Bikes with flaws you hate

Commanderkewl · Jan 22, 2012

Had an old Maxim. Tank slapper every once in a while. Had to recover seat because of one.

Smoky startup on k series BMWs if you park it on the sidestand.. Kills mosquitoes tho...

Yeh the GS Series bikes with the strip in the fuel tank. Head out and get gas every 100 miles because the thing shows empty... Grrrr...

Starter engagement on the 80s viragos. Wrrrrrrrrrrrrrr clik wrrrrrrrrrrrr clunk.....

orangebear · Jan 22, 2012

Commanderkewl said: ↑

Had an old Maxim. Tank slapper every once in a while. Had to recover seat because of one.

Smoky startup on k series BMWs if you park it on the sidestand.. Kills mosquitoes tho...

Yeh the GS Series bikes with the strip in the fuel tank. Head out and get gas every 100 miles because the thing shows empty... Grrrr...

Starter engagement on the 80s viragos. Wrrrrrrrrrrrrrr clik wrrrrrrrrrrrr clunk.....
Click to expand...

all bmw airheads do that as the sidestands have a very bad lean on them.
my bmw gs tank is fine for about 200-240miles

blackx70 · Jan 22, 2012

FloorPoor said: ↑

And the KLR too. I also wish they came with suspension. The 08+ KLRs at least have brakes, but to get brakes, they had to 50lbs of useless crap. Maybe in 20 more years they will get suspension and EFI, but they will probably have to ad another 100lbs for that stuff.

The one thing I HATE about my first gen KLR (besides no suspension or brakes) is the totally shitty chain adjuster. You have to line up the marks to align the wheel, but the marks don't match. If you line up the marks, the wheel is slightly crooked, which makes deep gravel LOTS of fun.
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My ex250 marks are the same. They do not match. I have to eyeball it when I adjust the chain. It has worked for the 37,000 miles that I have owned her.

Patrol · Jan 22, 2012

The herby jerky throttle on the 990 Adventure. Almost entirely corrected by pulling the exhaust baffles, but a gong show til you figure that out.

Tall Man · Jan 22, 2012

Electrojake said: ↑

There is only one other post here (#46) that mentions the Suzuki DL1000? That beloved steed has a collection of issues, quirks, and nasty habits that range from 2002 to 2012, bar none.
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Perhaps the big DL is otherwise absent because its few quirks are known to have easy fixes.

-Lean map? Power Commander III or V.
-Windscreen buffeting? Madstad bracket. (Or just suck it up. It's a motorcycle. The ride gets breezy from time to time.)
-Clutch chudder? In the early model years, definitely. If not originally attended to under warranty, it can be fixed with a proven clutch basket mod.
-Tall factory gearing? Not a problem for many guys. If so, it's easy peasy to change to 16/43.
-Heavy pull of hydraulic clutch? Now there you have me! There's no known fix for this particular issue.

The Vee is beloved for a reason. You must agree that its favorable reputation would generally serve to disqualify the bike from prolonged discussion on this particular thread.

southwade · Jan 22, 2012

Tall Man said: ↑

Perhaps the big DL is otherwise absent because its few quirks are known to have easy fixes.

-Lean map? Power Commander III or V.
-Windscreen buffeting? Madstad bracket. (Or just suck it up. It's a motorcycle. The ride gets breezy from time to time.)
-Clutch chudder? In the early model years, definitely. If not originally attended to under warranty, it can be fixed with a proven clutch basket mod.
-Tall factory gearing? Not a problem for many guys. If so, it's easy peasy to change to 16/43.
-Heavy pull of hydraulic clutch? Now there you have me! There's no known fix for this particular issue.

The Vee is beloved for a reason. You must agree that its favorable reputation would generally serve to disqualify the bike from prolonged discussion on this particular thread.
Click to expand...

It still has ghastly headlights.

advNZer? · Jan 22, 2012

oldtrout said: ↑

BMW turn signal switches....

Coming up two years on my GS and still stabing away at the spot where very other bike I owned had a simple little button.

Overcomplex.
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jeepers i got used to them in 1 ride...one side for right one side for left how complex is that?.I dont like the fact you have to keep putting money in the gas tank...

Electrojake · Jan 22, 2012

southwade said: ↑

It still has ghastly headlights.
Click to expand...

 Yeah, the DL1000? You forgot ugly, and...
The 3mm rear wheel shim offset thing,
The throttle bodies blowing clean off the intake boots after the TPS device fails and the bike won't idle after a long highway run.
Did I mention the grossly inaccurate fuel gauge due to the weak ground return that feeds the trouble-prone in-tank fuel pump assembly?
And something about hub-rubbers occasionally self destructing in the rear wheel assembly? (ask me how I know)

And that little rubber hose that feeds the two injectors has a nasty tendency to leak raw fuel on top of the engine once the bike is heated up and under load.

(That minor leak on top of your Vee is not coolant, its gasoline. Trust me.)
BTW: That pesky little hose is a $165.00 part.

I won't get into saddles, wind screens, stock handlebars, front shocks, or even stock mirror removal to eliminate the heinous buffeting that every one assumes is the piss-poor windscreen.

Ya know, If I didn't have a Harley, A GS500, and old Honda that consistently run like a fine clock, I might think all bikes run like a V-Strom.
Not that I don't love my big Vee
-Ej-

oldtrout · Jan 22, 2012

jeepers i got used to them in 1 ride...one side for right one side for left how complex is that?.I dont like the fact you have to keep putting money in the gas tank... 
__________________

aka BMWST?

Sorry my flightless bird friend.

I'm a geezer, so too many years on Jap(anese) motos.

Three switches - Left-right- onoff ?? Mt thumb has to roll off the gas to cancel. Wiring ++++

Other than that, the finest bike I have owned. Plus 10 !

Hows your summer ? (lucky bastage ..)

Cheers
Cold-Trout

Roam · Jan 23, 2012

The instruments on F800GS. Hideous and bassackwards. Which is a shame because the rest of the bike looks quite good. BMW dumped the fugly Instruments from the R1200R hopefully they'll do the same for the f800.

Roam · Jan 23, 2012

WR250R/X
Shitty mirrors that mostly show your elbows. I expect this from a sportbike but it's inexcusable for DS/ Motard.

Victory Vegpinhampots
It's practically impossible to fill the tank without gas spraying out. This is a problem with the fuel pumps with holes around the end. Out in the country were the fuel nozzles don't have those holes it isn't a problem.

LittleRedToyota · Jan 23, 2012

Roam said: ↑

WR250R/X
Shitty mirrors that mostly show your elbows. I expect this from a sportbike but it's inexcusable for DS/ Motard.
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that's an interesting take on it. i've always thought the exact opposite.

mirrors on dual sports need to be tucked tight in with the handle bars so they don't get torn off by trees/broken off when dropping the bike/etc.

for a bike that never leaves the street, it seems to me you can have them stick out as far as required to see around your elbows.

duck · Jan 23, 2012

Commanderkewl said: ↑

Smoky startup on k series BMWs if you park it on the sidestand.. Kills mosquitoes tho...
Click to expand...

Tilt it to the right for a little while after you turn it off and before you put it on the sidestand. This allows a lot of the oil behind the pistons to drain back into the sump so there's less oil to seep past the rings and will be a lot less smoky on startups.

slartidbartfast · Jan 23, 2012

duck said: ↑

Tilt it to the right for a little while after you turn it off and before you put it on the sidestand. This allows a lot of the oil behind the pistons to drain back into the sump so there's less oil to seep past the rings and will be a lot less smoky on startups.
Click to expand...

K- bikes may do that a lot but my airhead R80RT has chucked out smoke on start-up only once in 20,000 miles and the oilhead has never done it. I frequently park both on their sidestands.

Ronin ADV · Jan 23, 2012

The instruments on the F800 don't bother me too much but we could probably fill this thread entirely with some of the stupid shit on that bike in stock form. I would say top of the list would be rims made out of a tin foil like substance, a stock suspension that is a joke in the dirt, and a rear shock bolt configuration that without modification can bend the frame. Fortunately all these are fixable with time and money.
As to the WR 250 mirrors, there is a solution called Highway Dirt Bikes. Top of the line guards with mirrors you can tuck out of the way in the dirt.
OP - this is a great idea for a thread by the way. Unfortunately The Perfect Line has had a serious lack of descent threads for a while. Nice job turning it back up a bit.

Dan

southwade · Jan 23, 2012

WW Ronin said: ↑

OP - this is a great idea for a thread by the way. Unfortunately The Perfect Line has had a serious lack of descent threads for a while. Nice job turning it back up a bit.

Dan
Click to expand...

Thank you... honestly I made this thread because I plan on buying a new/used bike soon.
In bike reviews online, all you ever hear is "this thing is awesome." You never hear stuff like this... the stuff only real people know.

tbirdsp · Jan 23, 2012

You Husky guys with the suicide kick stands do know all you have to do is replace one bolt (or get impatient and dremel the little extended head deal on the stock one) to cure it?

bwalsh · Jan 23, 2012

LittleRedToyota said: ↑

that's an interesting take on it. i've always thought the exact opposite.

mirrors on dual sports need to be tucked tight in with the handle bars so they don't get torn off by trees/broken off when dropping the bike/etc.

for a bike that never leaves the street, it seems to me you can have them stick out as far as required to see around your elbows.
Click to expand...

I agree with this statement. Dual sports should come from the factory with foldable mirrors. The top of the threads on my right mirror is cracked/split from a couple 0 mph drops and vibrates now. I'm waiting for it to break and take flight one day soon.
The foldable aftermarket ones I've seen are $100...for two freakin mirrors!

Yossarian™ · Jan 24, 2012

tbirdsp said: ↑

You Husky guys with the suicide kick stands do know all you have to do is replace one bolt (or get impatient and dremel the little extended head deal on the stock one) to cure it?
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure most of us do.

FinlandThumper · Jan 24, 2012

On the BMW f650 thumper models:

- the cheesy water pump.
- the fact the BMW thinks dry bearings are just as good as greased bearings
- the ridiculous suspension on the stock model, which means a couple grand right off just to get it close to spec.

Overall I love the bike, but frankly I expected more from the Korporation.

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