Which bike did you enjoy owning most?.

arybvtcw0eolkf

I've had everything from old RD's & DT's to Gixers and CBRThou's to my present bike, a BMW R1100S.

My long lost love of them all was my 2001 Vespa PX200E which I bought from Scooter Island brand new

Long story cut short, I'd returned from Lebanon with a wad of money and went into the city to look at an R1 and rode home with the Vespa.

What was the love of your life, where is she now and do you still hanker after her?.

corkgsxr

k3 gsxr 600. longest thing iv owned 4-5 years. love it. want to upgrade but dont want to sell it either

spiggotpaddy

I've had over fifty and the most enjoyed was a gsxr 1100. Best tool deauville.

paddy147

My 996 did/does it for me.

Loved my R1,loved my kitted out SP1,loved my 2 Aprillia RS250s,even loved my GSXR 750 SRAD.

But for shear grin factor,it was and is the Ducati 996....hands down.:D

bladespin

My old RD, broke my heart several times but still smile every time I think about it.

batman_oh

I loved loads of them at the time but looking now the best bike I have ever owned by an absolute mile is the KTM 950SM I will hopefully be selling on Saturday. It has provided the most fun - can do the quick stuff I need nowadays unless you are up over 100mph all the time and is possibly the best bike ever for random backroad messing and just floating around.

Lucky I'm replacing it with another one!

amacca

My 748r I restored (mostly cosmetic - no grinding valve seats or anything)

numberboards, carbon fibre, see through clutch cover for extra rattling and full termi system so it growls/whines like thunder

i still have it, I would never let the love of my life go willingly.

Its the sound and vibration in such a beautiful package that does it for me.

The only thing I ever heard sounding better was an sp2 with sato cans which sold for a ridiculously low price of 3k euro at an auction years ago.

CJhaughey

My GT250 X7, great handling simple to work on and best of all that fantastic 2 stroke smell!

arybvtcw0eolkf

CJhaughey wrote: »

My GT250 X7, great handling simple to work on and best of all that fantastic 2 stroke smell!

A mate had one, and I almost bought one in 1988 but I opted for an RD or DT instead, can't remember which came first.

The DT's were great for working on, a 10, 12 and 14mm socket set and you'd do almost anything on it in an evening

Oh sorry, the X7 was a lovely bike and great sound from the air cooled 2 stroke twin

ZX7R

My XJR 1300 ,i was rear ended on her by a little **** of a boy racer ,i miss her best bike i ever had:(

Max Headroom

My ZX7R.........i missed her so much i bought another one....:D

Big C

Had a few then I had a 15yr old Heinkel Tourist, 5 year trouble free motoring, then I got a car (kids), the guy I sold the heinkel to wrote it off within 3 months. A sad end to a great machine, thanks terry cowley.

Faing

The one I miss the most of all is my Laverda Jota that I owned from 79 to 83. Best bike I ever owned? Pan European without a doubt.

cantdecide

I'll keep my '01 GSX1400 forever. No point trading up because the colour schemes just got worse as time went on, IMO. I've had it four and a half years which is far longer than any other vehicle I've owned. I've had other, much different bikes and I've enjoyed them coming and going and moving onto the next but the 14 is a permanent fixture.

serious3

has to be my montesa 315, wheelies on the throttle in third, will climb the side of a house if i want it to, smells like a proper 2 stroke, weighs nothing, flatters me every time i ride it, best 900euro i ever spent:D

Doom

ZXR750 1992, beautiful looking bike, loved the colour scheme and twin headlights.

Galway K9

Best bike ever and I still have it. If I had pick between my Honda pan st1100 or kawasaki .gt550.....gt550 any day. Still doing it up, paint work.new bolts etc

soccerbreaker

Lillianna Plump Mineral wrote: »

I've had everything from old RD's & DT's to Gixers and CBRThou's to my present bike, a BMW R1100S.

My long lost love of them all was my 2001 Vespa PX200E which I bought from Scooter Island brand new

Long story cut short, I'd returned from Lebanon with a wad of money and went into the city to look at an R1 and rode home with the Vespa.

What was the love of your life, where is she now and do you still hanker after her?.

BMW S1000 RR is the best bike within the 1200 cc range

steveone

loved em all, and still have most of them but I want to be buried with my rebel 125..its like a small dog.

CJhaughey

Lillianna Plump Mineral wrote: »

A mate had one, and I almost bought one in 1988 but I opted for an RD or DT instead, can't remember which came first.

The DT's were great for working on, a 10, 12 and 14mm socket set and you'd do almost anything on it in an evening

Oh sorry, the X7 was a lovely bike and great sound from the air cooled 2 stroke twin

I had the DT's competition brother the IT175J, had a PE400 for a while but it wasn't really as much fun as the IT.
I had way more fun on two strokes on and off road over the years than with 4 bangers.
Not sure why but probably just the way that they need to be ridden to get the most out of them.

batman_oh

soccerbreaker wrote: »

BMW S1000 RR is the best bike within the 1200 cc range

Performance wise yes, but I wouldn't have one as I didn't really like it that much. Fastest on a track doesn't necessarily mean best for what you are using it for or the most fun

Quebec Delta Mike

After a drunken p**ck ran me off my CD175, in Dundalk town back in 1976, I bought a brand new CB400F, in red from Mountjoy MCs. I can still remember the first time I saw it, rode it home, it was love at first sight.
I kept her for about two years, and rode her like a demon all over Ireland doing every rally I could, Way West, Harp etc...then took her to the south of France and back. I was only 19 at the time, boy what an adventure.
I have had many better and more versatile machines since then, but the 400F sticks in my memory most of all. Don't know where she is now, probably long gone to the scrap yard in the sky...

Please Kill Me

I've only had 4 bikes, but my current one (ZX9) is my favourite. Well, it was until her untimely death on Wednesday September 12th @ 5.50pm.

I should (all going well) have her rebuilt by March/April and she'll be better than ever.

daenerysstormborn3

soccerbreaker wrote: »

BMW S1000 RR is the best bike within the 1200 cc range

Ha!

Current bike is my favourite



I also have a CB400 which is hard to fault but looks like crap after 19 years on the go. I had a CBR250 which was my favourite until a fella wrote it off, it's hard to look at it the same way now.

galwaytt

CJhaughey wrote: »

My GT250 X7, great handling simple to work on and best of all that fantastic 2 stroke smell!

I had an SB200, and then an X7. My X7 was a dog, bought from 'Galway Wheels' back in the '80s...........when I went to England I sold my x7 and bought a 'big' bike - GSX400F - loved it, went everywhere on it.

Later bikes I've owned, and still do are the successor to the X7: my 1989 Suzuki RGV250K - I have it.........22 years now !! My Vespa PX125 I've owned for 20 years - you just gotta love two-strokes !

As for most under-rated bike: it's my current daily ride: Harley Road King Classic. It out BMWs any BMW I've had !!!

kaimera

Only a newb, 2 bikes, sv650s and fzs600.

Still miss the SV, always had a smile on my face or an omg wtf look from driving. Fun is what it was.

Hence the hankering for a TLR...

GBX

My current bike ...VFR800 fi model ... Love it compared to the Fazer I had.

Hotblack Desiato

galwaytt wrote: »

Later bikes I've owned, and still do are the successor to the X7: my 1989 Suzuki RGV250K - I have it.........22 years now !!

My first bike memories were what I saw weekly on the 'better off than us' road on the way to Sunday mass - there was I think a Honda CB750, and definitely a Bonneville 750... I thought the Bonnie was better :pac:

I remember when RD350YPVSs were the thing - didn't ride myself then and had complete and total lack of income, but they sure looked impressive chained to the college railings.

RGVs were just sexual in the early 90s - the last time I saw one parked up on the street was well over ten years ago, but it was a 'drop everything, and get over here and look at this' moment.

When I had the inclination and cash to actually ride a bike, there was the usual huge gap between what I could licence, what I could insure, and what I could afford... but I knew from day one I wanted a CBR600. I got a GP100.

Three years later to the day I was riding off on a brand new black and silver CBR600F-W (F3) and boy did that feel good... I ended up doing 60,000 miles from new on that bike and it took me all over Ireland, most of the UK, several tours to France, Germany, Italy, Spain.. fantastic bike. Although in typical Honda fashion it was 100% reliable up to a point, and then it all wore out at the same time. I still miss it though. Great fun once you kept her spinning...

Then I got a GPz900R which was great too. Still have it and it's a restoration project someday.

Then got a Triumph Sprint ST which I still have - great bike. Goes like a *********** at the top end but has tons more low down shove than my old CBR.

soccerbreaker

batman_oh wrote: »

Performance wise yes, but I wouldn't have one as I didn't really like it that much. Fastest on a track doesn't necessarily mean best for what you are using it for or the most fun

after s1000 rr I will choose Ducati 1199 panigale s

soccerbreaker

pixiebean22 wrote: »

Ha!

Current bike is my favourite



I also have a CB400 which is hard to fault but looks like crap after 19 years on the go. I had a CBR250 which was my favourite until a fella wrote it off, it's hard to look at it the same way now.

I don't like naked bikes, i love only sports bikes

Busted Flat.

The best is the honda 50, you could not get a better ride when you parked it up, and no matter what condition you were in it knew its way home. 1957 model.

craiglucas

1979 BMW R100/7. Comfortable and reliable, rode it all over the UK when I lived there. Only sold it when they did away with 4star petrol as the old BM's needed a head replacement to run on unleaded. The '87 K75 I had after was nice, and so was the '91 R850. But they never compared with the character of the oldie. I loved the side to side shake as you reved the boxer engine, and the torque reaction which lifted the seat as you pulled away. Always missed the R100/7

batman_oh

soccerbreaker wrote: »

after s1000 rr I will choose Ducati 1199 panigale s

Funnily I dont want either. For the price of a Panigale S you could have 4-5 different bikes giving you all different types of fun. In my own case the one thing that spending a few years upgrading to the latest and greatest litre bike has though me is that, it's all nonsense and it doesn't result in you having more fun. Fun on the road (and even track) has nothing to do with having the fastest sportsbike out there. In many cases they plainly bore me now on the road as they are dead unless you are doing 100mph plus and going mental everywhere. They simply don't work well at low speeds.

Plus you would have far more fun on track on a 2006 R6 racebike costing 4k than you would on either as you would be afraid to crash them!

CJhaughey

soccerbreaker wrote: »

after s1000 rr I will choose Ducati 1199 panigale s

This is about the bike you enjoyed owning most, not what you think would be your dream machine.
Huge performance doesn't equal enjoyment as the wide variety of bikes cited already shows.
Old bikes are often more involving to own in terms of character and fun, new bikes are often refined to the point of soullessness IMHO.

Wonda-Boy

Well only have my 09 FZ6 which I love and cannot fault. It does everything well.....If I could have any bike in the morning it would be the 2013 Daytona 675R for fun or a VFR1200 for everyday life, Love the looks of both.

P.C.

The VFR 1200 is quiet krap for everyday use if you are going to use it in town.
Anything under 50 km/h, and you are stuck in first gear. Only occasionaly getting into second gear.

I had a lone of a Honda 'Crossover' - the one with the VFR 800 engine. Great bike for around town. Upright riding position, narrow bike, and easy to manover in tight spaces. Still not my ideal bike.

The Nutty M

Fazer 1000 I sold before christmas and still miss it.It did everything I wanted.All the usual stuff but the sheer drive it gave out of corners was where it shined,keep it singing and the fun never stopped.

The bike I have now is as dead as a door nail compared to it.

Wonda-Boy

P.C. wrote: »

The VFR 1200 is quiet krap for everyday use if you are going to use it in town.
Anything under 50 km/h, and you are stuck in first gear. Only occasionaly getting into second gear.

I had a lone of a Honda 'Crossover' - the one with the VFR 800 engine. Great bike for around town. Upright riding position, narrow bike, and easy to manover in tight spaces. Still not my ideal bike.

Depends what everyday life you have, I would not be around town much at all. I use my bike purely for pleasure and long trips so it would not be a problem. It would be the same for any large cc sports tourer not just the VFR1200.

I know it has a few cons like a very small tank etc but I love the look of it.

Wonda-Boy

The Nutty M wrote: »

Fazer 1000 I sold before christmas and still miss it.It did everything I wanted.All the usual stuff but the sheer drive it gave out of corners was where it shined,keep it singing and the fun never stopped.

The bike I have now is as dead as a door nail compared to it.

I would imagine so TBH, I have an FZ6 and would love a rip on a Fazer 1000 to compare it with. They are meant to be very fast when tricked out right.

Xaime

I miss my 1985 Puch Cobra (2 stroke). It was a dirt bike. The sound of the engine. I remember I used to have to put the oil from the can into the petrol tank and shake the bike sideways for it to mix well.

KamiKazi

Probably my Honda Firestorm, so much so that I hope to buy another in a few months.

There's just something about a large Vtwin engine in a sports bike!

StinkyMunkey

Yamaha R6 2000 model, I creamed myself just looking at it.

Had an R1 afterwards, looked sexy as hell but it was to skittish!

soccerbreaker

batman_oh wrote: »

Funnily I dont want either. For the price of a Panigale S you could have 4-5 different bikes giving you all different types of fun. In my own case the one thing that spending a few years upgrading to the latest and greatest litre bike has though me is that, it's all nonsense and it doesn't result in you having more fun. Fun on the road (and even track) has nothing to do with having the fastest sportsbike out there. In many cases they plainly bore me now on the road as they are dead unless you are doing 100mph plus and going mental everywhere. They simply don't work well at low speeds.

Plus you would have far more fun on track on a 2006 R6 racebike costing 4k than you would on either as you would be afraid to crash them!

Right on your sense. But I love ducati specially.

fenris

My G model Gixer 11, granted the engine braking was stronger than the front brakes, the fork seals lasted about 15 minutes, the clutch was so heavy that my left forearm looked like I stole it from Popeye and any corner was a full body commitment!

But once you got up to cruising speed that bike felt like it was thought controlled!

Steve.N

Have to say of all the bikes I've owned my 1998 R6 still brings smiles when looking at old pics. It was in the 1st batch of R6s delivered in Scotland and was one of the 1st on the road. She scratched, toured and blew much bigger bikes away until someone stole it just over 1yr later - also in those days I fitted comfortably into a one piece Dainese race suit (defo no chance now!!). I completed my 1k run in period in 2days as I lived on it! I then had put 18k in 12mnths on the clock before it was stolen - had an arse of steel in those days :-D.
My old 1983 RD350lC also brings back memories of blasting around in the pre-speed camera era acting like a loon with no idea of what protective clothing was - I thought a pair of jeans and my baseball boots were the dogs nutz together with my leather jacket covered in studs. We all had the habit of buzzing cars at night with our lights out on the country roads of my home town Glasgow - feckin mental when I look back now!

goodlad

Wonda-Boy wrote: »

Depends what everyday life you have, I would not be around town much at all. I use my bike purely for pleasure and long trips so it would not be a problem. It would be the same for any large cc sports tourer not just the VFR1200.

I know it has a few cons like a very small tank etc but I love the look of it.

Give it time ..... we both know a counter argument is on the way!

fatbast

craiglucas wrote: »

1979 BMW R100/7. Comfortable and reliable, rode it all over the UK when I lived there. Only sold it when they did away with 4star petrol as the old BM's needed a head replacement to run on unleaded. The '87 K75 I had after was nice, and so was the '91 R850. But they never compared with the character of the oldie. I loved the side to side shake as you reved the boxer engine, and the torque reaction which lifted the seat as you pulled away. Always missed the R100/7

i have an immaculate r100 only 23k red metallic over silver its the t model so came with krauser panniers. still has bmw hand pump, handbook, and lock under tank! heres a pic of it....

fatbast

Wonda-Boy wrote: »

I would imagine so TBH, I have an FZ6 and would love a rip on a Fazer 1000 to compare it with. They are meant to be very fast when tricked out right.

great bikes, i am on my fifth one!....this is it...

arybvtcw0eolkf

Fatbast ~ WOW!.

Kat1170

Would be split between my first bike ever, way back in the eighties, a Kawasaki KC100 and my Harris Magnum II. The KC thought me so much about biking and the Harris because it is such a buzz riding a bike that you have literally built from the ground up by yourself.

Although I have enjoyed all my bikes these two stand out in most my memory.

allroad

Honda 50, KH125, Z200, KH250 (3), MZ150, GPZ550, CB750, Z1 and now a GSX250.
Loved all of them, but the Z200 and my first KH250 stand out from the rest. The Z200 never gave me any trouble at all. It was perfect for my needs, civilised and predictable.
The KH250 was always in bother. Starting problems, stopping problems, seizing the middle cylinder every other week but the bike I miss the most. Beautiful bike.
Still have a frame and engine (seized) left over from the last one, which I rebuilt from a couple of non runners. Haven't been able to get enough bits to build another one. I live in hope.