To me, this is a fascinating set of observations because, well, I thought it was just me. I had a 2001 R1. Such a beautiful motorcycle—not over the top stying and nothing wasted on it. I loved looking at it. But riding it, well, I always felt a little inadequate. It would rocket effortlessly up to 140 mph, wheelie with elan and even returned 50 mpg on the freeway. It was so good that I never felt like I pushed it hard ever. I imagined it in the garage wondering how in the world it got stuck with me, and when someone fast was going to come ride it. Later on I had an RSV4 for awhile, which while even more competent than the R1 made you feel special every time out even if you were just bimbling down to the store.
The thing about bikes like the R1 is that, if you are really pushing them to their design limits on the roads then you are operating in the 'death zone' because things that scare the pants off you at thirty miles an hour on an old boneshaker are being done at speeds where you are essentially a soft and squishy missile. I quite like a bike that is terrifying and let's you know you are alive even before you start it up. Keeps you honest and really is a challenge just to nip down to the shops on Up to it's top speed I can actually throw my 790 Bonnie around with more confidence that I can my 955i Sprint. I just seem to have more 'feel' for the machine and am totally in my element in the saddle. Sure the Sprint can rocket off up the road with my eyes getting squashed back in their sockets but I don't get the same sense of what's going on where the rubber meets the road.
BMW K1600 GTL, or something like that. No soul. The most exciting thing that happened was getting a puncture and that happened at home. Totally boring.
I would say a Simson S50 - but it was my first "bike" so I thought it was great at the time. The worst one I've ridden would be the RF900 - really disliked it. Had a test ride when I was looking for a new bike. It was less than a mile before I turned round and took it back. I felt like I was perched on top of it - like a balancing act - and the seat was hard and slippery.
I love my Street Triple and it's a lot of fun, but if I'm honest I have more fun with a spirited ride on my 790 Bonneville it's so rewarding
Yeah, isn’t that funny? Bikes that are supposed to be the top dogs but then turn out to be almost too good.
You hit the nail on the head. It did everything and did it really well. But I always knew it was going to do it and do it well every time I went out on it. I kept it for 3 months and got rid. The other thing with those is, I have never seen the point of having a radio on a bike wtf is all that about.
I've always enjoyed whatever motorbike i've had when younger to be honest, had a lot of cheap shitters never had the money to spend at that time so made do and had to mend lol. But forgive me if this has been put forward by anyone before (as I'm not reading through this lot at the minute) but the very worst bike I've owned and the bike I always seen as going nowhere !!! was a - Exercise bike !!!! Sorry - I'll get my oversized coat and go now
I totally agree marra therefore it was - " The most boring crap bike I've ever owned " !!!!! Feckin keep up mate, Makem or not your feckin slow boy Its no good you coming on here in between bouts of painkillers and causing botha
That is so true about the Bonnie. My Goldwing checks all the boxes and may be the "best" bike I have ever owned, but the Bonnie just makes me feel something really special is going on when I ride her. There's no substitute for that, my friend.
Yamaha xv535 spent hours doing it up rode it twice in two years load of crap. Happy now with my 2004 T100 bonny original Hinckley love it!
The Bonnie is a brilliant bike. I am finding mine so much fun even if I am virtually standing still. This evening, after a scorching day here in Argyll I took my 790cc up for a wee run to the Rest and Be Thankful, round to the Dunoon road, down to St Catherines and then turned around and back home to Lochgoilhead via Hell's Glen. I didn't go faster than 70mph at any point on the virtually empty roads and actually, from the start of the Hell's Glen road back to my village (about eight carless miles) rarely went above thirty miles an hour and was often only doing around 10 to 15mph. Just enjoying the 'heartbeat' of the engine rumbling along in third gear and admiring the scenery in the evening sun. Whether rattling along with the wind trying to remove me from the seat at 90+ mph to pootling along the road at 10mph the Bonnie is simply a ball to ride.
Apologies in advance to any tiger or scrambler owners... its a close call for me between a Tiger 800 XCA and a Scrambler 1200 XC. Just didn't excite me. Safe to say I'm not a fan of big front wheels and adventure bikes. Having said that my bike history has been full of really good bikes so I've never really had a truly crap one! These 2 are just at the bottom of a good list for me.
I can honestly say that my worst bike was my first bike, a BSA Bantam (2-stroke 175cc) probably a mid 60's model (I can't actually remember the reg). Cost my dad £75 from a dealer, went at first but was a pig to start and only had 3 gears and didn't go too well. After 5 months I was glad when it got stolen.
My most boring bike was a 2007 HD Electra glide classic, had to tune it to make it go at first then , the dealer did a torque reduction recall and it ran like crap. after that it was a lost cause so I traded it in on a Rocket III fixed the boring and worst part right then and there.
Crap: Yamaha XV 550. Awful in every regard. What a mistake. Boring: Suzuki 600 Bandit. Dull 4 cylinder built to a low budget.
Be easy to say my first bike, a Yamaha YB100 was crap, but it did me well and got me through my test, so that is forgiveable. When working as a courier in the 80s, City Link provided us with new VT500s - they might have been a decent bike without all the fairing and luggage, but I couldn't stand waht that did for the balance - proper messed it up. But the prize for most crap has to be the Meridan Tiger I briefly had that I don't think completed a journey without braking down. Fortuantely, the guy that sold it me was happy to buy it back for what I'd paid because he missed tinkering on it DS
Plastic maggot (CX500), VT500 and then a teapot (GSX600 in yellow!) when courier riding in london. ALL IN A ROW!!!! It was even boring writing the names of them.......
