What was the Worst Bike you've ever owned

"550" Vision, right?

That kind of blows me away...seems that this bike has an abnormal amount of representation here...back in the day I almost bought one...just loved the lines. It was the shaft drive that drove me away,,,or I'd have been "in". Glad I pulled away...CX500 Turbo was the other "almost" that I'm glad I didn't buy because of the shaft drive...*whew!*... close ones, eh?!

-KR

I really didn't have a bike that I would place in the "worst" catagory in terms of engineering flaws except for one. Some of the bikes I have acquired from others I would place in "Most abused" or "neglected" catagory. (is there really a difference?) But in terms of age, I would place my 72 HD as my worst. Due to vibration, it was common to include in maintenence tightening of major bolts and screws. AMF really did not put much into quality during it's ownership of Harley Davidson. I actually had the Carb fall off during a ride on the HD! Another problem I had with the HD is electrical. Several generators and regulators later it became more dependable. It is due for full restoration so I'll be updating this machine's major components to increase relibility and durability.

Bad Kaw wrote:

I swear...Yamaha...they always have to do something different don't they...I mean they ruined some potentially decent bikes with their addiction to 'shaft drive' (XS11, XJ750, XJ900, Vision) and the 5-valve cyl-head...I mean WTF!!!??? Anyway, those carbs SUCKED, too!

Hmmm, I'm sure others will come...I'll chime back in...

Just purchased a 83 Yamaha 750 SECA. Shaft drive with four carb setup. This Yamahammer is hard to start and keep running ... Inspection revealed the carb to engine boots leaking air due to cracks in the rubber. Bike Bandit wants $220+ dollars for OEM replacements .. after reading some posts concerning Bike Bandit, I'm not so sure I want to deal with them. This bike may take first place in my worst catagory if it is a engineering and maint. nightmare! This bike is a fix, sparkle and sell project so I'm not going to put much cash into it. I'll either make my own boots as I can mold rubber or modify existing OEM Boots to fit.

Worst bike I've owned/worked on has to be a vs700/750/800 Suzuki Intruder. Doesn't matter what year. The design of the bike makes me wonder if Suzuki walked into the Special Ed class at the local high school and had them design the bike. Two different style BS34 carbs, Airbox boots that are damn near impossible to get on, almost every wire on the bike meets up under the seat on the rear airbox. These bikes have always been a PITA to start for me, and when they do start they have to warm up before you even think about riding or your going to kill the bike and spend another 10 minutes trying to start the bike. in their defense they are decent cruisers to ride but they just don't have that "Oh my god, hold on for dear life" feel my Kaw does when your crack the throttle.

unomike wrote:

I would place my 72 HD as my worst. .....I actually had the Carb fall off during a ride on the HD!

I believe I sold that bike to you!! lol I had a 72 Sporty and the carb manifold loosened up on a trip to Martha's Vineyard. I spent the afternoon on the side of a Vineyard road, trying like hell to get everything lined up and back together so I could make the last ferry and get off the island! Shee-it I hated that bike that day! Finally on the way home a camshaft bushing really wore out, and destroyed the advancer springs in the process. It took 8 hours to make 200 miles home...backfiring and bucking all the way....I'll never own another Harley.

trianglelaguna wrote:

1978 Z1R.........wobbled......always somthing wrong...seat sucked ......rear caliper failed...heavy....great motor.....bike sucked and was a drag to ride

I have two of these and the one I have some miles wobbles also, once I hit about 130mph. The other KZs I have wobble much sooner. Once You replace the rear swing arm with a GS1100 Aluminum one it tracks well to about 145 ( i have not had it past that) I LOVE ALL OF MY BIKES. I own every Kawasaki I have ever bought. My ex wifes little Yamaha I traded for a model airplane engine about 14 years back. "No such thing as a bad KZ only the people that do not know what they are doing with them" :woohoo:

Mid '60s Harley Sportster (shiver). I don't even like to think about it.

To be fair, My worst bike still was'nt a bad bike... It never failed, and was adaquate to teach my wife to ride on. and I sold it @ 2 years later for exactly what I had in it. It was simply a "pooch". I cringe a little when I read of others going to lengths to restore one. '75 CB350F. G

got one....boy that took a long time...i was gonna reel it in and check my bait.......:laugh:

otakar wrote:

trianglelaguna wrote:

1978 Z1R.........wobbled......always somthing wrong...seat sucked ......rear caliper failed...heavy....great motor.....bike sucked and was a drag to ride

I have two of these and the one I have some miles wobbles also, once I hit about 130mph. The other KZs I have wobble much sooner. Once You replace the rear swing arm with a GS1100 Aluminum one it tracks well to about 145 ( i have not had it past that) I LOVE ALL OF MY BIKES. I own every Kawasaki I have ever bought. My ex wifes little Yamaha I traded for a model airplane engine about 14 years back. "No such thing as a bad KZ only the people that do not know what they are doing with them" :woohoo:

timebomb33 wrote:

the biggest problem with the virago starter set-up was the actual cover it self the bendix would start to move around a bit in the cover and then cause it to bind then when it bound up it caused the starter to work harder then over heatalso it was binding and not engauging with the ring gear properly so it would get chewwed up and in order to replace it you had to replace the rotor assemblybecause yamaha didn't sell them seperately so in order to fix it properly you had to replace thestarter motor the bendix the rotor assembly and either bush or replace the cover and since yamaha never admitted there was a problem the prices didn't become resonable a starter was over 400.00 same for the rotor the bendix at one time was about 150then the cover or repairs and a gasket plus labor so in order to fix it properly it was up around 1500.00 and when the bike was only worth that it didn't make a lot of sense if that motor had a kicker it would have been a great engine. because the engine itself was bullet proof.

Just to get things right when I started this post my worst being the old virago starter problems What TB said is correct It was a good running bike OK just starter and the frame is made funny hard to do much with. The best thing is like TB said and have it tuned perfect for a quick start. The Worst I ever rode never owned one was an old CZ BLAAAA;)

this was a scary bike to ride fast...wait scratch that.....this was scary bike to ride.....

rubber mounted handle bars...16 inch wierd profile tires/baloons....fork settings from a schwin monshock bicycle........looked like it would be okay to ride,but sure was unsettling...never worked on fixing set up...was'nt my bike......told my friend the ride was over half way up a mountain pass...turned around and headed home....washed out the front end when he late braked at a intersection.....no dammage but....i knew it was coming...vague -over rated-wooden front end....

trianglelaguna wrote:

this was a scary bike to ride fast...wait scratch that.....this was scary bike to ride.....

rubber mounted handle bars...16 inch wierd profile tires/baloons....fork settings from a schwin monshock bicycle........looked like it would be okay to ride,but sure was unsettling...never worked on fixing set up...was'nt my bike......told my friend the ride was over half way up a mountain pass...turned around and headed home....washed out the front end when he late braked at a intersection.....no dammage but....i knew it was coming...vague -over rated-wooden front end....

i always wanted a set of those 2 piston calipers,figured theyed be narrow enough to run with kz wire wheels!