Superd Dream 250N. Full of Eastern Promise in the looks. Grossly underpowered, handled like the Isle of Wight ferry in a foce 10.
Dodgy cam chains and alternators.....
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Although I have never liked Suzukis since a mate had a GS550 that was very poorly finished and generally rate them one step below the other big Japanese three I am feeling a bit sorry for the old RE5, I remember when it came out, it was at least pioneering and, when it worked, very smooth and free revving.
How about the mid 80's Honda VF750, forerunner to the excellent VFR, IIRC it had gear driven cams which were very problematic, I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong.
I have the utmost respect for Yamaha however the XJ750 was a retrograde step from the excellent XJ650 though the subsequent FZ750 was great.
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I think the quality engineering and finish of the VFR was as a direct result of the VF750 being so poor in almost every area.
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A friends brother bought a BSA C15 which needed new big ends twice as often as the tank needed filling. It was, apparrantly, not a one off fault but a "feature" of that particular model.
The mention of Panthers brings to mind something I recall reading years ago when Bike ran a feature on the top ten turkeys of all time (in which the RE5 had a starring role). Namely that Panther were responsible for the cheapest motorcycle ever produced, under thirty quid new in the fifties for a machine as basic and awful as you could get. I can't remember any more details, except that it might have been a 500 or a 650. Can anyone back me up on that, or are the memory modules showing their age?
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'Ere PU - when were you last on one of our ferries? They're quite civilised these days, with indoor loos and everything! Still not much fun in a Force ten, I grant you... :-)
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Still not much fun in a Force ten, I grant you... :-)
I rest my case.
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Manybe not the worst bike, but scariest moment was cause by the 'ComStar' wheels on a CB250N Superdream. Side winds would happily hit these and cause untold problems which never happened with any other bike I have owned. Riding alongside a hedge with the hedge taking the force of the wind was fine. It was reaching the bit where there was a gate was the problem.......whoooosh!
Many a ride home was acompanied with me and and the bike seat getting off the bike together where my buttocks had clenched so tight.....:0)
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It has to be the Dodge Tomahawk concept bike with an 8-litre V10 Viper engine. A few were made for sale but purchasers had to sign an affidavit that they would never attempt to ride their new monster toy. Nobody at Chrysler had dared to test the bike either, although it was a fully working machine.
www.edmunds.com/media/2003/naias/dodge.tomahawk/do...g
Cheers, Sofa Spud
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As a later thought, perhaps the Yamaha TX750 twin rates a mention here. Two cylinders was enough, thought Yamaha, but we need balance shafts. Down in the bottom of the engine, they churned the oil to a froth, which didn't lubricate too well. The alloy balance between the exhaust ports cooked the top end, which I thought was a lesson they could have learned from the Ariel Square Four Mk1. The cylinder barrel and head was built up like a stack of pancakes, and it oozed oil (maple syrup?) from every joint. The crankshaft was poorly supported, so the bearings died, and the problems just went on and on. It was quietly retired after a year or so, and I don't think Yamaha made any of those mistakes again in their bikes since then.
I suppose the Japanese aren't immune from making mistakes, but they seem to know when to cry enough. The Triumph Speed Twin of 1938 was still the basis for the Trident of the late 1960s. Both great bikes for their day, but practically no engine design development between them over thirty years.
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Yamaha TX750 twin >>
Dont remember that one, the XS650 twin was a leak free alternative to a late 70's Boneville, the XS750 triple went on for ever, the XJ750 was four as was the FZ750, the first production engine with 5 valves/cyl, the 750 Tenere' was a twin (also with 5v/cyl, the engine evolved into that still used today in the TDM 900.
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"Nobody at Chrysler had dared to test the bike"
I thought someone had a go at Goodwood two years ago? I don't think it went very well, in fact, although I daresay it doesn't hit its stride until it's doing about 150...
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>>Nobody at Chrysler had dared to test the bike"
I thought someone had a go at Goodwood two years ago? I don't think it went very well, in fact, although I daresay it doesn't hit its stride until it's doing about 150...
I dare say someone's tried to ride a Tomahawk by now, but, being designed, as it was, with a view to never being ridden, it must be the world's worst motorbike!!!
cheers, SS
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"being designed, as it was, with a view to never being ridden"
I take your point, SS, although I doubt that the designers felt that way. I imagine it was the legal department who insisted that it shouldn't be!
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The 250N.....yes probably not actually the worst. What made it worse was the fact that it did look pretty and was well screwed together it failed to deliver, grey porridge was a term used. No contest from its rivals at the time, the Kawasaki Scorpion was better made and lighter, the RD250LC was quick and had street cred and the XS250 was not as well made but lighter and more....honest perhaps
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The 250N.....yes probably not actually the worst. What made it worse was the fact that it did look pretty and was well screwed together it failed to deliver, grey porridge was a term used. No contest from its rivals at the time, the Kawasaki
Scorpion was better made and lighter, the RD250LC was quick and had street cred and the XS250 was not as well made but lighter and more....honest perhaps
I reckon the Yamahas were the best made Japanese bikes in the late 70's, I had a '79 RD250E which was much better finished than mates X7's, Superdreams etc and was also a league ahead in performance terms, even the water cooled RD250LC was only slightly more powerful at the top end and lighter which made it ulimately quicker, however it lost out a lot in the mid arange to the aircooled 250E/F.
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IIRC the Indian Brave, a 250 s.v., was road tested by the Motor Cycle, but it broke down so many times they could not complete the test. Back in 1964 or so, I was offered one by a local man but my father refused to let me have a motor bike, just a scooter (ugh !). At least I was spared that particular heap of rubbish. I continued to ride bikes for more than 30 years after that maybe just to annoy my parents.
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wasn't the Indian company British owned at one point (at a point near its demise) ?
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Hmmmm. Hesketh ring any bells?
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