Thats odd that you found a GS1000G better handling than a Katana 1100? Mine was a 1000cc (I bored to 1100cc) Kat but basically the same bike but Mikuni smoothbores as stock, in its time it was a fantastic production racer choice beating all other Bikes in its class at Knockhill, much better ground clearance than the previous gen GSX1100's and GS1000's that were also popular production race bike choices up here, the first year the GPz900R Kawasaki came out though most of the Kat proddy racers switched to them, it was a big move fwd for Kawasaki and a ground breaking machine at the time. In fact the lap times around Knockhill on my Kat I could not beat 2 years later with a GSXR 750, but my arthritis was kicking in badly then. I'll agree the Big Kats were raw though, not built for comfort, but it had lots of character, handled extremly well (IMHO) in its day and of course the design is still radical too. I guess the big Kats were either a love or hate machine. EDIT: I would get a high speed weave with rear tyre wear too, it never developed into a tank slapper though, before I sold it I tried the proddy racer tyres of choice, this was the old rear pattern Pirelli Phantom on the front (with the zig zag tread) and a slightly oversize Michelin tyre of soft compound that was available at 140 section (these were road legal) and with correct tyre pressures as advised by the top proddy racers using them it was rock steady at an indicated 140 MPH riding solo. Owned a baby Kat 650 shafftie too, but that was more a commute kinda ride. My worst bike was the Yamaha FJ1100 when it first came out, it was a choice between this, the new GPz 900R, Suzuki GSX1150 EF, they were all just released and on paper the Yam FJ1100 looked really good, it turned out to have poor ground clearance, rear shock from brand new was wasted in about 3 months, the alternator bolts sheared and sheared the shaft inside the crankcase meaning a full engine strip down under warranty, it also had a factory re-call for the rear brake hose or something? First winter (I rode all year round back then) the finish proved less than robust and it looked very second hand the next spring despite never having been dropped ... did a run down from NE Scotland to a Silverstone GP on it though, and for that I admit was a comfy tourer ... this bike put me off Yamaha's for a long time ... in hind sight I should have bought a new GPz 900 R when I bought this. Later FJ1200's seemed to have sorted many of the problems I had apparently, revised alternator to crankcase mounts and more ... not a fun bike IMHO though, traded it in for a new early GSXR 750 that I had a lot of fun with.
Worst by far was the BMW R1100RT I just got rid of before buying my ST3, for a tourer I couldn't get a really comfortable riding position, owned it for a year but only did about 500 miles on it! During my biking life I have had CB 100N ( 1st bike, good mpg but slow) CB250N ( written of by a SMDSY ), CB400/4, great little bike but in yellow!!, GSX400, quite good, 75mpg cruising at 70, CX500, really comfy, great for touring once rear shocks had been changed and fork oil uprated, Gs 550, so so is all I can say. Then a 20 year break ( marriage, kids, divorce) before XJ650, good re- introduction, CBF600, great up to 80 then more vibrations than was good for it! Triumph Sprint ST1050, superb machine, great engine, comfy but sold for financial reasons :-(, then the BMW and now the ST!!
I remember that 1000 LTD Kawa in the magazines and remember that the 500 Pantah cost the same (at least, I think I remember that). And I thought at the time, why would anyone want a weird evil-handling chopperesq Kwacker when they could have the sublimely beautiful blue Pantah? It was horsepower, wasn't it?
I never had a worst bike. I liked them all in their different ways. But then all but 3 of them have been Ducatis. I suppose the Honda CD175 didn't have a whole heap to recommend it, but then it only cost me £100. And I learnt on it, passed my test on it, and got around (just). The Honda 400N Superdream was surely the most unreliable, but after the CD175 it seemed amazing. And it still got me from the UK to Switzerland on several occasions. So no complaints (apart from the fact that Honda camchains of the era were made of melted cheese). And the tensioners didn't.
Worst bike would have been the Yam RS125 I bought for the then-missus to learn on. I rode it quite a bit too, as a commuter. Pretty sure the frame was bent out of shape, it always seemed to be going around a corner no matter what. Reliable though, unlike the GT750A I had before that. That old "Kettle" should have been my "worst" bike, but I did love it so.
In 1980 a 500 Pantah cost £2,300 list price (and you couldn't get them for less than list). The big Jap fours were roughly the same price at the time - but I didn't want a Jap four I wanted and got a Pantah.
Me too! i've only been left at the side of the road once with electrical failure on a 350 LC - the next day I plugged the CDI unit back in and she fired up first kick! other than that I think I can count the mechanical problems i've had with bikes on the fingers of one hand, but I am extremely meticulous with my maintenance. Every single bike i've had, even the Chinese 125's have good memories attached to them, and every one has appealed in different ways. I still dont find that much appeal in bikes much past the late 90's though, and I have to say I lean towards air cooling as a preference.
Aprilia caponord, cracking engine, shocking electrics, all dials & clocks use to go mental after a while, and they were all LCD style including fuel and trip, so you had to stop and switch off to reset or risk running out of fuel.
I had an '89 Z250 scorpion that I bought with a knackered engine. I purchased a GPz 305 engine to go into it that eventually turned out to be even more knackered than the one I took out..... a shameful abuse of the noble and honourable GPz nameplate..
I've never owned anything I'd call bad, and I don't want to offend anyone on here ... but sad to say I think the worst bike I've ever had was a Ducati ... a Sport Classic insurance loaner. Looks that just didn't quite cut it, more uncomfortable than my SPS, slow as f*ck, awful suspension, a pitiful full lock that trapped your thumbs against the tank, and the finish of the poor thing (which had a hard life admittedly) was made of cheese. All just my opinion of course
Without any doubts or hesitation I will gladly award that prize to the 2004 Honda Blackbird I had for 2 years from new and hated it. Terrible wooden brakes, horrible handling and wallowed like a pissed up camel on roller-skates. The power delivery was very smooth but in this case so smooth it just felt there was no actual serge of power etc. By a million miles the worst bike I ever owned. Funny the way some people rate them! Chris.
LOL you guys never had it so good....after a bad TT some years back we all decided to go over to the dark side and chop the sportsbikes in for Harleys. Out went my lovely RRW fireblade and in came the Harley Fatboy, inspired by Arnie and T2! Great to look at but handled like a pregnant rhino with one eye and a bad case of gout. Brakes that you needed both hands on one lever to force to work, no power, no ground clearance and having seen 6 miles of rain in the time I owned it, corrosion that you wouldn't believe on the polished alloy and the steel. I'd have killed for a blackbird or a sport classic for the sad sorry 400 miles I owned that!
Again I've not really had a bad bike. They've tended to suit me at the time I rode them. But the one that used to drop most bits was an old Suzuki CG125 I had around 1985 (I think). :-/
Corrosion? Heck I would not have expected that. I rode a friends glide a few months back. I expected it not to handle or stop very well seeing as it weighs half a ton (seriously). But bloody hell, his glide was just horrible in every way aside from it sounded ok. Chris.
I followed a Harley into work today. He was holding me up in the corners (I was in my oh-so-not-very-fast Alfa 156SW) as he threepenny-bitted his way around them. You could see the thing had no ground clearance and he had to brake a lot before taking them on. I couldn't help thinking that on a Diavel, he could have a similar riding position but actually stuff the thing into corners with nary a worry. Mind you, I have suspicions that he was a posing twat. He had a Hardly-Ableson rucksack (never a good sign - see Ducati lifestyle thread) and when he got onto the motorway, he sped off (straight road innit) having bimbled along all the roads with corners in them.
Worst bike is a strange one... In cold hard terms, i'd have to rate my Chinese built Yamasaki YM125-3 as the worst, but its not. It starts every morning, it runs on fresh air, its unerringly reliable, and it does exactly what's expected of it. Its even (whisper it) on occasions, fun....... Yes, if you ride it in salt and don't wash it you will have corrosion everywhere very quickly, but rather than bitch about it, you consider this a given, and either wash salt off immediately, or don't bitch about rust. Yes, it vibrates, but its a single, so of course it does, spanner check everything once every couple of months, and loctite where appropriate and nothing will fall off. yes, the fasteners are often low grade, so invest £20 in a large tub of stainless fasteners and replace those that matter. When you paid £425 brand new, and then subject it to far harsher extremes of speed and acceleration than it would ever experience in its home market you have to approach things with a little common sense. A few sensible mods and precautions, and by the time you've registered it you will have a perfectly reliable competent bike on the road for not much over £500 that does around 100 - 120 mpg. I fail to see how that can ever be described as bad. I've done about 20,000 miles now on Chinese bikes in all weather, and have never had one fail to get me anywhere, ever.
Sounds like a good bike for the money Philoldsmobile so aside from a bike for commuting what is your worst main bike if you know what I mean? As for commutes, I once had a Honda CB250RS (remember the single with spoke wheels?) and for what it was it was bloody good fun actually. Often used to get into them kind of commuting races. I guess one thing about it which also appealed was the fact that I really didn't care if I dropped it which used to give me a Kamikaze type attitude. :biggrin: Chris.
I had a Z250 scorpion, bought with a rattly engine, a replacement GPz305 engine ordered from a breaker in MCN (pre internet days) that turned out to be worse than the one I already had. PX'd it for a 350 LC! (good move!!!)
