What's the Worst peice of equipment you've ever bought?

[markk53]

Originally Posted by ghostdncr

Happy-Trail pannier rack



Alignment looked like something you'd expect to see from a poorly motivated high school metal shop class. Pretty embarrassing work, really.

Customer service?

What a waste.

Here's a pic of the ice-cold weld that left me scrambling to find a mig welder on a recent trip. I'm still not sure how they managed to get zero penetration. Perhaps the cheap-ass paint (I hope that's not powder-coat!) stuck it together long enough to get the racks installed:

Don't knock the kids in high school!

The kids I had in class at Brooke High School last year would have done better than that! Especially Gary, my TIG welder, he could work magic.

[Rottweiler]

I haven't been at this for long enough to have accumulated a long list yet, thankfully, but here's a few:

- Joe Rocket faux leather gloves (lasted less than a year)
- Stock V-Strom windshield (apparently a mere afterthought on an otherwise excellent bike)
- AireTronic mesh jacket (keeps me really warm in summer)
- That little plastic stick-on thermometer from the Aerostich catalog (I have no idea where it blew off since it didn't work well enough to ever look at it)

[Chi-Ha]

Originally Posted by Rottweiler

- That little plastic stick-on thermometer from the Aerostich catalog (I have no idea where it blew off since it didn't work well enough to ever look at it)

Hehehe.
I don't know why I left my on because I can't read it unless I'm stopped and put my grille up within 6inches of it. Also it always seems to be like 10 degrees higher than what my body tells me it is. good thing it was cheap

[TonyA]

Originally Posted by skag

'88 Ford Bronco II
Vile piece of worthless shit. I'm still pissed.

2.9L V6, am I right?

- Ford Ranger pu '88, both heads cracked
- Extended warranty for same. Both it and the standard warranty did me no good when the clutch throwout bearing failed at 8K miles.
- Fog City shields
- most of those compressors you can get for <$15 (been through several)
- Dell XPS with ultra-flexo-motherboard
- Impact driver set, which I bought on the sworn advice of a couple of Harley riders soon after I bought my first bike (a Honda). I really feel sorry for what those guys must be facing if they think that's an essential tool for a motorcycle.
- cheap Chinese floor jack, which couldn't even hold the lifting arm up with no load. New o-rings couldn't fix it, probably had voids in the casting or gouges.
- Bridgestone Trail Wings. Cost me big bucks too but at least I got a good motorcycle with them.
- Michelin tires for the SUV. Funny how they had an 80K mileage warranty when I bought them, which had morphed into a 40K warranty they wouldn't honor by the time they wore out at 30K.
- 65 Corvair. I got pretty tired of replacing cooked pushrod tube o-rings every week. It went through the 10-30 almost as fast as it went through the 85 octane. On the positive side I never had to drain the oil.

[bush pilot]

BMW summer rain gloves, they're hot, uncomfortable, and not even water resistant. They'd be good for a cool dry day and looking to get a blister or two.
The stupid finger squeegee which is good for smearing up your face shield is another remarkably useless feature.

But by god since I shelled out $50 or so I still carry them around in my rain gear bag thinking I can get my money's worth somehow.

[Colemanfu]

My REI spork, it was a bit to heavy and took up too much space so I gave it to the dog.

[AmuleK]

The worst item I took on my recent trip was a Throttle rocker. It is the cheap plastic lever you clip on your throttle and rest your wrist on. It saved me from a few cramps when I was cruising down the highway at speed, but it just about caused two accidents in traffic when I bumped it going for the brake. It caused my bike to accelerate and buck like a bronco.

Better invest in a throttlemeister or Kaoko.

[Northwoods Yeti]

Throttle rocker. Big ole plastic tab hanging off the throttle. I should have known just by looking at it, that it was a worthless pain in the ass .

[Solo Gato]

Originally Posted by hppyfngy

THX JD, that's the first time I've actually really LOLed in weeks.

oh god yes!!!

[slartidbartfast]

There are so many I can hardly make a choice:

Loads of cheap plastic gadgets that I bought "just in case they worked as advertised" - they rarely do. e.g. $2.99 ball compass that spun in circles for two minutes then fell off and disappeared.

Travelpro suitcase - Outrageously expensive (paid ten times as much as for its predecessor which lasted for six years of almost constant travel) and handle fell off the FIRST time I used it (held on with teeny self-tapping screws into plastic). Much vaunted customer service is also crap.

Joe Rocket Alter Ego pants - Zip-off mesh panel is a PITA and still doesn't provide much cooling; legs are too short (and I'm no lanky freak) coming half way up my calves with legs bent; waistband adjusters twist around and dig in; and the lower legs are made from low melting point material - duh!. Not entirely worthless in moderate weather but I could have bought a decent pair of cold-weather waterproof pants AND a pair of mesh pants for the same price.

I'll join in nominating the Bronco II (2.8L V-6) - In 3 years of ownership, I went through the original engine and two rebuilds; the A/C NEVER worked for more than a few days at a time; power windows and locks went out multiple times; brakes, driveshaft and various interior fixtures also gave trouble if I remember correctly. Had a seriously dud Ford Escort once too - Will never own another Ford product.

Avon Speedmaster tyres - I've never actually bought any but they were on several bikes at the time of acquisition and were all totally crap.

Have loved every motorcycle I ever owned although I'll agree that my 1979 XS250 US Custom was quite awful in a number of ways.

[jraugie1]

Roadgear waterproof gloves (insides pulled out when you removed them).
Shoei -100 helmet (whistled)
Firstgear Kenya Jacket

[gkaman]

2000 VW Bug
My wife talked me into this nightmare. "They are so cute." Had the thing for 3 months and can't even remeber how many time I had to take it to the dealer for warranty fixes. Took a bath on the thing just to get rid of it.

Volvo S60
What a POS. Bought it for my wife thinking it would be safe. The Pig (car, not wife) was so under powered it was actually dangereous to drive. You had to plan way ahead just to change lanes. No wonder they make the body of the car so safe.

Anything from Harbor freight that has more than one piece.

Fieldsheer Troy Gloves
I think they are made of paper. Put my hand in the first time, and the leather tore, not the seam, the leather, and it was the correct size. I don't know what good they would do if I went down.

Im going to stop here. I feel a little better though, thanks.

[xymotic]

Originally Posted by Bacon_Grease

Bronco II's are all serious pieces of shit...

The REAL Bronco, though... those are THE shit! I loved mine!

+1 I drove my '75 with a 351 into a pole at about 50 MPH. KILLED the pole but only broke my back a little bit. I still miss that truck. I could not "tread lightly" though, just wasn't possible. I also hated the 10 gallon fuel tank(s) you were switching tanks & filling up (or running out) constantly.

My Cousin had a II and liked to call it a 'bronco' but, well, it just wasn't.

[Elton]

haha this thread is good

[Clayton Bigsby]

Joe Rocket waterproof gloves- I think they made these backwards. Water gets in easily, but once wet, they never dry out.

Joe Rocket Alter Ego Pants- Cut way too short, and the "waterproof" liner was a heavy piece of rubber designed to do the exact opposite of goretex- prevent breathability but allow leakage.

Aerostich Stick-on Thermometer- I couldn't read it while the bike was running, and then it filled up with water. At least it was cheap!

Harbor Freight tire changer- I actually bought this piece of garbage and took it out of the box before realizing what a piece of junk it is. I took it back to Ching-chong Freight before attempting to use it. I know people love them, but maybe they never took the time to learn how to change a tire.