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

[dogjaw]

The xr1200; desperately wanted to like it, steered like a pig...

[truck6driver]

I hate to say it but.......My V Max. I rode one in my younger years and fell in love with it's acceleration and looks.
Well I'm older I still love the looks and I finally bought one. Problem is now my body (knees and back) does not like the riding position anymore.


Ray

[Oldbutslow]

'98 R1. I got caught up in the hype of this first year model. Great engine, but the frame was a flexi-flyer joke. Even though I owned this piece of eye-candy for a couple of years, I never looked back when the Aprilia's came out. Now that was a sweet bike! ,BK

[Skooter]

KLR650. I didn't think looks were that important to me. It helped me realize I'd never be happy with a bike I couldn't go out to the garage and drool at. Great bike though, and I appreciated its function and spent a couple of good years with it. It's also a big topheavy bike for me, being 150 soaking wet and not alot of confidence in the dirt.

[DavidBanner]

speed triple.

mushy front end in the corners.

[Geezer3d]

1976 RE5 - It looked interesting in the showroom, and at less than half retail, the price was right, but that thing was very heavy, had little power for it's weight, and the suspension seemed designed for a much lighter bike. I literally gave that bike away after it sat unused for a number of years.

[bug67]

Triumph Tiger 800 XC.

The engine in my Street Triple R pretty much ruined any other motorcycle experience I ever had. So, when Triumph announced that engine (stroked to 800) in a dual sport configuration that was lighter than my 1200 GS, I jumped. The 800 is NOT the same engine. That and, IMO, dismal returns on gas mileage for a "distance/adventure" bike left me sorely disappointed. It has spindly legs too and doesn't evoke confidence for highway handling. Oh, and I never did warm up to the fact that the gauge defaults to the trip odometer instead of total miles and there's no way to change it. We'll see how the new Trophy performs. I think I'm gonna like it. Of course, I won't be taking it off road but, I never really did much of that with the Tiger.

[fxrshog]

Originally Posted by davidji

What are the bikes you thought you'd like a lot more than you did on the first ride?

I was inspired to ask this by a demo ride of that sort the other day. And I had a similar one a year ago. But my tales can wait. I want yours!

2013 Harley Ultra Classic. Rode one at Daytona bikeweek. The engine on the top end sound like a damn thrashing machine. The engine heat was ridiculous, enough to make you look for an open road. The rest of the bike seem to be okay, I wasn't interested in staying on it long enough to find out.

For $24,000.00 I would go with the Honda Goldwing or BMW K1600GTL in an absolute heartbeat.

[Mambo Dave]

Originally Posted by fxrshog

2013 Harley Ultra Classic. Rode one at Daytona bikeweek. The engine on the top end sound like a damn thrashing machine. The engine heat was ridiculous, enough to make you look for an open road. The rest of the bike seem to be okay, I wasn't interested in staying on it long enough to find out.

For $24,000.00 I would go with the Honda Goldwing or BMW K1600GTL in an absolute heartbeat.

Just spoke with a car and bike enthusiast who moved to south Florida and had the very same experience. Harleys are great for Fall day rides, but I bet they ended many a motorcyclist's enthusiasm, and their riding in general, after slow traffic rides on hot days. The guy I spoke to sold his immediately after such an experience despite owning them for years up in New York.

[Waterboiler]

When I went looking for a replacement for my 'starter' vstrom, i was pretty sure I wanted a full tourer.

Goldwing - wow a civic without a roof. Super smooth, every gadget and quite comfortable. I just could not get over the feeling that it is a to wheeled Miata.

Harley Road King - great bike but just not for me. Found the handeling to be too far into the touring side of the equation. Funny thing after being underwhelmed by the Wing I figued this would be the bike for me - more basic bike that can do long distance.

Thank God for test rides :)

[TheEpicEngine]

Versys. Fun in the twisties. Reliable as a wood-burning stove. GREAT little motor. Hauled me and my gear across Montana at fairly illegal speeds a few times.
I just can't get my 6'3" 230 comfortable on it, even after $500+ in seats, screens, and risers. Super 10 or GS to come this summer...

[ZREXER]

Originally Posted by Hank.SD

ZX-14R. Wish I would have kept my CBR1100xx. The ninja did everything well but I didn't love it.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

Interesting as I had a ZX-14 and I feel exactly the same way. Blindingly fast in a straight line. Fantastic brakes. After a lot of suspension fiddling, I never liked the way it handled. Turn in was poor, more than a few times I had the putt puckering experience of drifting wide going into corners because it was slow to turn in. I have ridden for 40 years, so not a lack of experience.
Also, around town it was like a portable sauna, the cooling fan was always on and the heat was so bad my socks would be wet when I removed my riding boots.
The novelty of running it up to 290 kilometers/hour eventually wore off.

It was also stupidly expensive to insure. It was also a beast to work on. The fairing was a night mare to remove.

If drag racing is your thing, then it is a great bike. I know some people sport tour on them, but they are hard on tires, chains and the gas mileage is not great.

[LoneTraveler]

VFR1200: I had ridden several Interceptors and was getting ready to buy one, when the (then) new 1200 came out. The dealer talked me into a test ride and I walked away from it with almost the same feeling you get when you just found out that you haven't won the Publisher's Clearing House sweepstakes after all.

I wanted to like it, but the riding position was too aggressive, the brakes felt wooden, and the whole package felt like it was a sport tourer designed for someone half my size (I was, at the time, about 320lbs, I'm now inching closer down to 250)

Another one was the FJR: everyone I asked loved it. "Oooh, I want one!" they'd say. So I test rode it.

Four times.

Hated it, each time. I never felt like I was "in" it so much as "on" it. I also hated the mirror positioning and stock windscreen. The peg position had me fidgeting after about 20 minutes on it, each time.

In both cases, when I first looked at these bikes, my left eye would twitch a little, and my heart would start fluttering like a hummingbird's wings. Then I rode them. Kind of like the same feeling when I got to drive a Lamborghini Countach a few years ago, lovely to look at, but not much fun to drive, at least for me.

I will say that both are great bikes, just not for *me*.

Each to their own, I guess...

[dirtdreamer50]

Lone traveler, what mods did you do to the Connie? They were kinda aggressive in the seating arrangement, too. Low bars and high pegs. I wanted one but the ex nixed it for a Harley... Shame, too.

[LoneTraveler]

Originally Posted by dirtdreamer50

Lone traveler, what mods did you do to the Connie? They were kinda aggressive in the seating arrangement, too. Low bars and high pegs. I wanted one but the ex nixed it for a Harley... Shame, too.

On the 2000 C10, I changed to a 15" Rifle shield, kept the stock seat, and added Gen-Mar 2" bar risers. Also have the peg-lowering kit from Murphskits. That was all I changed on it, and I did a few 1k mile days on that bike.

Just pulled the trigger on a C14 this evening, so already looking at what, if any mods I'll need to do to that.

Probably not many, since I've ridden these at various times and found the fit to be as close to perfect for me as I've ever found. The only bike that I've ever ridden where I said "Hot damn, this thing fits me like it was made for me!" is the V-Strom, but I wanted the whole package, and the Connie just pushes all the right buttons for me.

I'll sell you my old Connie if you're interested!