Mine was pretty tame compared to most story's but it was when I test rode a MT-09, that thing was just a mess, snatchy throttle and comedy suspension was a recipe for mad wheelies, but on fast sweeping corners it just lost all feel from the front and left me trusting blind faith at Some mph, some poo tried to escape... Or the time I rode a friends GS500... I think it's held together with cable ties, including the suspension, getting off it was the highlight. I shudder just thinking about how that thing has a valid MOT.
First time I papped myself was in 1980 ish, got a go on a GS1000. Thinking I was a good rider, opened the throttle as soon as moving, bad move, seat as slippy as, and my arse shot to the back of the seat, legs off the pegs and hanging on as best I could to the waggling bars till it hit the rev limiter! Wot a cock.
1980, a short skinny 13 years old, my brother was away at boarding school because we lived way out in the Boonies, I thought I would try his near new RM 250 m/crosser, had to start off a beer crate, fuck me when I finally managed to get it pointed at home I was still shaking hours later. Then at 16, I was still small and skinny for my age (where did that go?) had a go on a mates RM465, opened it up along the front paddock, Armageddon ensued, through all 5 gears, barely hung on, front wheel pointing skyward, thinking 'fuck me' this things lethal, got it slowed down to turn around just in time to see the last of the clumps of rooster tail dirt hit the ground from the 6 inch deep rut all the way up the paddock, I was asked not to return by his father as he needed the pasture to feed his sheep.
I once had a brief ride on a Manx Norton (loaned by a friend) at Cadwell. My respect for the guys who won GPs and TTs on them was considerably enhanced.
An old boy down the road, now departed sadly, used to have a 1959 350 Manx Norton. I used to help him load it up in his pickup and take it to a local private road every so often so he could give it a run. I never got to ride it but I'd give him a push to get it started. It had an open mega and the noise was stupendous. Even ticking over you could feel it through the soles of your feet and it made your eyelids jump. Fantastic smell too. I've always wondered what it was like with a dozen of them going round a circuit at full chat.
I've never had a two-stroke or British bike so all my scary experiences are 2nd division by comparison. Wildest ride I ever had was a GSX1100 with a bit of engine work by V+M. My mate had a GSXR1100K and he used to laugh at me wrestling it round bends. Being 5'10" and weighing about 10 stone meant it took some hanging onto. Tamed the handling issues with a Moto Martin frame, but the shorter wheelbase did increase the tendency to lift the front. The scariest bike round our way (North Lincs) at that time (late 80s) was a Kawasaki Turbo special built by a nutter from Berwick by the name of Dave.
A lot of my bikes have been more modern stuff so i would probably be a bit scared on an 80's bike on 80's tyres!! The 1199s wasn't a comfortable experience, I found it quite edgy but I probably wouldn't now I've ridden twins more
I had a CZ Enduro which was a beast throttle was line an on off switch, turn it on and it just wanted to hurl me into the undergrowth. think its the most scarry thing I've ridden
I can't say anything I've ridden or owned has been scary, but a few things stick in my mind - the sudden power band on my LC, the torque and weight of a mates GSX1400, the total underwhelming nature of a ZX9R (just felt heavy and bland) sliding down the seat when accelerating in waterproofs on the Ducati on the ride home in the rain, and the beautiful engine on the Benelli now that it's run in. The Benelli / ZX9R one is odd, on paper the Benelli is only slightly lighter and only a little more powerful, but it feels much smaller and a lot quicker.
Tyres play a big part, with the 80's beam framed bikes (ZXR CBR FZR etc) on modern rubber they hide their age and work well on the road when in good shape. I'm impressed how neutral my FZR feels on narrow but modern tyres. It's no superbike but it's stable and predictable.
Good description @Gimlet . Open megaphones (now rarely to be heard) and Castrol R (now rarely to be smelt). On a big highly tuned single, the vibrations through the saddle, footrests and bars are strong but agreeable - unlike the vibes of a vertical twin which are unpleasantly buzzy. Funny that!
Hahaha - when my mates and I were about 15 ( just before we got our fizzles,fanatics,garelli peds) we had a couple of old field bikes - an old ex post office BSA Bantam and a Triumph tiger cub 200cc.Both were pretty knackered old stripped down things that you had to bump start but we used to ride them along canal towpath to the back of the MARS factory in Slough where there was a large waste ground which had become the local illegal weekend race track! When OB turned up which they nearly always did everyone just laughed at them trying to catch us on old triumph trophies and BMW road bikes.There was the full range of machinery there from proper crossers and scramblers,field bikes,stripped down stolen bikes and us! We were 100% the worst there - Shit bikes,zero safety equipment,no helmets or gloves and wearing green flash pumps - everyone and I mean everyone took the piss every weekend.So when my best mates brother (hardest bastard in town by far) went off to do his parachute brigade training his immaculate pride and joy Maico 440 sitting in the shed unloved was just crying out for a gentle run out? Oh my god it was like trying to stay on a Bengal Tiger! After the first crash it was in a sorry state so we just carried on falling off it - dunno what looked worse by end of the day and we all suffered broken toes and fingers,bruises everywhere! Mind you it was nothing too compare what my mate got when his muncher brother came home on leave! He had actually got bigger and was even more of a psycho - I stayed low profile every time he was on leave
Yes I must. I missed the Prescot Hill Climb last year. Do they have a classic section? That would be a good place to start. When we were trying to start the old Manx, on the first a attempt it would often fire just as I was running out of puff and cough back through the carburettor blowing a little smoke ring and a pungent smell of Castrol R out of the bell mouth. We knew we had it then and on the next attempt it would fire up and he'd sit there warming it up with the ground shaking. Lovely.
What about these then...........?? Don't know what scared me the most.......... ............The bike or the trousers.
Exactly.............. ..............................and the square tyres made it a handful as well........
