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

If i need to take mine to a dealer i have to freight it by boat to Greece (14 hours)...and i own two 955s...ya big pansy

So don't buy one, they are really cheap,shitty unreliable bikes ()

And people tell me to move out of the sticks.

Love ya Hondas, do ya?

Love your work, Cos!

This:


Indian: from 1999 right up to 2013. It was insulting to me that they'd try an dpull a fast one liek they did: HD clone with big fenders voila instant Indian. Especially when there was the Eller Indian, owing NOTHING to HD and the emergence of Excelsior Henderson and Victory again two clean sheet designs. what was even worse was people bought into the faux Indian. When I heard that they would bring out a Scout, I had some hope. I was horrified that it was essentially a full blwon HD clone with Indian on the tank!! Then I heard that Indian had their own engine, the Power Plus, I waited and what do you know? It is a god damned HD clone with rounded barrels! What is really mind bending for me are the owners of these bikes who will belittle, and bad mouth HD until the cows come home and be in complete denail that thier beloved Indian is a cheap HD knock off. The other thing too, was Indian was asking, and getting MORE $$ for their bikes than HD was! Granted, the HD was likely to run a little longer than the Indian. Check any owner forum and read the horror stories of all kinds of mechanical mayhem, brand new bikes breaking down on the ride home and being stuck in a shop for weeks to months! Then amazingly enough, in 2003 just as Indian was about to be in the black money wise, the plug was pulled by the inestors. Indian, like a bad curry, hung around and oce again i was duped into being hopeful. The Kings Mountain bikes ain't much better either. So, I once again have hope that Polaris will do Indian justice in 2014. I ain't holding my breath mind you.

Every Buell I took for a boot (XB9, XB12R, 1125), loved the Erik Buell story, loved the looks of the bikes, loved the sporty but not hardcore ergo's, loved the quirky out of the box engineering & "not another 600/750/1000 rice burner" sound & styling...but man they sucked out of the box.

Only bikes I ever rode that felt like they understeered, brake feel sucked almost as bad as a BMW's, and then there was the whole "self immolation" option...desperately wanted to like the 1125, but as a semi-practical only bike I would've grown to hate it.

1985 K100RS and I'm a certified BMW brand-whore.

KLR 650. Yea I know, people love em. But for me I couldn't handle getting blown all over the road in wind and at any moment getting thrown into a wobble. The motor feeling like it would explode at 80 even though it never did. The seat and ride was just a straight up hemorrhoid platform. Having just dogged the hell out of this bike I can say the one I had was damn near impossible to break and was the cheapest to buy and maintain of most bikes I've ever owned.

Did you ever actually ride one? Sounds like this is a bike you wanted to hate and did as opposed to a "bike you didn't like as much as you thought you would".

IMO, the whole Indian thing was a blatant money grab, but the bike wasn't more disappointing than anyone expected - we all knew it would be crap.

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i traded off on a ride with my buddys new bonneville, what a boring soulless bike. i couldn't wait to get back on my ducati. i think i ruined it for the poor guy. did the same on a 800st.WHERE'S THE MOTOR? absoloutly no character. this guy loves that bike though.i realized over the years that first and foremost a motorcycle has to be fun. call me immature.

Agree on the Bonneville. I had one and I was expecting the thrill a moment ride of a late 60's w/o the lucas and leaks. It was just a slow handling, slow accelerating motorcycle, that was a thing a beauty. Guess I couldn't have it all....tp

Funny, I went from a 05 Ducati ST3 that was deerstroyed to an 09 Bonnie T100 and I find the Bonnie to be full of character, especially after I installed a set of TORs. The Bonnie just fit me better. All the controls fall readily to hand. I find the motor to be smooth and powerful enough for my needs. Yes I have upgraded the suspension but I did that as well on my non "S" model ST3. I actually almost bought a Multi 1100S but just did not bond with during or after a test ride. The Bonnie however I knew I wanted after 3 blocks on my test ride. I bonded more in the first couple hundred miles on the Bonnie than I did in 20,000+ miles on the Duc. And I loved that Duc!

Different strokes for different folks. It is all good if the bike moves your soul.

Rick G

Ditto for the 07 K12GT, extremely boring to ride under 90 mph. I got too many speeding tickets.

Traded the K12 for a Guzzi V7. I loved the looks, but bike was way too small for cross country touring.

Traded the V7 for a California EV Touring and it fits my needs 100%, full size tourer and just the right combination of speed and handling with tons of character.

Tex,

Too small as in cramped seating position or engine performance?

Sarah

(^ hopefully Tex will share his thoughts as well, but I,would say "both." At 5'10/30" the V7 fit me well but without much room to spare, anyone taller and they're going to feel it in the knees. Engine performance/output is sufficient for normal riding, but again, there just isn't a lot of it beyond a certain point.)

01 Kawi Concours. I actually loved riding it. It only had two downsides, but those downsides were big enough to kill it for me. One was the footpeg placement, I'm 6-2, and it was just a bit cramped. The other was the highly effective fairing. Riding that machine around Dallas in 100+ heat was awful between no airflow and the hot-enough-to-bake-cookies air getting blown straight off the engine onto my feet.

My buddy's (5'8" and 155Lb) Kawi Z1000 is hard not to like when you're standing around shooting the shit, but the ergos are silly. And the wall of noise always cresting behind your head from the scorpion pipes is pretty annoying after a few miles. Buffeting, non-existent gearbox and stratospheric powerband.

My other buddy's (6'2" and 160lbs) Honda 954RR is a different ball of wax. Feels cheap all 'round. A definite case of "where's the engine?" then the powerband hits you in the back like a runaway log truck and you're doing mach chicken. At least the Fireblade is fast enough you don't have to deal with the constant sonic boom from the Muzzy pipe.

For the record, I'm 6' and 220Lb and ride an R1100R. It's not awesome at anything.

My favorite kind of bike.

When we switch bikes back, my friends always comment on how the BeeEm is a nice place to sit, but there's not enough drama. As if riding the motorcycle equivalent of a hair band is somehow better.

Mr Sensible and the freak show. They love to joke until they need to stash something in the system cases.