whats been the best AND worst bike you ever owned?

stantdm
Posts
442
Joined
7/17/2011
Location
Belle Fourche, SD US
4/15/2017 8:30pm
Best: 1988 YZ 250. Easiest bike to ride, fast, great suspension, reliable.

Worst: 1987 YZ 250. Slow, hard to turn. Never felt right.
bigmaico
Posts
971
Joined
8/15/2006
Location
Kingwood, TX US
4/16/2017 4:18pm Edited Date/Time 4/18/2017 12:44pm
The best is a tossup between my 81' 490 Maico & my 14.5 KTM 450 Factory edition.

Both handle really well & go as fast as you could want, Both are easy to ride fast!

The KTM just has better suspension & Much Better brakes!

Worst: my KTM 525Sx! It's a brute & it handles like a large truck. it doesn't like to turn. Kinda like a plow!

I still own all 3 of these bikes!
4/16/2017 4:38pm Edited Date/Time 4/16/2017 4:45pm
Best- my 1986 rm250! It was best because it was my first big bike, and I spent forever fixing all of suzukis mistakes.

Worst- also my 86 rm250, because it was just a terrible platform. I was a play rider, so it was fine for me, but I truly pity anyone who had to race one competitively.
motomike137
Posts
8180
Joined
4/22/2010
Location
Fenton, MI US
4/16/2017 6:29pm
My first was easily my worst. My dad bought me this XL100 Honda off my uncle in like 74 or 75 and it was a clapped out piece of junk. I wouldn't bad mouth it so much but I was a kid itching to ride and the damn thing would hardly ever run! My best/favorite was my 2003 YZ450, the bike that they claimed was to fast. I ride primarily
at all the mid Michigan tracks and once I got the suspension dialed that thing was a run away freight train in the sand.

The Shop

Bruneval
Posts
575
Joined
6/7/2016
Location
Bristol GB
4/16/2017 6:43pm
TeamGreen wrote:
Worst: '91 KTM125MX

Best: '83 CR125
I rode an 1983 CR125 recently (may have been '84 - it's my friends). Great little bike. Only bike I have ever had to use 1st gear on if I let it drop off the pipe in the corner. Real fun making it sing.





4/16/2017 8:25pm
Best my 06 yz 125 / 144 and 06 yz 250 still own

Worst 1980 rm 125 it would constantly break throttle cables. The last straw was when the cable partially broke and balled up in the throttle housing. Tried to launch me into some trees 5th gear stuck at full throttle.

Close second would be my first brand new bike
01 cr125 it was slower than the 86 cr125 I had before it.
Rockinar
Posts
1063
Joined
9/16/2016
Location
Katy, TX US
4/16/2017 9:43pm Edited Date/Time 4/16/2017 9:45pm
Everyone complains about the 97 CR250. I loved mine. It was a F'ing rocket ship. Did not turn worth a crap, but on the straights you would just twist the throttle and watch the competition look like they shifted into reverse.

WORST: 99 XR400. Fun bike if you could get it started. Key phrase being "if you could get it started".
gekko
Posts
46
Joined
6/17/2014
Location
SE
4/17/2017 2:46am
Two-stroke era:

Actually hard to choose the worst 2-stroke bike since I probably don't remember or cared how the bike handled in those young years Smile

Worst : None? Smile
Best : KTM 125 -03

Four-stroke era:

Worst : KTM 350sxf -11 and KTM 250sxf -11
Best: KTM 250sxf -16 and KTM 250sxf -17 so far..
4/17/2017 3:22am Edited Date/Time 4/17/2017 3:22am
Best : 1999 - Yamaha YZ 125 - Full Rinaldi setup and Öhlins suspended.
Worst: 2002 - KTM SXS 250 - Awesome motor, everything else was horrible.
kaptkaos
Posts
1087
Joined
11/17/2015
Location
Miami, FL US
4/17/2017 5:59am
Worked at a Suzuki shop in 81, and this YZ helped me sell tons of RM 125's. Everybody that had one , F-ing hated it, [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2017/04/14/188056/s1200_81_yz125_3_600.jpg[/img]
Worked at a Suzuki shop in 81, and this YZ helped me sell tons of RM 125's. Everybody that had one , F-ing hated it,



I remember that bike! My buddy had one and I was able to beat him with my POS 1981 CR125R. I saw him getting dusted by some RM80's too!

However, I do love the way the bikes were unique back in the day. The Mono-x. Full-Floater, Pro-Link, and Uni-trak.

Gave these old POS's character. Right now everything is so good and so similar.
BobPA
Posts
8326
Joined
10/31/2013
Location
PA US
4/17/2017 7:13am
Rockinar wrote:
Everyone complains about the 97 CR250. I loved mine. It was a F'ing rocket ship. Did not turn worth a crap, but on the straights you...
Everyone complains about the 97 CR250. I loved mine. It was a F'ing rocket ship. Did not turn worth a crap, but on the straights you would just twist the throttle and watch the competition look like they shifted into reverse.

WORST: 99 XR400. Fun bike if you could get it started. Key phrase being "if you could get it started".
If you cannot start an XR you should probably start making better life choices.
4/17/2017 8:19am
CR125 was the worst. Constantly gave me issues + slow as a pig. Best bike would be my 14 CRF450 I just sold..150+ hours not one issue with the bike.
4/17/2017 8:31am
Best - my current 2013 YZ250.

Runner-up best - 1987 CR125

Worst - 1974 YZ80 (What a pig. I could jog faster.)
Fro77
Posts
12
Joined
12/8/2015
Location
PA US
4/17/2017 8:32am
Best bike: 2010 yz 125, never had any problems and just one of the most fun bikes to ride. Wish I never sold it...
Worst Bike: 2013 kx250f The only 4 stroke I ever had and the last
4/17/2017 8:34am
Fro77 wrote:
Best bike: 2010 yz 125, never had any problems and just one of the most fun bikes to ride. Wish I never sold it... Worst Bike...
Best bike: 2010 yz 125, never had any problems and just one of the most fun bikes to ride. Wish I never sold it...
Worst Bike: 2013 kx250f The only 4 stroke I ever had and the last
You should try a 4 stroke again Wink
Madmax31
Posts
2136
Joined
1/7/2009
Location
Cincinnati, OH US
Fantasy
4/17/2017 8:38am
Worst...easy 1984 and 1985 YZ 125. Both slow ass pcs of sh*t.

Best: several RM 250's starting around 2001, 05 CRF 450, and my 13 KTM 450 is pretty damn nice.
4/17/2017 9:07am
This discussion begins and ends with one single bike - the 1996 RM 250.

Depending on the track, that bike was either the most forgiving, maneuverable bike ever...or a twitchy, no bottom-end having bike with more head shake than a mid 90's rock concert.

Damn I miss that bike. Especially with the MC replica graphics.
4/17/2017 9:27am
Best was an 08 rmz450 with a pr2 modded engine.
My old 12 rmz450 was a sweet bike.
I also like my 13 crf450r
Two Strokes I'd say 06 rm250. I also liked my 85 cr125 alot as a kid.

Worst was my 09 ktm250 sx. Engine vibration , handled bad could never get the suspension to work. 07 KTM 505 was terrible too . Could never get carb set up right . I never could get comfortable on those pds bikes

AlexB289
Posts
104
Joined
12/9/2016
Location
GA US
4/17/2017 9:44am
Best is my current bike: 2014 KTM 450 sx-f tied with a 14 yz250 for now.. don't really have a worst bike. Probably my 08 rmz 250 but it's still a good bike just not my favorite to ride.
DonM
Posts
8448
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
US
Fantasy
4/17/2017 10:37am
Best - 81 Maico 490 When I first got it, it was like cheating...then everyone cheated...if you didn't have one you didn't win

#2 best - 85 RM 250 not the fastest but the best handling and suspended production bike of its time

Worst - 82 Maico how they went from what they had in 81 to that POS in 82 is beyond me...they had to go single shock and destroyed one of the best motorcycles ever...if you hit just the right bump at the right speed the linkage and the shock would bind mid stroke and throw you over the bars....

Tie for worst - 85 Husky 500 4 speed...worst vibrating motorcycle ever made...I had one of two in the country for the Florida Winter Am and Phil Alderton and I were swapping parts the whole winter...gearing was so far off I think that bike would top out in 4th gear at 100mph! Wouldn't turn, wouldn't stop...it was only comfortable in a straight smooth surface...like pavement and them you would need somebody to pry your hands off the bars from the vibration...
J2s
Posts
150
Joined
5/18/2012
Location
GB
4/17/2017 10:51am
Best yz125 02 and 06
Hated i mean hated yzf250 04
HenryA
Posts
3785
Joined
12/29/2011
Location
Stockholm SE
4/17/2017 10:56am
Best: KX125 2007, nothing better than flying by 250f riders on a 125.
Also liked my CRF450 2009 very much. Kinda a fan of the twitchy handling, reminded me a lot of the 125.

Worst: KX85 2003. PV was sweet but it was so damn slow compared to the RM85.
TJMX947
Posts
746
Joined
3/6/2017
Location
Indian Trail, NC US
4/17/2017 11:11am
Best = 2008 KX250F. Had just spent a year racing a 2007 YZ450F and the KX250F was just a breath of fresh air. I've never felt as fast or as confident since getting rid of that bike.

Worst = 1998 CR125. Slow and rigid!!! This was my first race bike in 2003 and it was definitely difficult to learn on. Upgraded to a 2002 CR125 after the first season and I couldn't believe the difference. I still have fond memories of that 1998, that first season was so much fun. I don't enjoy racing as much as I did then.
4/17/2017 11:53am Edited Date/Time 4/17/2017 12:19pm
731chopper wrote:
Best Bike: 2004 KX250F Odd to hear that, I know, but I got one new and raced it quite a bit for over 2 years without...
Best Bike: 2004 KX250F

Odd to hear that, I know, but I got one new and raced it quite a bit for over 2 years without ever having a single problem with it. I was racing and doing decently well in the then 125 B/Intermediate and Schoolboy class so it isn't like the bike was being babied on the track.

We always got told how horrible the motor was because the valves would stretch and grenade the top end so we checked them a lot but they never got out of spec. I even once ran a practice at Lake Whitney in the morning with no oil in the motor! That's a long story but the bottom line is once we thought I had seized it, we added oil and it came back to life! Mine must've been a lemon which for a bike with such a bad reputation is a good thing.
My 05 is the same way. Absolutely bulletproof. Over 200 hours on the stock crank. only did 1 piston and 1 clutch in the 12 years we have owned it. Still runs to this day. The motor on that bike is awesome
2smoker
Posts
52
Joined
6/12/2012
Location
Upstate N.Y. Waaay upstate, NY US
4/17/2017 12:35pm
Best bike: the 2015 250SX I currently have. The 4CS forks aren't all that great, but overall the bike has been rock solid. Heck, it's even survived a cartwheel down the track with only a few scuffs on the rear fender. My '86 and '89 CR 500's were also very good bikes. Good handling and very reliable, not to mention tons of power.

Worst bike: That's a toss up. My '84 CR500 was fast, but it was a vibrating, detonating mess. And a bear to start.
My '79 RM100 forced me to push it home on several occasions. That POS broke almost every time I rode it. It sat in pieces in the garage most of the time I owned it. All my buddies were always out riding their dirt scooters while I was pedaling my Mongoose around.
doofy
Posts
438
Joined
3/13/2017
Location
Avon, IN US
4/17/2017 4:14pm
Man its nuts. Some guys saying the 09 crf is scrap metal some say its gold.

Same with the yz250f/yz450f.

All my yamaha 4 strokes were awesome bikes.
davbrucas
Posts
108
Joined
6/10/2015
Location
Katy, TX US
4/19/2017 4:54am
PTshox wrote:
Worst bike I rode 2006 KTM 250 SXF. Good motor. VERY nasty handling machine. Can you say huckabuck? Best was probably a 1987 CR125 I had...
Worst bike I rode 2006 KTM 250 SXF. Good motor. VERY nasty handling machine. Can you say huckabuck?

Best was probably a 1987 CR125 I had. I got a procircuit pipe from Dean Matson's mechanic and got a used ported cylinder off one of Ricky Ryan's race bikes. The suspension was done too... That bike had great low end for a 125 and was easy to go fast on. Sold it to Cole Marshall's dad who bought it for Cole. Cole went on to win a bunch of D36 off road races in multiple classes.
Agreed...

Best 1987 CR125. That was a fun bike!

Worst 1997 CR250. What a rigid pos.
MX558
Posts
1966
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
US
4/19/2017 5:42am
Worst = 93 rm250
Best = 17 sxf 350 or 09 yz450
Mx Wildcat
Posts
92
Joined
4/3/2011
Location
Loyall, KY US
4/19/2017 6:44am Edited Date/Time 4/19/2017 6:51am
My favorite bike of all time was a 2007 YZ 250 2-stroke that I bought off of a guy on e-bay back in 2009. I had been on 4-strokes for 9 years and had grown bored and just wanted to try something different. The guy I bought it off of was a bigger guy and had used it for riding woods and had the suspension revalved and resprung by Mx-Tech. Other than that it was bone stock and had maybe 15hrs on the bike, it was pretty cherry. After I put the factory springs back in, adjusted the sag, shaved 1/2'' off the seat, and got used to the power, I loved that bike. I could corner the shit (for me) out of the corners and it made riding fun again.

The worst, and a lot of you may think I'm crazy, was a 2004 CRF 450. I was coming off of a 2000 YZF 426 that took me 2-1/2 years to get used to and learn to ride to its full potential. The 04 Crf sounded good on paper; it was lighter, more powerful, easier to start, and it looked awesome. I was so fired up about the power and throttle response of that at first that it took me a few months to realize that I couldn't get that bike to corner. My first trip to tracks that I was tearing up on the 426 had me so confused. The front of that bike would not stick...period. I tried several suspension settings that never solved the problem, adjusted sag settings, tried different front tires, adjusted my riding style, nothing worked. I had more broke bones and concussions riding that thing too. I even hit a tree once...hard. I was glad to get rid of that thing.

Honorable mention, my son's 2015 Kx250f is a pretty sweet bike. Good power, decent suspension, can put that bike wherever I want, and it's so easy to ride.
Ing
Posts
3654
Joined
8/16/2006
Location
Spring Hill, FL US
4/19/2017 7:30am Edited Date/Time 4/19/2017 7:31am
Best: 83 Maico 400/450, Husky 1980cr 250, 87 Yamaha 490

Worst: Honda XL 250



Strange pics, I know

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