Bad bikes you surprisingly gelled with

[chris4652009]

Crappy old Suzuki GS500, such a hoot to ride in a manner that was never intended, even took it green laning.

Is the first that springs to my mind

yours?

[Birky_41]

My Benelli Tornado Tre 900

I loved that bike but it was uncomfortable, heavy, very unreliable and underpowered

Id have another though

[MotorsportTom]

Honda CG 125.

Not an impressive bike by any stretch of the imagination but I adore mine!

Taken it on a euro road trip and Scotland road trip as well as locally hacking down the lanes. I love it and don't think I'll be in a rush to sell.



Taken on the B862 (opposite side of Loch Ness), apparently General Wade's military road

[Birky_41]

MotorsportTom said:

Honda CG 125.

Not an impressive bike by any stretch of the imagination but I adore mine!

Taken it on a euro road trip and Scotland road trip as well as locally hacking down the lanes. I love it and don't think I'll be in a rush to sell.



Taken on the B862 (opposite side of Loch Ness), apparently General Wade's military road

As boring as that thing must be to ride that must be a laugh knowing all that work is being done by a tiny single cylinder and probably getting 100+mpg

[chris4652009]

Birky_41 said:

MotorsportTom said:

Honda CG 125.

Not an impressive bike by any stretch of the imagination but I adore mine!

Taken it on a euro road trip and Scotland road trip as well as locally hacking down the lanes. I love it and don't think I'll be in a rush to sell.



Taken on the B862 (opposite side of Loch Ness), apparently General Wade's military road

As boring as that thing must be to ride that must be a laugh knowing all that work is being done by a tiny single cylinder and probably getting 100+mpg

I'm so tempted to get a 125 to dick about on, just keep the speed up and lol all the way

[TwoStrokeNut]

I've found some pleasure in most bikes I've ridden over the years. The exceptions would be a Transalp, GB500, R80RT, all dismal for me.

I really enjoyed a friends AR80 many moons ago. On the back wheel in 2nd without the clutch is good (slow) fun.

A dispatchers CX500. It was heavy, slow, but somehow had some charm about it with that motor layout and tank like build quality. Still not sure why I enjoyed that one.

A 1200 Triumph Explorer. A friend took one for a test ride. I had no interest in them, but what a great ride on bumpy fast roads.

A beautifully setup KR1-S quite recently. Lovely wilbers rear shock, WP steering damper, revalved front end and a blueprinted refreshed motor. That was sublime. People love to hate old strokers, but this was surprisingly tractable, with a beautiful power band.

Another bike with suspension work, a Honda SP2 with a top spec WP rear shock and front internals. Never the best road bikes, but so much character, beautifully damped and the brake just fitted to that model are still great. just lovely..

[MotorsportTom]

chris4652009 said:

Birky_41 said:

As boring as that thing must be to ride that must be a laugh knowing all that work is being done by a tiny single cylinder and probably getting 100+mpg

I'm so tempted to get a 125 to dick about on, just keep the speed up and lol all the way

It astounds me the level of abuse it can take although sadly I average a meagre 90mpg

Get it on the right roads, keep the throttle pinned crank it over it's actual a very amusing place to sit! Fast... no... exciting... not really but definitely enjoyable!

It is however incredibly dull changing down repeatedly on dual carriageways and hoping the truck you just overtook doesn't come back past on the uphill you are now struggling on.

Headwinds aren't much fun either but even with all the gear on, I could get an indicated 62-65mph if I lean towards the clocks a little

Also, even with the work and 2 MOT's I've had on it the bike doesn't owe me much more than £600

[3DP]

125-ish Scooters - I fkin' loves 'em I do. Not even properly sure why. Probably as light, disposable, don't need protective gear, 6 foot turning circles, near zero running costs, planning lines to avoid braking or losing momentum etc. Add to that Groms as well.

They just put a smile on my face, rather than the seriousness of big bikes.

[SteelerSE]

Mine would have to be the Suzuki GSX1100G. Tiny fuel tank, bouncy suspension, nice relaxed riding position, maybe 30mpg and a huge engine that was a wall of torque. I had an absolute blast on that thing. It would make a great tourer if it wasn't for the lack of fairing and 100 mile fuel stops.

I also had a GSX1100EFE which was a great fun bike. Awful suspension but wonderful, lazy engine. I had a blast hustling that thing around as it wobbled and shook all over the place.

[RizzoTheRat]

chris4652009 said:

I'm so tempted to get a 125 to dick about on, just keep the speed up and lol all the way

My wife used to have a Chinese copy of a CG125, so think all the power of a CG without the bulletproof reliability (it needed new shocks for it's first MoT, and replacing the snapped throttle cable resulted it needing a carb overhaul too)

It was surprisingly good fun to ride. Weighed nothing so you could throw it around all over the place, no power so you basically kept the throttle pinned all the time and concentrated on keeping the momentum up, and the brakes were good for when you did get it wrong.

[chris4652009]

RizzoTheRat said:

chris4652009 said:

I'm so tempted to get a 125 to dick about on, just keep the speed up and lol all the way

My wife used to have a Chinese copy of a CG125, so think all the power of a CG without the bulletproof reliability (it needed new shocks for it's first MoT, and replacing the snapped throttle cable resulted it needing a carb overhaul too)

It was surprisingly good fun to ride. Weighed nothing so you could throw it around all over the place, no power so you basically kept the throttle pinned all the time and concentrated on keeping the momentum up, and the brakes were good for when you did get it wrong.

I'm thinking one of the early Honda Groms, you can scoop them up super cheap

[crofty1984]

Yamaha YBR 125 I bought for the Mrs. Took no end of thrashing and great to hurl down country lanes, sticking to corners far better than it had any right to. I'm not going to say my Gilera Coguar, because it was my first bike and was always going to be AWESOME!!!!!

[RizzoTheRat]

chris4652009 said:

I'm thinking one of the early Honda Groms, you can scoop them up super cheap

They certainly seem to have a good following. The fact that my wifes bike, which was quite clearly crap, could be good fun does make me wonder how good a decent 125 would be, although if was going to get a 125 it would have to be a TDR.

[chris4652009]

RizzoTheRat said:

chris4652009 said:

I'm thinking one of the early Honda Groms, you can scoop them up super cheap

They certainly seem to have a good following. The fact that my wifes bike, which was quite clearly crap, could be good fun does make me wonder how good a decent 125 would be, although if was going to get a 125 it would have to be a TDR.

I've done my time with 2 strokes and even rose tinted glasses cant see past the hassle they were.
I know the Groms need an upgraded drive chain but other than that there is nothing much that is needed to have a hoot on them

I can't remember the last time I saw a TDR 125!! are there any left?

[Xtriple129]

Yam TDM 850. Everyone slated them for being 'boring' in the extreme but I had a go on a mates that he had made an exhaust for it from a Triumph 3-1 and lots of welding. I loved it to bits and when he wanted a BMW I bought it from him. Ran it for years and thrashed it mercilessly constantly. Great fun. Well, it was until a piston shattered while pootling around with my wife while she was practising for her test.

Many many years ago, I was lent a Kawasaki Z400 twin while my CB 900 was having its engine rebuilt. It was a proper scruffy heap without one single redeeming feature yet I adored it. Just complete fun to thrash around on and not worry about being pinched as it really did look like a wreck. Tried to buy it from the Kawasaki dealers when my Honda was fixed (they sold it to me and repaired it under warranty - showing my serious amount of age here) but they declined as it was such a great loaner and everyone loved it.

[Zarco]

3DP said:

125-ish Scooters - I fkin' loves 'em I do. Not even properly sure why. Probably as light, disposable, don't need protective gear, 6 foot turning circles, near zero running costs, planning lines to avoid braking or losing momentum etc. Add to that Groms as well.

They just put a smile on my face, rather than the seriousness of big bikes.

Snap.

[308mate]

Much like the Triumph 675 was a good bike I didn’t gel with, a bike that I did love which many people (wrongly in my opinion) derided was the Suzuki TL1000S.
What a weapon of a bike. Toweled up a few tryers on other twins of various types, including a Buell Lightning which for some reason people thought was the future. Not sure what of.

[pozi]

chris4652009 said:

Crappy old Suzuki GS500, such a hoot to ride in a manner that was never intended, even took it green laning.

Is the first that springs to my mind

yours?

I would agree there is some sort of strange charm about a GS500, I spent 3 years bashing mine round the M25 commuting in all weathers and then I used it when I started motorcycle instructing.

And it has been down a green lane too.

[srob]

3DP said:

125-ish Scooters - I fkin' loves 'em I do. Not even properly sure why. Probably as light, disposable, don't need protective gear, 6 foot turning circles, near zero running costs, planning lines to avoid braking or losing momentum etc. Add to that Groms as well.

They just put a smile on my face, rather than the seriousness of big bikes.

Any pre-1931 bike for the above reasons but maybe replace disposable with indistructable

[Krikkit]

Birky_41 said:

My Benelli Tornado Tre 900

I loved that bike but it was uncomfortable, heavy, very unreliable and underpowered

Id have another though

That's not helping my irrational like for them... I know it'll be uncomfortable and mostly rubbish, but it's so pretty.