Bikes you have been disappointed in

[gossman_imp]

Suzuki C50

 

[4 Paws_imp]

Disappointed in?
Honda Sabre, I "moved up" to one in the early 80's by selling my CB550. It was during the time when the US had tariffs on motorcycles over 700cc's - to protect Harley. Never got comfortable on the bike, seemed to have less power and worse handling than my sold CB. Moved to an ST when Honda came out with them, still my favorite ex.

Bought a Triumph T100 in about 2004, nice solid bike but again lacking in power and not quite as good on highway as I wanted. Hated dirt/gravel roads. Looked great but. Dealer also sold BMW and made me "a deal" on a R1200 GS. Plenty of power, very tall bike that didn't care if road was gravel or paved. Way too heavy on anything but well groomed forest service roads. Only put 24k on the bike in 7 years, tells you something. Expensive to maintain, any real work required special tools. Over priced accessories. Quite popular with some crowds. Really helped the I sold it.

Got rid of the GS and bought the CB, happy again.

 

[Django]

1983, as a student I took all my savings and bought a used Ducati 500. A dream came true.

If that bike was in rain for some hours, you wouldn't get it started, took an hour or so. Leave it outdoor over night, next morning there was rust on the brake disks.

However, riding it on twisty back roads, when it has started, was a charme.

Then, after owning it a month or so, at a weekend trip, while overtaking a car, the engine broke down and I pulled right. The sound indicated a problem with the left cylinder (it was a twin). Removing the left ignition plug let me see the piston. Then I moved the crankshaft with the kick starter, but the piston did not move: very bad signs.

I called my girl friend, who picked me up. At home I opened the engine and saw the whole mess:
the left piston rod was broken and had slit up the complete left cylinder liner! I've never seen again such a damage.

That was a nearly total loss of my savings.

I pulled out my ol' CB500T again, which still was not sold and rode it a couple of more years.

That cured my longing for Italian motorcycles.

 

[LongRanger_imp]

I've had several.

1970 CB750K0 - Highly collectable but the decades have not been kind to it. Compared to a bargain bike today, it has awful handling, wooden brakes, harsh suspension. How the go-fast guys rode the wheels off these back in the day is a mystery to me.

2001 R1100S - Stunning bike but almost unrideable at 80 mph+ due to excessive engine vibration. A very capable bike in the twisties however.

2010 V7 Cafe Classic - Another stunner but it had the world's worst suspension. Zero compliance to bumps. The ergos were off, too: Clip-on's but mid-mount foot pegs. The engine was charming and plenty powerful for me.

 

[CA200_imp]

I know I posted on this thread before but it made me think of some other bikes I have had. A couple of times I have bought bikes I
thought were some what like bikes I have had but you can't go back.
The bike I had before the CB was a Kaw. ER6n , I was hoping it would be like my SV I had had. Nope big mistake. Restored a VTR250
hoping it would be like the 88 Ninja 250 we had. Nope just a puppy to the
Ninja .
Then there was the only BMW I ever had. In 80s I had a lot of UJMs
and decided it was time for my first BMW. I had a GS1100GK at the
time. A friend of my nephew had started a BMW dealer here but was
struggling . The "K " bikes were about to come out. I think it was 85?
I went to see him he had maybe 4-5bikes. He had one K100 naked
and a R80RT leftover for the same price.
I was always one to buy into the latest tech. I bought the K100
added the Hard bags ,windshield and driving lights.
It always drew a crowd. It buzzed a lot till I had it over a 100mph
a few times. the front was soft and it went through 4 sets of fork seals in a
few months. My dealer closed so I had to take it to a small BMW
dealer in Freeport IL to have it fixed. The instruments would just all
shut off as you were riding it. It had a ton of recalls. The throttle stuck on it one day - scary! BMW did stand behind all of it even bad paint on the side covers - it had 3 yr . warranty. One day I left
for work came up to the first stop sign and it just died . I pushed it home( I lived down a hill from the stop sign) I pulled the tank and
found these big blocks of wires and if I lifted them I could get the bike to wake up. I found a wire in one block that was made wrong
and I did a real cob job to fix it - I was late for work - put it back
to gather and went to work. Never did go back and fix it right.
I kept it just 36 months and by that time had went to for a Honda dealer who kept saying " Can't you park that thing a little farther away?"
It was a real love hate thing - It rode so nice.

 

[Henrik_imp]

It is interesting to read this thread. I saw the Ducati ST2 mentioned, which is probably my all time favorite bike. Yes, it doesn't like really low revs, and can be difficult in traffic, but when you have learnt how it works it would do anything. Still miss it. The VFR 800 was another one I loved, and probably the only 4 cylinder bike I really liked (yes I have always preferred twins).

I think the only bike I was disappointed with was the Honda XLV 1000 Varadero. Not a bad bike, but the overall quality was really lacking. Certainly not up to the standard all other Hondas I have had were.

 

[the Ferret]

LOL wow BMW's have sure taken a beating in this thread

 

[capttwb136_imp]

I've had a bunch of bikes since the mid 60's. I started out on a Yamaha 250 two stroke. Since then I've had Italian bikes, German bikes, American bikes, and Jap bikes. The worse one? Hard to say, bikes since the 70's have been pretty reliable except for some of the American bikes. Most every bike requires some modifications to have it suit you. Early on it was weak suspension and rotten stock seats. Once you got those straightened out the bike was fine. The worse ones for me were the top heavy ones. Honda's were always great, a couple were top heavy but always very reliable. I've never came across the perfect stock bike. However I must say the closest to perfect right out of the box was the BMW K1600 GTL. The seat wasn't the greatest though. For me it is the best handling comfortable tourer I've had. Yeah it has drive train lash, but you learn how to shift it and the lash isn't bothersome. It's fast, handles well, and is pretty darn comfortable. I've got a couple different seats for it depending on the type riding I plan on doing and I really can't complain. The trouble with BMW today is they put too much high tech crap on them and out source the parts from some strange places instead of building all the parts in house. They have gone from simple reliable bikes to high tech machines that are only as good as the worst outsourced part. However they do have a 3 year unlimited mileage warranty.

 

[drodg33]

This is an interesting thread that I have never seen. I will put my two cents in. I sold my R1200RT for a new Ultra Glide in 2007. Uhhh that was a mistake. There was nothing wrong with the Ultra Glide but it was like going from driving a BMW M series to an early 80's Cadillac. I put 1000 miles on it and sold it for used R1200RT. The only problem I really had on my BMW's were the lack of dealers in the area. I love the R12RT's for long distance riding but trying to get warranty work done is a real issue.

 

[the Ferret]

Some of the chatter I started in 2013 when the forum was just getting a foothold may be the reason you have never seen it lol

 

[drodg33]

That is probably it since I just joined last year. Nice enduring thread though!

 

[the Ferret]

Well, I've since been disappointed on test rides of an FJ07 and FZ-09. The 07 vibrated enough to make me notice it every time I gave it gas, but it was more comfortable than the 09. The 09's fuel injection was horrendous and the seat was a plank. I nick named it "the twitchy brick". Luckily I was able to discover that BEFORE buying either of them.

 

[LongRanger_imp]

I've got one more to add -- '01 R1150GS. It may not be fair to complain, as I only had the bike for ten days (Edelweiss trip), but we didn't bond at all. I never felt comfortable leaning it in the curves, thought the engine was coarse and unresponsive, and the seat was brutal. Plus, it had that stupid beak. Blasphemy, I know.

 

[drodg33]

I've got one more to add -- '01 R1150GS. It may not be fair to complain, as I only had the bike for ten days (Edelweiss trip), but we didn't bond at all. I never felt comfortable leaning it in the curves, thought the engine was coarse and unresponsive, and the seat was brutal. Plus, it had that stupid beak. Blasphemy, I know.

The 1200's were a big improvement on the 1100's and felt much smoother. The 1100's and some of the 1150's had an annoying surge at steady speeds. My two R1100RT's seemed to surge but my R1200RT's did not. I have been wanting to ride a GS....

 

[LongRanger_imp]

Yep. The water-cooled R1200RT that I demo'd last summer was incredible.

 

[hb9400_imp]

Suzuki C50

I had to go thru 3 iterations of Suzuki's M50 to accept that it was very lacking.
Was also disappointed with the VStar 950's 2 up performance and it had the worst lean ground clearance of any bike I've ridden.

 

[Toro5xi_imp]

This is a great and insight full thread. There are so many bikes I have lusted after over the years and just didn't have the funds to buy at the time or needed to pay bills, college etc. I have wanted a Yamaha VMAX for ever and yep I know it is probably not very practical and too heavy for me as I get older but I just remember the comparison to the Ford Cobras when I was younger and just don't give a darn.
The most disappointing bike for me I bought twice because I just can't seem to learn when it comes to bikes. I have bought 2 DR650's knowing perfectly well they were not going to be fire breathers like a KTM or have great suspension but am just too darn cheap and end up paying more in the long run. The DR650 is a great bike for what it is but I was wanting something exotic which would lift the front wheel.
If I had one piece of advise, which I will never seem to follow, is buy what you lust after once. If I count up the amount of money I have lost on buying and selling shortly there after, well enough said.:huh:
It was interesting to read the posts concerning the BMW's and lacking quality at times. It certainly is upsetting to get stuck with a poor product. I purchased a VW diesel right before the scandal hit. Not much I can do about it right now and just like bikes I will certainly fall victim to the latest rebates or sale prices or add campaign. I have since bought a VW GTI, can't help some people.
When it comes to bikes at this point I don't need it to get to work so if it gives me trouble I try to take it with a grain of salt. I know an older Ducati is gonna give me fits but they had the prettiest models at the Cleveland bike show. :hello:

 

[Roper_imp]

Many years ago, one of my Air Force buddies bought an new Indian Chief. It was from the Gilroy era and had a Power Plus 100 engine. It was red with a tan leather saddle. To this day, I think it was the most beautiful bike I've seen in real life. I was riding an old V65 at the time, and I thought I wanted an Indian. Then I rode my buddy's bike. It felt like I was trying to turn a wheelbarrow. And I just never got used to the feeling of sitting so low with my arms and legs stretched out straight in front of me.

 

[ingobohn_imp]

"What the Italians call 'character', the Japanese consider 'design flaws' and the Germans deny to their graves."

Before I bought my CB 1100, I also did test rides with some other bikes of course.
1) Because everyone raves about the BMW boxer, I test rode the BMW R 1200 R (the former model not the 2015). I was totally disappointed about the engine, you can call it "character", I call it uncomfortable shaking buck. Additionally, the front suspension (Dual Lever) was never giving me a confident feedback of what the road is and what my front wheel does. When I tested several bikes, I always rode the same tour (just to be able to compare the bikes completely). On the Autobahn or fast country roades, the engine, the comfort and the stability of the bike was good, but on little curvy roads it was hard for me to drive. I remember some hair pins onto a hill close to Heidelberg. It was hard for me with the beamer to circle around that curves (stunned Dual Lever, stubborn engine). In that curves, I had to go along in 1st gear with slipping clutch (while I am able to ride it on my CB 1100 in 2nd gear without any probs). And the gear box was terrible. Every shift came with a loud and hard "clonc". It felt like a tractor's gearbox. Well, at my home town there is a big John Deere plant, maybe the BMW dealer took some parts for the gear box from there. When I came back to the dealer, the sales man came to me with a big smile and said "how did you love it?". After I said that I am disappointed, he looked at me indignantly. BMW blasphemy? Jehova, ...? The final killer argument was the price: he offered me a 6 month old used R 1200 R with 9.000 km for "only" 14.900 EUR!
2) I test rode also the Honda Crossrunner (former model, not current 2015). I agreed with the dealer for a 2 h test ride, but came back already after 30 min. The ergonomics of that bike was terrible. I felt like origami'ed on that bike. My knees started to ache already after some minutes. And the engine with the 2V/4V "switch" was also a bit weird. Below 6.500 rpm it just felt like a strangulated engine, and over 7.000 rpm suddenly the man with the hammer came and nearly kicked me off the bike. In one turn at the end of the curve I accelerated and came at 7.000 rpm and suddenly the engine turned into a beast. Not funny.

Another story:
3) I also tested the Guzzi V7 (nice bike, no complaints). But when I was there, a guy received his brand new Panigale (the dealer also sells other Italian bikes). When he fired up the engine on the dealer's yard, I got scared. It sounded like if you put some metal bolts into a big iron tin can and shake 'em. If my HONDA would sound like THIS, I would IMMEDIATELY bring it to the dealer for EMERGENCY service.

 

[rboe]

My XR650L has been a big disappointment with all sorts of failing (engine burning or eating oil, ecu cheaply made and fails early, runs too hot). Big money drain.