What is the Strangest Motorcycle You've ever Owned or Ridden?

[Fireball18]

For me, it was my Jawa 350 2-stroke twin.

This bike was made up of two 175cc singles joined together on the same crankshaft. The seat was a piece of plywood with a vinyl cover over kapok stuffing! It had a few other strange things about it like having a 4-speed tranny with a 1-up & 3-down sequence, and the shift lever doubled as the kick starter--push it in, rotate it back, and kick! Good luck, though, it might fire off eventually.

[Hobo]

For me a 1953 Victoria Vicky III. 50ccm but with some tuning it runs up to 65 miles. I still own that bike but at the moment not in very good condition.

:1st:

[Don Webster]

That is strange. I also had a 350 Jawa but mine has a real seat It also had a set ape hanger bars off a kids bike. You had to let the clutch out real slow the first time you took off because some time it would start with the engine running backward

[Keith R.]

Have had a couple of strange bikes. A two wheel drive Rokon with a Honda trail 70cc motor we dropped in, would go anywhere. Bought used with the motor out of it. Came with a 35 gallon cardboard barrel with parts for around 10 Crysler 2 stroke motors. Thats what they came with but even with all those parts one good engine could not be had. Thats when we looked over at the Trail 70 with the dual range gear box. Was a great match.

Another was a 1969 MZ 250 International Six Day Enduro. Made it street legal, was a real tractor. Engine looked like a cross between a CZ and a Maico. Enclosed chain, dual ignition, and lots of steel parts. Black and white like a cop bike with a red seat. But like I said, a real tractor.

Have had many bikes but those 2 stand out in my memory including my first bike a Mustang motorcycle.

[Dave Wicks]

In the early sixties I rode a friends 175 cc 4 stroke Royal Enfield. It was a beautiful little bike that looked like a shrunken Gold Star. It was a lovely pale green with a rich cream colored trim. No power at all, but really classic looking. Always wished I could find that little thing to restore...Never seen anything else like it.

[Gonzo]

My first real motorcycle was also a Jawa 2-stroke, but only a 250cc. Single cylinder with two exhaust pipes. Had the same tricky shifter/kick starter. Carburetor was enclosed in a cast aluminum cover with fins, that faired off the back of the cylinder, so it was a very clean looking design.
When I got it, the generator was no good and it had a rechargeable battery from a missile. Once every 2-3 weeks I would take it to the battery locker and they would cycle it for me.
Gonzo

Just remembered: Almost bought a Vincent Black Shadow but I didn't want to spend money just yet on a restoration project - I wanted a daily rider. Very interesting ride, though, with the constant wheelbase suspension and the 'bend in the middle' effect with the saddle hinged on the back of the engine. Lotsa power.
G

[EJ's 97ST]

1st one, I can't think of the name of this bike but it was sold through Montgomery Wards. But it was close to a Jawa I think, I didn't have it long after I ran into the garage door with it when the brakes failed. The other was a kick-your-butt Maco 400. I was talked into riding motor-cross and after running around on a 250 Yamaha and this fella's mom said he wasn't riding anymore and I bought the 400 for $150.00. After that I got my *** beat every weekend on that thing,:oops: endo's, high-siding, even went through a wall made of bales of hay @ about 40mph. When you kick started that thing you best be getting your foot off the lever, it would break you leg on a return whip. One Sunday went down doing a lefty and had a co-rider ride up my back over my right shoulder.......sold her and have been street riding ever since. Don't need to go back to the dirt.

Ed :4is:

[colin]

Excelsior talisman 2 stroke twin year 1952' British built, went bust years ago
Now ST1300, 03 ABS
Colin 67

[rickj]

I actually bought a couple of these unique bikes in the 70s. First was 1974 blue Suzuki GT750 LeMans. This was a 3-cylinder water cooled 2-stroke motorcycle with 67 HP, and dual front disk brakes that weighed 470 lbs. Quite a technological marvel for its day. During its day it competed favorably with the popular Honda 750. Here's a link with a picture:

http://www.suzukicycles.org/1970-1979/1974a.shtml

I sold the '74 so I could pay for flying lessons but bought a '76 a couple years later. That was the year that they also had the Rotary engine RE5 which was to be their cruiser to compete with the Goldwing, as well as a 4-stroke GS750 whcih would compete with the Honda 750. The GT was now to be their "fast" bike, so they messed around with the mixture and port timing and really screwed it up. It had a lean jerk when you backed off the throttle that was seriously annoying and even snapped chains on more than one occasion! It did haul buns when you took the revs up well beyond redline though. It blew away one friend's GS750 as well as another's '76 Goldwing and of course, the Honda 750. The only thing that seemed to be able to stay with it was a Kawasaki's KZ900.

Rick

[Burger]

Back in the early 80's I had a Suzuki XN85. No one I knew had ever heard of one and neither had I until I saw this one. I can't even remember where I got it from now, but it was certainly 'strange' in that it was a 650cc in line 4 that developed 85bhp which for then was some going. This was all thanks to the fact it was fitted with the crudest turbo charger you ever saw. What made it really strange apart from it's rarity was the intermittent problem of the turbo waste gate getting stuck... man could that thing fly with nowhere for the turbo pressure to go other than in the engine lol.

http://www.st-owners.com/gallery/files/3/4/7/6/suzukixn85turbo.jpg

That's the only picture I ever took of it.

Regards,

[BigTom]

Oh, man.

The above mentioned GT750 and GS750. The GT was brutal fast, had a bad habit of seizing the engine at speed. I let it go away after the second one.

TM 450 Suzuki single. Suicide machine. Made about 70 hp in a 350# dirt frame. Raced it a couple of years, rode it for 6 or 7 more.

Current is the '82 GS450GA. Parallel twin, shaft driven, automatic trans. A little midget torque converter in the oil sump. Looks like new, has a folded up ring, waiting on the time to rebuild. The automatic works just fine. Think powerglide.

I'll probably remember some more. Oh, yeah. Hodaka Super Rat 125cc. Honda Elsinore 250. Great topic!

[Tor]

My first motorized 2-wheeler

Tempo Corvette w/ Sachs 50cc engine

Circa 1970. What a hoot.

[vintagemxr]

I've owned several of what you could call strange bikes.

The Heinkle Tourist. Don't laugh it was TOTALLY TRICK.
As the story goes Heinkle, the German aircraft manufacture, was ordered to build cheap and affordable transportation after the war. It was a 175cc four stroke single overhead cam that had the first shim over bucket valve adjusters I had ever seen. Four speed transmission that was cable operated off the right handle bar grip. Foot operated clutch. The body was all aluminum and rumored to be surplus wing tanks off the fighter plane. Front suspension was the Earls Type with a single shock absorber. Rear suspension was a single shock link system that I still say Kawaski stole for their Uni-Track. Oil bath enclosed drive chain. In true German fashion you could not kill it with a gun, we tried. Three of us would pile on and it got us through high school. I could wheelie it from school zone sign to school zone sign with all three of us onboard. It had a built in wheelie bar in the form of a luggage rack attached to the spare tire. We put about a zillion miles on it.
>snip<
Paul

The Heinkle Tourist is to extremely cool. :clap2: I've even been watching ebay for a decent used one that doesn't cost too much. I'd love to have one for cruising around town. I've only found two for sale so far, one in Canada and the other one on GA (your pic, I think) and they want too much for it.

As for the strangest bike I've ridden, it was probably a Harley police model the H-D dealer loaned me long ago while my '86 Softtail was having a flat fixed. I rode the police bike to work and not a single car passed me on the freeway that morning. :-D

http://www.corgifan.com/history/images/copper.jpg

[Old Way]

This '83 Yamaha XS650 which I bulit with junk I won on ebay. It has a ridged frame and a Harmon Girder that I shortened from 58" to 34" and replaced the spring with a mountain bike shock. The girder front suspension takes abit of getting used to.

[rickj]

The above mentioned GT750 and GS750. The GT was brutal fast, had a bad habit of seizing the engine at speed. I let it go away after the second one.

My friend still has his '76 (or '77?) Suzuki GS750! It has about 110K miles on the original engine and one of those Windjammer copy farings. It's butt ugly by today's standards, but it was a pretty good bike for its time. In fact, he's probably going to join this weekend as we do a ride around SD county.

Rick

[Gug]

1929 Harley Davidson JD Model

Foot clutch, tank shift, manual advance, hand pump the oil.

[alan]

The first bike I ever rode was a German TWN Triumph while I was in the army stationed in Hawaii. I think it was another one of those crazy split singles that the eastern European motorcycle companies were in love with.

First bike I actually bought was a 1967 Ducati 250cc Diana Mk III. That Duck could only be kick started with a brand new spark plug. Once the plug was used, the magnito did not have enough uoomph to fire the plug at the slow speed that the kickstarter turned the engine at. Had to run and jump start it with a used plug.

http://www.cybermotorcycle.com/gallery/twn/TWN%20350%201954%202.htm

[tccox]

Owned a 35 H-D VL one time. Never got arount to restoring it though.

Guess strangest thing I've ridden was ....

Owned a Rupp TT-500 minibike when I turned 16. I was working for the dealer and somehow got it licensed for the street. 5 HP Tecumseh , removed the governor , added the Rupp Delorto Carb and straight pipe speed kit and was clocked at over 65 MPH. Miracle I wasn't killed.

[CruisingDog]

For me a 1953 Victoria Vicky III. 50ccm but with some tuning it runs up to 65 miles. I still own that bike but at the moment not in very good condition.

:1st:

Awww, man! How could you let it get into such a bad condition :-(

[AzDesertRider]

Tote Goat. Dad got me one when I was a kid, used to give rides to the neighborhood girls 2 & 3 at time....

Looked something like the one in the pic......man, that was a looooong time ago!

[emshaferii]

Suzuki 185 I rode in 1978 (I was 8) and my younger brother also rode (he was 6).....Dad would sit on the back and get us started and then jump off and we'd ride around until we got tired or hungry and then we'd beep the horn for him to come run beside us to allow the bike to slow and stop....obviously neither of us could reach the ground and I don't think we could even reach the shifter or rear brake.....front brake, 2nd gear (dad would leave it in that gear) and we'd ride.....if we dumped it over on our leg, I have no idea how we would have gotten the bike off us.....what a dumb thing to do, but we were too young to know how stupid that was....not a strange bike, per say, but a strange bike for an 8 year old and 6 year old to be riding.....did I mention there were 2 185's and we rode them at the same time so dad had to start and stop 2 bikes with 2 kids on them????

[sherob]

Had a Monkey Wards bike... ran it into the ground when I was 8-9 y/o. Got a blue something... it met up the the MW bike :D Then got a green Honda ant bike... QA50! Looked like an ant to me... neat sound to it... it also met up with the other rides after a year ;)

[Gonzo]

Sherob,
Looks like you can only use one hand on that thing.....?
Gonzo

[sherob]

Sherob,
Looks like you can only use one hand on that thing.....?
Gonzo

Just the angle of the pic... look real hard and you'll see the end of the left bar ;)

[Gonzo]

Remembered one other: almost bought an Ariel Square 4 once. But again, wasn't willing to spend gobs of cash on a restoration, since I was in the Navy at the time and had little money. I also knew that long chain problem could have gotten very expen$ive.
Gonzo

Yeah, Sherob, I was sure it was there - just wanted to poke a little fun.
G

[sherob]

Yeah, Sherob, I was sure it was there - just wanted to poke a little fun.
G

Don't be doin that! This is a serious forum :cool:

[Jamie Z]

I've ridden two bikes which may qualify, although they're not all that strange... not like a square-4.

And also, I'm not able to identify them very well, maybe some of you are familiar with these.

The first was a Yamaha (I'm pretty sure) scooter (we called it a moped, although it wasn't) that a friend had when I was between the ages of eight and twelve. It was white and yellow and had full lights. I remember clearly the engine had a stamp on it that said 49cc. I've looked around online, but I can't find anything like it.

It wasn't unusual, really. Just a step-through scooter, probably of about 1980 vintage. My friend used it mostly as a trail/dirt bike, since I had a Kawasaki 3-wheeler. We rode around together.

It had a two-speed automatic. Near one of the foot pegs was a gear selector for high and low gear (as well as neutral). In low, it was a real tank, and in high, I had it up to an indicated 50 or 60mph a few times. I recall when it would shift from first to second, it was like turbo. Man, that thing would go.

After my friend crashed on it about a dozen times, the turn signals were no longer on the bike and the headlight didn't work. Then he left it at my house and moved away, so I sort of inherited the bike. It had a kick start, but soon after I got it, the kick start mechanism broke, so I started it by putting the gear selector in neutral, pushing it, hopping on, and kicking the gear selector into drive.

That technique lasted a couple of months until one of the transmission gears finally broke. The bike wasn't worth the cost of the replacement part. I really don't know what ever happened to it.

Later on, my parents bought a mysterious motorcycle at an auction. The bike didn't seem to have any ID on it, but I recall after we bought it, something made me think it was a Harley. It didn't look like a Harley, it looked more like a Japanese design of the late 60s/early 70s, but I recall the VIN tag or something else on the bike said "Manufactured by Harley Davidson" or similar.

If I recall correctly, it was single cylinder, probably in the range of 250 or 500cc--probably closer to 250. it wasn't very fast, had a 3-speed tranny, if I recall (but I could be wrong). The bike was very tall, and I could barely tip-toe the ground. Always made me nervous to ride, since I couldn't stop very well.

It had a kick start, but I got scared of it after it kicked me back and jarred my leg. I usually started it by pushing it down our driveway.

Although it was primarly a street bike, I rode it up and down the gravel road by our house, and occasionally on some single-tracks, although like I said, I wasn't very confident on the bike, since it was too tall for me.

Wish I knew what kind of bike it was. A few months after we got it, in about 1988 or so, someone offered to buy it and I didn't see it again. I'm pretty sure I never got any pictures of it.

Jamie

[Scaredy Cat]

I actually bought a couple of these unique bikes in the 70s. First was 1974 blue Suzuki GT750 LeMans. This was a 3-cylinder water cooled 2-stroke motorcycle with 67 HP, and dual front disk brakes that weighed 470 lbs. Quite a technological marvel for its day. During its day it competed favorably with the popular Honda 750. Here's a link with a picture:

http://www.suzukicycles.org/1970-1979/1974a.shtml

I sold the '74 so I could pay for flying lessons but bought a '76 a couple years later. That was the year that they also had the Rotary engine RE5 which was to be their cruiser to compete with the Goldwing, as well as a 4-stroke GS750 whcih would compete with the Honda 750. The GT was now to be their "fast" bike, so they messed around with the mixture and port timing and really screwed it up. It had a lean jerk when you backed off the throttle that was seriously annoying and even snapped chains on more than one occasion! It did haul buns when you took the revs up well beyond redline though. It blew away one friend's GS750 as well as another's '76 Goldwing and of course, the Honda 750. The only thing that seemed to be able to stay with it was a Kawasaki's KZ900.

Rick

I had a Suzi GT750 in the eighties. After the GPZ900R era though, it was a "vintage motorcycle", and I regularly got passed by RD350LCs. Grrrr.
I bought it with 17,000 miles on the clock after it had been stored for 15 years in a barn. Changed the battery and 2-stroke oil and it passed the MOT test first time (at a shady dealer). Stripped it totally, powder coated the frame etc, sold it for a pittance. I wish I still had it now, they're going for serious money as collector's items here.
It vibrated a lot, my female pillion told me in a shaky voice.

[Britman]

http://www.le-velocette.co.uk/

I had a MarkII which had a hand gear change lever on the right and a hand pull start on the left of the bike.

It was a water cooled, flat twin, shaft drive with pressed steel panels. Click the link above and then MarkII on the left of the web page.

It was a great little bike even after the spark plug blew out on the right cylinder. I took the head off and rode it side saddle for a while before swapping it for a Lambretta scooter.

[Britman]

This '83 Yamaha XS650 which I bulit with junk I won on ebay. It has a ridged frame and a Harmon Girder that I shortened from 58" to 34" and replaced the spring with a mountain bike shock. The girder front suspension takes abit of getting used to.

That looks pretty nice.

[bygdawg]

That is a neat bike Old Way. My strangest would have to be my 1983 (the only year Honda made it) CB 1000 Custom 10 speed. This bike carried me all over the Smokey Mts. and even through Deals Gap at a speed faster than I should've been able to travel on such a large bike from 1983. :-) I miss this old bike from time-to-time.

http://pics.midsouthspyders.com/listpics.asp?a=dl&ID=5517

http://pics.midsouthspyders.com/listpics.asp?a=dl&ID=5541

Oh...and my custom painted Honda 450 Rebel that took me all over the place while I was in college. I even had the crankcase covers and valve cover chromed:

http://pics.midsouthspyders.com/listpics.asp?a=dl&ID=5542

Oh...and the baby Wing:
http://pics.midsouthspyders.com/listpics.asp?a=dl&ID=5708

[squirrel Hunter]

Owned: DKW 125 dirt bike with the leading link front forks, similar to the ones on pre-70s BMWs.

Ridden: Suzuki R5 rotary 2 stroke, one of the ugliness motorcycles that has ever been built. Looked like a old washing machine turned on its side in the frame, and apparently sense it was so ugly of an engine they decided to make the rest of the bike look like a joke! The instruments would close under a clamshell when the key was removed, looked like a big plastic tube on top of the head lite. And the old guy that owned it would win bets challenging someone to kick start it, he never lost. :03biker:

[BigTom]

Jamie:

HD imported some Italian singles in the 70's, I think. I have seen a couple and even ridden one, the three speed makes me think that was it. As I recall, they shifted on the right, brake on the left. I could be mistaken on that...

A step through automatic? Honda is the only one I know of from that vintage, and I don't remember a step through. They even put it on the CB750 one year. Suzuki made a tranny like you describe in the early 80's, but not in a step through. GS450GA. I own one.

Another I remember/rode. A neighbors Cushman scooter. Nasty thing, we really abused it. Seems to me it had a Briggs motor, we kept it running for years.

[Blue STreak]

Ridden (not owned), it would have to be the Suzuki Rotary.

Owned, I guess it was the Ducati 305 single. Not really that strange, but definitely not commong.

[2dollarbill]

After owning a 1960(?) 165cc Honda Scrambler and a 1972 Honda 350 SL Dual Purpose dirt bike, I decided to get serious about dirt riding. I bought new a 1972 Bultaco 250 cc Alpina. Best darn dirt bike I still own. It did take a while to get used to the shift lever/rear brake lever set up after riding the Honda's. The Bultaco rear brake pedal is on the left and the gear shift lever is on the right. I smacked more than my share of trees trying to stop that bike by really smashing down on that shift lever - duhh!.

My youngest son, who does some serious enduro competition, has the Bultaco now. He plans on running it in the vintage class. Darn thing still runs, but it needs some carburator work.

[BikemanKZ]

I rode a friends fully restored 1945(?) W30 flathead Harley. Hardtail that looked like it would come off at any moment, 3 speed left hand shift, suicide clutch, fishtail pipes, my boot on the front tire would have been a better brake than what it had. But after it was over, my cheeks hurt from grinning so much. I reckoned that had I been born a generation earlier, that's what I would be riding. After all a bike's a bike. Even the Cushman step through scooter I started on.

KZ

[Roomain Georges]

The ST13 is my second bike... The first one was a Burgman 650...

Ciao !

[Jonniedee]

I too had a burgman - grocery cart handling with 650 power! :D

and my strangest owned was a Russian URAL sidecar bike - boxer twin with crap brakes but that as OK - it was pushed as much as it ran :mad:

[ST/SV]

2003 Harley Electra Glide last year. Probably not strange to many, but it was to me. Been riding for 39 years, owned 25 + bikes but it was my first on a 2 wheel car Harley.

[Thumper]

Oscar's egg, a 50 cc moped from France. The tank was shaped like an egg. My Dad had it in the 1950's, I held on to his belt loop and bounced around!

[Vifor]

This was something really special (for me). The bike was older than myself, but great fun: Douglas 1948 350cc, boxer.http://www.kynoch-douglas-parts.com/pics/articles/kephart%20mk3/Mk3_a.jpg

[jahoobob]

A Puch 250 of unknown year. It had two cyclinders on the same connecting rod.

[Papa Ritch]

My bike was a 1962 TOHOTSUE 50 cc 2 cycle I had never rode a motorbike before, I stop to look & be for I new it I had a bike to to ride ,that went to a 250 honda - Honda 175SL - BSA 500 Gold star 20 + years no bike . A 1999 VICTORY Best looking bike I have ever own. now a 2003 ST 1300. :03biker:

[RP3]

Back in the mid 70's we had a Hodaka 100 engined bike with wide sand tires. I have a photo of me on it in front of our house somewhere. I think it was all homemade, but I will ask my Dad. He used to ride me all over the beach along the Columbia River at Frenchman's Bar in Vancouver. Good Times!

[RP3]

I had a CB900 Custom all done up with a fairing and bags with the Hi-Low x5 (10 speed) also. I really liked that bike. May the dirty rotten tweakers that heisted it have nothing but mechanical problems with every machine they ever own!

[George]

First motorized bike I ever rode was a Cushman Eagle. Mom wouldn't let me buy it. Rode a Vespa once, that was cool. Oddest bike I ever OWNED was the ex-factory 600cc KTM desert racer. Guy here in Kingman rode Baja as a factory rider, they gave it to him after the race. TOO MUCH bike for me. Hard starter, too.

Sold it and got the Yamah XT-350. Easy start and much more practical, but that KTM could HAUL ASH!!! and rode like it was on a cloud across the desert scrub.

Owned a 305 Hawk for a while, after it was no longer the newest, fastest, best Honda. Ruff ride, lots of vibration, troublesome. Hard to believe it was a giant killer in its time.

Owned a CB-550 that was beyond it's prime. Did okay, but couldn't compare to my original 71 CB-500. Again, what was new and kuul showed it's age 20 years later.

Now, I have TWO 91 ST1100s. I luv'em both. I'm avoiding riding a 1300 for fear againg my two fav. bikes. ;^)

George
in Kingman, Arizona

[Sailormilan2]

First bike my brother and I were around was my dad's 250 Zundapp. We could hear him coming home from work about a mile away. Circa 1963 or so. But the first bike I got to ride and learn on was his Yamaha 250 twin 2 stroke.

[USMCST]

1973 Moto Guzzi V7 Sport. I owned it for about 2 years in the 70's. Wish I had it today. Very fun to ride.

[tccox]

1973 Moto Guzzi V7 Sport. I owned it for about 2 years in the 70's. Wish I had it today. Very fun to ride.

Owned one also. Put Dunstall pipes on it and it sounded sweet. Took a 35 MPH curve at 80MPH. Totaled it big time , sob, sob, sob

[alany]

In the early sixties I rode a friends 175 cc 4 stroke Royal Enfield. It was a beautiful little bike that looked like a shrunken Gold Star. It was a lovely pale green with a rich cream colored trim. No power at all, but really classic looking. Always wished I could find that little thing to restore...Never seen anything else like it.

you can still buy Royal Enfield motorcycles but they are made in India, but still to the same UK design:bow1: Same problems though of a 1950 design bike.

http://www.royalenfield.com/

In fact a friend of mine went on a organised holiday in India for two weeks riding one of these Alan

[MrClean]

When I first came to this site , I claimed to of ridden over a 100 different bikes , maybe a lot more
Well......

From the mid 1960s to the mid 1970s , my dad in Corpus Christi owned a Honda dealership and Hodakas too .
I rode them all .
It was my job to make sure all the used ones were kept ridable.
It was also my job to teach the owners to ride .

I remember the CB 450 , 350 ,Scrambler 305 750.
I learned on a cub 50 with the gas tank under seat , I would tie the seat up and sit on gas tank , I was small , maybe 8 years old .
I could go on & on.

Harley Davidson made over 200 BMWs , back in the 1950s I believe .
They reversed engineered a BMW and made around 200.

The weirdest bike , not all that weird , a 1975 Kawa 750 mach 3 , 2 cycle
3 cylinder , the first crotch rocket , I believe .

[bygdawg]

Oh...How could I forget the bike that I took my first ride on and the one that got me hooked:

http://classic-motorcycles.com/images/honda_cy_06a.jpg

:D

Dad sat me on that thing, and I felt like I was king of the world, especially after I mastered keeping it up. :D

[STeve Kelly]

The first new motorcycle I bought with my paper route money. A 1960 Parilla Olimpia. 98cc of pure fun!

13965

[oldpaint]

Well, new here but not to cycling... had a test ride on a Benelli 750 6 cylinder. Not powerful, but what a sound!

[Peter]

The first legal bike I owned

Put it on the road on my 16th birthday

I came home from work at lunch time with my new tax disc and insurance
and rode it back to work.......mother went nuts because I had wasted so much money on buying new tax late in the month and that I should have waited until the end of the month to get better monies worth.....the date was the 5th of the month


http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~pattle/nacc/gallery/pr010602.jpg

PS its a Raleigh Wisp

Peter

[Bones]

Harley Davidson made over 200 BMWs , back in the 1950s I believe .
They reversed engineered a BMW and made around 200.


Here's a link to one of those bikes:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Xa-600.jpg

[bygdawg]

Cool. I wasn't aware that Harley ever produced BMW bikes. How odd.

[Bobbydog]

I was 16 years old and was to riding a Kawasaki 90. Someone asked if I'd like to try a ride on a Kawasaki 500 Triple. I twisted the throttle the same way I did with the 90 and popped the clutch.

I've had a lot of things happen to me, but thirty six years later I can say, without reservation, that after I popped that clutch I had the scariest (and most exhilarating) moment of my life!!

[RTETR]

I'm 35 and alittle younger than the some makes and models I've seen posted however my wife and I put 52K on an 1989 Pacific Coast. The was my migration from sport to sport-touring and now I am on my 3rd ST.

The PC800 was a great bike and slightly ahead of it's time.

[Jefro]

1971 Rickman Montessa.
This motocrosser, along with the Greeves and Rokon bikes, pretty well ruled the trials and motocross world in the early 70's. The 250 cc, two stroke, Spanish motor with the five speed transmission in the English frame was one of the lightest ( at just over 200 lbs.) and most agile of the commercially available motocross machines.
Kickstart and gear shifter on the right side was a real pain, and the rear brake on the left took a lot to get used to. The gas tank leaked, the compression leaked, and took too many kicks to get it running. But it was fun to just thrash it around in the hills above Reno.
Later models had the shifter and brake in the proper locations. Sold it for $50. Good riddence.

[bygdawg]

I'm 35 and alittle younger than the some makes and models I've seen posted however my wife and I put 52K on an 1989 Pacific Coast. The was my migration from sport to sport-touring and now I am on my 3rd ST.

The PC800 was a great bike and slightly ahead of it's time.

I agree. I had a 97 for several years. I always thought that the 89 was the best color though.

[Sylvain]

They may not be very strange but they still stand out in my memory.

I remember riding a brand new Jawa 2 stroke street bike in 1973 from a friend. A 197? Husky 360 wr with automatic transmission, weird feeling to have no compression on a dirt bike. I had a 1976 Sachs 250 wr, I sold it to a guy in Oklahoma for a fair price, he wanted it to race in vintage events. I don't remember the proper name, but there was this Suzuki equipped with the ****el rotary engine, weird looking. :D

[tommyboy]

1971 Montesa 250

[acook]

Suzuki RE 5 500cc rotory eng. fast and smooth but Mazda RX 3-7 were crap

[Meinbmw]

My brother owned the blue version of this death trap ... at the time it was a rocket, but suffered from tank slappers even though it had a "steering damper" according to the manufacturer.

I rode it once when (at that time) I was 16 ... scared the living crap out of me!!

[este1300pilot]

I have a couple of Rokon 2wd bikes (off road) for my son and myself. Have the sidecar on one so the dog or grandson can come along, so that qualifies as unique. Go anywhere, including up trees until gravity takes over......

The 2wd Ural sidecar rig would also qualify as strange to most people. I have learned to leave lots of extra time for UDF (Ural Delay Factor) from people asking questions everytime I stop for gas or even chasing me down the highway flashing headlights so they can pull me over and ask what it is.

[ligito]

They may not be very strange but they still stand out in my memory.

I remember riding a brand new Jawa 2 stroke street bike in 1973 from a friend. A 197? Husky 360 wr with automatic transmission, weird feeling to have no compression on a dirt bike. I had a 1976 Sachs 250 wr, I sold it to a guy in Oklahoma for a fair price, he wanted it to race in vintage events. I don't remember the proper name, but there was this Suzuki equipped with the ****el rotary engine, weird looking. :D

****el? ****el

[mandorrr3]

Have had a couple of strange bikes. A two wheel drive Rokon with a Honda trail 70cc motor we dropped in, would go anywhere. Bought used with the motor out of it. Came with a 35 gallon cardboard barrel with parts for around 10 Crysler 2 stroke motors. Thats what they came with but even with all those parts one good engine could not be had. Thats when we looked over at the Trail 70 with the dual range gear box. Was a great match.

Another was a 1969 MZ 250 International Six Day Enduro. Made it street legal, was a real tractor. Engine looked like a cross between a CZ and a Maico. Enclosed chain, dual ignition, and lots of steel parts. Black and white like a cop bike with a red seat. But like I said, a real tractor.

Have had many bikes but those 2 stand out in my memory including my first bike a Mustang motorcycle.

The mustang...How well i remember that bike..there must have been a dozen of them in my high school. I was too young to ride then (the seniors had them) but i used to line up with my small buddies when school was out to watch the grown up guys start them and ride off into the sunset...I swore one day i would have one. When i was finally old enough i had discovered the triumph 650 and the mustangs had all disappeared. I have searched for info on that bike on the internet without success. Would you have a picture of one, or know where i could find info on it? It holds a special place in my heart, as it was my first motorcycle dream. Funny thing is, nobody i talk to has ever heard of it. As i remember it was small and had small heavy wheels. I would dearly love to have a picture if anyone out there has one.....Sigh...60 year old memories..

[J Paul]

The bike HD imported was made by Aermacci(sp). they also made the off road 2 strokes. Jeff

[RTETR]

Mandorrr3 and Keith,

Here are some photos of a couple Mustang bikes you requested. They were taken last year while on a trip down to Barber Motorcycle Museum. (http://www.barbermuseum.org/) Well worth the time and $8.00 to see over 900 bikes in an excellent private collection open to the public!

Enjoy!

[mandorrr3]

RTETR..Thanks so much for the mustang pictures...My kids can hardly belive i once wanted one sooooo bad. It does look kinda funny now. But they thought my ST1300 was funny when i got it. :)

[naturally wired]

Back in the day I owned a 82 seca tubo my second bike....I painted the bike Chevy neon blue which was more of a purple but in the right light it look blue and red in spots....I reaplied the factory strips in seafoam green and a deep pink :puk1: ...sorry I don't have a pic...but here's one of the net!

Scary fast good wind protection....but it had that 85 mph speedo so every once in a while I had to replace the cable :eek:

[STunRunner]

If only I could have won the bid! ..ha!

http://usera.imagecave.com/jrjo/goblin.jpg


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180103380703

[Casey]

I owned one of these, 2nd hand about 10 years ago mint condition. The guy I go it from was the original owner and garage kept it. I let my nephew have access to it and he destroyed it. Real museum piece. What a shame.

http://home.ama-cycle.org/membersonly/museum/images/b62/classoct_400.jpg


Answer: (highlight below with mouse to see answer)
Answer below
1962 Honda Dream Sport
Answer above

[Bighaeb]

I'd have to say my old F650CS was a strange one. Very futuristic looking (which equates to strange in my books).

[bygdawg]

Now this is "STRANGE":

http://www.strangevehicles.com/images/content/16745.JPG

http://digilander.libero.it/tortugamotoclub/strano/old-guzzi2.jpg

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://digilander.libero.it/tortugamotoclub/strano/old-guzzi2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://digilander.libero.it/tortugamotoclub/strano/old-strange.html&h=353&w=580&sz=80&hl=en&start=9&tbnid=YiiDwP7v8UTtYM:&tbnh=82&tbnw=134&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dstrange%252Bmotorcycle%26gbv%3D2%26sv num%3D10%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive

http://www.strangenewproducts.com/uploaded_images/john-deere-chopper-lawn-mower.jpg

[Lager]

Hell, Im like Mr Clean,ridden hundreds over the years.Im gonna pick one that no one mentioned yet,that was just a cool bike.
Moto Morini 3 1/2,Its an Eyetalian 350 CC V-twin sport bike with megaphone mufflers.Good friend of mine named Pete Strunk owned one back in 1980 ?He had access to the back side of the St Augustine Airport where we would set up some cones in a race track fashion.Spend the day flogging the Moto Morini against a tired RD-350.
We both had modern,big bore bikes for our everyday rides.But theres just something about riding very underpowered bikes for all their worth on a very small closed circuit. Thats just darn fun !!:D

[Lager]

Casey!! Thanks for the Pic of the Honda Dream !! I had the 150 cc version,low pipe.Back in,,,,Uhhhh,, I think 1967 ? I was about 10 at the time.Traded a go cart for it.:D