Have you ever ridden a bike once, then sold it?

Every austrian bike that i bought and dumped thousands into to "make it work" shouldve been sold in a day, unfortunately i wasnt that smart until later in life.

First one: 1976 RM 125 (Gutless) Rode it once or twice then out of here!

Second one: First year of the YZ250F Hated the bike, hard to start and to easy to stall and then dead in the water

Third one: 2010 YZ450 (What a barker) Raced it once and out the door it went!

Fourth one: 2021 KX 450 (Hated the power delivery) Did put about 8 hours on it, tried everything. Interestingly I had ridden my sons 2012 KX450 and loved it! Go figure.....

Rode a new 2002 Honda 450 (on my own track) that I friend had just bought. Did a few laps and handed the bike back - no way did that bike gel with me!

I was given a slighty used 2003 KX125 as a bonus for the extra work I was doing. I rode the bike once or twice and then put it up for sale as I just didn't like anything about it. 

Micheal Hicks races that bike or maybe a 98 slower yet .  I bought a new 98 yz250 installed applied thicker t clamp , Noleen shorty, killer NCy graphics. Rode it a few times raced it too. That bikes frontend was super light , handled like shit, twisted the forks hitting corner ruts . Engine was ok but it handled horrible , clutch was garbage too. Sold in aprox 60 days lost money to get rid of it. Throttle cable was recalled I got the letter after I sold it. MC had to move the engine all ovr to fix the pile. Probably added 10 lbs  of lead inside the frame .

Sold my 2022 GG 250 2 stroke. Got a great deal on a left over 24 GG 350F. Put 10 hours on it and sold it. Back on a 23 KTM 250 2 stroke TBI. Loving the 2 stroke life. 

Just a road bike. Bought a Ducati Diavel and hated it on the ride home from the dealership. Massive vibration through the seat, poorly mapped FI. ran rough under 3000RPM 

1990 KX250. The new perimeter frame, factory looking bike. I never owned one, thank god, but I sure wanted one…until I rode it. My buddy bought the first one at our local shop. We went to the track that weekend and everyone came over to check it out, it was the first one many had seen. After a couple motos he asked if I wanted to try it out. I jumped on it and put in a few laps…hated it. It felt really wide, handled like crap. Total letdown. I didn’t tell my buddy that though. He just spent a ton of money and was happy with it but I was glad I got to try it cause I was leaning hard to get one.  Second bike I did buy. 98 YZ400. Wasn’t necessarily a bad bike but I didn’t like nearly as much as the YZ250’s 2 strokes I came off. Rode it for 6 months, sold it and went back to 2 strokes. 

1997 KX125. Raced it a hand full of times if that and was never comfortable on it. Was given a 1998 RM125 to try out (if you were around when F&S was a big thing then you know) and instantly felt comfortable on that bike.   

2013 CRF450, the first year of the air forks. My buddy who was racing at a pro level at the time convinced me it was a great bike. But he had A Kit spring forks on his. The very first lap I did on the bike, I was disappointed. I tried everything I could think of to get that bike in a good place. Ultimately, I rode it about 3-4 times the first month I had it then left it in the garage for over a year. Sold it to pay for my wife's wedding ring and bought a RMZ 250 that I loved

I’ve posted on this several times.  I would have sold my 23 Honda CRF250R the first day I rode it……….if I could have found somebody to buy it!  Only thing I ever rode that handled worst was my 1973 Suzuki TM250.

I pretty much rode my new Honda 3 or 4 times parked it and bought a 24 Beta 300 RX.  Year later bought a 24 KX450. Dang Honda set in the garage. 

Me and that Honda didn’t get along.  I had two or three front end washouts/unexpected smack downs, flat out not comfortable riding it.  I all but tried to give it away, hard to sell a used bike.  I finally decided to give it another shot.  swapped spring a second time, 23.5 degree clamp.  Also pegs back and down.  It’s way better now.  My Beta is very forgiving, I even with a too light rear spring from the factory it handled good.  Same for my KX, it was pretty good right out of the box.  Dang Honda, everything  has to be right on a Honda, springs, clicks, triple clamp etc.  but once you get a Honda right………hard to beat.

2025 Beta 300rx…15 hours and sold. That frame was way too stiff for me and I couldn’t figure out the shock. Took a couple months to sell.  I wish it would’ve worked out but I just couldn’t deal with it. 

This makes me feel validated, but simultaneously bums me out. I picked up a leftover 2024 FX 350 this past April. I have 19 hours on it, and I can't seem to get it right. Revalved, resprung, chasing clicker settings and fork heights, etc. I just have zero confidence in turning it, and friends that I could keep up with are now dropping me. It's my 4th 350 (I had an '18, '21, '22). As a Vet B offroad rider, I didn't think I'd be good enough to notice the rigid chassis that people were talking about, but it's such a different bike than the last gens. I just want it to feel like my old bikes. 

I've ridden a 2025 YZ 250F and a 450F, and unfortunately I didn't like those either. And I have to say, damn those YZ 250fs are loud! 

Thinking about getting a Honda, but I have too much money into it right now to justify letting it go. 

I have to agree, late model Yamaha’s being loud.  A while back guy parked beside me had a YZF with side panels drilled for air flow and mods to his filter box.  For minute I thought I was on the runway at Hobby airport in Houston.

Brand new 07 kx250f. 

Pawl Guide broke on second lap, brought it back to the dealer and they kept it for 3 weeks trying to diagnose why it broke. In that time, Kawasaki said there was a recall on the part and the shop thankfully gave me the option to either fix the part, not fix the part and they buy back the bike (I’d basically spend $200 for riding the bike 1.5 laps) or straight up trade for a bike of equivalent or lesser value. Ended up trading for an 06 yz125 and some aftermarket goodies to make up the difference in cost. 

Tell me more about the side panel mod for late model YZF's 

Was your gutless RM125 the 1975 first year model with a down pipe? I remember the 1976 as being fast, unless you got the lemon. 

2020 CRF150RB. I’m short as hell and thought it would make a good off-road bike, it was not. Impossible to start and loud as hell.  The suspension and handling was nice the two three times I rode it.  Luckily it was COVID era and didn’t lose much.

First alu frame? I remember the excitement of them showing up at tracks then suddenly seeing loads up for sale within a few weeks. Those bikes went from "must-have" to "must-sell" in record time.

It might have been a 75. To many years have passed to be totally sure😆

I had one of those, it turned like a truck. I read somewhere they got the frame geometry all wrong and had to set the suspension weirdly to make it "work". It didn't.

Made out of cheese too, I spent all year fixing the thing and tightening bolts up.

Nope, but have ridden bikes that had I bought them would have been for sale immediately. 2010 CRF250, 2022 CRF450, 1998 CR125.

Rode it to 15-20hours I believe, did everything I could to make it more compliant. I’m actually considering going back to a 2019-22 KTM 350. That was my favorite bike I’ve ever owned.

Bought a non running 1984 CR500, got it running. 

Sold it very shortly after that. 

I had a buddy text me a 2024 KTM 300 XC  he was looking at on marketplace. 2 hours on it! Told him to buy it but he changed his mind. 

Was asking another buddy why someone would sell a bike with 2 hours and he just shrugged his shoulders and said "probably going through a divorce." 

lol

I wish .

1985 KTM 250. First year in adults trying to get my pro license points.

Went through it completely once we got it in ( Dad had a shop back then ) was like  “oh shit” . Wood screws holding rad scoops on, sub frame was made incorrectly and didn’t fit, clutch pressure plate never opened squarely so clutch always dragged, NOTHING could get the front disc to work, plastic flashings from tank in carb etc.

Rode it first few times.. “ OH SHIT” .

Dad actually had a Kawasaki & Suzuki dealership but he was “ old school “ aka a dick and was like “ you chose it you ride it”. 

Did get my pro points but literally everything on that bike broke and we knew how to prep and take care of a bike.

What broke? Fork internals, radiators, tank flashings never went away, carb ( AMAL - FFS ) , main seals , frame, shock blew, rear wheel repeatedly snapped spokes, shock lineage…. 

By seasons end it was basically scrap . Sold it to a guy who wanted motor for a shifter cart, pretty sure he threw the rest away which was most definitely a great move. 

I should have sold my 2014 CRf250R after the first ride, but you always think it will get better eventually. That bike was so fucking slow and the fork valving was brutal. It would never start hot and it always burned oil because you had to ride it on the limiter for it to go anywhere. 

I threw everything but the kitchen sink at my 350 because I loved the motor and how nimble it was. Eventually got the forks pretty good (ran 6500, kyb, cone valve, revalved aer) but it was difficult getting any compliance out of the rear end. I finally gave up in hopes of getting a bike that would feel good everywhere. So far so good with just a revalve and mapped ecu. Couldn’t be happier 

Ducati Panigale. Took it as a trade because I thought it would be fun, maybe even do a track day or two. Rode it once and in 5 minutes I thought F this thing, I'm going to die. Not because it was violent or difficult to ride, but because it was SO easy to go triple digits. 

Luckily I had a chance to ride the bike before I bought it - 

2014 KTM 250 Two Stroke.... I had been saving up for the bike and of course my buddy who had the cash bought one first. 

Bone stock, rode it at Glen Helen on a Thursday morning under perfect conditions. First lap, felt like I had never ridden a bike. Second lap, felt exactly the same. Third lap, almost killed myself, pulled into the pits.

My buddy didnt believe me so we adjusted the bars, the sag , turned clickers....everything set up for me.

Two more laps of feeling like an absolute idiot, put the bike on the stand and never rode it again.

In 25 years of riding dirt bikes, that was the single most uncomfortable I have ever been on a bike, and gives creedence to my theory that sometimes, there is a rider/bike combination that just does not work.

Because of my local dealer who was awesome, I bought a 1986 Husqvarna CR 250 and rode it for a month. Within a month, I had broken the pipe twice, broke the swingarm and broke the upper triple clamp. Absolutely hated that bike. Sold it and bought a 1986 Yamaha YZ 250.