the Ferret
Daily rider since May 1965
We had fun with this thread about bikes you've bought multiples of ....
So in THIS thread, I'm posing the question what bike would you NOT buy again?
I've had 36 street bikes from 7 different manufacturers (8 if you count Aermacchi which I'll explain later)
HARLEYS: 65 M50, 59 XLCH, 49 56 & 57 Pans, 94 XLCH
HONDAS: 66 CB160, 67 CL77, 69 CB350, 73 CB350F, 67 CB450, 76 CB750, 85 VF1100S, 00 CB750, 06 ST1300, 13 CB1100, 14 CB1100 DLX, 14 CB 500X, 21 NC750X DCT 23 NC750X DCT
SUZUKI: 74 GT750, 76 GT 750, 81 GS850G, 83 GS1100E
KAWASAKI: 77 KZ1000
YAMAHA: 73 RD350, 73 TX650, 79 XS650, 81 XS650, 04 FZ1, 01 FZ1, 06 Majesty 400, 08 Majesty 400, 2018 FJR 1300
TRIUMPH 03 T-100
BSA 69 750 Rocket 3
I actually would buy any of them again ...EXCEPT ONE
It was 1965 and I was in the 10th grade and had gotten a "real job" (ie: not cutting grass or shoveling snow) bussing tables at a local restaurant for $1.00 an hour...and I needed transportation to and from school and work. My best friend in High School had just gotten a new Honda C110 50cc sport, and I wanted one just like it. Honda was new in the country then. The Japanese were known more for transistor radios in the early 60's, than motorcycles, but it seemed like a real nice bike. 4 stroke, 3 speed. Very sharp looking.
Like I said, I wanted a Honda C110 50cc sport, but my dad was a Harley Rider/WW2 vet and hated the Japanese. He did go look at the Honda with me but didn't like that the body parts were made of plastic and insisted I go to his Harley dealer with him to see what they had. They showed us the Harley Davidson M-50. Now it said Harley Davidson on the tank, but it was actually manufactured by Aermacchi in Italy and imported/branded a Harley Davidson (just like the 125 Rapido and the 250 and 350 Sprints). Dad rapped on the metal fender and said, "See metal, this is what you're getting". I was 15, he was co-signing, I didn't have a choice. On the other hand, I would have a motorcycle to ride. The M-50 was a single cylinder 2 stroke, 3 speed shift in the left-hand grip. There was a cup on the bottom of the fuel cap for measuring the 2-stroke oil to add to the gas. So, you always had to have a bottle of 2-stroke oil with you. Now you'd ride awhile and pull in to fill up and maybe it took an even gallon, but more often that not it took an uneven amount like 1.4 gals of gas. Now if it took an even gallon you would pour 3 oz of 2-stroke oil into the cup on the bottom of the gas cap, pour it in the gas, install the gas cap and hold the front brake and pump the forks up and down to mix the gas and oil. If it took 1.4 gals of gas you poured in 3 oz of 2-stroke oil and.... some more (nothing scientific lol). Sometimes if you poured in too much, it would run rich and smoke badly and you might just foul a spark plug. So, besides the 2-stroke oil, you also had to carry a spare spark plug, and tools to change it. Every once in a while, you had to pull the baffle out of the exhaust pipe and burn the carbon off. None of my buddies that had Hondas had to go thru stuff like this. Plus it looked like a Sears Moped or girl's bicycle. I did ride it .... a lot. Rode it to school. Rode it to my part time job, and just generally rode the wheels off of it. Took it in for the 600-mile service one week after buying it. By mid-summer I had to have new rings and an oversized piston put in it.
Like I said, I shouldn't complain, at 15 I had my own street motorcycle and the freedom that comes with it. Going anywhere, anytime I wanted on 2 wheels. A passion that has endured in me for 60 years now, maybe stronger than it ever was.
But it is the ONLY motorcycle of the 36 that I have owned, that given a choice I would not buy again. I so wish dad would have let me have that Honda C110.
(Note bike shown is not my actual bike, but one identical to it that my collector buddy owns)
Are there any bikes that you bought but would not choose to buy again?
So in THIS thread, I'm posing the question what bike would you NOT buy again?
I've had 36 street bikes from 7 different manufacturers (8 if you count Aermacchi which I'll explain later)
HARLEYS: 65 M50, 59 XLCH, 49 56 & 57 Pans, 94 XLCH
HONDAS: 66 CB160, 67 CL77, 69 CB350, 73 CB350F, 67 CB450, 76 CB750, 85 VF1100S, 00 CB750, 06 ST1300, 13 CB1100, 14 CB1100 DLX, 14 CB 500X, 21 NC750X DCT 23 NC750X DCT
SUZUKI: 74 GT750, 76 GT 750, 81 GS850G, 83 GS1100E
KAWASAKI: 77 KZ1000
YAMAHA: 73 RD350, 73 TX650, 79 XS650, 81 XS650, 04 FZ1, 01 FZ1, 06 Majesty 400, 08 Majesty 400, 2018 FJR 1300
TRIUMPH 03 T-100
BSA 69 750 Rocket 3
I actually would buy any of them again ...EXCEPT ONE
It was 1965 and I was in the 10th grade and had gotten a "real job" (ie: not cutting grass or shoveling snow) bussing tables at a local restaurant for $1.00 an hour...and I needed transportation to and from school and work. My best friend in High School had just gotten a new Honda C110 50cc sport, and I wanted one just like it. Honda was new in the country then. The Japanese were known more for transistor radios in the early 60's, than motorcycles, but it seemed like a real nice bike. 4 stroke, 3 speed. Very sharp looking.
Like I said, I wanted a Honda C110 50cc sport, but my dad was a Harley Rider/WW2 vet and hated the Japanese. He did go look at the Honda with me but didn't like that the body parts were made of plastic and insisted I go to his Harley dealer with him to see what they had. They showed us the Harley Davidson M-50. Now it said Harley Davidson on the tank, but it was actually manufactured by Aermacchi in Italy and imported/branded a Harley Davidson (just like the 125 Rapido and the 250 and 350 Sprints). Dad rapped on the metal fender and said, "See metal, this is what you're getting". I was 15, he was co-signing, I didn't have a choice. On the other hand, I would have a motorcycle to ride. The M-50 was a single cylinder 2 stroke, 3 speed shift in the left-hand grip. There was a cup on the bottom of the fuel cap for measuring the 2-stroke oil to add to the gas. So, you always had to have a bottle of 2-stroke oil with you. Now you'd ride awhile and pull in to fill up and maybe it took an even gallon, but more often that not it took an uneven amount like 1.4 gals of gas. Now if it took an even gallon you would pour 3 oz of 2-stroke oil into the cup on the bottom of the gas cap, pour it in the gas, install the gas cap and hold the front brake and pump the forks up and down to mix the gas and oil. If it took 1.4 gals of gas you poured in 3 oz of 2-stroke oil and.... some more (nothing scientific lol). Sometimes if you poured in too much, it would run rich and smoke badly and you might just foul a spark plug. So, besides the 2-stroke oil, you also had to carry a spare spark plug, and tools to change it. Every once in a while, you had to pull the baffle out of the exhaust pipe and burn the carbon off. None of my buddies that had Hondas had to go thru stuff like this. Plus it looked like a Sears Moped or girl's bicycle. I did ride it .... a lot. Rode it to school. Rode it to my part time job, and just generally rode the wheels off of it. Took it in for the 600-mile service one week after buying it. By mid-summer I had to have new rings and an oversized piston put in it.
Like I said, I shouldn't complain, at 15 I had my own street motorcycle and the freedom that comes with it. Going anywhere, anytime I wanted on 2 wheels. A passion that has endured in me for 60 years now, maybe stronger than it ever was.
But it is the ONLY motorcycle of the 36 that I have owned, that given a choice I would not buy again. I so wish dad would have let me have that Honda C110.
(Note bike shown is not my actual bike, but one identical to it that my collector buddy owns)
Are there any bikes that you bought but would not choose to buy again?
