was actually a pretty good motorcycle, if a bit boring.

[NoDak]

That's good to know, thanks! I had been thinking of getting a Triumph (Street Triple 675), but maybe it's not such a good idea?

My wife and I have owned 6 Triumphs since 2000 and put over 100,000 miles on them with no issues.  We dealt with Ma's Cycles in Fargo, ND until 2009 and now Triumph of Fargo. Ma's was great to deal with and Triumph of Fargo is an outstanding dealer.

The only real problem I ever had was the shit panniers I had on my 05 Sprint ST.  The were not water proof and a really poor design.  Triumph America sent me a letter apologizing for the poor quality and gave redesigned panniers that worked great.

My wife also owns a 2006 BMW F 650GS.  We had to replace the steering head bearings in 2010.  The bike had around 12,000 miles on it.  The Beemer is a great bike but having to replace the steering head bearings at 12,000 miles is irritating.  We have a 2001 Sprint ST in the Garage with over 40,000 miles that has never had anything done to it except for regular scheduled maintenance.

The worst bike I have ever owned was a 1972 Sportster.  I could not stop it from leaking oil.  One time I was out for a ride and the bolt holding the coil vibrated out.  The coil was swing in the breeze on the wires.   I bought it when I was 18.  I'm glad I got that biker crap out of my system while I was young!

[Atitalongtime]

In the late 70's I traded a HD AMF Superglide (another POS) for a Rickman Framed 750 Royal Enfield Cafe`Racer.

I learned first hand why Lucas earned his well deserved "Prince of Darkness" handle.
This thing could not make a complete ride out of the subdivision!

REWIRED TWICE, and after the third time the melted wires were replaced... I shined her nickle plated frame, remounted the half fairing and sold it before another ride.

It was cool, steered heavy, but stable, and had the looks, too bad I didn't keep it for a coffee table!

This is not it, but it's so exact it could be it... without the half fairing.

[jsanford]

No really horrible experiences, but when the KH400's vulnerabilities became apparent (like shutting down in the rain) we got Grant something else.  It sure taught him a lot in a year of riding.

I'd have to say my F800ST is a modern candidate in this category.  In 20k I've had to service an ABS sensor, replace the rear belt, brake rotors, wheel bearings, cam lifters--all items I'd hoped would have a longer service life.  I'm not as comfortable riding in curves as I am on my other bikes, and have tried a number of mods to address that.

Never owned one, but I don't like Sprints.  Just too many friends who have had them blow up engines, lose traction, smash luggage, munch plastics in 0 mph drops, and buck them off.  If it were one or two people I'd credit the rider--but perhaps Sprints just evoke a little too much confidence.  Of course, academically it could be said that a Sprint's ability to inspire its rider to push the envelope is the best compliment that could be made about a sport-tourer.

[LENSMAN]

1972 250cc Harley D. (Aermachii)- It spent more time in the shop than on the road- it was my first bike and last for some 30 years after I crashed while riding it. It had a 5.5 gal tank, if I recall. You could go across Pa on one tank if something didn't leak, mainly oil, which it did.  

[BradleyRas]

1977 Yamaha XS750 triple with a gigantic VETTER  WINDJAMMER. The brakes were totally inadequate, I could never get the suspension right,  constant electric problems and the windjammer rattled and buzzed. I bought it for $300 sold it for $750 after a year of ownership.

[mikexup]

09 Buell 1125 CR
Cheap plastics & switches, ran so hot the fuel boiled in the frame and leaked out the overflow when you parked it in the garage. Header pipe would glow red hot. With the clubman bars that came on the bike, it was the most uncomfortable bike I've ever been on. The engine sounded like a bucket of bolts rattling around in the cases. When Buell went out of business I bought the bike to resell, which I did, but couldn't imagine having bought one to keep.

[bandit1250]

1975 Harley Davidson XL175. Rode it a few months with no license. The day I got my license some dickhead cuts me off so he could pick up 2 girls hitchhiking. Hammer on the brakes, the arm holding the rear wheel hub in place snaps in half. The hub spins yanking the rear brake cable with it. At the same time the tab the chain adjuster rests against on the swingarm snaps off. Rode it with no rear brake (and consequently no brake lights) and a nail shoved in the hole where the tab for the chain adjuster went for 6 months till the throttle cable snapped, leaving me a 5  mile ride home pulling what was left of the throttle cable with my fingers. Try doing that on a bike that only has front brakes. Worst POS I ever owned, although the CB360 that replaced it was a very close second.

[leanin]

'04 KTM 950 Adventure - 2 water pump failures that dumped coolant in the oil, 2 oil sensor failures that dumped oil all over the back of the bike and rear tire, 2 front fork seal replacements that dumped oil all over the front brakes, a water temperature sensor failure that caused it to dump coolant, a rear brake master cylinder seal failure that caused it to dump the rear brake fluid on a steep mountain downhill trail while 2-up, bent rims from the butter soft Behr rims, carbs that had to be synched several times.  All this in under 20,000 miles. Oh yeah, oil changes suck on this bike!  I absolutlely loved riding the bike on some real adventures to Copper Canyon, Baja, CO, NM, AR, MO.  But,  after losing all confidence in the bike's ability to get me home, I practically gave it away.

[expatbrit]

'04 KTM 950 Adventure - 2 water pump failures that dumped coolant in the oil, 2 oil sensor failures that dumped oil all over the back of the bike and rear tire, 2 front fork seal replacements that dumped oil all over the front brakes, a water temperature sensor failure that caused it to dump coolant, a rear brake master cylinder seal failure that caused it to dump the rear brake fluid on a steep mountain downhill trail while 2-up, bent rims from the butter soft Behr rims, carbs that had to be synched several times.  All this in under 20,000 miles. Oh yeah, oil changes suck on this bike!  I absolutlely loved riding the bike on some real adventures to Copper Canyon, Baja, CO, NM, AR, MO.  But,  after losing all confidence in the bike's ability to get me home, I practically gave it away.

Wow. That makes my KTM 950 SM story pale in comparison. 3 petrol tanks in 14 months was it for me, though, as well as the water pump replacement, two oil leaks that dumped oil over the exhaust, a coolant leak, and eventually the rear carb just deciding it was done for no reason and puking petrol all over the rear cylinder.

I was done with it. AMAZING fun to ride, but I just never knew what was going to break next, or what fluid was going to spew out.

[Pat S.]

Worst bike I ever owned was a 1980 Kawasaki 1000. Seat was a rock, didn't handle well, wouldn't run well for the first 10 min. until warmed up well---it was a turd! I traded in a 1979 GS1000E that was twice the bike. A short time later I sold it and bought an 81' Suzuki GS1100EX that turned out to be a great bike. Wish I still owned it.
                                                                      Pat

[Kraz]

If you want a crappy bike - go to the classifieds forum and look for anything that's got "possessed" or a curse word in the title.

 

Or anything else there that's branded with a blue and white badge.

[clyde]

Honda Metropolitan scooter. Couldn't get the bastard to run faster than 15 mph, even after taking out the carb restrictor plate. Of course it didn't help that my friend left gas in the tank for 4 years But even the dealer couldn't get to run well.

[cbsnbiker]

If you want a crappy bike - go to the classifieds forum and look for anything that's got "possessed" or a curse word in the title.

 

Or anything else there that's branded with a blue and white badge.

 

[Dan K]

My old 1986 Honda Shadow VT700C was not quite the bike I thought it was when I first started riding it.  Ultimately realized it was a 700 pound moped and moved on to better rides...

My buddy still has it, but it needs a carb clean.  He didn't store it right for the winter....

- Dan

[Rattlehead]

Maybe not “crappy” but the worst, or should I say, “most disappointing”, bike I’ve ever owned was my 04 XL883C Sportster “Custom”. I expected a lot from that bike (was hoping for a “sporty” cruiser”) and it was a real letdown.

Things I didn’t like:
-No power. Not like “a little underpowered” more like “embarrassingly gutless”  

-Wet Noodle Forks- lots of flex- felt terrible- clanged and banged constantly with my 180lb self on board.

-Garbage bin suspension- not enough travel, poor dampening, cheap, cheap, cheap components.

-Not comfortable at stock height.- after raising the back 2.5” with some longer shocks comfort shot WAY up, as did handling and cornering clearance. Suspension still needed major work though (see previous 2 points).

-No cornering clearance to speak of-it would drag hard parts at speeds BELOW the posted corner speeds.

-Mediocre brakes- pretty good at lower speeds but they fell off fast as speeds increased. “Feel” was terrible though, regardless of speed.

-Rust- the bike was garage kept and thoroughly cleaned at least once a week and yet rust on the front wheel and on all of the fasteners was a constant battle.

-Oil consumption- I’m of the mindset that no modern bike should “Eat” more than 1/2qt of oil between changes. The Sportster was about 2-3x what I consider acceptable. Only my “Sportster engined” bikes ever had this issue (my Sporty and later on, my Buell). All others I’ve owned have used exactly zero. Oil burning is not something I feel like I should have to deal with in this day and age.

-Oil dripping. No, not oil leaks, per see. The cases were sealed tight save for some minor “weeping” at the cylinder bases. No, the idiotic breather setup on that Sportster would saturate the oil filter and gunk up the housing. This would cause oil to drip out of the air filter housing and down the side of the engine and cases if it wasn’t cleaned out periodically. For my bike this was once every week or 2.

Overall, the bike had some really good points and it had HUGE potential for greatness but I felt like it was held back by compromises made in the name of style or simply by cheap parts and lack of development. I didn’t feel like putting $1000’s into it, especially considering how much it cost initially, so I sold it. Fortunately, the “Harley resale” worked in my favor and I sold it, in the middle of winter, for exactly what I paid for it.
Part of me still likes the idea of another Sportster but I’ll buy a wrecked one for peanuts since most the parts will be removed and replaced with ones that actually work anyway.  

[Giaka]

If you want a crappy bike - go to the classifieds forum and look for anything that's got "possessed" or a curse word in the title.

 

Or anything else there that's branded with a blue and white badge.

Three of us can link to one thread there.  

[Brad1445]

Buell 1125 Series