The worst bike you've ever owned

GingerSnapRacing 11/3/2022 7:38pm
11/3/2022 7:38pm Edited Date/Time 11/4/2022 10:38am
05 Yamaha YZ250. I know but hear me out. The motor was good, until 3rd gear snapped a tooth
First year of the aluminum frame, couldn’t remove the OEM steering races from the frame until I had to dremel out a notch in the neck to catch a chisel on or cut the race itself.
Felt like a bastard year for parts.
Aftermarket parts didn’t fit that should have I mean like not even close.
Pre SSS suspension that wasn’t amazing.

But worst of all a 2001 yz250f nightmare to start if hot might as well go park it and wait till it cools down. Had a hot start lever and a decompression lever to start. It was slow and heavy. I think we only kept it a year… maybe.
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Ed_C29
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Ed_C29 11/3/2022 7:56pm
11/3/2022 7:56pm
97 cr250r. Bike vibrated so bad and just had awful handling. At the time I figured it was just bad and worn out being it was over a dozen years old by the time I got it. It appears they were terrible from new, according to almost everyone that had one.
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Ted722
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Ted722 11/3/2022 9:06pm
11/3/2022 9:06pm
Never gelled with my low-hour (2nd hand) ‘04 KX250. Tried different suspension setups etc., but never found a combination of valving or spring rate to get that “confidence inspiring” feeling. And I was just getting up to speed on my new Too Tech setup (probably 2 hours) when I decided to go 4-stroke and got the ‘06 RM-Z450.

‘06 RM-Z450 was a great bike for me (won a lot of motos) until the 30 hour mark and the crank needed replacing. Still today think it was a great bike (and it was stock), but it soured me on 4-strokes until ‘18 when I got another RM-Z450! 🤣

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wildbill
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wildbill 11/3/2022 9:15pm
11/3/2022 9:15pm
Zoom wrote:
1981 Honda CR250R by a landslide! First year watercooled and single shocked for Honda. Broke a lot and was heavy. Honda did their homework and follow...
1981 Honda CR250R by a landslide! First year watercooled and single shocked for Honda. Broke a lot and was heavy. Honda did their homework and follow up with a much improved 82 and 83 models.
evomx244 wrote:
I raced one of those about 10 years ago, it was pretty bad. My 1982 CR250 was one of my favorite vintage bikes I raced.
Yep 244. I never even touched an 81, yet bought a pristine 82 off of a vet racer. It was amazing. I even rode it to college. 😆

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wildbill
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wildbill 11/3/2022 9:21pm
11/3/2022 9:21pm
pelted wrote:
I had a Suzuki TM 400, might have been a 74 model but don't remember. That thing was possessed and I came to dread trying to...
I had a Suzuki TM 400, might have been a 74 model but don't remember. That thing was possessed and I came to dread trying to hold the throttle open. After my second dislocated shoulder from an uncontrollable tank slapper getoff, I unloaded that overweight mal-handling beast to a friend.

Hated that thing.
Ha, some friend you are.
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DerickYZ
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DerickYZ 11/3/2022 9:38pm
11/3/2022 9:38pm
2015 TC250. Fuck that pile. I’ve never crashed so many times in my life, suspension (4CS) was the worst thing ever created.
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CPR
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CPR 11/4/2022 12:34am
11/4/2022 12:34am
pelted wrote:
I had a Suzuki TM 400, might have been a 74 model but don't remember. That thing was possessed and I came to dread trying to...
I had a Suzuki TM 400, might have been a 74 model but don't remember. That thing was possessed and I came to dread trying to hold the throttle open. After my second dislocated shoulder from an uncontrollable tank slapper getoff, I unloaded that overweight mal-handling beast to a friend.

Hated that thing.
Ha those things were possessed!
Fella brought one into my workshop for me to rebuild, said he’d just tried to start it but it flooded and he gave up.
I give it a boot and the thing screams to life stuck at full throttle and it’s knocking bad.
Hit the kill switch, nothing, turned the fuel off and pulled the plug lead, still screaming!
Ended up having to shove a muffler plug into it to choke it down.

Pulled the motor apart and it had a leaking left crank seal as well as a blown base gasket and a stuck carb slide 😂
Rode the evil thing to jet it after the rebuild and the thing went like a scalded cat, but only within about a 200rpm range.

Handed it back for his first vintage race with a sympathetic good luck. Possessed indeed.
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PTshox
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PTshox 11/4/2022 1:09am
11/4/2022 1:09am
2006 KTM 250SXF (four stroke). Good motor. So evil handling it was a death trap imo. Buddy blew out his L5 disc riding it one time.
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Dan541 11/4/2022 2:11am
11/4/2022 2:11am
Not me, but my dad. Not sure what year/model, but I remember it was a 650 dual purpose. He bought it, put me on the tank, went for a quick trip to local bank, got home about 10 minutes later, said he hated it, didn't like the ride. It was gone like 2 hours later, never seen a bike get sold so fast lol.
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evomx244
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evomx244 11/4/2022 3:49am
11/4/2022 3:49am Edited Date/Time 11/4/2022 3:50am
burn1986 wrote:
83 YZ125
Madmax31 wrote:
That's odd. I'd put the 83 125 in my top 5 all time and I've had a ton of bikes.
1983 YZ125 was my all-time favorite bike I raced. I had two that year, my second one absolutely ripped with the IT250 36mm carb mod.
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str8line
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str8line 11/4/2022 6:35am
11/4/2022 6:35am
DerickYZ wrote:
2015 TC250. Fuck that pile. I’ve never crashed so many times in my life, suspension (4CS) was the worst thing ever created.
I had a 2015 KTM 300XC and hated that 4CS too. Then I got a 2017 450XCF and loved it so much.
samifan
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samifan 11/4/2022 6:42am
11/4/2022 6:42am
PTshox wrote:
2006 KTM 250SXF (four stroke). Good motor. So evil handling it was a death trap imo. Buddy blew out his L5 disc riding it one time.
Funny, this was one of my favorite bikes! Immediately felt super comfortable on it. But I had just came off by far the worst bike I've owned (2006 RM 250) that was a death trap. I've always wondered if the 250sxf was actually as good as I felt it was, or if it was just because I was coming off the RM.
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mooch
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mooch 11/4/2022 7:19am
11/4/2022 7:19am Edited Date/Time 11/4/2022 7:21am
1970...things started out well on my first bike but in spite of some impressive specs and being a blast to ride, soon came to the realization that the bike had a number of issues related to handling, suspension, powerband and reliability. Reliability was the biggest factor due mainly to the chain not wanting to stay on. The death of the bike came when I turned it upside down to put the chain back on and failed to do anything about the engine oil that had drained from the overflow while getting the chain back on. Was riding behind the Kmart that day and after fixing the chain and blasting thru some killer potholes I noticed a knocking noise. Next thing to come was a somewhat loud noise noise and then the beast 4hp Tecumseh stopped running...looked down and there was a big old piece of metal sticking thru the front of the motor. Had to push it back home where I took the engine apart and then never put it back together.



Seriously though, worst real bike was a 1980 Honda CR125. Prior to that had a 79 RM125 and once I picked up the CR , I was very impressed with how good it looked and also how much I hated it. Ended up putting a Mugen top end on it and some top of the line Works Performance mega crosser rear shocks and still hated it. Replaced the CR with an 81 RM 125 and felt like I was a factory rider on a works RM!
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AH387
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AH387 11/4/2022 8:05am
11/4/2022 8:05am
Johnny Ringo wrote:
2012 YZ250F. Yamabog.
Interesting. That gen of YZF was actually 1 of my favorite. The motor was obviously down on power by that time, but I had mine fully built and a fast motor with that chassis and bodywork was actually amazing. I miss that bike.
backinthesaddleagain 11/4/2022 8:58am
11/4/2022 8:58am
I didn't even think about putting my pull start Tecumseh powered mini bike. Chain always fell off, burn leg on red hot exhaust, and blisters from the pull start.

Great times!
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Phil109
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Phil109 11/4/2022 9:15am
11/4/2022 9:15am
Ryno23 wrote:
2009 CRF450R. what a total pile of shit. More problems than I can list. The 4 spring clutch fades faster in a moto than I do...
2009 CRF450R. what a total pile of shit. More problems than I can list. The 4 spring clutch fades faster in a moto than I do. Had the bike 4 months and got rid of it.
Literally LOL’d at this Laughing
levimx22
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levimx22 11/4/2022 10:10am
11/4/2022 10:10am
i didnt own it, but i bet guy cooper had this feeling when his KTM snapped.


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Johnny Ringo
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Johnny Ringo 11/4/2022 10:36am
11/4/2022 10:36am
Weren’t the 03-04 YZ450Fs 4-speeds?

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Iridereallyslow 11/4/2022 10:39am
11/4/2022 10:39am
Ted722 wrote:
Never gelled with my low-hour (2nd hand) ‘04 KX250. Tried different suspension setups etc., but never found a combination of valving or spring rate to get...
Never gelled with my low-hour (2nd hand) ‘04 KX250. Tried different suspension setups etc., but never found a combination of valving or spring rate to get that “confidence inspiring” feeling. And I was just getting up to speed on my new Too Tech setup (probably 2 hours) when I decided to go 4-stroke and got the ‘06 RM-Z450.

‘06 RM-Z450 was a great bike for me (won a lot of motos) until the 30 hour mark and the crank needed replacing. Still today think it was a great bike (and it was stock), but it soured me on 4-strokes until ‘18 when I got another RM-Z450! 🤣

Same story here, I never gelled with my 04 kx250 either and also went to Suzuki afterwards.
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Johnny Ringo
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Johnny Ringo 11/4/2022 10:40am
11/4/2022 10:40am Edited Date/Time 11/4/2022 10:42am
Johnny Ringo wrote:
2012 YZ250F. Yamabog.
AH387 wrote:
Interesting. That gen of YZF was actually 1 of my favorite. The motor was obviously down on power by that time, but I had mine fully...
Interesting. That gen of YZF was actually 1 of my favorite. The motor was obviously down on power by that time, but I had mine fully built and a fast motor with that chassis and bodywork was actually amazing. I miss that bike.
It handled amazing but it just bogged like a motherfucker. Tried everything, couldn’t get rid of it
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AH387
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AH387 11/4/2022 10:54am
11/4/2022 10:54am
Johnny Ringo wrote:
It handled amazing but it just bogged like a motherfucker. Tried everything, couldn’t get rid of it
Ya it was a little sloppy stock for me also. But I had 1 of the guys from Eleven 10 set up the carb and it was awesome after that. No idea what they did though. And once I put the GYTR head on, that bike really came alive. That chassis had a ton of potential. I would've liked to have seen what it would've been like with a more modern engine but the '14 was a good bike too, so I guess I can't complain.
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insertinfo 11/4/2022 11:21am
11/4/2022 11:21am
Never really hated any bike.
My 05 yz 125 gave me and my dad some engine problems, like my '19 sx 250 was a fuel-tank broker.
Broke 3 tanks and we sold it. Bike was fun and fast but a tank is over 300€.
Never had problems with kawi... let's keep it going🤣
bite_the_curb 11/4/2022 7:19pm
11/4/2022 7:19pm
1997 kx80, wasnt reliable but it was pretty beat up when i got it.

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burn1986
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burn1986 11/4/2022 8:36pm
11/4/2022 8:36pm
burn1986 wrote:
83 YZ125
Madmax31 wrote:
That's odd. I'd put the 83 125 in my top 5 all time and I've had a ton of bikes.
evomx244 wrote:
1983 YZ125 was my all-time favorite bike I raced. I had two that year, my second one absolutely ripped with the IT250 36mm carb mod.
I only had mine briefly, but it seemed painfully slow. I’d gotten an 84 CR125 and it was like night and day. That bike felt like a 250 compared to my YZ.
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bite_the_curb 11/4/2022 9:52pm
11/4/2022 9:52pm Edited Date/Time 11/4/2022 9:53pm
Johnny Ringo wrote:
Weren’t the 03-04 YZ450Fs 4-speeds?
yes
haydug391
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haydug391 11/5/2022 5:15am
11/5/2022 5:15am
2013 KTM 450. Hated it. Spent tons of money trying to get it to handle. Finally gave up. Some it. Lost a real thousand dollars. Then see the “best ever KTM” comes out in 2015. 😂 I’ll keep my Yamaha
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cappelmans
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cappelmans 11/5/2022 7:51am
11/5/2022 7:51am
Yz229 wrote:
00-01 CR125. Rode an 86 CR125 that smoked them in every way! My 2001 YZ125 felt like a 250 in comparison. Wasn't a huge fan of...
00-01 CR125. Rode an 86 CR125 that smoked them in every way! My 2001 YZ125 felt like a 250 in comparison.

Wasn't a huge fan of my 2006 KTM 250SX. Put a 300SX top end and 38mm carb (stock 36mm on 250), and eventually thought I liked it more in the woods then MX track.
What, Always thought 2001 CR 125 was a great bike. Felt stable and really good power in high rpm’s
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Generic88
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Generic88 11/5/2022 8:08am
11/5/2022 8:08am
86 KX 125 after coming off the 85 KX 125 the 86 was just a piece of Sh*t..
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mumbles 11/5/2022 8:54am
11/5/2022 8:54am
How about a 1955 Triumph Tiger Cub 200cc. I never raced it but it was my first dirt bike back in 1968. It was good for learning on but I was always working on it. Not such a great dirt bike but I was 12 and it was fun.


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vet323
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vet323 11/5/2022 9:36am
11/5/2022 9:36am
mumbles wrote:
How about a 1955 Triumph Tiger Cub 200cc. I never raced it but it was my first dirt bike back in 1968. It was good for...
How about a 1955 Triumph Tiger Cub 200cc. I never raced it but it was my first dirt bike back in 1968. It was good for learning on but I was always working on it. Not such a great dirt bike but I was 12 and it was fun.


This is quite possibly the best photo ever posted on Vital.
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