Favourite/Worst bikes

[timbo]

So, we've had some truelly amazing lists of bikes people have owned. So, what about your favourite bike and the reasons why, and your worst bike and the reasons why.
My favourite bike is a hard choice between my 1988 Honda NX650 Dominater, and my 2002 RE 500 Bullet. The Dommie because it reinvigorated my interest in motorcycles after a period of disinterest. I love the way it delivers its power, and the way it handles on rough crappy roads, just soaking up all the rutts. Also its robustness. Downside is servicing the monoshock linkages and bearings.
The RE cause it looks and sounds  awesome in its trials trim,and is dead basic and cheap to run. Downside, would be its very low comfortable cruising top speed.
Worst bike I reckon was the C15. Just not a great bike overall, always sounded and felt like it was about to explode, the C12 wasnt much cop either

[Half Ton]

Well if I had to choose,I would definitely be asking for my Duke MHR back,I cannot believe I sold it  It was no 162 of the first 200 sold and the guy I bought it from had sourced all the correct decals for it ,so it looked just like Mikes bike  ,The solo seat (it came with 2) was like a plank but I never had a sore rear end no matter how far I rode it,And it only ever let me down once (stopped charging and left me with a 15 mile push home)

Worst bike has to be the CD 175 ,And only because the pressed steel frame dissolved before I could sort it out and have a ride..

[Ian]

Fave has to be the present Bonnie, I just love the torque and smoothness of the engine. Worst....Probably the MT-03...It drank petrol like it was going out of fashion and the fuel injection was never sorted by the dealer. Funny, my lad had one and it was a different beast altogether.

[CrazyFrog]

I find most bikes have flaws, which I guess is why I get through so many of them.

My favorite was probably the Morini 3 1/2. They used to say of the original Mini that it made you a better driver than you really were, and the Morini was like that - it made me feel like a much better rider than I am.

Worst was the Lifan GY200, which went from brand new to scrap in a period of about 8 months.....

[mthee]

First was worst. I couldn't get to view the ss50 until it was getting dark and should've waited until next day. I didn't and bought a warm lemon which humiliated me every chance it got, which was plenty, by poor starting and running. Everything overtook me, especially going up the steep hill to college everyday. I got shot of it as soon as I turned 17 for a 125.

Best is the current XBR. I've had faster, better handling bikes, but the XBR fits like a glove, handles well, has more character, is simpler and provides a wonderfully relaxing soundtrack, popping on the overrun, something I've never had before. Still in honeymoon period though!

[Andy M]

Best had to be the MZ301. The Bonneville and XT600 were good but nothing beats using 101% of what you bought.

I forgive the Ural, it was a POS, but mostly through the limits of Soviet metallurgy and paint and lack availability of copper wire and the over availability of Vodka and..... The BMW's were massively over hyped and under developed but did take some use before the non-cosmetic failures.

The Guzzi V7 was a bigger dissapointment. With such an established design, Piaggios money and modern parts available off the shelf there is no excuse for the dress-up jobs and constant half baked fiddling that makes them hard to live with.

Andy

[xbally]

Worst was probably an old  J reg ( i think) Honda SS125 that was knackered-bought in the mid 70's as a second bike and for my girlfriend to learn to ride on.The engine was so worn it emitted a smoke screen any two stroke would have been proud of.

Best ooh that's hard....could have been the 97 Thundercat i bought new as my 40th birthday present.I still see it around locally.I was stunned by  how much new bikes had come on at the time.Handling,braking and power all immensely better that i had been used to before

[manxie]

Good question Tim and pretty hard to answer (for me)

I think the worst bike I`ve had has to be the 125 Qujang (excuse the spelling, supposed to be a Chinese Yamaha) It was actually for the wife to use but I spent a bit of time on it. If it didn`t start after the first two kicks, the plug was out and warmed on the hob, then fired straight away. It popped bulbs every other day and was literally red rusty after 6 months of ownership (we bought it new  ) Traded it in for the Honda CG125 ... ace little bike.

The best I`ve not really decided on? Either my 1200 Bandit or my 1450 HD Heritage Soft-tail. The latter was comfy, sounded good but the ground clearance was $hite. The Bandit did everything well, comfy, sounded OK, went like stink, handling wasn`t great but once I got used to it and learnt its characteristics, it was fine. ....  the 1200 Bandit it must be ??

[johnr]

best, hmm, i suppose it has to be the 1170 katana that i built years ago, loved every single mile i did on it, never let me down, went like merry hell (took it sprinting and embarassed the boys on the zzr1100s and gsxrs) started easily, good on juice and just made me grin like a fool whenever i rode it. note im not sayin git was the best bike i ever rode, cos thats a subjective thing, my modern beemer boxer is probably a better bike than the kat, but it just doesnt make me feel like the kat did. as for the worst, i suppose its got to be the triumph chop i had in the 1990s, it was based on a 5ta, and whilst it went well enough and looked and sounded great, there was never a guarantee that when you set off on a journey that you would get to the end of it without a breakdown.

[BrendanO]

Funny how worst is easiest, eh? - my (then) gfriend's Yam XS250 US Custom, bought from a dying junkie VERY cheaply, eventually sold at a profit. Looked great, but pretty awful in most respects, and SLOWER than her rough CB125Tdc.

Best is tricky...had many good times on a T140V and a crappy Superdream, loved CB250rsx3, MTX200, DT175MX, but maybe ...can I admit it? ...actually, my CX Eurosport is now firm
Y my favourite, having taken a good ribbing when I bought it 15 years ago.

Bloody ell, a CX. But it's true.

[timbo]

John, so pleased you picked one of your many big Kat's. It had to be. I reckon they are one of the most distinctive and iconic bikes ever made. And what an engine! And Brendan, the CX is an amazing all round bike. We had a mate who built a CX500 bobber, twenty years ahead of the trend   
I was very tempted to go for my GT 550 shaftie, as it got me to work all year round, plus all round the UK and Europe 

[johnr]

before we had kids we were poor as piss and had nothing to write home about, no car licence and our only transport was a gt200x5 suzuki. it wasnt as glamorous as the x7, but it was almost as good at everything the x7 did, and that was ok for us. we commuted to work all year round, me dropping her at her work then going onto my own, making my daily ride about 100 miles, she only had about 40 miles so didnt cop for the cold like me, but we were young and in love and daft and such things didnt matter. we did our shopping (with the aid of bungees and a massive sports holdall that we would cram full then loop the handles over her shoulders like a rucsac, we went on holiday and off to many rallys on it, and in all the time we had it it needed a battery (some scumbag nicked it, but it still started on the kickstart and ran the same) and a couple of tyres plus a chain and sprocket kit. the front sprocket was so worn that it was like having an additional clutch, it would spin under the chain and the bike would slowly gather speed. i turned it round and it lasted another week. we did almost all our miles two up. it never failed to start and never broke down, would do about 65 mph flat out with us two on, and was a sweet runner for all that it was onlt 200cc. now after all these years, i have a longing for one again, nostalgia i know, and i would probably never ride it, but i just loved that little suzuki. if i had another, i would probably just wash it occasionally and smile at the happy memories it brought up.

[timbo]

What a great story John, all you needed to add were a few Xmas references, and wed all be in tears 

[johnr]

we did fetch home a 5 foot xmas tree on it, wedged between us!

[timbo]

Stop, the tears are tripping me