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

[BuilderBob]

09 F800GS. Very well farkled, powerful and high-tech, but completely soulless. Much prefer my low-tech, funky KLR for the same duty.

[EetsOK]

Originally Posted by cls

Disagreed. It's all about perspective, man. This is not about labeling bikes as good or bad but giving a different perspective and opinion that may give someone else a relative heads up. Good stuff, I think. I've already seen several listings of bikes I loved being dogged. Interesting...

Of course, let's just ignore the fact that every human out there has slightly different anatomy from each other. You guys seem to forget that humans are not assembled in a factory to a set of specifications.

So while one person says "It is the single most uncomfortable bike I have ever been one" another will say "It is the MOST comfortable bike I have ever been on."

For me I CAN NOT ride feet forward bikes bikes due to a back injury yet I can ride most super sports all day long as the weight is off my spine. Some people have bad hips/knees and can't ride with their feet underneath or behind them. I think this may be one reason there are so many different kinds of motorcycle son the market and they all get a piece of the pie.

[single]

Personally I find these kinds of threads interesting, informative, insightful, and more often then not, funny. These are the exact venues where people can really vent about how they really feel about bikes, where as in the advertisements (ahem, magazines) you only ever hear about the good things.

Personally I couldn't get along with the S1000RR. From what I read about this bike you would think that coming from a lowly CBR1000RR that I would be stepping up to a truly awe-inspiring machine. I didn't feel that way at all. Less comfortable, less usable power, annoying intrusive electronics that I just didn't need, and an engine with less character then my Japanese four. I was happy to jump back on my old hat Honda after that demo ride.

[EetsOK]

Originally Posted by single

Personally I find these kinds of threads interesting, informative, insightful, and more often then not, funny. These are the exact venues where people can really vent about how they really feel about bikes, where as in the advertisements (ahem, magazines) you only ever hear about the good things.

Personally I couldn't get along with the S1000RR. From what I read about this bike you would think that coming from a lowly CBR1000RR that I would be stepping up to a truly awe-inspiring machine. I didn't feel that way at all. Less comfortable, less usable power, annoying intrusive electronics that I just didn't need, and an engine with less character then my Japanese four. I was happy to jump back on my old hat Honda after that demo ride.

Felt the same way with the first gen Yammy FZ1. Couldn't understand what all the fuss was about? Then I rode the 2nd generation FZ1 and thought "Aha! They've fixed allthose things that annoyed me." The magazines panned the 2nd gen bike?

I am little surprised to see all the disappointment with the F800 BMW's here. I thoroughly loved that bike and was jsut about ready to buy a brand new F800S...then I lost my job.

[trrt]

Top of the range BMW (at the time) - the K1200LT. Just couldn't bond with the engine - I like to feel / hear a good engine rhythm and didn't get that from the K whine. Also the bike offered a bit too much protection and bodywork / bulk for my taste. Good bike if these things don't matter to you.

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[BuilderBob]

Originally Posted by trrt

Top of the range BMW (at the time) - the K1200LT. Just couldn't bond with the engine - I like to feel / hear a good engine rhythm and didn't get that from the K whine. Also the bike offered a bit too much protection and bodywork / bulk for my taste. Good bike if these things don't matter to you.

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2

I had a Hayabusa at one time (momentary lapse in judgement) and after a couple of years, advertised it for sale. A guy with a K1200LT responded and asked if I'd be interested in a trade. We met, I rode his bike, he rode mine. Besides the "box of rocks" engine/tranny noise that I couldn't quite get over, the experience riding the thing can only be described as "total sensory deprivation".

Needless to say, we didn't make a deal and I sold the Busa a short time later.

[Steelybeast]

Kawasaki Versys. When I first sat on it & rode it, I liked it. The more I rode it over a couple of years on the street, the less I liked it. It did have some neat things about it, I was just never crazy about it. After riding several more bikes, including HD and others, I just concluded I liked I-4 & V-4. That's why I traded it even for a Bandit. Can appreciate those who like the twins, just not my forte'

[asphaltsurfer1]

I have to go way back on this one as I've owned a lot of bikes in recent years and liked them all in their own right and in their own elements from cruiser, sport to dirt.

Two stand out 1) 75 XL 250 Honda. I came from an SL100 as a kid and the XL was getting rave reviews but didn't have any better power to weight ratio I think than the little 100. Built like a tank and about as heavy with most of the weight over the front end. Scary on whoops. 2) late 80s (87 I think) Husky 250WR. The last of the Swedes! I always dreamed of the old red/chrome tank Huskies of the 70s. When I finally could afford one in the 80-90s it wasn't very impressive. My old 82 Yamaha IT490 was a better bike. The Husky didn't make any power and ate the Spanish electronic ignitions on a regular basis. It vibrated so bad that I had to replace the spark plug after every ride. It shock the center copper electrode out of the ceramic insulator. NKGs didn't last a whole ride I bought cheap Bosch by the dozen. It broke on trail rides but never failed to finish a race. I finally figured it was only made to go flat out, steering with the rear wheel and brake.

Sometimes objects are better left to dreams instead of spoiled by reality of not meeting expectations.

Good ones 1) old iron sportster basket case as long as you did go over 55 mph or 0 miles at a time. Real HD vibrated the walls of my garage when you started it. The wife always knew from bed which bike I was riding. 2) KTM 360- the monster tractor motor says it all. Two stroke big bores- nothing like them! 3) 906 Ducati Paso- comfortable and knew how to handle on 16 in wheels. Reliable and low maintenance with a little Prolon in the engine. 4) original Mille R Aprilia- best build quality ever. Still have it converted to Tuono for the old guy. Lastly, current GS 12- I'm hooked on the advent type ride.

[gore-tx]

Originally Posted by Steelybeast

Kawasaki Versys. When I first sat on it & rode it, I liked it. The more I rode it over a couple of years on the street, the less I liked it.

I didn't think I was ready to say so because I just bought it and sold it recently, but yes, definitely the Versys. Mine was a 2011.
I only kept mine 2 weeks. I lost money on it but I still don't regret getting rid of it. Good concept, bad execution.

[996DL]

Eight years of enduring my painfully reliable DL1000, GREAT motor, but the rest has always felt like riding on top of a long wooden construction / traffic barricade, with next to no feeling of a connection between the bike and the road.

Rode a friend's 06 KLR650 last summer, I'd quit riding motorcycles altogether,
if that was my only choice to ride.

There, I feel better now...

996DL

[NJ-Brett]

You can't test ride many new bikes around here, a few places will allow limited test rides on rare days during some event with huge crowds, so its pointless mostly.
That is good and bad, depending on the bike.
Who knows what I really want in a bike, some weird mix of feel, looks, comfort, sound.
When I was younger, I could deal with uncomfortable bikes much more then I can now.

2005 Triumph Bonneville, had older ones, thought the new ones would be fun, it was, for a week, then it was uncomfortable and boring, even after upgrades. It seemed heavy and not very powerful, bad seat, bad sound, wallowed in turns. Just not much fun to ride.
5000 miles and it was gone.

1200 sportster, liked the look, liked the sound, motor ran ok, the worst suspension of any bike I ever owned, zero lean angle, massive weight, wide, low seat, high mid pegs, the bike seemed to be made for strong dwarfs.
It was fun to ride, for about an hour tops.
5000 miles and it was gone.

On the other hand, looking for a cheap bike to get after a bad crash on a dr650, I got a TU250.
I am glad I did not get a test ride, I likely would not have got one. As it was, after I got out of the hospital, I found a great deal on a 2 year old leftover new one and had it delivered.
Geared silly low, no power, on the small side, but after a few easy mods, this has been one of my all time favorite bikes.
All day comfortable, nimble, ride it balls to the wall all the time without tickets, never needs anything but oil changes, silly easy to ride.

Bikes I THINK I would really like:
sr500, Moto Guzzi V7 classic, old Honda SL350, old Moto Guzzi's.
They would all likely be a real let down but you never know.

[Corkus]

Only 2 and they moved me away from inline 4's, probably for good.

04 R1 way too much bike for me
03 FZ1 good bike after the R1 but I never liked it

I'll probably stick with twins now.

[ggrimes2]

My kz1000 ltd of 1976 vintage. The thing was beautiful to look at and a bitch to ride. The Goodyear tires wore like iron and gripped the road like a wagon wheel. Light rain in Phoenix on an afternoon the bike would spin the rear wheel in the oil/water at a stoplight. Stepped seat and buckhorn handlebars added to the thrill. The thing would not turn, would not stop and wobbled like a drunken congressman. That motor was its only salvation. Kept the thing for a whole year because I could not afford another bike. Finally sold the thing at a loss and bought a honda 750 supersport and never looked back.

[Tim McKittrick]

I owned a beautiful R1100RS for a time- it was comfortable enough and easy to maintain, but it was so humorless and nondramatic that I never got a lot of satisfaction riding it. It was plenty fast enough and I could keep up with my pals- but it never felt fast and I was never terribly involved with the ride. Ride it hard? Ride it slow? Meh- it always seemed half asleep.

I got to put a few miles on an '08 KLR, probably not enough to really give it a fair shake- but it felt like I was going to break it. I wanted to apologize to it after a very brief ride- and I never even got it off the pavement.

I bought a Yamaha 750 Virago (I forget the year- it was a twin shock model with entirely too much chrome) that had gummed up carbs, fixed it and rode it ONCE. I simply didn't get it: EVERYTHING was wrong. Too slow, silly seating position, ridiculous handlebars, limp brakes, vague handling, lawnmowerish exhaust note, the works. It failed to ring a single bell.

[Davo-55]

Originally Posted by DiabloADV

Speed triple. Big, heavy bike...didn't like it at all.

F800R. The most boring motor in the history of irrigation pump motors.

Hypermotard. If I wanted to sit on the front tire, I'd...sit on the front tire.

There's two of my "wish list" bikes right there. God Bless the op! Now I will not make that/those mistakes