Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Best & Worst bikes ever owned

OK, this best and worst thing is getting a bit carried away. But at least this one is M/C related.

Keep it to bikes you have ACTUALLY OWNED, this is not a chance to go bashing other brands or models.

My Best

BMW R100 RS. Fantastic machine. Would cruise ALL day at 100mph, was comfortable to cruise all day on even with dropped bars, and it ate miles for dinner. Put neartly 100,000 miles on mine in one year. Incredible machine. Would love to get another one.

Worst
Of all the bikes ive had, and there have been some real dogs. Suzuki X5, Yamaha RD 200, Honda CX500. I would have to say the X5 and the RD were the worst simple because they were so bland. At least the CX kept me entertained. It handled so badly i would come out of corners laughing and wondering how i ever managed to come out of the corner without dropping the thing.

Best: My current TBA, handles better than any of my old Kawasaki, Yamaha or Hondas and seems to have much more horsepower. Worst: Yamaha Venture with California Sidecar, although it was truly an adventure in each and every turn, a different kind of exhilarating. That BMW R100 RS would always turn my head, though.

For dependability has to be my 64 BMW R-50 for fun it's a toss up between my 66 TR6C and my Norton P-11

Love my Speedmaster now though!

Either of my Triumphs would count as the best overall. The '49 had some strange quirks, but it would always get me home somehow.

An honorable mention goes to the '39 HD Flathead and '76 XLCH I had. They were both sturdy, very easy to work on and responded well to engine modifications.

Worst is also a tie, a Honda SL350 was really bad. The electrics were worse than Lucas. I got rid of it when it punched a hole through one of its paper thin pistons. The other was a Vstar that the OL just had to have. I guess that counts as mine because I had to pay for it. It was slower and handled worse than a '50 Buick Dynaflo. When I got a service manual for it and saw how poorly it was designed, it had to go.

Best : 2005 Triumph Bonneville America
Worst: 1979 Triumph Bonneville 750

Best: 2003 Speedmaster

Worst: 1973 750 Tiger Twin (Please note that the only reason I'm putting this down as the 'worst' is in comparison to the Speedmaster. The Tiger was a GREAT bike for its time, but between the Lucas electrics - in a charitable sense of the word 'electrics' - and the Amal carbs, it would be considered unreliable and a PITA these days.)

Wurst: Polska Kielbasa

Best: I like my 04 speedy best, hopefully it will turn out to be as reliable as my '83 Kaw GPz550 which I still have.

Worst: 1973 Honda CB350Four. 4cy 350, smooth but an all around dog, I wince thinking about that thing.

The Best(need you ask ol' chap???!!!)...the '02 BA, of course!

The Worst...'65 Honda CL72 (250cc) Scrambler...and only because I bought it off a kid who had totally abused it and ran it into the ground.(I should have bought the other near new '67 CL77 (305cc) that I looked at, but I didn't have the extra 150 bucks back then...150 bucks WAS a lot o' money for a kid back then, ya know)

Best: my 2002Bonneville America & a 1976 BMW R900/6 (or was it a /7 ??)
Most fun: 1967 Triumph TR6C

Worst: Yamaha 250 street bike

I've only owned 2 bikes and they are both great. First was my Honda CR250R. It took well to some modifications, was super easy to maintain and tinker on and never let me down (even though it would toss me off from time to time, but that was mostly my fault)

And my current '05 BA. A dream to ride. Easy to tinker on. Overall a decent ride for the type of riding I do. A++ in my books.

If my father-in-law ever lets me ride his Screamin' Eagle, I'll let you know how it was.

Best we all know
Worst was my Hodaka 90. Everytime I road it, something fell off!

Arsenalfan,

I've always wanted to ride a BMW like the one pictured below.


As for the worst, it would have to be one of the various & sundry rice-burners available, - IMHO.

-BT

edit note: come on guys.. let's not start going here again please.

Me likee the accessories on that BMW the most!!!

Best: my 04 speedy

Worst: my 04 speedy

It's the only bike I've ever owned (in working condition I mean, I have a 77 Honda cb550 and an 81 Suzuki gs850 but they are both project bikes and not currently in working order) I've ridden other bikes but never owned others.

Where can I get one of THOSE bm's. Best 2003 Speedmaster....GPZ 900R....FUN GSXR 400 Worst various Jap trail bikes of the early 80`s.

Best has got to be my TBA 02, she'a beauty
Worst. Definitely my 1963 Francis Barnett 200 the bl**dy thing was a death trap, it had the power of an overated hairdryer.

The pillion is beautiful as well

Best I've owned:
2007 Triumph Tiger (little bit of bragging here).

Worst I've owned
none.

can't say I've had a bad bike, although my old Yamaha 125 Enduro (circa 1974) was kind of a dog, but again, like my old F100, cause my older brother trashed it. Pretty bike though, kick start, looked like a late-60's Bonnie, but with knobbies and a slightly raised front fender. Otherwise, can't complain about my 83 Honda VF700 Sabre or my America....

I truly loved them all, but the cream of the crop was a 1983 Kawasaki KZ1100 Spectre named Beetlejuice. V&H header, 3mm overbore, shaved head, heavy-duty valve and clutch springs, it was an absolute beast. Two-up or solo, Beetlejuice had this effortless power from idle to 11000 rpm. Reliable as a battle axe.

The worst was more a physical problem with me than with the bike. A 1986 Honda VFR700 with HRC cams and a V&H header. Scarey-fast, sounded like a Formula One car, but I couldn't take the riding position. My hands went to sleep after 10 minutes. It was only comfortable above 100mph. I sold it after only a few months.

The best (most enjoyable to ride) is my 04 America.
The worst (although I have not had a bad bike) was a Honda V65 Magna. Fast as heck but never did fill right to me.

I will never sell my 03 SM
Before that I had a 99(?) Honda Shadow 1100 that was so boring that I did not care if I rode or not.
Honorable mention in both, the Vulcan 750 I had while I lived in Orlando, fun to ride, reliable and just plain ugly.

Worst: '64 T120 (Fun though)
Best: '05 America

I've liked all the bikes i've owned so i wont say a best and worst lets say least favorite: 1981 Suzuki GS 450 L reliable but way underpowered.

Most favorite (not counting present bike): 1984 Honda Night Hawk 650.

I have never had a motorcycle that I felt was bad. First bike please don’t laugh Honda 175 twin, (my mother would not let me own a motorcycle, while I was living under her roof)I had this motorcycle while I was stationed in Osan Korea, USAF, 3/21/78 to 12/23/78, while most of my buddies were getting drunk and chasing the local ladies, (I did my share believe me), I was riding all over Korea. I dumped that motorcycle more times than I can remember, dumped it into rice paddies, on the dirt roads that were the majority of roads in Korea. I just picked it up and she started every time. I sold it to the local Kia Honda dealer, just a guy in a shop. Next assignment Norton AFB, San Bernardino CA. Honda CB 550 Twin, I felt it was a great bike, even in reviews I’ve read it is considered one of Hondas better bikes at that time. I got that thing up to 120 mph, then went onto rain grooved highway, what a rush. Now neither can compare to the 06 TBA. But I had great fun and few problems.

i have 3 best, my 2 Triumph's come in first of course, as some of you know i have a 72 with 112000mi that has never given me any headaches at all and of course there's Millie she is my new girl and then there was a 53panhead what a real P.O.S. and a 73sportster that i couldnt keep things from falling off of hahahahahaha other than that i have had pretty good luck with most other bikes i have had.

oops forgot the other best, a sweeet 47 knucklehead.

Never owned a bad bike. Just bought an SRX 250 for the missus and kid. Needs work but they are a fun bike.

Best: 02 Triumph TBA
76 Yamaha XS 750
71 Triumph Tophy 650
71 Yamaha RD 350

Worst: None

Best BMW R1100RS.i bought one to slow me down and preserve my driving licence.The reality was it made me ride faster than i did on my ZRX1100 all because the handling on real roads was amazing.It ate sportsbikes(crotch rockets)for breakfast without even trying.
Worst: couldnt seperate between two hondas.CB250N which kept burning out alternators and then Mr Honda would charge an arm and a leg for replacement ones.A CX500 which basically just wouldnt go round bends.How the ****** did they get a licence to build that pile of cr*p?

best my tba, just love this bike.
worst or at least the most unreliable a cz 125 if you went above 50mph for more tha a half an hour the dam thin used to seize up (took me 13 hours just to 300 miles once).