Back in 74 I passed my test on a 60’s sx 200 lambretta which was ultra reliable,even with its mod leanings,it never let me down.Bought it for £35,sold it for £35,obviously wish I hadn’t now. Waiting in the garage was a 63 Bonneville with lime green frame and hammerite blue tank,a real stunner.......what could possibly go wrong??,well just about everything and at 18,I didn’t have the money or experience to put it right,so apart from a bank holiday weekend with a mate to north Devon,it was nothing but trouble and I sold it to another poor unsuspecting lad,even though it broke down when I was selling it. Quite a sad memory and the bike,which I suspect was scrapped years ago would also be worth a small fortune now.But it was iconic
I thought it was so boring. No low end grunt, nothing exciting mid range and not much of a top end to speak of. Hated it and got rid of it as quickly as I could. Got a kwack 300 to replace it and loved it. It was zippy and the engine suited being ridden at high revs. The sound alone made you feel like you were doing 100 when you were barely touching 70 Chalk and cheese and I prefer cheese
I think the low point in motorcycle ownership was my 1982 Yamaha XS-11. This naked monster has a sweet sounding motor but 1100cc only got me 100 h.p.. That might have been OK, but at 720 lbs. dry weight, it was a dog. It's 4 gallon fuel tank would let you coast in to your next fuel stop at just over 100 miles and it scared the hell out of me in fast corners. That was 17 years ago. It scattered 2nd. gear and I dumped it. . ...J.D. LIKE THIS ONE [ Wikipedia says only 603lbs.]
My first bike was an SS125, I bought it off my cousin for £25 when I was 14. He'd used it as a field bike and fitted two Massey Ferguson silencers on it as the originals were fubar, quite a mod!! had a lot of fun on it and ended up swapping it for a non runner Cotton 170 trial bike
My first bike, a BSA C15, was a pile of unreliable, oil-leaking, dangerous poo, but I loved it and learned spannering skills on it. My first bike when I came back to biking was a Virago 535 (tart's handbag). It went alright-ish and I put a few miles on it before I outgrew it and swapped it for a VFR750. A very capable bike, but I never gelled with it. It didn't excite me the way I thought it should, and I realised I preferred twins (what are you sniggering about boy?). I actually missed the Virago engine (seriously!) but wanted more go. So I swapped the VFR for an Aprilia Falco. C15 - crap VFR - boring (it's not you, it's my fault)
A 1978 XS250. What a reptile but one I used to ride and NOT own was a wet fart of a bike a 1978 GS550. As slow as a 250, as dozy as a fat Labrador and sexy as Nora Batty
Can't help out here as I never had a bike I didn't like. Even my old Bantams which a I always fell of never had one that I didn't fall of and I had a few but they had character and it was the rider not the bike. All my bikes had there own character and differed in one way or another. Regards Joe.
And my Most Despised Bike Award goes to my brand new1976 RD250B. Looked great in orange, should’ve been full of 2 stroke loveliness however it never ran right. Was always going on one cylinder only and the dealer mechanics never got it sorted. They tried literally everything but it just wouldn’t play. I knew I had to get rid of it when a CB125 beat me away from the lights. Got rid of it ASAP and bought an XS250. Dull but reliable (once it started up).
Can’t agree with you there. I had the 1981 model and I loved it to bits. Went to Communist East Germany three times on that bike and then on to Italy, all the way from Leeds. It was comfy and you could ride it all day. I have some amazing memories on that bike. As you say it wasn’t particularly fast but wasn’t terrible.
Worst bike for me was the first bike I had on the road in 1966. It was a Triumph Tiger Cub, it was slow, rubbish brakes and dodgy electrics especially when compared to my mates 250cc Jap bikes. After a couple of months ownership it finally went pop in the middle of Chester one Friday evening so I joined the Jap brigade and what a joy they were to ride after the Tiger Cub.
My dullest bike had to be my first big boy bike the Honda Transalp 700v. When I first passed my test iIwas besotted by it but as time went on I realised its limitations. When my brothers bike was in for a service he let me ride his loan bike, a Tiger 800 and my eyes were opened. I swapped the Honda for the Tiger within a couple of months and have had triumphs ever since!!
Honda CJ250T. I couldn't even stand it as a commuter to save using my favourite ever bike, a Guzzi LeMans II.
Most boring bike was a honda dueville so slow used it for dispatch and the most exciting is the one ive got now my Trophy 1200 bit tall for me as im a short arse but fun all the same
i know people love them BUT my Harley 883 was slow loud and under powered but the gs 500 twin beat it in the boring stakes. The gs didn't brake down but i often wished it would just to liven it up. I hit a rat on a bend and came off it no damage to the bike but F**k up me bad knee. Told the wife it was a write off so gave it away (because nobody would buy it) and got a new bandit 600s what a differences
i had an xj600 as a comuter bike i did 150 miles a day monday to friday for 12 years there was 190000 miles on it when i sold it the engine was never touched just gave it four oil changes a year, in my opinion its the most solid bike ever to leave japan
People love the Harley Davidson for some reason, maybe it's the noise and vibration, chrome, and that unique odd ball sound produced by the bastard siamesed crankshaft firing order. Yes you too can emulate the odd ball HD engine sound by screaming potato, potato, potato, potato. Give it a try
i nearly forgot until a mate reminded me today. a Kawasaki kz 1300 with frame cut and long forks peanut tank bars wielded in place of shocks to make it a hard tail.Flopped into corners shaft drive made more noise than the engine skinny front wheel with no brake. I think the guy who cut the frame may have been blind cannot say it was boring just sit on it and wait to hit something to make you stop.That was in 1986 when my bones were made of rubber
