Bikes you didn't like nearly as much as you thought you would.

Sigh, I wish I could have spared myself all the grief I had with my F800ST, with this amount of ease!

Strangely, it was the F800R that I sat on at the Bike show we had, that I went: "ooh! This feels good!" Possibly it was just after I had dislocated my wrists and strained the muscles in my neck after sitting on a Ducati, but it felt pretty darned good.

Didn't care for the looks though. Then sitting on the ST, the wheels began to slowly turn, and I thought if I could sorta duplicate the ergos on the R via riser/backs and lowered pegs put on the ST, it would be perfect.

Alas, the owning reality of horrible vibes, failures, poor quality, insane parts costs, and awful dealers I had to contend with, made for a total nightmare scenario.

wrong! not one person has complained about the 1993 Suzuki GSX1100G. Not one.

floorboards and a rider backrest help alot. just push with your legs. You can get your butt an inch off the seat and keep it there for a while. It helps alot. It helps when going over RR tracks too. It's hard to beat a cruiser for comfort if it's got floorboards, a backrest, a windshield, and some wind protection for the legs.

oh, I can understand that feeling completely. I traded my BMW for a DL1000, which is probably a big part of why I liked the Strom so much.

for a while.

Every bike I owned was good for something - you guys are kinda depressing me. You are mentioning bikes I owned and loved and possibly want...

I have never purchased a bike that was an outright fail out of the gate. I guess I am lucky

That is true. My California was fine for commuting. Just didn't like it for distance work.

My ignorance was in buying a BMW R1200c Montauk. I gave it every chance and it is junk as far as I am concerned. There were parts falling of on long rides, to the Factory representative refusing to honor the warranty, because I use the bike out side. It is just an anemic pot metal rattletrap, that my wife out ran in a 1992 dodge van pulling a trailer.
I now have a Yamaha cruiser, which far outperforms that piece of crap, and its ww2 engineering.

1985 VF1000R. I always loved the looks of them when I was a kid riding my VF500. A few years ago I flew to Atlanta to buy one. The ride home to NY damn near killed my back. The bike was way too long for me. I sold it shortly after I got home. Too bad, they are beautiful.

I remember the reviews of those bikes back in the day. Every one said the VF1000F was a better bike than the R. I couldn't believe it - the R looked like it just came off the racetrack.

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk 2

Ducati Multistrada 1100S. Last year when I was looking for a replacement for my Ducati ST3 that was deerstroyed, I came very close to driving down to SC to buy a really well set up 2007 MS1100 S set up with bags and many goodies. I had ridden the MS1000 when they first came out at a dealer demo day. I remember thinking it was a blast, but I wasn't in the market so of course it was fun. Just before pulling the trigger on th 1100S, I went to a local dealer who had a similar model for sale and took a test ride. I wasn't long into the ride and for whatever reason I can not fully explain I just knew this wasn't what I was looking for.

About a week later I ended up buying a Triumph Bonnie T100 after taking a test ride in which I knew in about 90 seconds that I was going to buy that bike.

Go figure.

Rick G

For example?

That explains it. I see so many used GS's for sale at so many places, but every owner praises how great the bike is. If they're so great, why are so many people selling them?

That explains it. I see so many GS's for sale at so many websites and yet PO's always praise how great the bike is. If the bike is so great, why are so many people selling them? Not bashing BMW's. I own one - R1200R. Never owned a GS. Owned 2 RT's but never connected with them. I'm bonding so fast with 12R tho.

Or the 1911 Henderson.

1) My eleven-fiddy was the best bike I'd ever owned. Haven't put enough miles on the 1200 to push it into first place, but I'm sure it will take the top spot. Too refined, lighter, more powerful.

2) Sold the 1150 to by the 12.

VFR 800. A good friend and I traveled up to Canada and bought it. It was the beautiful bright blue version that we didn't get in the states, 1999 I think. I thought the bike was a real looker, performance was pretty darn good, couldn't really fault it....

It just seemed devoid of any soul or personality, strange for a V4 motor. It was like being with a beautiful woman who does everything "right" but fail to really push the proper buttons.:huh

Next was a 2001 CBR 929RR. I'd ride for an hour and feel like I had been in a fight. It seemed to be one of the rare Hondas that wasn't quite sorted before mass production, but in a way that gave it mountains of personality. If you didn't respect it or treat it right, you'd be in big trouble. To say that machine kept me alert and made me work to be a better rider is a big understatement.

To use my previous analogy, it was like being with an ok looking woman that rocks your world and haunts your dreams.:eek1

For me, I'll take less than perfect and scary/ exciting any ol time...

I loved the engine and looks just didnt really like the way it handled, and never felt really at home on it. couldve spent money and time on the suspension but didnt want to and sold it on for a couple hundred more than i got it for so all good! they are sweet bikes dont get me wrong just didnt suit me.

I'm in the market for a new bike and test rode an NC700X. I had talked myself into it being pretty cool. Technology - check. Reliability - double check. ABS - check. Efficient - check. Practical - double check. The thought of low center of gravity for handling, lightweight, and knowing I don't need 100HP to commute. I even kind of like the looks of it. In many ways it is genius engineering. I went in thinking it was going to be mine.

I HATED it. I rode the ABS/DCT version and I cannot begin to describe my loathing for an automatic transmission motorcycle. Combined with the low rev engine, it could not have been more soulless. Everything about the NC700 was about separating the rider from the bike. How can it have that low-end power and feel slow? How can it be that light and carry weight so low and feel lumbering in corners? The terrible, non-adjustable suspension has something to do with it - thing just bogs down in corner unless you really drive the front end down. Making that harder is that the brakes weren't great either -- stopping distances were tooooo loooong. Mind you that even if it wasn't all that much slower than other bikes (and I think it is), it just wasn't engaging. It is completely capable and yet completely terrible to ride. It is a Camry or a minivan.

And the more I think about it, the more I hate it. Why would someone bastardize a motorcycle in this way. Who would do such a thing, wringing all the rider/bike interaction out of a machine? Why would you turn my hobby into work and riders into automatons?

(Incidentally, I also test rode a Versys, which I found to be much more to my liking. Uglier, and (not a small problem) jammed my nuts into the tank, but I loved the revs, working the transmission and the cornering. Suspension and handling superior, power better, too. Very much more of an involved in the experience in riding.)

I read that complaint from others too. Sliding forward in the seat against the tank. But it just doesn't happen to me. No sliding forward. I often sit back against the seat hump for some forward lean.

The sliding forward thing might be related to rider weight and sag--I don't get much sag in the front. People seem to fix it with seat customizing.

I own a Ninja 250 and had the same nut room problem. I blame my generously sized package, though I make no comment on why this isn't a problem for you. Fixed with Corbin seat, like any decent geriatric like me would do on a young persons bike. Would do the same if I pick up the Versys.

The pillion seat step on the Versys is too close to the front, for tall riders. For touring, it was quite uncomfortable, for me. But easily fixed, and a small nit on an otherwise very good bike.