Bikes that don't work [Archive]

Pwalo

24th November 2006, 10:15

Have you ever ridden a bike and just not enjoyed it?

I've been lucky enough to ride lots of different types of bikes in my time and I think that I've enjoyed riding all of them (even my brother's friends TS90), bar one.

That bike was a Yamaha XZ550 (V twin) in 1981. My RD400 was in the shop overnight and the dealer lent me the XZ overnight. I think that was the only bike that I've ever ridden where you twisted the throttle and nothing seemed to happen. Perhaps a bit more noise but that's about it.

It handled - well I can't remember.

Perhaps I'd been spoilt riding the RD, but even my mate's CB350/4 seemed more exciting. My brother's 80cc Yamaha certainly was.

Well I'm glad I got that off my chest. I just wish I could remember what made me think of that horrible experience.

McJim

24th November 2006, 10:26

phoenixgtr

24th November 2006, 10:45

-df-

24th November 2006, 10:48

jumping on my partners RG150 after riding my ZX7R...had to get it ready for her and it needed air in the tyres...definatly didn't enjoy that one bit...except for that 2stroke sound.

Leaned into a courner and just about fell off the bike...was very carefull after that!!

judecatmad

24th November 2006, 10:49

You should try a GN then mate

I've only ever ridden a GN and I'm definitely hoping that there's more to biking life.....LOL

Most definitely an underwhelming experience, altho so much more fun than the car!

phoenixgtr

24th November 2006, 10:53

I've only ever ridden a GN and I'm definitely hoping that there's more to biking life.....LOL

You've got alot to look forward to. Thats a bonus we "slow bike" riders have.

grego

24th November 2006, 10:53

YEEEP,
the XZ 400 was the smaler brother to the XZ 550
Looked very compact nice watercooled v twinn.

I bought on brand spanking new in 86 and it was the biggest piece of crapp I ever driven in my life.
Handled like a complete c#**nt.

Sold it virtually new still and was glad to have gotten rid of it.

forkoil

24th November 2006, 12:13

Mine would have to be the XR250 (waits for the flame war). I know its been an incredibly popular model, but after a succession two stroke trail bikes it just felt, well, flat ....

Motu

24th November 2006, 12:29

I'm always surprised to see my predudices go out the window.So many bikes I've got on rubbing my hands together,''always wanted to ride one of these'',and am very disapointed.Other times I get on a bike telling the owner as I do so all their faults and why they were never a success - and I come back from the ride with a grin from ear to ear.Never prejudge a bike....what works for others may not for you....what others hate may be exactly what you want.

nudemetalz

24th November 2006, 12:38

Like Motu says,...I always thought the 650 Savage would be a big pile of dung but I thought it was a hoot to ride, at least around town,...top gear 50 km/h , thump, thump, thump !!

magicfairy

24th November 2006, 13:01

Like Motu says,...I always thought the 650 Savage would be a big pile of dung but I thought it was a hoot to ride, at least around town,...top gear 50 km/h , thump, thump, thump !!

Yep I love mine. (Savage / LS650 -with the new styling, drag bars) But am looking to get a bigger bike (800cc) cos finding it works too hard on open road above 100k. And gets blown around a lot being light.

Nutter34

24th November 2006, 14:18

Well, I've ridden a Ducati S4R and never found it particularly special. It went, stopped, turned etc but that was about it... Different but not for me...

Bussaman

24th November 2006, 14:36

A friends 1990 "GSX 250 Across" pretty much takes the cake for me.
Full twist of the throttle in the lower gears just seems to make the engine noise louder.
Im not sure if his particular bike is a little fucked though due to high mileage.

Motu

24th November 2006, 14:52

Wiped the sneer of my face when I rode a Sportster,I've never bad mouthed a Harley since and they are on my wish list.....

Nutter34

24th November 2006, 15:10

Wiped the sneer of my face when I rode a Sportster,I've never bad mouthed a Harley since and they are on my wish list.....

I don't have any issues with Harleys, though SOME of the owners need attitude adjustments...

Motu

24th November 2006, 15:16

Some Kawasaki owners need an adjustment with a 4x2 across the back of the head too....but some of the bikes are ok.....

Crasherfromwayback

24th November 2006, 15:24

Yep I love mine. (Savage / LS650 -with the new styling, drag bars) But am looking to get a bigger bike (800cc) cos finding it works too hard on open road above 100k. And gets blown around a lot being light.

And boy have I got a deal for you....!:scooter:

vifferman

24th November 2006, 15:35

I can't remember many of the bikes I've ridden, but when I had my "XBR500RS Mutant", I test-rode a Bros 400 and GB400 and thought they both sucked. I also swapped the XBR for a GN250 which I thought was comfy but gutless (the GN owner was raving about the Mutant and ready to buy it on the spot!)

When looking to replace my VFR750, I test-rode a SV650, and was very underwhelmed, and disappointed after all the hype I'd been fed...

surfer

24th November 2006, 15:44

Like Motu says,...I always thought the 650 Savage would be a big pile of dung but I thought it was a hoot to ride, at least around town,...top gear 50 km/h , thump, thump, thump !!

I had a 650 cabbage and it definitely wasn't. I loved that sound and it was even better after it had a bit of frame modification with a hardtail and goosenecked at the front. Some nice wide low bars made it look awesome. The thump thump sound was even better through shorty mufflers. Wasn't so cool when I fell off it, but had a soft landing on the pillion ha ha.

Mind you I still remember my Honda CM125 as the most enjoyable, probably because it was soooo looooong ago that all I can remember is the good times.

Goblin

24th November 2006, 15:51

Worst bike I ever rode I didn't even ride it...I was pillion. I Think it was a Harley Fatboy and it had these huge running boards instead of footpegs. I went all the way from Taupo to Wanganui on the back of this thing and it was the WORST, most frightening journey I have ever experienced. When the rider opened the throttle to overtake, it made the loudest noise and the vibration was horrible and it just had no acceleration what so ever. Half way through overtaking I had to close my eyes and hope like hell we got passed before the oncoming traffic came. Through the Paraparas the running boards scraped on every corner and I was shocked there was anything left of them when we finally reached Wangas. Was so glad I didn't have to go home on it.

dawnrazor

24th November 2006, 15:52

i once took a 1200 harley sportster out for a ride......I never want to repeat that experience, I was walking funny for a week afterwards.....horrible experience......it wouldn't accelerate, corner or stop..but it did look pretty!

Nutter34

24th November 2006, 17:08

Some Kawasaki owners need an adjustment with a 4x2 across the back of the head too....but some of the bikes are ok.....

I rest my case... :nya:

terbang

24th November 2006, 17:43

Ferried a friends K75 (BMW) up from Wanaka to Cristchurch. I didn't dislike it but after my then current steed (Grumpy old GSX1100) it was just a plain barbie bike. It handled ok, it had a bit of wick (only just) and it was very comfortable to ride but it didn't do much for me at all (Oh Yawn). Bloody near put me to sleep. I'm not a fan of Harleys and yes they handle appallingly and "wouldn't pull a sailor off yer sister" either but I've certainly had some fun riding them. I guess thats what counts.

diggydog

24th November 2006, 19:37

Wiped the sneer of my face when I rode a Sportster,I've never bad mouthed a Harley since and they are on my wish list.....
me as well, waiting for santa to get me one,if not one day soon.:rockon:

Gremlin

25th November 2006, 00:53

Had a Yamaha dragstar 650 thing, when my 7 was in for a service... the only bastard bike I have come extremely close to sending down the road without me... twice :yes:

Sure, I loved pissing everyone off just opening the throttle, making a shit load of sound, and not being in license losing territory because of it. However, on the flip side, racing a bus down the motorway to get in front of it, when the lanes were merging... was not a highlight of the loan period :shit:

Of course, the pillion thought it hilarious, saying he heard all this sound, and we weren't going any faster... I managed to get the thing to 130, and exhausted myself in the process... I was very happy to get my bike back, but that said, hey, it was a loaner, and better than a 250...

Brian d marge

25th November 2006, 03:31

Mine would have to be the XR250 (waits for the flame war). I know its been an incredibly popular model, but after a succession two stroke trail bikes it just felt, well, flat ....

Agreed ,,, THOUGH,,,, they have there place ,,, the power delivery is suited to some NZ conditions

Stephen

Forest

25th November 2006, 10:08

When I was a student in Dunedin, I owned a Kawasaki GPZ 305 for a few months.

It was a truly atrocious piece of shit.

Squiggles

25th November 2006, 15:11

an 84 VT250FD, thing blew up before i managed to put it in gear :lol: albeit it was presumably all my fault :yes:

notme

25th November 2006, 18:35

Have you ever ridden a bike and just not enjoyed it?

Any cruiser.......:dodge:

[/pt]

I have thus far only only ever been underwhelmed by a bike AFTER riding something better than it.....I went in a pretty ideal fashion through my bikes up to the current one, i.e. each was better than the last. What underwhelmed me the most was probably the Suzuki katana I owned for a bit....yes they are a classic, but FFS the 400cc version is underpowered and overweighted.....with sucky suspension.

As I said though, at the time it was better than the previous bike and so felt awesome until i upgraded. :scooter:

I don't think I have actually ridden a "bad" bike so far though, even after owning (and riding) a CBR600RR and 250cc Zeal simultaneously,
the Zeal is not a bad bike as such, just obviously had a shitload less grunt and lower limits on the handling - but i kinda expected that, and thought that for what it was (and what it cost!) it went pretty damn good.

SuperDave

25th November 2006, 18:46

I hopped onto an FXR150 after a VTR250 and was completely underwhelmed. The FXR owner spent about 10 minutes hooning round the car park on my VTR and I stepped off the FXR after about 200 metres of riding and decided I was happier to just stand and wait for my VTR back.

You obviously weren't riding it properly. An FXR is pretty good for what it is in the twisties with a decent set of tyres. I managed to keep up with friends on 250 fours, I'm sure it'll keep up with a vtr if ridden correctly. (In corners of course, but straight line is for boy racers anyways)

Pickle

25th November 2006, 20:53

worst bike ever ridden without a doubt had to be a mates Ducati 750 Paso & this is when they were new & I owned a GPZ 600 we swapped bikes & he didnt want to give me my bike back, open the throttle & all noise but no go, atrocious handling stood up in corners if you tried to brake. Only good thing about it was I got to hand it back eventually.

Paul in NZ

26th November 2006, 06:56

I don't have any issues with Harleys, though SOME of the owners need attitude adjustments...

Perhaps you should try riding one of the owners? A bit slippery on tight corners but you just grab a hold of a tassle and hang on...

Edbear

26th November 2006, 08:28

avgas

26th November 2006, 08:45

Every single CBR i rode felt like a heap. and sounded like a rattle gun.
Yes they do handle well, and have a smooth power response......but if i wanted that i'd also buy a breakfast cereal with an addional 500mg of paracetamol.
Its a shame really cos i pretty much like all the other honda's.

MidnightMike

26th November 2006, 08:49

I rode a gn250 once.....

xwhatsit

26th November 2006, 20:34

I rode this bike once... don't know if they're a very common bike here on KB, it was called an `Avanti'.

Absolutely no power. Bizarre control layout (go to twist the throttle and instead of going anywhere it would change gear instead). Horrible peg height, one peg either higher or in front of the other, no matter how much you adjusted it. Shitty little piss-arse saddle that each nut hung on either side of. Worse than a GN250; to get up a hill, you didn't need to drop just one gear, but 15 gears at least. Won't even try to explain the horrible suspension and narrow little tyres...

Ixion

26th November 2006, 20:43

Mut have ridden several hundred different bikes over half a century or so. Can't think of a single one that I didn't enjoy riding. Some impressed more than others to be sure. And not always the fast ones. Some you had to take on their terms,some needed more adjustment on my part than others, but I reckon every single one was fun.

Skunk

26th November 2006, 21:15

Worst bikes I ever rode were a Suzuki 250 'cruiser' (GS?) and a Honda Lead (yeah, right).

I tend to ride anything I can just to see what it's like, but not from bike shops. Just can't be bother with the 'How was that?", "You going to buy it now?" stuff.

VN800 was interesting. So too the R1100S. Either was my taste but both were much better than I expected.

kro

27th November 2006, 05:36

I'm in the same boat as Ixion, I've ridden a shitload of bikes, and just enjoyed the experience each one had to offer. Sure I've ridden bikes I didn't like, but I knew why, and it was always because of known defects on that particular machine, like a false neutral here, or a spongy front end there.... general maintenance stuff really.

:scooter:

elle-f

27th November 2006, 05:41

yep I too bought an XZ400 in the late 80s and it certainly was a piece of crap! i loved it though because it was mine *L* i wont be doing that again

avgas

1st December 2006, 12:59

go to twist the throttle and instead of going anywhere it would change gear instead
:no: :oi-grr: :crybaby:
Yucky gripshift
I lost a race cos of that crap (wasnt my bike)

zooter

1st December 2006, 14:02

I haven't ridden many bikes but the GN250 thet lent me when my 1100 was in the shop was a hoot to ride. Not very fast but :whocares:

jeremysprite

1st December 2006, 15:19

Rode an '88 GSXR250 once. Compared to the FXR it was old, ugly, heavy, and not too quick pickup. But man it sounded nice...

Qkchk

1st December 2006, 15:29

The bike I was most dissapointed in was:

2006 Ducati 749

I was expecting something exciting but was rather disappointed (but I did just hop off my Busa, so that might have something to do with it) it did feel nice on the road but not enough power for me to buy it.......

The bike I had fun getting nowhere:

2005 GSX 250

Had no guts, could of walked faster but was so much fun to lanesplit with!:lol: