Worst bike ever ridden

[wkid_one]

Right - we spend soooo long on this site yakking about the best of the best....now lets see the worst of the worst.

KK - I will ask Spankme to increase the maximum post size of 10,000 characters so you won't have to use multiple posts to fit yours own :Pokey:.

Let's see the worst.....

[Hitcher]

As a generic class of bikes, the "1970s Japanese two-stroke farmbike" takes a power of heading off... Hard to start, hard to stop (cow shit and drum brakes are mutually incompatible), plugs that oiled up repeatedly (Yamaha's Agbike had a two-plug head at one stage -- you swapped the lead once a plug oiled, and hopefully the other had been burned clean), crap short-throw suspension, spoked wheels, guards too low... Mobile balls of shit they quickly became. Fortunately manufacturers learned quickly...

[Racey Rider]

Honda XL 250. The old one with the 23" front wheel. (1980?) :crazy:
Whose idea was THAT!

[moko]

Yamaha XS250,complete heap of crap,still notorious over 20 years later in Britain as a fine example of how not to design a bike,they seemed to come out of the factory with a glitch that made them cut out at the most inconvienient/dangerous times.this one came up on another site as several people`s "worst ever" and a mechanic from the old days reckons the problem was that Yamaha gave the wrong info on timing the sodding thing so first time they were serviced the timing got set wrong and the problems started.like a lot of other mugs I got mine cheap thinking it was a bargain.Ended up selling it even cheaper and was glad to see the back of it.Honda CB250G5 was nearly as bad,everything scraped on just about every corner,the paint faded on the red ones within months and if they ran at all in the wet you`d get electric shocks down your legs from the plug leads,it was also dog-slow,with that handling it`s just as well I suppose.XS500?lovely bike when everything was set up perfectly,slightest thing a touch out of tune and it was a pig.mine had the top-end re-built under guarantee and again 3 months later when I`d had enough and was actually going to see a guy about a swap deal,luckily it was dark and I wiped the oil off and did the deal.Got a snotty letter almost in the next post,telling me to pay half the cost of the quote from his dealer.If he`d asked I would have,matter of conscience if nothing else.As it was didn`t like his attitude and wrote back,"go and F*** yourself",dont know whether he did or not because he didnt reply.

[What?]

The worst had to be the Suzuki 120 powered Farmbyke. Everything about it was an amplified version of what most people here dislike about Hogleys. But they weren't road registerable (I don't think...) so a dishonourable mention must go to the Kawasaki H1 500. Seriously scary!

[Jackrat]

Never had a really bad bike,but I've had a couple with strange habits.
My BSA 350 single,was always a bastard to start on real cold mornings and would even fight back with the most wicked kick back thru' the kick start,Not good for skinny fifteen year old legs.
My Ducati SD900 just loved turning off the lights half way round a corner at 130.am mid winter.Seeing as how I lived 40km out in the sticks an had no street lighting That got old bloody quick so she went elsewhere.
Any of the half dozen Suzuki T500s,They had handling that was on another planet,Crap brakes,crap suspension,a swing arm that would flex all over the place,Going hard in a corner the front would be weaving,the rear would be fish tailing,a real max' feed back type of ride"Bloody great bikes"
My first Harley,did most things ok,even handled good in the dirt,But the brakes were the biggest joke in biking,If it rained I had to plan every thing two hundred meters in advance and a number of times i did put both feet on the ground,I got real good at dodging things at the last moment,The cars thought I was lane spliting"Shit I should of been so lucky" I had a mate Terry on the back one night when things got out of hand,Terrys screaming STOP,An I just screamed back,I BLOODY AM!!!!!!!.After we got back home Terry swore he would never ride on the back with me again,Reckons I did it intentionally,No sence of adventuer that lad.
Anyway thats just some of em, aye!!

[dangerous]

The CBX 400 / 550 in perticlar the 550 F2...... For some reason they'd wobbel like hell somthing wicked mainely around bends at speed with no warning and it would end up in a tank slap, pity cos they were a nice bike when you'r in ya teens.

1450 twin cam super gulid arrrrrrr...... (or most likely any Harley) No grunt no handling no ground clearance and when ya managed to get up to 100kph the for arms ached like hell cos of leaning back and the wind.

[Zed]

Right - we spend soooo long on this site yakking about the best of the best....now lets see the worst of the worst.

KK - I will ask Spankme to increase the maximum post size of 10,000 characters so you won't have to use multiple posts to fit yours own :Pokey:.

Let's see the worst.....
Aren't you going to contribute a story wkid? :spudwhat:

All of the bikes I have owned have been a great ride! None have been pigs, even my trustworthy '81 Honda MB100 (now used as a runabout on a batch in Tairua, Coromandel) was reliable & comfy.

I suppose the worst ride I ever had was on a courtesy bike from Cyclespot Honda, Auckland. I bought my '95 Fireblade new from them and had it in for it's first service. When I asked for a loan bike for 1 day they gave me some 100cc piece of crap that felt as though it was going to fall apart when I rode it home...that experience has always blemished the reputation of Cyclespot in my eyes to this day! It also took me 2 months to get my Blade's horn replaced with them which was faulty from new...Blue-Wing Honda who import the bikes ended up giving me a replacement horn from their demo bike- they were most embarrased.


Zed

[SPman]

..that experience has always blemished the reputation of Cyclespot in my eyes to this day!

Shit, you got off cheap!

[matthewt]

I suppose the worst ride I ever had was on a courtesy bike from Cyclespot Honda, Auckland.
Zed

I had a 95 Fireblade as well. My loaner from Sawyers once was a DJ50 which is a bright yellow and black scooter. Problem was that all my riding gear was yellow/black as well so it looked like I got the full-on gear for the bike. Then when I left work to pick up my blade a few "friends" gathered downstairs to take the piss outta me :weep:

[Big Dog]

Yamaha XS250,complete heap of crap,still notorious over 20 years later in Britain as a fine example of how not to design a bike,they seemed to come out of the factory with a glitch that made them cut out at the most inconvienient/dangerous times.
I had a xs 250 and it was a great bike. That cut out you mentioned only happened for me a) When cops were about (saved me a lot of tickets.) or b)when I was doing 160 plus and hit a head wind.

:moon:

[Big Dog]

My wosrst ever has to be a nifty 50. I could not get under way without popping a wheelie :scooter:

stopping in under 30ft resulted in either a stoppie or the front letting go.

This could be due to my weight :moon:

But it was not a problem on my g/f's suzuki equivalent.

or my mate had a KR250 2 stroke. It had a experimental dual carb setup where one was for low speed/rpm then the other cut in in an effort to biff me off the back. Below 5,000 only one cylinder fires theb at 7,500 the other cylinder comes in just as it reaches the lower end of the power band. :angry2:

Every time he road it something else wore out.

[spudchucka]

Suzuki T125 was a real pig. Yamy XS750 was cool but still a pig. Harley 1980 Shovel sporty was quick between the lights, (would blow away Ninga's of that era off the lights) but couldn't go around corners or stop either!!!

They were all pigs but were awesome as well for different reasons.

[Motu]

It's all relative I think,if we went back to ride some of the shitters they might seem better in a new light,the dream bikes pieces of crap.

A couple of my own - I thought my Rickman Metisse was made in heaven just for me,perfect in every way,except for the small tank,but you could get fuel anywhere in those days.At the same time I also had a Cheney Triumph,a similar bike,but this one was made in the late 60s for Ivan Millar.Shorter and quicker steering I didn't like it and in fact hardly ever rode it.Going back to them now after riding tall quick steering modern bikes I might find the Rickman low and slow,the Cheney just right.

I think the worst bike I have ever owned and ridden was my 1953 Matchless G9,this was a 500cc twin in a frame that wasn't up to a 350 single.I got it off an unemployed nuclear physisist who had just ridden it around the South Island,gotta be reliable for sure.I rode it home and sat outside my mates place watching the wiring burn out,the plastic ammeter melt and fall into the headlamp - it was all down hill from there.It was the same age as me,but I was a full of life teenager,it on it's last legs of life.Rebuilding the magneto was the equivalent of 3 wage packets,but it still didn't start or run well.I ran an open primary case as I was always pulling the clutch to bits trying to find a cure for clutch slip,or drag,but never succeeded.The motor was so worn that the poor breather couldn't cope,so pumped oil out the generator as well,which never worked either.When I pulled the barrels of,I had to yank them hard,the lip on the bottom of the bore was so big.Nice motor though - wire wound pistons to control expansion,separate barrels and heads,roller followers and ecentric rockers for the easiest valve adjustments I have ever done - bike,car or truck.

I could of lived with all that if it wasn't for the handling,it was almost uncontrolable,although I could get some good slides going in the wet with the jampots bouncing.You couldn't put any power on until it was out of the corner and upright,otherwise it just snapped off into whichever direction it was pointed.Tried lots of diferent bars - cut down a set of apehangers to make a huge pair of pullbacks,but these gave too much leaverage and I could almost bend the bike in half in a corner...I found a set of flat bars worked best,although it needed a lot of input to go where you wanted.Going where you didn't want to go was easy....in the days before mirrors a quick glance behind would see you in the gravel shoulder.

I don't know how or to who I unloaded this pile of shit onto,but I'm glad I owned it - it gives me a benchmark for bad,very bad ,so even mediocer bikes are the very best I've ridden.

[James Deuce]

Kawasaki S2 350 triple. Not bad, so much as evil. No power until it hit it's powerband and then you had everything it had RIGHT F__KING NOW Jimbo!!

Clip-ons under the top triple clamp (it only had the top triple clamp) so you constantly head butted the intrument cluster during the unceasing "I didn't intend to do that wheelie, honest officer", wheelstands.

It flexed. As in you could see with the naked eye the forks deflect to the left or right depending on the corner direction.

And the rear shocks pogoed like a bouncy castle filled with lime jelly.

But it still made you laugh like a madman when the thing came on song and tried to buck and worm it's way from under you. It also made my RG250 feel very fast and very comfortable in comparison.

[Zed]

I had a 95 Fireblade as well. My loaner from Sawyers once was a DJ50 which is a bright yellow and black scooter. Problem was that all my riding gear was yellow/black as well so it looked like I got the full-on gear for the bike. Then when I left work to pick up my blade a few "friends" gathered downstairs to take the piss outta me :weep:That's hillarious! :D

Brings a question to mind...most 50cc riders I have ever seen do not wear any protective wear! Why is this? Ignorance maybe?


Zed

[boris]

had to be a gsx550

[moko]

had to be a gsx550

The old GSX`s used to fry their electrics regularly,nightmare,whatever went used to take out the lot.Blokes in the know here used to buy dead ones cheap and fit Honda regulators,did the trick.Dont know the reason but apparently if you kept your headlight on all the time there wasnt a problem with the original Suzi stuff,still piss-poor though.Used to be Suzi electrics,Honda camchains and Yamaha brakes that screwed up regularly,the latter mainly due to Brit local authorities chucking salt all over the roads in winter.
Oddest "bad bike" I had recently was a Yam XJ600,the carbs iced up in winter(something else you maybe dont get in N.Z.)it was rusting despite only being 8 months old,no character,clutch was the worst I`ve ever had,2 dealers had a go and fixed it for about a week when it was back to sticking so badly that it was hardly worth having,handled like a pig,felt like a 70`s throwback to ride,and not a good 70`s bike either.

[SPman]

Kawasaki S2 350 triple. Not bad, so much as evil. No power until it hit it's powerband and then you had everything it had RIGHT F__KING NOW Jimbo!!

Clip-ons under the top triple clamp (it only had the top triple clamp) so you constantly head butted the intrument cluster during the unceasing "I didn't intend to do that wheelie, honest officer", wheelstands.

It flexed. As in you could see with the naked eye the forks deflect to the left or right depending on the corner direction.

And the rear shocks pogoed like a bouncy castle filled with lime jelly.

But it still made you laugh like a madman when the thing came on song and tried to buck and worm it's way from under you. It also made my RG250 feel very fast and very comfortable in comparison.
Not to mention plugs every 500 miles, fuel cooling (a best of 27 mpg) and engine rebuilds every 3000 miles! But they were real stable and good handling compared to the 500! :eek: And they were FUN1

[ching_ching]

Worst bike I had?

I've only had 3 bikes so far. My second 250 during my probie period was a 92 CBR250RR. Got it from a shop down in Lower Hutt (won't say which one) but I traded my ZZR250 for something more sporty and that's what they had. Being new at this, I didn't give it a good check and they didn't tell me anything about its condition . Tested it, seemed OK, rode it home. A month later, still getting used to it, and shot over to Taupo for yet another mercy dash.
Approaching Bulli Point (first corner out of three) and whatdya know, the throttle's stuck bro. Ever seen a Maori heading for a sharpaz corner at 100kph on a bike bro? Managed to apply the stoppers but motors still going full brudder (remember, stuck throttle). So after applying a bit of stop before hitting the corner (managed to slow down a little) the brudder leeeeaaaaaaannnnnnnnnns bro. My Maori ass is playing havoc with my digestive system and tis the first time I've touched a bit of knee on the tarmac. Straightened up and luckily it loosened off before anymore subsequent corners.

Managed to apply a bit of a fix to it (not much) but always somewhat mindful of it when riding. When I got my Alstare was the first thing I checked on it... whatdya know the throttle snaps back. No comparison bro. :2thumbsup

[moko]

Everr seen a Maori heading for a sharpaz corner at 100kph on a bike bro?


Yep,on a V-Max with no tread on it`s tyres too,scraping the stand and everything else,scary to watch.Mate of mine up in Opotiki runs a bright yellow one,I tried it for about 5 k`s and that was scary enough,owner chucked the bloody thing about like it was an R6,told me it took him about 3 months to get used to it`s dodgy handling,reckon he`d give anyone on anything a good go now.think he still does a run to Hamilton regularly so some of you may have seen it around.

[DEATH_INC.]

I've ridden a few crook one's over the years,but the crown would have to go to my mates Hardley 1200 sporty........This was the worst handling,uncomfortable(it had highway pegs and a big filter...you had to try to bend your leg round the filter to get it on the r/h peg),vibratingist(special hardley word)P.O.S. I've ever had the displeasure of chucking a leg over..... :eek5:
:sick:

[Pickle]

Prize for the worst bike ever would have to go to my mates Ducati 750 Paso
Ugly as sin, very dodgy handling just look at the brakes in a corner and it wants to go straight ahead and the power of a sick 250, dodgy carb set up and way over priced, only good thing about it was that it sounded good :finger:

[Lou Girardin]

My first bike was the worst. '58 T/Bird. Anything that could go wrong did. Parts constantly made a bid for freedom. Wouldn'tgo, wouldn't stop and wobbled like a bastard.
Lou

[Big Dog]

I think the worst bike I have ever owned and ridden was my 1953 Matchless G9
So you did your whole apprenticeship on the one bike then :p

[merv]

The old GSX`s used to fry their electrics regularly,nightmare,whatever went used to take out the lot.

Yeah Suzuki electrics were wonderful. My first bike was a 1970 A100 Suzuki and for some strange reason (never figured out what) you could be happily riding along at night and all the light bulbs would blow - not the fuse - all the bulbs including the instrument light bulbs leaving me to ride home in complete darkness. I sold that bike in 1973 and never bought another Suzuki until 1998 when I bought the DR250R. The DR while not my ideal bike in the end was bulletproof reliable so no complaints about that and the electrics were fine.

[Aleph]

You haven't lived until you have ridden a Jawa from the 70's. Just watching others trying to work out how to start it is a good way to start your day - you push in the gear change and flip it back to become the kick start, all on the left hand side. Looks like a trail bike and they do not easily leave the trail, you leave the bike while it follows the holes to the bottom.

[Timber020]

Okay for a 2stroke 400 it was fast in its time, but the engine made cheques that the rest of the bike couldnt cash.

Brakes, dont make me laugh, you could have both hands gripping the front brake for dear life, be standing on the rear brake and still need 2 trees to slow you down.

The suspension made its own bumps. Its under engine expansion chamber was the first thing to get holed as soon as you found a log or rock-the thing made the battle of verdun seem peaceful. I wore a helmet just to keep out the noise!

And boy the fact that the gearshift could shift along the gear shaft that the shifter wouldnt shift down as the frame would stop it coupled with a clutch that had all the feel of stirring gravel with an egg beater, oh add a bad kill switch and a carb that would decide to self feed, the results? Me buried 3 meters in a hedge lying arcross the rear guard and the little bulldozer still trying to dig its way deeper.....infront of a whole crowd of girls. :no:

[White trash]

M-V-X250!

Beat that! What a hunk of shit, I've had three and I love 'em! It's actually an ambition of mine to own the last running MVX250 in the world.

I reckon if I find one now, I'll be 90% there.

[Motu]

I thought my TS/TM 400 was great,it was a dog that would take heaps of abuse - a TS bottom end with a TM top end made a nice motor and was a mod some of the TM guys did,the heavier crank,flywheel and igntion tamed that huge power kick and made a docile tractor with a top end rush.Brakes?...well that was all everyone had in those days.If I had of kept it a better front end was next,also another expansion chamber,going high.That thing was like a bulls tackle hanging under there.Certainly not ridable off road,but mine did well on a dirt track,but has a huge black mark in my book as the only bike to dump me on a gravel road.

The Sales have one and at Paeroa the young fella was giving Vince Sharpe a hell of a hard time on the 1120cc CB750 - way outclassed...in theory.

[dangerous]

M-V-X250!

Beat that! What a hunk of shit, I've had three and I love 'em! It's actually an ambition of mine to own the last running MVX250 in the world.

I reckon if I find one now, I'll be 90% there.

I know what ya mean in a month you'd replace each piston (one a week) and on the forth week its proberly raining so you wouldent get a ride in.
But were they a wicked wee bike if hotted up fast as, but once again you gota remember those extra cold plugs or you'd be pushing it home.

[merv]

MVX250 - remember this one racing at Lyall Bay in 1984? Was that Neil Harris on board or someone else? Paul Pav maybe - didn't label my photos too well back then.

[SILVER SUZI]

I was thinking my worst bike was my first. Honda CB250, don't know what year but it was second hand about 18 years ago (shit has it been that long?).
It looked cool and I knew nothing about bikes.
It was a big heavy slow POS with no power.
But then I read the post about Cyclespot's loaner. Honestly it can only be because they warrant it themselves that it's on the road. Dangerous heap. And whats worse is that they give it to guys who normally ride sports bikes.
I got given it as a loaner while they put new pads on the Gixxer I bought from them not three weeks prior (didn't realise when buying it that the front was virtually down to the steel - silly me trusting the word of a salesman).
Phoned the next afternoon to say I was going to pick it up, and arrived to find it not done. So impressed with the thought of having the loaner for another day that I waited while the finished something else and did my bike.
As you might guess, I hav'nt been back and aren't likely to either.
Sorry seems I got a bit :Offtopic: :brick:

[pete376403]

The worst had to be the Suzuki 120 powered Farmbyke. Everything about it was an amplified version of what most people here dislike about Hogleys. But they weren't road registerable (I don't think...) so a dishonourable mention must go to the Kawasaki H1 500. Seriously scary!
I knew a guy whose parents owned a market garden at Otaki - combining the worst of your post, he registered an H1, (blue, drum braked) as a farm bike (farm bike registration was much cheaper than road bike)
Old time Wellington riders might remember this guy - Wayne Eglington - he raced the thing in 'Sports Production" at Gracefield and Porirua (there was a "round the Shopping Centre" event there about 1970)

[Two Smoker]

Don't forget the Honda CT110, what a dong that is, great low speed handling but thats about it...

its 0-100 time is..........

oh wait..... it doesnt do 100 lol

[pete376403]

It's all relative I think,if we went back to ride some of the shitters they might seem better in a new light,the dream bikes pieces of crap.
...
I think the worst bike I have ever owned and ridden was my 1953 Matchless G9,
...
I don't know how or to who I unloaded this pile of shit onto,but I'm glad I owned it - it gives me a benchmark for bad,very bad ,so even mediocer bikes are the very best I've ridden.
Did you sell it in Wellington? Cos it sounds awfully like the one I bought. :sneaky2:
Spent a lot of my apprentice wages on it, rechromed the tank, girlings to replace the jampots, new pipes and "mufflers" (yeah right - open megas), new seat from a BSA Lightning, rebuilt magneto, new Amal concentric to replace the worn out monobloc, new rings and valve grind. Couldn't get G9 head gaskets, though, so I used G11 (650) and that was a mistake. A head gasket blew while chugging up the 'Tukas, the fire leaked into a pushrod tunnel and melted the Dural pushrod. But once that was fixed it was almost reliable by the time I sold it. Wish I had it now.

[Motu]

Ah!...I always wondered who the dumbfuck was! No,I have no idea where it went,I was just happy to see it go.Those AMC twins were a masterpiece of engineering in those days,way ahead of Triumph,BSA and Norton - but they were just as unreliable.But talking to the older generation who had them new,they had no problems.When they bumped them up to 650 the cranks stated to break,but they fixed that,although the bad name stuck.

[LB]

MVX250 - remember this one racing at Lyall Bay in 1984? Was that Neil Harris on board or someone else? Paul Pav maybe - didn't label my photos too well back then.
I'm pretty sure it's not Paul Pav (I don't ever recall him wearing those leathers), not sure who it is.....I do sorta remember the bike but not the guy racing. Don't recognise the number either. Will keep thinking.

[Holy Roller]

The worst ride would have to be my mates 84 GSX750 slow, heavy steering, and jolly uncomfortable for a tall guy like me. My XZ 400 at the time was heaps faster ( OK I admit I was a hoon then and he rode it like a nana ) But it was enough to put me off them.

[Kwaka-Kid]

M-V-X250!

Beat that! What a hunk of shit, I've had three and I love 'em! It's actually an ambition of mine to own the last running MVX250 in the world.

I reckon if I find one now, I'll be 90% there.
really? well we have 2 of them, wait, no one now, the other we chopped the frame up and threw it out in the inorganics collection about 2 years ago, kept the second set of plastics, threw the motors out aswell, and the 1 frame we got left has been chopped and modded to sit the XR500 methanol burner in it (70something HP) unfortunatly it hasnt been completed yet. Also i had 3 sets of spare rims for those! threw them out in inorganics too, aswell as the last one about 6 weeks ago where we threw out the complete front end minus instruments (kept), as fast as i can take these bikes out to the front of my yard vans were lining up taking them outta my hands! crazy.

[Big Dog]

as fast as i can take these bikes out to the front of my yard vans were lining up taking them outta my hands! crazy.
So none of them had met you before huh?:lol:

[Two Smoker]

So none of them had met you before huh?:lol:
Well guys don't bother goin to a Bike Wreakers for parts.... Just go see KK, You name it he's got it:lol:, I can vouch after seeing his garage. Why dont you start selling stuff KK????instead of throwing it?

[Big Dog]

Well guys don't bother goin to a Bike Wreakers for parts.... Just go see KK, You name it he's got it:lol:, I can vouch after seeing his garage. Why dont you start selling stuff KK????instead of throwing it?Because if it's still useful he hasn't finnished fixing it yet HA HA Ha :lol: :kick: :doobey:

[Kwaka-Kid]

nasty big dog! just nasty :p hehehe! ill getchu for dat! and yeah i dunno, i dont want to sell it or throw it!!! i wanna keep it all but dad gets into these big lets have a clean-up moods and wants it all gone fast as.
whilst im onto the subject i found some 202 holden racing headers, any use to anyone?

[Big Dog]

nasty big dog! just nasty :p hehehe! ill getchu for dat! and yeah i dunno, i dont want to sell it or throw it!!! i wanna keep it all but dad gets into these big lets have a clean-up moods and wants it all gone fast as.
whilst im onto the subject i found some 202 holden racing headers, any use to anyone?
:lol: what good is a good punch line if you don't use it.
I was going to leave well enough alone but couln't resist that particular rib :lol:

[speedpro]

Prize for the worst bike ever would have to go to my mates Ducati 750 Paso
Ugly as sin, very dodgy handling just look at the brakes in a corner and it wants to go straight ahead and the power of a sick 250, dodgy carb set up and way over priced, only good thing about it was that it sounded good :finger:
Geez that's a bit harsh, I thought it was OK, especially through the twisties round Taupo. That carb did suck though I must admit. Loved the sound.
The worst I recall was Doug's wife's Suzi GP125(?) commuter bike, absolutely gutless and a big hinge where the frame should have been. It'd be a brave/silly person to give it a fist full down the Ngauranga gorge.

At this point I must register my support for Kawasaki 500 triples. A number of mates owned various models plus one 350 and a few 750 triples. OK, the drum brake on the various first 500s weren't really up to the motor, and neither was the frame when pushing. If you were going to thrash a bit you always made sure the steering damper was wound up. We "borrowed" the damper from one mates orange 500 and he didn't get far before checking out the ditch, on the other side of the road!!! But when you got them up in the power band :2thumbsup . I recall quite a few other road users trying it on down the motorway but I don't ever recall coming 2nd. I think they should be judged in the context of the period - and they were the weapon to have, if you could afford the gas, the 350 and the 500s could all be got down to about 18mpg.
Aahhhhh , back in the good old days etc etc. . . . . .

[marty]

mine was my old XS250. big bike, gutless as fuck, impossible to keep in tune, had no idea what direction it was supposed to go in. i leant it to a mate who dropped it on himself as it was so heavy. sold it to him for a crate of beer. he crashed it badly a week later and got really smashed up.

i had a 1981 CX500 that ran as sweet as a sewing machine, but it scared me in the rain as it had the worlds least effective brakes. it used to backfire nicely when decellerating though, but it blew a head gasket, got water in the oil, and spun a main bearing. just wasn't worth fixing.

[marty]

mine was my old XS250. big bike, gutless as fuck, impossible to keep in tune, had no idea what direction it was supposed to go in. i leant it to a mate who dropped it on himself as it was so heavy. sold it to him for a crate of beer. he crashed it badly a week later and got really smashed up.

i had a 1981 CX500 that ran as sweet as a sewing machine, but it scared me in the rain as it had the worlds least effective brakes. it used to backfire nicely when decellerating though, but it blew a head gasket, got water in the oil, and spun a main bearing. just wasn't worth fixing.


although i did have a step thru honda 50 that ran exclusively on avgas. it smelled nice, but i frequently had to stop and let it cool down, as it would sieze if riding at full throttle for more than about 7 minutes. i ported and polished the head, modded the exhaust and rode it like a bucket racer. used to commute out to hamilton airport on it. the snazzy front suspension always provided plenty of entertainment on peacocks road.....

[riffer]

Suzi GP125(?) commuter bike, absolutely gutless and a big hinge where the frame should have been. It'd be a brave/silly person to give it a fist full down the Ngauranga gorge.


oops. guilty as charged. Can't have been that gutless. I learnt to wheelie on a GP125... Of course I ruined the clutch though.

When you're 17 you don't notice unimportant things like frame flex :)

[White trash]

MVX250 - remember this one racing at Lyall Bay in 1984? Was that Neil Harris on board or someone else? Paul Pav maybe - didn't label my photos too well back then.

Thanks for that pic, Merv!

You must have an immpresive collection of photo albums. I didn't even know they had street races ever in Lyall bay.

God I'm young :baby:

[speedpro]

Thanks for that pic, Merv!

You must have an immpresive collection of photo albums. I didn't even know they had street races ever in Lyall bay.

God I'm young :baby:

Back in the days when GSX1100s or Katanas and Z1000Js were hot. I seem to remember a bit of a pileup at the first corner in one race involving Glen Williams, Roger Freeth, and one of the Scooter Centre cheating b'stards. One line, three bikes(maybe more), and noone giving an inch. Being a bit slow I had a grand view of proceedings.

[merv]

Thanks for that pic, Merv!

You must have an immpresive collection of photo albums. I didn't even know they had street races ever in Lyall bay.

God I'm young :baby:

I'm not sure now how many years it run but I was certainly at two of them that I have photos of being '83 and '84 and they used to call it part of Wellington's Summer City series of events. Free entry if I remember rightly too.

I did have all the photos on my website but after changing free servers a couple of years ago I haven't got around to reloading my old racing pics. One day I might find the time.

[ManDownUnder]

aaaa the good old days when I couldn't afford a bike, and I wanted one anyway.

My Dad, in his kindness, spent $700 getting the top end done for me - it went!!!! It started, it handled like a pig and went about 50 kph flat out (yes, the bottom end needed a lot of work to... as did the timing, the fuel ... the list goes on and on).

It wasn't a pig so much as a piglet... but it was a really bad semlling piglet!

Bright yellow too :)

[FROSTY]

A Honda cb400n was the worst bike I ever owned.It handled totally weird.
turned out the comstars had worked loose undefined

[shafty]

My 1970's Yammie XS500 twin complete with "Omniphase" (to counter vibration) and 8 valve head!

Had to stop to let it cool down all the time, planed the heads, did the rings etc but the next guy needed new barrels!! :Pokey:

[pete376403]

I never rode one but apparently the TX (?) 750 Yamaha twin of the '70s was pretty grim

[Jackrat]

I never rode one but apparently the TX (?) 750 Yamaha twin of the '70s was pretty grim
That was the XT750,It handled better than the XT or XS 650 and in the time I had one on loan I never had a problem with it.The guy that owned it eventualy had bulk problems with it and another mate that had the XS500 had heaps of trouble with that as well.I would just love to get hold of an XT750 front end and swing arm now as they are both a bolt on replacement for the XS bits but far better than the standard XS bits.The guy that Motu and I rode to Raglan with a couple of weeks back had the XT750 parts on his XS650 and the thing handled like it was on rails.Pity most of those parts were probably thrown away in disgust with the rest of the things. :cry: :brick:

[merv]

That was the XT750,It handled better than the XT or XS 650 and in the time I had one on loan I never had a problem with it.The guy that owned it eventualy had bulk problems with it and another mate that had the XS500 had heaps of trouble with that as well.I would just love to get hold of an XT750 front end and swing arm now as they are both a bolt on replacement for the XS bits but far better than the standard XS bits.The guy that Motu and I rode to Raglan with a couple of weeks back had the XT750 parts on his XS650 and the thing handled like it was on rails.Pity most of those parts were probably thrown away in disgust with the rest of the things. :cry: :brick:

I remember the TX500 (like this http://www2.ivers.mcpherson.com/web/cycle/yamaha.htm) and the TX750 twins (like this http://www.dropbears.com/m/models/yamaha/tx750.htm), don't ever remember an XT750 except the Super Tenere dirt job. The TX Yams turned out to be unreliable failures at the time and never sold well. The newer XS models I thought followed on directly after the TXs and the XS750 was a triple later stretched to 850. Then we saw what at the time was a monster the XS1100 that they used at the 6 hour races, shaft drive and all.

[merv]

Here's the XS11 http://www.vjmw.org/tests/yamahaXS1100.htm

[Jackrat]

When I bought my XS 650 it was a toss up between that and the SX1100.
There was a mint one in hamilton at the time.In the end I decided that if I was going to have crap handling I would be safer on the less powerfull bike.
The 1100 when it first came out in 76 I think,was one impressive bike.

[What?]

My 1970's Yammie XS500 twin complete with "Omniphase" (to counter vibration) and 8 valve head!

Had to stop to let it cool down all the time, planed the heads, did the rings etc but the next guy needed new barrels!! :Pokey:
I had a '76 XS500. Yamaha seemed to have most of the problems sorted by then, but it still went out of tune in a hurry (points) and the eccentric chain tensioner for the balance shaft was an absolute joke. Gas tank was too small, too. BUT - it was comfortable for all day riding, especially with ace bars fitted. Can't criticize the brakes - it didn't have any...

[Jackrat]

I remember the TX500 (like this http://www2.ivers.mcpherson.com/web/cycle/yamaha.htm) and the TX750 twins (like this http://www.dropbears.com/m/models/yamaha/tx750.htm), don't ever remember an XT750 except the Super Tenere dirt job. The TX Yams turned out to be unreliable failures at the time and never sold well. The newer XS models I thought followed on directly after the TXs and the XS750 was a triple later stretched to 850. Then we saw what at the time was a monster the XS1100 that they used at the 6 hour races, shaft drive and all.

I have the history of yamaha to 2000 and they say the XS650 was developed from a 500 racer that was made by a German co' called Hoch.They went out of biz' some time in the late fiftys and the rights to the 500 were bought by Yamaha who then used it for the base of the XS650.The XT name was given to the 650 when they made the 500 and 750 to maintain the model line up under the same name.When the XT 500 and 750 proved to be no good they were droped and the following year the 650 was renamed XS to avoid the bad vibes created by the XT.Today the XT is probably the most sort after of the 650 line.The XT 650 was only made the one year 75 I think.My own first XS650 was the 76 B model that was used by our MOT and was also the fastest of all of them and was also the best handling although not by much.
The XS 650 is Yamahas longest running model,1970-1983.Some were made for the Canadian market in 84 but they are the same bike as the 83.My own bike is a Canadian 84 but it is the same in all ways as the 83.
People used to say the XS was a copy of a BSA but that is not correct,Even the Hoch 500 was really nothing like the XS,it was just the base design and Yamaha copyed nobody.The BSA thing was just another urban legend.
Jeeez, I like this interweb thingy I can rave on all night an nobody tells me to shut up.
Cheers.

[moko]

Used to be said here that the 650 valve-gear design was based on that of the Toyota GT2000 sports car that Yamaha made the engines for.First 650 was the XS1,XS2 was the same bike with electric start,first XS twin to be imported into Britain.They had a seriously bad name for handling and Yamaha got a guy called Percy Tait,ex-Triumph works rider,to sort the thing out,hence the extra frame bracing,twin discs e.t.c.(XS1&2 were single disc).Tait reckoned that Yamaha`s dodgy handling was down to something really basic,they had a brilliant test track with a perfectly smooth surface,legend has it he actually got them to put in a few holes and bumps,XS650 is the result of Tait`s handiwork.I had a 76 "B" model as well,lovely machine.you can get just about anything for an XS650 from Halco in the U.K.,including complete bikes built to your own spec.
I had an XS500 as well,hated it,great when everything was perfect,smooth and very quick,but very temperamental,didn`t take a lot to turn it into a wheezy,mis-firing mess.

[merv]

I'm going by my NZ experience and I'm with Moko on this one the first 650 I remember was the XS1, then the XS2, the TX500 and TX750 came later (and that was TX not XT) and were failures so it seemed they reverted back to the XS name with the twins, triples and later the big four. As I said I don't remember an early XT750, if you've got some pics Jackrat can you post them out of interest? Maybe they were known as that in some other market other than NZ or USA.

In the mid 70s Yam were already selling the XT500 and TT500 dirt bikes here in NZ and they were never confused with an XT road series. Like this http://www.motorcyclebooks.com/yamxtttsrsin.html

Here's a TX650 says its 1973 vintage http://www.650motorcycles.com/SteveBridgers.html

Can't see reference to XT650 here http://www.motorcyclebooks.com/yam6519.html

The TX500 and TX750 if I remember rightly were the first of the Yam twins fitted with omniphase balancers as they called them. They are a rare breed indeed as so few were sold here.

[Jackrat]

Merv,Iv'e just finished looking at the good book an you are right the bike I have always thought of as the XT750 is in fact the TX. :o
The XS1 was a drum brake front end with steel fork sliders.Motu has one of those.My own bike came in both twin disc and single disc front or disc front and and drum rear or disc's at both ends as well as either Mag or wire spoked wheels.I think it depends on the country they were made for.Most of the later
model ones we have here seem to be the Canadian models.Single disc front,
drum rear and mag wheels.I now have a line on a TX650A in bits that I am very tempted to buy.I am going to New Plymouth on Tuesday to pick up a twin disc front end and a pile of assorted bits I have bought off Trade me,Now I will be heading for Palmy on the way back to look at this TXA.
She's a hard road to find the perfect,,,,,,,LOL.

[pete376403]

People used to say the XS was a copy of a BSA but that is not correct,Even the Hoch 500 was really nothing like the XS,it was just the base design and Yamaha copyed nobody.The BSA thing was just another urban legend.
Jeeez, I like this interweb thingy I can rave on all night an nobody tells me to shut up.
Cheers.
The first Kawasaki 650 W1 & W1SS (street scrambler - high pipes) was a direct knock off of the BSA A10, right down to the seperate gearbox. I've never heard that Yamaha copied BSA but the Kawaski - for sure. Kawasaki took over another Japanese maker, Meguro, and got the 650 design with that.
Another Jap factory that made a knock off of European bikes was Lilac - they copied BMW

[Jackrat]

The first Kawasaki 650 W1 & W1SS (street scrambler - high pipes) was a direct knock off of the BSA A10, right down to the seperate gearbox. I've never heard that Yamaha copied BSA but the Kawaski - for sure. Kawasaki took over another Japanese maker, Meguro, and got the 650 design with that.
Another Jap factory that made a knock off of European bikes was Lilac - they copied BMW

Yeah those early Kawasaki 650s are a real cult bike in the states now days.
It was probably the Kawa' thing that got the XS myth going.
Another copy of BMW huh,that makes three Iv'e heard of now.
I saw a chinese copy at the last classic meeting.Interesting looking bike if you like tractors. :whistle:

[What?]

The TX500 and TX750 if I remember rightly were the first of the Yam twins fitted with omniphase balancers as they called them. They are a rare breed indeed as so few were sold here.
The MOT had a heap of the first TX500's.

[moko]

We had the standard XS650 here first,Brit-style with low bars,wire wheels,ally rims and very tasteful black paintwork(XS2 was orange and chrome nightmare)Later they did a Silver version which was neat-looking but rare.In79 we got the "US Special" which is basically what Jackrat`s got,think it was badged SE as well.the 2 models were sold alongside eachother so you got the choice,wheels were different sizes as well.XS650`s are still very popular over here and loads got shipped in from the states a while back when the grey market was at it`s peak.Well sorted XS`s still go for around £1200,about $3000
XS500 first came in with similar styling to the 650,lovely looking bike.later model had square tank,disc at either end,mag wheels and engine mods,this is the model I had......and it was a pig.Started playing up on the way back from the shop,good guys they re-built the top-end under warranty.Was brilliant when it ran properly but was more like bloody menopausal than tempramental,off-loaded it bloody quick,swapped with a guy who had an immaculate Suzi GT550 and thought he was ripping me off.Blew up on him a few days later,shit happens.He copped a seriously bad attitude otherwise I`d have helped a bit financially even though I was under no obligation to do so,as it was told him to get F***ed before he got a visit to teach him some manners.
Do you guys get Ural bikes down there? bit of a cult bike here and after years of being a bit of a joke they`ve got their act together.The Wolf is about a third the price of a Harley,has brakes,goes round corners and isnt American

http://www.realclassic.co.uk/ural03101500.html

[Jackrat]

Mate of mine had A Ural,Don't know just what it was but he had a side car on it an used it as the shop bike for his wrecking biz'.
It was so ugly every body wanted it.I went in the chair one time and a hose came off the dodgy fitted oil cooler,I copped most of the oil in my lap,Don't know why they call em' coolers cause that oil was bloody hot,all heaps an heaps an heaps of it.
Me mate bought it off Motu from this site.I think Motu probably still has a chuckle about that one.Me mate even rode it to the Kiwi an back but that's a long story in it's self.One of the boys scored a new nick name in connection with that bike,(Sooty)I'll let you work that one out :lol: :killingme

[moko]

One of the bike mags here called them "Urinals".I once caused mayhem on another message board by calling Harleys "Rich Git`s Urals",when you get the kind of reaction i got to that one you just know you`ve hit home.They`ve also been sold here as Dniepr(catchy or what?)and Cossacks.On the chair models the sidecar wheel drives and they`ve got reverse gear,plenty of scope there for blowing some minds.

[marty]

mine was an XS250. big, ugly, no brakes, gutless as fuck. probably like this one........

http://www.bikepoint.co.nz/market/UsedBikeDetail.asp?BikeID=97114&Year=2002

[moko]

mine was an XS250. big, ugly, no brakes, gutless as fuck. probably like this one........


With you on that one Marty,here`s my tale of woe:

http://www.usedbikeguide.com/reviews/yamaha1.htm

The 500 was the same only bugger,being a mug I bought both

[moko]

I posted up a query on realclassic as 650 Yams are popular here still,queried the XS/TX thing and this is the best answer I got.The Special he mentions had really high and wide bars,a stepped seat and mag wheels,16 inch on the back.Dont know about Canadian/Aus models but U.S. ones were slower because of something done to the carbs for emission control.


"The TX will only have one disc, as it is merely a renamed XS2. The XS1, not sold in the UK, and the XS2 both had XS650 on the sidepanels which adds to the confusion. The TX name only lasted for 1 year, then the XS650 arrived, with frame gussets, and for Europe only, two front discs. US, Canadian and Aussies only got 1 disc until the bike finished production, as did US Specials. The TX ( ie XS2) only came with one disc regardless of market. Roadsters in non EU markets looked like our version apart from higher bars and the discs, and the bikes continued to sell overseas long after ours ceased"

[Two Smoker]

mine was an XS250. big, ugly, no brakes, gutless as fuck. probably like this one........

http://www.bikepoint.co.nz/market/UsedBikeDetail.asp?BikeID=97114&Year=2002
hehehe it has a title of TL1000R but its a Lead wing hehehehe

[FROSTY]

Mate of mine had A Ural,Don't know just what it was but he had a side car on it an used it as the shop bike for his wrecking biz'.
It was so ugly every body wanted it.I went in the chair one time and a hose came off the dodgy fitted oil cooler,I copped most of the oil in my lap,Don't know why they call em' coolers cause that oil was bloody hot,all heaps an heaps an heaps of it.
Me mate bought it off Motu from this site.I think Motu probably still has a chuckle about that one.Me mate even rode it to the Kiwi an back but that's a long story in it's self.One of the boys scored a new nick name in connection with that bike,(Sooty)I'll let you work that one out :lol: :killingme
I think said mate now has an ex cop cbx750 with a chair on the side

[scumdog]

You haven't lived until you have ridden a Jawa from the 70's. Just watching others trying to work out how to start it is a good way to start your day - you push in the gear change and flip it back to become the kick start, all on the left hand side. Looks like a trail bike and they do not easily leave the trail, you leave the bike while it follows the holes to the bottom.


Yep, I used on of them, had a rear sprocket the size of a sawmill blade to get the gearing down as it was in reality a road-bike.
That "push-in-and-push-forward" of the gearstick to make a kickstart was sadisitic, 'specially when you had muddy boots on and each time you kicked the mother your foot slipped off and the pedal went back to gear-stick mode :angry2: adlf

[Jackrat]

I think said mate now has an ex cop cbx750 with a chair on the side
Yep,and two BSA goldflashes, a Meshismit scooter,a Russian Ducopff Diana sport scooter that is one of only forty in the world,And a couple of Suzuki 125s that are his Riding school bikes.Do you know the man as well??
If so,It's not my fault mate :shifty: :D

[vifferman]

Motu said:

It's all relative I think,if we went back to ride some of the shitters they might seem better in a new light,the dream bikes pieces of crap.

Too right, Motu. All the bikes I rode in my youth seemed really exciting, apart from an old Yamaha 125 trailbike one of my friends bought. We could never work out waht was wrong with it, but even after I spent hours working on it, it was still crap, and backfired, coughed, farted, stalled, and generally behaved like a pig
.
One of the bikes I've most enjoyed was the XBR500RS Mutant (a CB250RS with XL500 engine). In hindsight, it was a piece of shite compared to everything I've had since, but I had some fun overhauling it and riding it.

I've never ridden a REALLY bad bike, but I borrowed a Honda Lead 125 scooter once when my bike was in dock, and that was a scream. The tiny wheels gave it scary handling, and two-up you needed to paddle to get it to move at all. :laugh:

One thing I will say, is that although all my Hondas have been relatively reliable (the only one that left me stranded was the the VFR when its R/R died), Honda makes crap (CRAP!) camchains and tensioners.

[pete376403]

One of the bike mags here called them "Urinals".I once caused mayhem on another message board by calling Harleys "Rich Git`s Urals",when you get the kind of reaction i got to that one you just know you`ve hit home.They`ve also been sold here as Dniepr(catchy or what?)and Cossacks.On the chair models the sidecar wheel drives and they`ve got reverse gear,plenty of scope there for blowing some minds.

Boyles had one of the Chinese versions with a sidecar a while back. God, but it was ugly. I wanted it sooo much. This was a copy of the Ural, which in turn was a copy of the German army BMW (except the Chinese on was side valve)

There was a guy in Upper Hutt years ago, Kevin Bock (he owned a bike shop for a while) who had a genuine ex-Afrika Korps two wheel drive BMW. Unfortunaltely the spandau machine gun was only a replica - that could be just the ticket for errant cagers

[Kwaka-Kid]

One of the bikes I've most enjoyed was the XBR500RS Mutant (a CB250RS with XL500 engine). In hindsight, it was a piece of shite compared to everything I've had since, but I had some fun overhauling it and riding it.
Dude?! Your kidding? what did you do with it? I Think it may have been one of the 3 my dad built. I want it back! if so i think that sounds like the first revision, the only one i have a firm answer on was the Honda NRS500 (Nods Racing Snail) CBX250RS with XR500 motor + CBX250 6 speed box + CB400 front end (i think?) all painted up in silver with NRS500 on sidecovers, but that one went to South Africa :(... anyway id be interested in buying back one of these machines if anybody knows where they went? - the 4th revision sits in garage now - MVX250 with XR500/650 motor, a long way off completion unfortunatly.

[What?]

Dude?! Your kidding? what did you do with it? I Think it may have been one of the 3 my dad built. I want it back!...
This gonna be a treaty claim, KK? :Oops: :bleh:

[Deebeeriz]

Yep, I used on of them, had a rear sprocket the size of a sawmill blade to get the gearing down as it was in reality a road-bike.
That "push-in-and-push-forward" of the gearstick to make a kickstart was sadisitic, 'specially when you had muddy boots on and each time you kicked the mother your foot slipped off and the pedal went back to gear-stick mode :angry2: adlf
one thing in its favour ,if you ever broke a clutch cable you could ride without one by using the gear lever as a clutch i had a 64 cz 175 i liked the kick start i wish my savage had the same idea

[Redstar]

Yamaha XS250,complete heap of crap,still notorious over 20 years later in Britain as a fine example of how not to design a bike,they seemed to come out of the factory with a glitch that made them cut out at the most inconvienient/dangerous times.this one came up on another site as several people`s "worst ever" and a mechanic from the old days reckons the problem was that Yamaha gave the wrong info on timing the sodding thing so first time they were serviced the timing got set wrong and the problems started.like a lot of other mugs I got mine cheap thinking it was a bargain.Ended up selling it even cheaper and was glad to see the back of it.Honda CB250G5 was nearly as bad,everything scraped on just about every corner,the paint faded on the red ones within months and if they ran at all in the wet you`d get electric shocks down your legs from the plug leads,it was also dog-slow,with that handling it`s just as well I suppose.XS500?lovely bike when everything was set up perfectly,slightest thing a touch out of tune and it was a pig.mine had the top-end re-built under guarantee and again 3 months later when I`d had enough and was actually going to see a guy about a swap deal,luckily it was dark and I wiped the oil off and did the deal.Got a snotty letter almost in the next post,telling me to pay half the cost of the quote from his dealer.If he`d asked I would have,matter of conscience if nothing else.As it was didn`t like his attitude and wrote back,"go and F*** yourself",dont know whether he did or not because he didnt reply.I agree XS250 I had one and it was super slow and at the time there were Yamaha RD250 and SuzukiGT250'S My next mistakes were Triumph Bonnivile (Vile I wont correct that fraudian spelling error)and a fast but bloody dangerous GT500A suzuki with plenty of play in the swinging arm bearings and pegs that acted as high speed pivots :thud:

[Big Dog]

So I am the only person who thinks that a properly serviced XS250 is a great bike? Maybe it just needs 120kgs rider to make it ride well, maybe I just had a really good mechanic, or maybe I just didn't know any better? At the time I had only ever riden a cb 100 remember. Mind you it seemed positively archaic compared to the Gpx250s.

[Motu]

All this XS650 talk and I wasn't even here to interupt! All good stuff,thanks.

I am one of those who sometimes says the XS650 is a copy of the A65,but only to counter those uninformed who says it's a copy of a Triumph! The two have more in common than the Triumph because they are later designs - 75x74 is a near square bore/stroke 650,more sensable at the time than the long stroke Triumph,although the Triumph always felt peppier and free reving.Duplex frame? who would want a single downtube in the sixties? The 6 holes in the brake drum had been used by BSA from the 50s,but widely copied by home builders anyway - I used to run YDS3 wheels on one of my BSAs,the front had scoops and 6 holes,this was before the XS1.

I always thought the XS1 had great basic handling,on a smooth road it's a joy to ride - put a dip mid corner and you are in big trouble.Percy Tait just added a hell of a lot more weight - I think it was a frequency thing,all the added strength of tubing damped it out.

The so called head designed for Toyota was the biggest thing holding the XS650 from further development,to get up to at least the 90HP that Kenny Roberts needed to take on the XR750s they had special new heads cast,there is a story on the development of his bikes somewhere on the net.

One of these would make me happy - thanks for the photo OWL.

[Big Dog]

I want a xs250 for my mrs to learn and learn basic maintenance on and then hand down to my next generation of bikers.
so all of use who hate them give it top me gratis and it will teach my pillion then be handed on to my step daughter, which when she gets her full my son will be learner age when he gets his my twins can learn! So anyone who wants to help initiate five more bikers with a one of donation of a road legal XS250, I would eternally be in your debt! (any road legal 250 would be good :yeah:

[marty]

i've just realised that my XS250 was not the laid back cruiser that is generally referred to. i found a pic of one here >

[marty]

here's a better one - mine was a 250 not a 400 though

[pete376403]

All this XS650 talk and I wasn't even here to interupt! All good stuff,thanks.

The so called head designed for Toyota was the biggest thing holding the XS650 from further development,to get up to at least the 90HP that Kenny Roberts needed to take on the XR750s they had special new heads cast,there is a story on the development of his bikes somewhere on the net.

One of these would make me happy - thanks for the photo OWL.

Kenny got real power when they built him a flat tracker with a TZ750 motor. Apparently he rode it, parked it and said "you can't pay me enough to ride that thing"

[Big Dog]

here's a better one - mine was a 250 not a 400 though
Looks a lot like mine in style (but seems to narrow) except mine was a in line four with twin pipes (four into two) and a bigger tank (22l).

[moko]

here's a better one - mine was a 250 not a 400 though

We didnt get that model in the U.K.,but we did get the 400 version.Sadly the model before was as bad as the old 250 and despite being a total re-design anything with XS400 on the side might as well have had "Shitheap" badges on the tank as far as the buying public were concerned.Take a look at this,original and much-hated XS250 totally different to Marty`s bike,motor was a blatant copy of Honda`s 250,write up is mine but not my bike pictured,hopefully that particular heap of crap rusted away long ago.

http://www.usedbikeguide.com/reviews/yamaha1.htm

[Jackrat]

We didnt get that model in the U.K.,but we did get the 400 version.Sadly the model before was as bad as the old 250 and despite being a total re-design anything with XS400 on the side might as well have had "Shitheap" badges on the tank as far as the buying public were concerned.Take a look at this,original and much-hated XS250 totally different to Marty`s bike,motor was a blatant copy of Honda`s 250,write up is mine but not my bike pictured,hopefully that particular heap of crap rusted away long ago.

http://www.usedbikeguide.com/reviews/yamaha1.htm
That bike looks a lot like the XS360D,Also a heap of crap.

[Big Dog]

My XS250 must be the best value for money bike ever. Bought it for $1500, sold it for $1500 never broke down once. I have seen them since for $3999 :mellow:

[krisby]

can't remember the name of it now, it was a mates cheapo rental bike in London, a little 125cc single cylinder 4 stroke, it started with a B, but it looked like something from the early 80s or something. The worst thing about it was the circular gear box, i.e, you could be in 4th gear, you want to slow down down 1st gear, you could change up to 5th, then into neutral then 1st, it was weird to get used too, fortunately I only rode it round the block. My mate was still trying for his full bike licence, so I told him to change the bike for something with a more conventional gear box otherwise he would just confuse himself.

The worst I even owned was a ZZR600, it was ok to start with, if a little flabby and the suspension was soft, but twas ok. 2 weeks after buying it I had to do a 100mile trip to Birmingham, I was mainly do about 90mph on the motorways (with ease) and gave it some up to 130mph a couple of times, anyway, was crusing along when I noticed smoke or something in my mirrors, pulled over, and saw coolant spilling out from under the seat (overflow reservoir). blah blah blah, long story short, exhaust was broken too, had it fixed several times for minor things, culminating in the engine being rebuilt as the head gasket was gone, and the pistons, rings, valves, springs, well, basically the whole engine was done in, apparently the bloke who fixed it reckons it was not my bursts of speed, just a poorly maintained bike and the dealer I got it from should not have sold it to me. I tried suing but only got £600 when the bike had cost me £2000 and repairs another £2500.

After that, never wanted another ZZR600, so much for being bullet proof.

[avgas]

As a generic class of bikes, the "1970s Japanese two-stroke farmbike" takes a power of heading off... Hard to start, hard to stop (cow shit and drum brakes are mutually incompatible), plugs that oiled up repeatedly (Yamaha's Agbike had a two-plug head at one stage -- you swapped the lead once a plug oiled, and hopefully the other had been burned clean), crap short-throw suspension, spoked wheels, guards too low... Mobile balls of shit they quickly became. Fortunately manufacturers learned quickly...

I had a Kwaka 100 (71') - if they were bad new then nothing changed cos it was shit wen i got it (96'), plus it had no exhaust

[simo]

got to be a Triumph Trident T160 me mate owned, had a breakdown fetish that made my SD900 pretty respectable, I remember a trip to Naki from Hamilton, when I spent most of the trip on the side of the road, either waiting for the sound of a howling triple, or " I just change this capacitor and she'll go like snot - for another 15kms!!!! -there was a saying back then.. The British motorcycle industry spent most of it's time on the side of the road, I must say that the Italians sorted out a lot of electrical probs when they adopted the ND electrics and Bosch ignition, shame about the bottom-end lunching itself without warning - fixed in the later models with plain shell bearings, these could handle the multi grade oils which the ol roller bearing couldn't. The T160 owner now runs one of the bigger motorcycle hire companies in NZ and would not want to be reminded of the bucket of bolts which was a sorry excuse for motorcycle, eh JR!!!!!! :apint:

[Madmax]

I knew a guy whose parents owned a market garden at Otaki - combining the worst of your post, he registered an H1, (blue, drum braked) as a farm bike (farm bike registration was much cheaper than road bike)
Old time Wellington riders might remember this guy - Wayne Eglington - he raced the thing in 'Sports Production" at Gracefield and Porirua (there was a "round the Shopping Centre" event there about 1970)
H1s are not as bad as the good old waterbucket gt750
(shit i still own an H1)
try going from a ZX10R to an H1(or H2) in the same day
they are as mad as each other
(except the 10s brakes work better)
the GT750 was just a slow handler
love H2s though
yeah i am mad :brick:
I think i am
so do all the rest of the funny farm i live at

[Sniper]

yeah i am mad :brick:
I think i am so do all the rest of the funny farm i live at

Dont worry MM, I wont tell them where you are :msn-wink: :beer:

[inlinefour]

Right - we spend soooo long on this site yakking about the best of the best....now lets see the worst of the worst.

KK - I will ask Spankme to increase the maximum post size of 10,000 characters so you won't have to use multiple posts to fit yours own :Pokey:.

Let's see the worst.....

For me it was a HD Sportser 2000 model. Not what I'm used to and although I know there are people that like em, I thought it was crap. :argh:

[Juan]

Without a doubt my Dads 197cc Viliers engined DMW.... complete pile of Shite, he loved it tho...

He is gone now, can't help wondering what he would make of the F4... think he would of said " eytie shite" .....RIP Dad

[MSTRS]

NICE BIKE - can I have it? The MV of course. Had a Villiers many years ago - never broke down is about all I'd say.

[Juan]

NICE BIKE - can I have it? The MV of course. Had a Villiers many years ago - never broke down is about all I'd say.


Ok if you pick it up from my house in one hour :innocent:

My Dads never started :gob:

[Biff]

A CB125 loan bike while my Bird was in for some work. What a heap of shite. F'in kids shouting , " nice bike mister" as I went past in my full biking gear , reflective visor. Bstards

To top it all the bike had Ducati 999S stickers on it - what class, must have doubled the price of the bloody thing.

Oh yeah - All the gears (4) were down, try to remember that when you're coming up to a roundabout or pulling up more suddenly than comfortably behind a car at traffic lights. :no:

[MSTRS]

Ok if you pick it up from my house in one hour :innocent:

My Dads never started :gob:
You didn't say you'd be out tho did you? I knocked for ages

[Coldkiwi]

worst for me was a 2002 GS1200SS loaner from Holeshot. Poorly built, vibrated like forty bastards, poo's suspension/tyres, far too heavy and sinfully ugly. Old bikes I can understand being crap, but modern Japanese machinery?? no excuse!

[MSTRS]

The Villiers was a bit of a non-bike really when alls said & done. My worst bike would have to been the '66 650 Triumph Saint, pre-unit g/box, driven by a chain thru a clutch that would NEVER stay attached. Those individual needle rollers I will never forget. In saying that tho, when it went long enough it did go pretty well. Had 20thou pistons in a 60thou o/size bore - still did 90mph tapped out.

[Dodgyiti]

worst for me was a 2002 GS1200SS loaner from Holeshot. Poorly built, vibrated like forty bastards, poo's suspension/tyres, far too heavy and sinfully ugly. Old bikes I can understand being crap, but modern Japanese machinery?? no excuse!

I rode a 2002 demonstrator [ pun intended] from said bike shop. Perhaps it was the same one?
And yep, it was a bucket of :puke:
True- it's the 21st century, no excuses from the mighty nippon, haven't they had enough time copying every one else yet to get it right??

[WINJA]

1998 fireblade, what a hunk of shit ,it went back to the dealership 6 times or so for various problems ,there were runs in the paint on the front guard and rust where the flange was welded onto the flange.the bike was so slow that a 2 up 98 zx9 would eat it, hence the reason i promptly traded it on a 98 zx9. and the worst problem was the bike cutting out mid corner when ridden hard.ill never get another honda , shame really usually you buy new bikes so they dont break down. :puke: honda

[marty]

winjas boyfriend. even worse than my xs250!

[MSTRS]

1998 fireblade, what a hunk of shit ,it went back to the dealership 6 times or so for various problems ,there were runs in the paint on the front guard and rust where the flange was welded onto the flange.the bike was so slow that a 2 up 98 zx9 would eat it, hence the reason i promptly traded it on a 98 zx9. and the worst problem was the bike cutting out mid corner when ridden hard.ill never get another honda , shame really usually you buy new bikes so they dont break down. :puke: honda
Just goes to show that Mr Honda is not God (but Mr Suzuki might be) GSXR's have a well deserved rep for strength & reliability

[Biff]

Just goes to show that Mr Honda is not God (but Mr Suzuki might be) GSXR's have a well deserved rep for strength & reliability

:killingme :killingme :killingme :killingme

[vifferman]

Some Yamaha trailbike (probably an early 70s 125) that a friend of mine bought, and the bloody thing would never run right, despite all the things I tried to do to fix it. It coughed and spluttered and misfired and backfired and was a total heap'o'crap. :eek:

[MSTRS]

:killingme :killingme :killingme :killingme
There's always one eh?? Damn I hate one-eyed rednecks. Now, about that GSXR...... :love2:

[Skunk]

All the ones with more (or less) than two wheels. :no: :puke:

[avgas]

anybike is better than no bike i suppose though.
But why did they make the goldwing?????

[Biff]

There's always one eh?? Damn I hate one-eyed rednecks. Now, about that GSXR...... :love2:

Fair dinkum - respect where repect is due etc etc

[Storm]

mmmm GSX mmmm

[Paul in NZ]

The Villiers was a bit of a non-bike really when alls said & done. My worst bike would have to been the '66 650 Triumph Saint, pre-unit g/box, driven by a chain thru a clutch that would NEVER stay attached. Those individual needle rollers I will never forget. In saying that tho, when it went long enough it did go pretty well. Had 20thou pistons in a 60thou o/size bore - still did 90mph tapped out.

Thats odd.....

a '66 Saint was a unit construction motor running a duplex primary chain.

I have never had a triumph clutch detatch itself. In fact a special puller is required to do the job. Mind you... With "20thou pistons in a 60thou o/size bore" god knows what other horrors had been done to the poor thing. Hardly makes it a bad bike though.... Dontcha think?

Paul N

[Motu]

Yeah,the Saint was the cop bike with a white tank.I've had Triumphs...and others (that G9 again!) where I've had to yank the barrels off past the wear lip on the bottom of the bore.I've still got all the pullers needed for a Triumph twin,clutch,crank gear and the tool to pull off and instal the cam gears.You could get several oversizes of the crowded clutch rollers,instal with gease and they stay in place no worries - wipe the excess grease on your jeans to get that shiny look...

[Hitcher]

a '66 Saint was a unit construction motor running a duplex primary chain.
Well, how else would you drive the hydrocillator?

[Paul in NZ]

Well, how else would you drive the hydrocillator?

This is typical of the crap written on this board...

EVERY one knows a '66 saint is an AIR cooled bike so it is not fitted with a hydrocillator. All the Triumph twins (except that ugly thing they currently are duping the world with) from engine number DU34760 use an air cooled gaseous-ocillator driven by a Lucas dis-electro decombobulator off the camshaft idler gear running in the reverse direction to the flux coupled zenner disintergrator to reduce the rocking forces on the ampmeter deflector mounted in the headlamp.

It is precisely this kind of mis information that led to the assasination of President Kennedy and the subsequent death of the british motorcycle industry.

Paul N

[MSTRS]

Thats odd.....

a '66 Saint was a unit construction motor running a duplex primary chain.

I have never had a triumph clutch detatch itself. In fact a special puller is required to do the job. Mind you... With "20thou pistons in a 60thou o/size bore" god knows what other horrors had been done to the poor thing. Hardly makes it a bad bike though.... Dontcha think?

Paul N
Could have been unit g/box - it was over 30 beers ago (oops I mean years).
But memory (un)reliably informs me the the main clutch housing was held onto the stickyout grooved thing by a bluddy great nut that needed 200lbs torque, manual never said welding was recommended, hence nut would unwind = shit everywhere inside primary casing.

[Paul in NZ]

Could have been unit g/box - it was over 30 beers ago (oops I mean years).
But memory (un)reliably informs me the the main clutch housing was held onto the stickyout grooved thing by a bluddy great nut that needed 200lbs torque, manual never said welding was recommended, hence nut would unwind = shit everywhere inside primary casing.

Did the manual happen to mention the tab lock washer as well? You know, the bit where you replace it after use? They cost about $1.30...

:no:

Mind you... Its a lesson I learnt on a hot BSA B33

Paul N

[Motu]

The BSA clutch,the clutch from hell.There was a very rare clutch center that had the BSA taper,but took the triumph clutch....I never found one - had a BSA box in my Triton once,a beaut gearbox,crap clutch.

Aaah,Christmas day...197?....heading north and the B31 starts making a horrible noise in the primary case - I pull over and park the bike at a farmhouse and hitch hike home to Auckland,walking through most of the city as there was no public transport.Back up the next day with some more tools - one of the 6 studs has pulled out,so I rip it out the rest of the way with some pliers,readjust the clutch to pull straight on 5 springs....and continue with my Xmas plans on the bike...didn't replace the clutch until some months later.The pleasures of Britsh biking....think on your feet....I taught McIver all he knew....


Um...Xmas day 197?? The B31 seizes 10km from my destination,but after cooling down I manage to find enough compression to get it going.I pull the bike down and find shattered rings and a stuck valve,how did it run? Back home and I find an old B33 barrel and piston and cyl head,pick up some new rings and head back to the bike.Now I have a 500cc bike....I have to reface a nicked valve with a file and lap in the valves.Unfortunatly mason bees have damaged the piston and I only get to the bottom of Windy Ridge before it collapses completly.I park the bike in an old shed I find (it's still there,you can see it from the road) and pull the top end off again.Walking out the drive I flag the first bike down,a 750 Duke GT and head home again.Back up a few days later with another 350 top end,this time with a 650 Triumph piston - I make another runner to last me untill I find a better top end.

No,these are not made up stories,it's what I did in those days - I got plenty more stories of pulling BSA singles apart on the side of the road...all I needed was a screwdriver and a 1/4 whit open ender.

[Kwaka-Kid]

now thats what im talking about! good on yah motu!

seriously interested in hearing more stories! how about you show your shaggy ass to one of these KB events?

[marty]

This is typical of the crap written on this board...

EVERY one knows a '66 saint is an AIR cooled bike so it is not fitted with a hydrocillator. All the Triumph twins (except that ugly thing they currently are duping the world with) from engine number DU34760 use an air cooled gaseous-ocillator driven by a Lucas dis-electro decombobulator off the camshaft idler gear running in the reverse direction to the flux coupled zenner disintergrator to reduce the rocking forces on the ampmeter deflector mounted in the headlamp.

It is precisely this kind of mis information that led to the assasination of President Kennedy and the subsequent death of the british motorcycle industry.

Paul N

that'll be the AERO-cillator then, i think i've got one of those in the gargre if anyone's interested

[MSTRS]

Did the manual happen to mention the tab lock washer as well? You know, the bit where you replace it after use? They cost about $1.30...

:no:

Mind you... Its a lesson I learnt on a hot BSA B33

Paul N
Oh yeah, that was there too (tho wot good it was for except to add weight to the bike & remove same from wallet I still can't figure). Finally got pissed off enough to get a Japper (the CB500 :niceone: :mobile: ) - problem solved.

[Rhino]

Not to mention plugs every 500 miles, fuel cooling (a best of 27 mpg) and engine rebuilds every 3000 miles! But they were real stable and good handling compared to the 500! :eek: And they were FUN1

I remember the frequent plug changes. 27 mpg, you were lucky. I never achieved more than 24 mpg (and that was going light on the throttle, ie no f***ing power). Didn't have to do a rebuild, but I can relate to the 500 H1 handling issues.

When I had a competition licence, I hired Ruapuna and punted my mates H1 around. This was the original drum braked "Blue Tank" model. I got three laps before the brakes ran out approaching the hairpin at the end of the main straight.

In those days a large shingle pit was at the end of the run off area. I went through that at a frightening velocity and stopped about 2m meters short of the big pine tree stand. My sphincter took about three days to relax. :(

My vote goes to the original Kawasaki H1 500

cheers, Rhino

[Bonez]

Never really owned a bad bike at all. Each had there querks. Worst I guess was a CB500 rat that chewed through about 1tlr oil every tank full of gas. Always started first push of the starter button and handled ok. Scrapped it because of lack of workshop space at the time. Still have the carbs as a reminder.

[Bonez]

worst for me was a 2002 GS1200SS loaner from Holeshot. Poorly built, vibrated like forty bastards, poo's suspension/tyres, far too heavy and sinfully ugly. Old bikes I can understand being crap, but modern Japanese machinery?? no excuse!Sounds like my early 80s Gsx750EX. Some just call it carrying on a tradition. Poms did it for years till Bloor bought the Triumph name.

[Bonez]

mmmm GSX mmmmNo you can't have the 750!! :nono:

[stanko]

Suzuki RE5, big fat and ugly. you wouldnt want your mates to know you were riding one.

[Madmax]

The current lone bike Vtr650 Bros feels like its
going to fall to bits if it hit anything bigger than a
road ripple and i have the urge to push it up
hills some times (who the fuck thought of putting
a single sided swing arm on this bike)
can not wait to get my ZX10R back
:devil2:

[Brains]

Worst bike riden was a loaner 04 CB1300, had a small warrenty job done on my CBR, and need to get to Auckland, nicest thing I could say about this bike was 'thanks for lending it to me, it's a long walk to Auckland'. All fun aside though, great bike if you like that sort of thing, heck how many people get on a race rep and swear they'll never get on one again.

[Jantar]

Suzuki RE5, big fat and ugly. you wouldnt want your mates to know you were riding one.

I just stumbled across this post while searching for something else. I can only conclude that stanko has either never ridden an RE5, or if he has, then he has not ridden any other large Japanese bike that was made earlier than 1985.

The RE5 was the smoothest and best handling bike out of Japan in the mid 70s. Read the review in a recent issue of BRM where its quick turn in to a corner was compared favourably with an R1.

[Dadpole]

Agree with Jantar. The RE5 was just so good on the twisty stuff. I once had the use of one for a month, and nothing compared until the GS750 arrived. (same frame designer as I recall)

[crazyxr250rider]

all those chinese bikes are pigs heavy and gutles...

[crazyxr250rider]

stanko watch what you say..........

[Bonez]

stanko watch what you say..........sniffing too much petrol ? Bad for your health you know.

[crazyxr250rider]

sniffing too much petrol ? Bad for your health you know.who me? I never............. :whistle:

[eliot-ness]

The first Kawasaki 650 W1 & W1SS (street scrambler - high pipes) was a direct knock off of the BSA A10, right down to the seperate gearbox. I've never heard that Yamaha copied BSA but the Kawaski - for sure. Kawasaki took over another Japanese maker, Meguro, and got the 650 design with that.
Another Jap factory that made a knock off of European bikes was Lilac - they copied BMW


Meguro didn't knock off the A10 BSA design. They built it legitimately under licence from BSA. Kawasaki inherited the licence with the takeover.

Lilac's only flat twin was a 339cc, in 1954. More akin to a Douglas of that era than BMW, who, incidentally, started by building Douglas fore and aft flat twins under licence in 1922. Douglas had been building them since 1907. In 1959 Lilac made a transverse V twin. 247cc. also with shaft drive.

Yamaha didn't copy anything. The XS was original from the ground up. They merely extended the Brit parallel twin layout by adding overhead cams. As with the Brit machines increasing capacity to 750cc was unsuccesfull. The balancer shaft, added to smooth out vibration, sapped too much power and the 750, although smoother, was slower than the 650.

[Pablo Uganda]

The worst bike I rode was an old Triumph from the 50s, a restored thing that I cant recall the model, but the rear wheel had almost a full fender on it.
Shit it was awfull.

[VasalineWarrior]

A 1979 Suzuki TS 125-twin plug head just like above and so many loose nuts that the damn thing would vibrate to bits down a pot holed road. Fond memories of looking for the missing exhaust in the bushes and pushing a friends seized example down the road. A real shit excuse for a bike

[ducatilover]

ts 125 was the worst ever for me.....even my mums hoda eve was better than that, shit even my gn is......the ts125 literally snapped in half when my brother was riding it about a year ago, turns out all that was holding it together was the zorst......... :argh:

[stanko]

I just stumbled across this post while searching for something else. I can only conclude that stanko has either never ridden an RE5, or if he has, then he has not ridden any other large Japanese bike that was made earlier than 1985.

The RE5 was the smoothest and best handling bike out of Japan in the mid 70s. Read the review in a recent issue of BRM where its quick turn in to a corner was compared favourably with an R1.

Wrong on both counts, I have owned an RE5, hated it, sold it to you

I have owned a Kawasaki gt750, z500, H1 and s2, yamaha RD350,rz350, rz500
so have some experience with pre 85 bikes.

[simonantz]

Yep i had one of these in the late 70s, and thats how I learned to kick, and kick and kick!
But I must admit I loved that bike and when she went it was just awsome.
Gad damme that oil filter was expensive!!

[jim.cox]

Kawasaki KH100

a nasty little two-stroker with only just enough power to get me my licence

[Skinny_Birdman]

Worst bike ridden: 1981 Moto Guzzi V1100 Spada - If it sounds like a tractor, performs like a tractor, and handles like a tractor, it must be.......

Worst bike owned: BMW F650 Funduro - Probably a bad example of a reasonable bike, but something broke every week or so, and when nothing was actually broken stuff would just randomly fall off it. I think that Loc-tite is available as a genuine part. It was a nice bike to ride, but the penny probably should have dropped when I got the ownership papers - 14 owners in 11 years? WTF?

Honourable mention: 1983 Suzuki GS 750ED - Had it when I was a poor student; was a poor student because I had it. The CDI unit blew, $900 for a new one from Suzuki. $900:(? I only paid $1000 for the bike! Got a 2nd hand one from a wrecker for $150, but after that I used to lie awake at night wondering when the electrical system would finally crap out for good and all.
Eventually sold it to a mate, and heard recently that the stator finally bit the dust. :whistle:

[Askelon]

Worst Ive ever ridden was a Suzuki Savage 650 with drag pipes (not sure what year - around '99 I think). Man it felt so underpowered, the brakes were quite possibly worse than just plain sticking your feet on the ground to stop, it cornered brilliantly as long as you were going in a staight line (Im used to scraping pegs but it was friggin crazy). And the vibes! It felt very cramped. I rode it for about a week after my Harley was stolen - that was seriously all I could handle it for. Replaced it with a 89 GSX600 and been pretty happy since..

[Dak]

Worst bike I EVER rode was a GSX-R1000K7 :nya:

[Rogue]

Worst bike I rode was the Kawasaki 1300 first of the fuel injection models in the '80's went like stink but wouldn'd stop and sure as hell didn't like corners also seemed very heavy

[sweetp]

Having not ridden many bikes I dont know if I can really contribute. Had a go on Nastys Viargo - was supposed to do a bike swap for this ride and just freaked out on it. Didn't even get it one lap around the car park. Couldn't handle my legs sticking out and don't get me started on the uprightness. God I love sports bikes!

[Japtwin]

Oh the memories. yeah Jim 2 absolutely; my mate had a Kwaka triple and I had a Suzuki GT 380 2 stoke thing, mine was unreliable, didn't handle but went like crax=zy when it did. But his jeeeesus was just mental, riding it was... nothing... not much...not much... then Holy crap why am I looking at the sky/ tarmac/sky/ouch gravel rash. I very nearly bought a 500 kwaka 2 stroke off a guy at the freezing works for $500, at the tender age of 17. I'm quite sure if I had I would no longer be here.

[geoffm]

Ohh, where to start...
A B120 I leanrnt to ride on, with square, old Cheng Shin tyres, and it was bent, but you couldn't tell because the frame flexed so much, You could see the swingarm flexing from behind as it was going al ong as traight road. I had a 2 wheel drift on that in the rain 6 weeks after getting it. i still don't know how I kept it upright.
I had an A100 bucket that was worse... I have never seen such a piece of shit in my life.
I borrowed a firends GSX550 - the oen with the 16" front wheel. Extremely dodgy handling.
G

[LilSel]

Havent rode that many bikes but I least enjoyed/liked riding a hyosung

[MaxB]

Oh the memories. yeah Jim 2 absolutely; my mate had a Kwaka triple and I had a Suzuki GT 380 2 stoke thing, mine was unreliable, didn't handle but went like crax=zy when it did. But his jeeeesus was just mental, riding it was... nothing... not much...not much... then Holy crap why am I looking at the sky/ tarmac/sky/ouch gravel rash. I very nearly bought a 500 kwaka 2 stroke off a guy at the freezing works for $500, at the tender age of 17. I'm quite sure if I had I would no longer be here.

My experience of a Kwaka H2 750 was test riding a mates, opening her up and watching myself slowly crabbing into the oncoming traffic even I was holding it straight. I didn't buy it.

[kevfromcoro]

Kawasaki 750,2 stroke tripple.
went like stink when it did go....wouldnt stop..and wouldnt go round corners,
Think they used to call these things...Widow Makers.
I can see why.....

[Timber020]

1998 fireblade, what a hunk of shit ,it went back to the dealership 6 times or so for various problems ,there were runs in the paint on the front guard and rust where the flange was welded onto the flange.the bike was so slow that a 2 up 98 zx9 would eat it, hence the reason i promptly traded it on a 98 zx9. and the worst problem was the bike cutting out mid corner when ridden hard.ill never get another honda , shame really usually you buy new bikes so they dont break down. :puke: honda

Ive got a 98 that I have had for a while and its been brilliant. You get lemons in every batch though.

[DarkLord]

My wosrst ever has to be a nifty 50. I could not get under way without popping a wheelie :scooter:

stopping in under 30ft resulted in either a stoppie or the front letting go.

This could be due to my weight :moon:

But it was not a problem on my g/f's suzuki equivalent.

or my mate had a KR250 2 stroke. It had a experimental dual carb setup where one was for low speed/rpm then the other cut in in an effort to biff me off the back. Below 5,000 only one cylinder fires theb at 7,500 the other cylinder comes in just as it reaches the lower end of the power band. :angry2:

Every time he road it something else wore out.

Amen to that. I've never owned a nifty 50, but used to ride a friend's one often. It was horrid. No suspension (you felt EVERY bump on the road), no gears (of course), horrible brakes (braking at speed is just not an option - you try and the bike is on top of you), and was just so tiny and unsafe.

I had some nasty bins on that bike, the worst by far was when I was riding down a private road with an electric fence on the side. I somehow managed to take a flier off the bike, hit all 3 hot wires of the electric fence and land in a heap on the road. Still to this day don't know how it happened, but I still remember my side throbbing something brutal due to the electric shock and I remember wandering around in a daze for at least 10 minutes afterwards, wondering what the hell happened.

The last I heard of that particular nifty 50, someone plowed it into a fence and it literally snapped in half. :lol:

That bike nearly put me off biking altogether. There has been a few times where I've locked up the back wheel on my current bike (Hyosung GT250R) and it's fishtailed a bit but stayed upright, thank God. I feel so much safer now.

[Pwalo]

Yamaha XZ550, Honda CB350/4, Kawasaki 250 twin (Samurai), Vespa 150 SS, Honda SL125 (although perhaps not in that order).

Scariest - definitely the H2. First gear at the bottom of the Gorge. Straight across both lanes when it hit the power band. Obviously Kawasaki had figured the secret to actually moving and cornering simultaneously at that stage.

[GaZBur]

Worst I raced was a Kawasaki 400 in the 410cc Production class.
Three different spark plugs were needed, hot(left) cold(centre) medium(right) and it used more cash in plugs than petrol which on the track was under 20 miles to the gal!!! YES TRUE! It was temperamental as a prima donna with PMT.

Also mentioned here was the TM400. The worst injury I ever sustained trying to start a bike, the kickback was astronomical.

Also mentioned here was the GT750 - whch I actually liked as a tourer but was not competitive on the track. "HEAVY man! Real heavy! "(Said in a stoned 70's voice)

Worst engineered was a Yam trail bike. The RT360 1971. When the crankcase was split a mechanic tried to tell me they were off different bikes because they werent matching- required a huge press to get it back together before I quickly sold it.

[tri boy]

Honda ATC 250R. Kept trying to chew my leg off. (do Trikes count)?

[Manxman]

93 YZF750 (basically an R7 homologation bike, which I didn't know till after I bought it....Doh).

Fecken mental fast and either off, or
ON:shit::shit::shit:

[98tls]

An 89 750 Ducati sport,sounded nice but a complete and utter heap of shite.

[limbimtimwim]

Honda TransAlp 400.

Eww.

[.produKt]

I'm gonna go out on a leg here, and say the worst bike i've every ridden was my first.

A Kawasaki zxr250. It had 70,000 km+ on it, hardly ever started even with new batt and alternator, hardly started when hot too, wore its rear brakes down on one side only, Broke it's own exhaust manifold bolts (2), electric fan never worked automatically thus resulting in a blown headgasket.
Torqueless engine. Had to thrash it to get anywhere

And yes yes, i realise that all those problems come down to maintainance. It's clear to me that it never got any.
So for me, that is the worst bike. -_-`

[munterk6]

the worst of the worst......the Honda 305cc "Dream"...lol, bloody Nightmare more likely!

[chrisso]

Yamaha XS250. 80'S GSX1100( wobble at over 130 solo--fine 2 up)
Honda CB360.

[redeye40]

Vespa 150,bloody deathtrap and only slightly better a Suzuki T-500 Titan

[EJK]

I havn't been on many bikes. Overall I least enjoyed a suzuki SJ50

[Yanosh]

GPX 250 - guttless piece of crap that handles like a cheap bicycle