Worst Bike to buy?

Buell's, any Buell, I had a 2002 X1 from new, it would not go more than 3000 miles without major failure. You would have to reset the TPS every 1000 miles or it would just die.

It was not limited to just mine, they all did it.

I've had two Ducatis and never had problem one, loved them, still do.

 

Anyone who owns a Duc, and complains about the maintenance costs, should have learned the word desmo before purchasing.

 

The current model CBR1000 have weak shift forks. Don't forget about the Honda Turbo'd bikes that were prone to bad failure. Older Brit bikes I've heard were nightmares as well. And, the HD/AMF bikes.

 

my 07 benelli tnt seemed to be a well sorted bike. no reliability issues while i had it. though i heard the earlyier ones had some issues similar to how the RR is in honda. just so you guys know, the RR issue is on pretty much any honda sport bike, not just VFR's. something you guys don't seem to talk about is that you can swap it with an RR from a yammy or some other bikes (heck, atv's dirtbikes,etc.) that are metal and finned and be done with those issues forever.

all that said, the worst bike you can own, is one that you are afraid to ride, for whatever reasons. i LOVED that benelli, but i could not leave it in a parking lot with out it drawing attention, i was afraid for it to be out of my sight long enough to pay the gas station. it ended up getting ridden to and from my house with no stops in between. out of all the beet up junk, and reasonably nice bikes i have owned, the benelli was the worst bike i owned because i was afraid of getting hit, it getting scratched, it getting looked at sideways, knocked over, etc. i was afraid to ride it.


also another example of 'the worst bike ever' would be a n00b on a 1000rr or something drastically out of the riders experience level. if the new rider has respect this may not end badly, more often then not, the right hand gets excited and shit gets bad real quick.

 

I want to nominate the Yammy XJ. I owned a Seca 750. Horrible front brakes. PITA anti-dive forks. Rear drum was prone to the pads delaminating and locking up. Gimmicky YICS system that made synicing and tuning a royal PITA. Valves needed inspected/adjusted every 5K miles. The charging system is so bad the forum guys replace all the lights with LEDs.
They hold no value, I sank hundreds and hundreds in mine to try and fix all its problems and sold it for a loss just to wash my hands of it.
It was quick in a straight line when it was running right, but that bike was super scary in the corners. Braking into a corner was a religious experience.

 

Really?
I had a buddy that beat the living crap out of one in the late eighties and it never skipped a beat. It was just a wisker quicker than my 3rd gen off the line but up top I had him. We were young and foolish, riding about at maximum warp all the time.:crazy:

 

Yep, Desmo = $$$$$$
Can you say flaking rockers batman or how about flywheels just coming off! I've experienced all of it.

 

Mine actually burned more fuel than my car! Not uncomon these days but back then it was a shocker...on top of the other issues already mentioned.

 

Yeah those bikes are tuning nightmares. I feel like I should at least mention some of the good.
The bike was a pioneer in electronic monitoring. No complaints about the shaft drive.
When it debuted in 81 in was the fastest 750 with a 1/4 mile time in the low 11s IIRC.
I had a grand sport touring handlebar on it and the bike was very comfortable.
Dumping that bike for my VFR is like divorcing a cheating wife and replacing her with one that hosts bible study.

 

Durk, I agree. I bought a Yami Seca 750 (in black, of course) in 1981, and you are right. First bike with LCD digital dash, those great 'tear along the dotted line' ads, a very narrow engine, shaft drive, and excellent riding ergos. I rode the daylights out of that bike right up until I sold it about five years later. Routine maintenance, never a problem. I had an early model with the extra 'driving light' below the headlight that turned out to be not DOT legal so they had a recall to replace it with an amber fog light.... Never had the recall done and loved the extra night visibility. Gotta hand it to Yami, though, they were not afraid to try new ideas.....

 

Google Image Result for http://steelhorsemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Oscar_Mayer_Wienermobile-photo-680x437.jpg

It is rumored that Willy G. had a hand in the design of this wurst bike..

 

If you listened to the "press" my old mount was terrible.


It was a 1992 C-10 Kawasaki Concours.


"Buzzy handle bars" they said.


" Slow heavy and outdated"


"J-Box failures" "head bearing failures" "clutch problems"


I put 141k miles on my 92 before she slung a timing chain (Not on the list and the bike gave me fair warning!!!)


1982 Suzi GS650G "gutless" "boring" "UMJ without a soul..." I put 79k miles on that one then sold it to the brother.(lesson learned, dont sell anything you love to family or close freinds the WILL fark it up!)


I bought a new 2008 ST1300...."outdated".... "In need of updating" "overpriced fat pig"...


Best riding bike 2 up I've ever owned!


Forget the press and the "rep." My Connie should have been boring but how do you put 141k miles on a boring bike?

Why does BMW never reduce their North America sales quota's???Why does HD still sell bikes???


Because sufficient numbers of folks love the product...


Drive anything you can get a key for....Sit on anything your allowed too....Something will "speak" too you. Buy it!

P.S. I bought the ST cause the wife wanted to go with me....I'm looking for a dream........A used 3rd gen to come along at the same time I have sufficient cash to paty for it.


IMHO any bike you love is the right bike. You'll know it when you see it. I've got a friend that rides a 68 Harley Glide that wouldnt have anything else. He spends half of his offtime catching up on repairs and at least 2 hours wrenching for every 8 hours riding but it is "his dream bike."


Ride what YOU like....You'll learn to deal with her. (can be said about several other relationships too!)

 

Sometimes the worst turns out to be the best. Bought a 1953 Velocette 350 from a guy who had it in storage. Got it running but due to the fragility of old Brit bikes and nearly zero parts availability the bike was put away for years. Bought it for $200.00. Sold it for much more. Valuation on those old timers is not so much based on overall condition but if the bike is "all there."

 

Sometimes you can just be unlucky & end up with the worst bike in a batch of good ones of the same make & model. My previous bike was a fantastic & reliable ride. Yet go to its specific forum & lots of problems that I never experienced (well ok, the reg did shit itself, but we all expect that).
Anyway, I'd like to nominate my 83 BMW K100 as a contender for the biggest POS ever made. Lets see, cracked lower sub frame, fuel pressure regulator, black box, speedo worked when it felt like it, condensation in the LCD display, then faded to the point of being unreadable, oil leak from the crank casing, center stand that cracked so the bike one day twisted on the stand, snapped & threw the bike on ground & the icing on the cake, the engine transmitted enough heat (in traffic) to boil the petrol in the tank (this was fixed by BMW with a better heat shield).

 

Dudes from down under often mistake Harleys for BMWs

 

Not even on bad day could I mistake this:



For this:



But then again the 80's was a crazy period. I did get married for the 3rd time.

 

any parallel twin 4 stroke especially the Honda CB250 Dream. Even the CB400n too - grenadess!!!!

Yamaha XS250 (a parallel twin again)

 

Almost bought a 750 K triple. Went ahead and too far on a R100RS. Fast but not all that reliable.

Too bad about your K. Sounds like somebody put a hex on it..

See my HD poem. "I love my Harley-Davidson."

 

^ to that - Nothing with after-market paint jobs either...

Honda PC 800 is (was) a ripe turd, just saying...

Kawasaki Concours, the carbureted ones were nice, economical buys...no zed X 11 though :evil:

 

My first bike on my Ls in '82 was a 2nd hand XS400 Twin, wasn't that bad just a bit dull though admit being much happier after replacing it with a brand new Kawasaki GPz550H2 in '83