[bofud]

Hello all

I enjoy this blog site very much! I also am a member of British Columbia Classic Motorcycle Club and we had a blog about the worst bike we ever owned . Would like your diverse opinion on this.Had a lot of fun with that blog!

Cheers Bofud

 

[rickbert]

Hands down a HONDA REBEL.....of course it's the only other bike I've had other than my CX but I can say I REALLY HATED it !



As well I really despise the dealer I bought it from. If they had ANY CLASS at all they would have told me knowing that I was new to bikes and seeing that I was over 6 foot tall that the Rebel was too small for me and I'd HATE it in a month, they just wanted to make a sale which is normal.

 

[Ookie Wonderslug]

I loved my Rebel. But then, I was 19 when I had it and anything with two wheels was cool for me.



My worst bike was a 1978 DT185. Paid $90 for it, rode it twice, the motor burned up and it never ran again. My cousin promised to fix it for me, but he sold it to someone and never told me what actually happened with it.

 

[DakotaMK]

We were dumb enough to buy a Lifan scooter- 49cc. Gas saver, and I work really close to where I live. Was also told by dealership that you needed no endorsement because of..... whatever reason they gave. I was like, OK, it sounds alright- local, great on gas, etc.....



You DO need an endorsement- the only difference that is made is if it has pedals- no pedals, it doesn't matter how many CCs it has. They wouldn't take it back either, so I was pretty close to filing with the BBB until someone bought it from me- with the knowledge that a class L was necessary. Also, being passed by semis, since it was a little scooter, was horrible. That's when I told Troy that if I needed to get an endorsement I might as well take the motorcycle safety class.

Lesson Learned.

 

[timothy_d]

Hands down, the Suzuki Savage. P.O.S. - only bike that's worse than a Harley.



1) Cam chain tensioner system was designed so badly, it regularly grenades an engine after 10k miles.

Suzuki could have fixed this catastrophic design flaw with a minimal $.10 design change to the tensioner rod, but to this date, they still have not.



2) The clutch system SUCKS.

Even with a brand new clutch plates and EBC clutch springs, the clutch would slip at the higher RPM's.



3) Engine leaks all over the place.

Most common is the absolutely unfixable case leak at the head. Blue Hylomar can't even stop it once it starts.



4) Forks are ridiculously flexible unless they are linked together with an aftermarket brace.



5) The bike is jetted so lean from the factory, that the pipe blues at the head almost immediately off the showroom floor, and at night, you can see the pipe glowing red.

 

[DakotaMK]

Timothy, are you following me?? LOL... first it's about how we got our bikes, now about the ones we hated most!!! ROFL

 

[DARK FATHER]

Oh this is easy. The 1983 Honda V1100! I should have put a bomb under that piece of JUNK the day I bought it! TRASH! TRASH! TRASH!

 

[GLsouris]

1983 GL650 Suzuki. The bike probably was not that bad, but I hated the seating position, and the oil seal on the tack cable let go covering my leg with oil. My knees were on their way out so the ride was not pleasant at all. Sold it and got the GL650I. Even this bike has been a trial, but I hope all problems are behind me now.

 

[Toehead]

Easy.



1974 Indian ME100



The engine sounds like a box of marbles, the frame is made in Taiwan out of old license plates and dishwashers, and it really does have breaks instead of brakes.

 

[CXSarnia]

Oh this is easy. The 1983 Honda V1100! I should have put a bomb under that piece of JUNK the day I bought it! TRASH! TRASH! TRASH!

In Canada they were sold as a V65 and your sentiment extends (for me anyway) to my 1983 V45 magna. (750 cc) Only bike I ever repaired, and had the same problem come back - bad valves/ oil supply etc.

I spent hours trying to get it back to running well. and yet... there is one here in my yard - waiting for me to 'fix it' yet again - procrastination is a wonderful thing.

 

[theRatBiker]

In Canada they were sold as a V65 and your sentiment extends (for me anyway) to my 1983 V45 magna. (750 cc) Only bike I ever repaired, and had the same problem come back - bad valves/ oil supply etc.

I spent hours trying to get it back to running well. and yet... there is one here in my yard - waiting for me to 'fix it' yet again - procrastination is a wonderful thing.

Ditto (although I had a v45 sabre). I've seen laptops with more clearance between components. I don't know how I thought I'd be able to swing this bike as a street mechanic.

 

[ChopperCharles]

Oh this is easy. The 1983 Honda V1100! I should have put a bomb under that piece of JUNK the day I bought it! TRASH! TRASH! TRASH!

V1100? There was no such bike. There was the VT1100C Shadow, the VF1100C V65 Magna, and the VF1100S V65 Sabre. None of those were junk. My V65 has 79k on it and is still going strong. Dynoed 98hp last year... and it was running rich because I removed the loud-ass kerker and put a quiet exhaust on without rejetting back to stock.



Top end oiling issues were fixed in the after market (Look up "v65 oil mod" on eBay). I've been running a drill and tap style mod since I got the bike in 2000 with 14k on the clock, and the cams are still in perfect shape 65k later. This is the second V65 I owned... first one got hit by a car at 44k miles, and before that I had a V30 (VF500C) Magna... sold it to move up to the V65.



Charles.

 

[ChopperCharles]

My vote on worst bike goes to the Yamaha XS650 Special. Would never start on the button, always had to kick it. It would run fine one day and lean surge the next, and then the following day it'd load up and run rich. Replaced every part in those carbs to no avail. Electrics were junk. Wires are mostly aluminum and corroded, switches were poor quality and only worked part of the time - even after disassembly and cleaning, breaks were lackluster at best, and the bike had a dangerously nasty weave at 80mph. Couldn't keep rear swingarm bushings in it, they're *bakelite*. Not even plastic. You can get bronze bushings now, but you couldn't 13 or 14 years ago when I owned it. Oh, and it vibrated so badly the points wouldn't stay adjusted from the house to the end of the driveway. The mechanical advance unit would bind up at full advance and not return to center like it should - even after replacing it, it would still do this from time to time. Pull chrome cover, pinch it closed, and then the bike would start. it went through light bulbs like it was cool, and the headlight was so dim it was useless - even after replacing it with a halogen kit. That bike gave me NOTHING but trouble.



Only bike I know that came from the factory with a reverse gear. Put it on the center stand and rev it to 4 or 5k and it would vibrate backwards, uphill, at a walking pace.



Charles.

 

[marshallf3]

Oddly enough it was my Honda Elsinore MT-250. When it was stock the plastic gear that drove the oil injection pump kept breaking and the engine would of course seize. Happened three times but always under warranty.



Last time it happened I got Chuck Cooper (personal friend some may have heard of) to just completely rebuild the engine from top to bottom instead of just the top end and I went to mixing oil in the gas from then on. Never a problem after that, and not long after the warranty ran out we started modifying the engine to more closely replicate the true CR250 I also had at the time. Put on a larger rear sprocket which dropped it almost a full gear and that thing would climb trees.

 

[Blindstitch]

Barron Motorcycles 150cc moped thing.

Big pile of crap. Cant get parts. The bike actually fell over on the left side and then the kickstart wouldn't work. Bad enough the start button went nuts after 2 years and wouldn't work so I had to rig that up to a compression button. The only good thing about it was it had low mileage because water settled in the tank when I bought it so that had to be drained. Picked it up for $250 and sold it for $500.



I won't ever buy anything from a business gain that hasn't been on the market for at least 10 years with good feedback. Should have just bought a honda.

 

[Dana_h_acdc]

I loved my Rebel. But then, I was 19 when I had it and anything with two wheels was cool for me.



My worst bike was a 1978 DT185. Paid $90 for it, rode it twice, the motor burned up and it never ran again. My cousin promised to fix it for me, but he sold it to someone and never told me what actually happened with it.

Same here! I think mine was a 1977 DT185 but i paid $200 for mine and rode it for a week it locked solid and it has been sitting in a pile in my uncle's barn ever since. Now that I think about it I should turn it into something I can ride occasionally like an uglyrat or bobber or dirtcafe bike i bet it would turn out pretty cool

 

[DARK FATHER]

V1100? There was no such bike. There was the VT1100C Shadow, the VF1100C V65 Magna, and the VF1100S V65 Sabre. None of those were junk. My V65 has 79k on it and is still going strong. Dynoed 98hp last year... and it was running rich because I removed the loud-ass kerker and put a quiet exhaust on without rejetting back to stock.



Top end oiling issues were fixed in the after market (Look up "v65 oil mod" on eBay). I've been running a drill and tap style mod since I got the bike in 2000 with 14k on the clock, and the cams are still in perfect shape 65k later. This is the second V65 I owned... first one got hit by a car at 44k miles, and before that I had a V30 (VF500C) Magna... sold it to move up to the V65.



Charles.

It was the VF1100 V65 Magna. I forgot a letter. And THIS particular one WAS a piece of JUNK (and a piece of something else as well).

 

[RAFster122s]

Same here! I think mine was a 1977 DT185 but i paid $200 for mine and rode it for a week and it has been sitting in a pile in my uncle's barn ever since. Now that I think about it I should turn it into something I can ride occasionally like an uglyrat or bobber or dirtcafe bike i bet it would turn out pretty cool

So, drop a NightHawk 250 motor into the frame and ride on?

Or, the Honda 230 dirt bike motor?



David

 

[RevLee]

The worst bike I ever owned was a Kawasaki LTD 440. Bought it when it wasn't running cheap. Spent forever tearing it down, painting the frame, and got the engine to run not too bad. But never could get the dang transmission to ever work right. Spent most of the time stuck in first.



The absolute worst bike I have EVER RIDDEN was a Honda Rebel 250. Decided on the fly several years ago to take the safety course and they made us all ride these pieces of junk. My knees were almost up to my head and I seriously considered using my hand to shift the dang thing since I had no room to use to foot.

 

[Linny]

Mine was a early 80's Yamaha 450 street. I can't remember the model I repressed it. The guy sold it to me for $400 and said it was a fast and great bike he just didn't want to ride any longer. It really did pull hard and impressive. Soon after I went to the dealer to get a oil filter and almost pissed myself when they told me it was fifty some bucks for it!

I later found that replacing the damn thing was worse than the cost. As I remember I had to pull a side plate off the engine, remove the brake pedal, and remove the foot peg. I owned that bike for less than a month.