I was working for BSA Group when the awful Ariel 3 was lunched. Just before its demise demonstrators were sent around the plants in the group in an attempt to get employs to buy one, at an amazing discount. Like the Ariel 3 this was doomed to abject failure but we got 30 minutes off work to watch one being ridden round and round in endless circles. Thanks for the memory and a laff.
@@kethughes8266 The Sinclair C5, Oh dear, its hard to imagine anything more bizarre than the Ariel 3 but you have spotted it, I remember the hype at its launch in the 80's but from then on it went down hill. I seem to remember it was made in a washing machine factory and launched in mid winter, perfect 😵💫Thanks for giving me a laugh
My first motorcycle was a 1976, 750 Honda Matic. It was so slow, the police could catch me on foot. I still loved it and rode it slow on purpose. It still got me to the beach.
@karlfonner7589 Check out my reply. I had one to. It was a real lpve/hate. I could ride one handed in town or highway while drinking(coke). But embarrassingly slow!
I bought, and still own a Niken and it's front end has never needed anything other than regular maintenance. In fact the whole bike has never broken down. I bought it after back surgery to get back on the road...and just haven't bought anything else.
@@jktl1000s and as you know mate, having confidence in whats underneath you makes more difference than most things 🙂 enjoy it, this was all just a bit of fun 🙂 i would love an SP1, but not for the road 🙂
I have the same experience: I LOVE my Niken: it has been a wonderful and very reliable bike. Great to ride hard, and equally suitable to ride more relaxed. Not sure (except possibly its looks) why people consider it a 'bad motorcycle'. And in my experience it is only people who have never ridden a Niken that think it is 'bad'.
My first ever bike was an Ariel Three. When I was 14 I wanted a motorcycle & my mum said a big no. I bought a non running Ariel Three for £4.73 & when I took it home my reasoning was ‘it’s a tricycle’. I got away with it for being smart & not clever!
Great vlog. I laughed out loud more than once. I actually really like the DN-O1 & the Niken, but I am a bit weird. Damn... that CFMoto at the end was truly shocking. 😅 Thought I'd mention that TH-cam unsubscribed me from your channel. It's happened with a few other channels, too. I don't know what the heck they're playing at.
cheers mate, im having nightmares with them to be honest, so many comments arent actually being published, i cant even comment here from the backup channel now
This is a fabulous compilation of the worst of the worst. I remember each and every one of those piles of crap. I worked for Kawasaki and later Yamaha. In the R&D department and we saw an endless stream of bad ideas come down from corporate. Somehow when someone is put in the higher management levels they had to put their ideas into the mix with the corporate boys. It becomes abundantly clear that getting to the top of an industry didn’t make them any brighter. There are of course other jewels of the two wheeled industry. The Puch Twingle comes to mind. A 350 twin with one connecting rod and cast iron cylinders was my favorite of the why bother models. It was pathetically underpowered and fortunately it wasn’t fast enough to 😊get you into too much trouble because the stamped sheet metal frame and front forces were as spongy as if it were made of wood. Did I mention the saddle? A blob of foam covered with some rather slick plastic let you slide around while trying to get the thing to go around any corner. We took one of them to a flat track race as a joke during intermission to give the crowd some entertainment. The plan was to take it out on the infield track and wrestle it around some corners and then have it catch fire. Sounds like fun doesn’t it? Well it had a fuel line pop of the carburetor during a corner and cover the engine and my boots with gasoline and proceeded to catch fire. That definitely got the crowd cheering and I didn’t know it was happening until I felt the heat and looked down. I hopped off of the bike and let it burn. The crowd liked that even more. Apparently they didn’t appreciate the infield entertainment. A complete and utter failure. I learned to not get involved in anymore ridiculous schemes again.
I had a Puch scooter. First powered two wheeled thing. Cost an arm and went directly to the auto electrical business to be fixed prior to use. I got Five trouble free miles from it and it simply died. Change gear with a twist of the clutch lever. Up to three times. Your comment is the first mention of Puch I've heard in fifty years. No surprise after what I experienced.😅
Hello mate. I love this! So many manufacturers have got it wrong over the years. The worst one that I’ve owned is the first Suzuki TL1000S. To put this into context I was racing for Suzuki Australia at the time with Phillip Island as my home track and got one for the streets. No matter what myself or even race team manager did to adjust suspension set up it was borderline dangerous in high speed corners. It sounded incredible, was quick in a straight line for its time, just lacked the ability to mildly push it through corners to a point where I had the chain come off the rear sprocket, mid corner. My team manager was an Australian Champion from the early to mid 80’s and his thoughts after he rode it were the same. It just spent more time in the shop than on the road until Suzuki admitted it had “a fault” and ended up replacing it for free with the R version. This was an improvement however only had a bandaid fix to the rear setup instead of a complete redesign that it required. So, for me the S was the worst bike I’ve owned in over 40 years. Keep up the awesome work you do and provide as it’s second to none and possibly why TH-cam is causing “happy days” for you. 👍😎🇦🇺
I am so happy to see that someone else thinks the TL is crap. I bought a low mileage one last year, owned by a moron. Spent the winter doing it up. When I finally ride it, such a disappointment. The fact it's fricking uncomfortable is irrelevant, too many broken bones to ride anything more focused. But the engine performance is underwhelming, the handling improved with the damper off, I am a quick rider, but don't ride like a c#ck. The really annoying thing is a few days after getting it, I got offered a gsxr1100m nearly stock for a couple of hundred quid more.
The infamous Rotary Shock was the downfall of the TL1000s - I loved the look of the 'S'more than the 'R' - I nearly bought one but glad I bought a VTR1000 Firestorm instead - the TL1000r motor made a good bit more power than the VTR - Bimota used it in their SB8R the Late Great Anthony "Go Show" Gobert shocked the world & won a WSBK Race @ Phillip Island back in 2000 in the wet on one beating all Works Factory Bikes on basically an Exotic Road Bike! -Cheers 👍
@@purebloodheretic4682 Such a wasted talent that Anthony had where he was caught up in the fame and glory and got involved with the wrong crowd that ultimately ruined his career with his drug addiction. I can say this as I spent an entire season racing against Anthony during the year he finished first in the Australian 250 cc production class series. I was also still racing in that same category when his first attempt in WSB ended in Anthony winning both races at Phillip Island and being the youngest to ever do so. A year later he turned up at just a club level race event (same track) with a gorgeous blonde and brand new 911 to “show”. Sadly, it all went to his head way too early without any failure management supporting him. I nearly purchased the last bike he raced at Phillip Island as it was a 2005 CBR1000RR that had about $200k spent on it and in the right hands is still capable of incredibly fast lap times today. We used to joke about me being 364 days older. RIP mate!
Congratulations on your video, a pleasure to watch. You missed the Amazonas 1600, fabricated years ago in Brazil with the VW Beetle engine. It deserves being in your list so much.
The Megola was a German motorcycle produced between 1921 and 1925 in Munich, with a 5 cylinder radial engine mounted inside the spokes of the front wheel. No starter! The only way to start it was a running jump start, and stopping involved stopping the engine first. Amazing!
There is video of Megola machines on a front centre stand. The owner grabs hold of the wheel and pulls it, starting the engine. After warming it up, he pushes it forward, the bike comes off the stand and he rides away. Weird, but not truly awful. The race version did have some success, BTW.
I always assumed the Tomahawk was never intended as a production bike. It was Dodge's half-attempt at a concept bike, and half marketing ploy for their Viper engine.
Well, probably similar to the GP bike that Colani once designed in the early 80s. We at HRC have seen the pictures and ... we couldn't stop laughing. The chassis designers only pointed out two things, the wheelbase and the distance from the countershaft to the swingarm axle. These two things alone make the thing (race-wise) undriveable.
I had a Norton Jubilee, it felt like a hurriedly put together Norton Twin down-scaled to 250cc to compete with all the Japanese imports in the early / mid 1960.
The BSA Arial 3 was the bike that probably caused Royal Mail to change over from BSA Bantams to the Austrian 50 cc Puch Moped, which is the type I rode for the Royal Mail for 2 years, which wasn't the best bike in the world.
@@barebonesmc The first bike I actually bought was the Yamaha FS1E 50cc moped, the original Fizz Bang, probably, or said to be the best of its type at the time. Surprisingly regarded as a classic today. some going for about 6 grand, if they are in good nick.
As an american I have not heard of half of these motorcycles. The last one had me in stitches (laughing) with its self draining oil system. Thanks for the video.
glad you enjoyed it mate 🙂 Theres plenty more on the channel, hope you will look around and find something your interested in. there is more on the website too. and there will be more to come. Cheers for watching.Hope you will climb aboard. Ride Free 🙂
glad you enjoyed it mate 🙂 Theres plenty more on the channel. hope youll climb aboard. Cheers for watching. re the title, apt, but we all have to contend with the youtube algorithm and its idiosynchrosies 🙂
Glad you enjoyed it mate 😊 if you like the humorous side the Triumph video with the warning label should make you smile 😊 I do just go off script sometimes 😊 have a great weekend
The rotary engine has always given problems, just ask NSU... Mazda poured a fortune into getting the tip seals right. I used to race an Mazda RX-3, but with a full-race periphial-port 13B instead of the standard 12A engine. I periodically had to replace the tip seals with new ceramic ones that cost $1,000 each and there's three of them in the engine. That was back in '93, so that 1k would be $2,200 each in today's money.
@@dietznutz1 Yes, I did. The car, like the money it consumed, went pretty quick! There's a truism which says that: "The way to make a small fortune in motor racing is to start with a very large one."😁 Fortunately, my then-wife equated the small size of the tip seals to small cost; I didn't enlighten her... 🤣
glad you enjoyed it mate 🙂 Theres plenty more on the channel, hope you will look around and find something your interested in. there is more on the website too. and there will be more to come. Cheers for watching.Hope you will climb aboard. Ride Free 🙂
glad you enjoyed it mate 🙂 Theres plenty more on the channel, hope you will look around and find something your interested in. there is more on the website too. and there will be more to come. Cheers for watching.Hope you will climb aboard. Ride Free 🙂
@@stephenbingham5935 if you want a giggle this one i let rip lol th-cam.com/video/dDpRBpZezDM/w-d-xo.html bear in mind i am a Triumph owner lol this was a funny one too, just not as extreme th-cam.com/video/-ShyOCbssDI/w-d-xo.html hope you will climb aboard mate, we do have a great bunch of subscribers 🙂 have a great week
I had the1975 MotoGuzzi 1000 convert. It was like the Hondamatic with the two speed gearbox with the heavy Torque converter. Great for stop and go traffic and the police style handlebar fairing and square fiberglass panniers gave it the police look. The seat wasn't a good single police seat and it killed my back going from Okla to San Diego,San Fran, Denver back to OKC. I traded it for a 72 850 El Dorado which was a better bike but rattled and clanked like the Tin Man at a Disco.
Thanks for your support mate 🙂 If you loke the funny side try this onne if you havent seen it lol th-cam.com/video/dDpRBpZezDM/w-d-xo.html have a great day
I had a 1980 FLH80. The POS never went more than 8 miles without a breakdown. 6 miles back on that trip the throwout bearing failed. I gave it away. The guy I gave it to face it to his father. He gave it away...
DN-01 transmission complicated?? 😮 I got my right leg amputated because of a motorcycle accident. My first bike after that (2 years after) was the DN-01. The HFT was an engineering marvel. Smooth and reliable, it serve its purpose as an easy-to-ride bike. Unpractical, maybe. But that thing was the center of attention for those who knew little or nothing about motorcycles. 😉
overcomplicated from an engineering perspective is what i meant, sorry, in the same way as the Niken front. and it was all a bit of fun mate, my philosophy is if it makes you smile ride it, thats all that matters
The Honda CB125T from the early 80s was my worst nightmare. Setting valve clearances required removal of the tail light, seat and petrol tank, and the oil filter was internal requiring splitting the crankcase to change it. Oil changes were scheduled for every 1,250 miles, and if you didn't change the filter at the same time, it soon clogged leading to the camshaft eating its way through the head. Top end was pretty good at around 80 MPH, but it had to do 12,000 RPM to get there. There was no rev limiter, so it was easy to accidentally hit 14,000 RPM if you weren't constantly watching the tacho. Needless to say, mine spent nearly as much time in bits as running. If you ever get offered one of these old "gems", run away VERY quickly!
At the other end of the scale, you have the C90 (still the World's most popular motorbike), and my first machine - a (third-hand) Honda CB250N, 6 speed transmission, CDI and electric start. An absolutely wonderful machine, that lasted be many years.
the mighty cub features here th-cam.com/video/WikCG7WxPy8/w-d-xo.html and i featured the 400 Superdream here too th-cam.com/video/c4n0iL9mUW8/w-d-xo.html the 250 will find its place in time
@@barebonesmc Definitely agree with your assessment of the cub! One gets the feeling that EVERYONE who rides motorbikes has at some stage borrowed (or owned) one of these - I used mine as a dirt-cheap commuter. As for the GPZ500, my second machine was it's tourer version - GT550, and although mechanically sound, the electrics were something else entirely, with problems of water ingress, and igniter coils that sometimes lasted only months.
The Norton Commando introduced in 1969 should be the first on the list. I knew every nut and bolt of this motorcycle well having purchased a new one and two used over the years. This piece of junk was a last ditch effort by Norton Villiers to stay afloat and mechanically it was an utter shame. Although the engine was a good one everything else on the bike had problems do to cheap materials, bad design, and no quality control at the factory. Starting up front the drum brake was nearly useless at its best and the fork tubes were plated with a soft material instead of hard chrome leading to worn seals and a scored tube. The bike would shimmy terribly because no dampener was present and this led to a record number of crashes and fatalities. Adding to this was the poorly designed rubber mounted frame. The transmission mainshafts would either bend or snap under hard usage. This happened so frequently that there was a backorder of them at the factory for months in the early seventies. The shaft that held the swingarm in place would loosen in the frame causing excessive side play at the rear wheel. The exhaust header pipes would frequently break at the flange and the rubber mounts used at the mufflers were too small and broke constantly. The action for the clutch cable was poorly designed making for a very hard pull and constant broken cables. I firmly believe that this bike was built so poorly and handled so badly that it never should have been allowed to be sold.
Honda makes a trike called the Gyro. Japanese domestic market only but sometimes people bring them into the country. Worth looking out for if that sort of thing floats your boat. There's a whole scene in Japan where people modify the crap out of them with fat golf cart wheels on the back. They can look pretty wild.
I've owned many bikes over 25+ years of riding road bikes & the CX is still one of my favourite machines - the Styling wasn't the prettiest - but they make a great Cafe Racer! I guess it's a bike you have to own to appreciate - Cheers 👍
@@barebonesmc I bought maggot # 2000262 in 1978. I rode from Florida to Point Barrow Alaska, back down to Tijuana, across the Mohave Desert and back to St Augustine. Then rode up to Deals Gap for a week and finally about 60 miles frome home, the weak alternator gave up. I put 18000 miles on mine. tires, alternator, oil changes and filters were my only expenses. Even got a factory recall for free . Not my fastest bike, but damn reliable and comfortable and I rode it more miles than anything else I ever rode, including cages.
@@barebonesmc The CX500 was a HUGE success even after the camchain horror. It probably made Honda a shedload....so using it as a failure would be inadvisable.
PMSL, youd be surprised how many times i have had people convinced i am an AI lol, if you like a laugh (and arent a Triumph owner (I am)) youll smile at this one th-cam.com/video/dDpRBpZezDM/w-d-xo.html
@@barebonesmc Mate troll away, also tell them there's a bridge in Sydney you own that you'd like to sell them. 😅 Still solid work, I'll have a peek at that recommendation.
The majority of british motorcycles had self draining oil systems. But then the factories were mainly still using WW1 manufacturing machinery, while Japan got $millions from the USA, to rebuild their factories and re-equip them with the latest equipment. Britain was still paying back, ''Lend Lease'' debts to the USA until 2006! .
The politics of war eh. Rarely a good thing. Vertically split crankcases do have their advantages too though 😊 people easily forget the good bits about British engineering. But yes there were bad bits too 😂
@@barebonesmc I remember one piece of Jap engineering 'wonder'...IF/WHEN the kickstart spring broke, you had to remove, and split the whole engine to replace it! I also remember the Raleigh 'WISP' that I rode from Singapore to Ipoh and back, (about 800 miles) or rather my bum does! No suspension, on rough roads, caused the spokes to stretch past their elastic limit, and the whole wheels became a loose collection, of bits. The engine rear mounting bracket broke, and I had to make a new stronger one and have it welded on. I subsequently progressed to a Triumph 3TA, and then to a 1953 Model 7 Norton, which I shipped back to the UK. I had that bike for over 50 years. Fully restored it, about 10 years ago, but it was recently totally destroyed in a fire, together with my restored 1961 Norton Dominator.😒 .
@@barebonesmc When the Japs started producing 250cc ohv twin cylinder motorcycles, that were really fast, BSA also made one, BUT they put it in a _scooter!_ They called it the ''Sunbeam''! 'Bumbean' would have been more appropriate. .
Part of the reason was the dry sump lubrication which meant the only oil that leaked from the crankcase was any residual oil that the scavenge hadn't picked up. Velocette crank cases were quite tight - what a pity they actually designed them so oil mist would pass from the crank case into the chaincase to keep the chain lubricated, and it would then fall out of the bottom. Two out of three of my Triumphs were oiltight. We cannot blame the machinery or US greed, it was prioritising all the wrong things, from the IoM TT to Lady Docker's fur coats.
glad you enjoyed it mate 🙂 I say it as I see it, 🙂Theres more on the channel and on the website linked in description, Cheers for watching.Have a great week. Ride Free 🙂
For a REALLY controversial video you might cover all the (legitimate) reasons British motorcycle sales imploded in the US as later riders had different expectations not involving constant wrenching and frequent breakdowns. (Being a masochist I collect Tridents and Commandos but daily an FXR, another machine where rubber mounting took the buzz out and had considerable John Favil influence.) For example the Commando Prestolite two brush (what were they thinking?) starter and its four brush Harley brother soiled the reputations of two famous motorcycle companies (and both problems are frequently cured by superb Denso OSGR Light Duty aftermarket replacements). The flood of vintage Triumphs, Nortons and BSAs coming out of barns and garages as their original owners kick the bucket is thanks to a frustrated public giving up then leaving them there. Another vid could be made chronicling all Harley's mechanical eccentricities (which made the aftermarket large and wealthy). Why any motorbike still requires an inner primary cover removal for a transmission sprocket change when Milwaukee used right side drive on their K-model flathead immediate ancestor of Sportster all the way to the last Evo Sporty is a mystery. RSD gearboxes work fine thanks to Burt Baker but only fit custom frames.
Cheers for adding this. As i have often said, if we could amass the combined knowledge of all the subscribers we would have the most comprehensive motorcycle encyclopedia ever 🙂
glad you enjoyed it mate 🙂 Theres plenty more on the channel, hope you will look around and find something your interested in. there is more on the website too. and there will be more to come. Cheers for watching.Hope you will climb aboard. Ride Free 🙂
My dad had an Arial 3 with about 5 miles on the clock. He was given it. I fella he knew's wife had bought one without his knowledge. Got to the first roundabout, fell off and called to be picked up. My dad was given the bike and it sat in the barn until someone bought it off him in the 90s
To be fair i rode a DN01 and its was one of the most comfortable bikes ive ever rode, but then i also like the big 650 Burgy. Ended up with a CBR instead 😂
Apparently the Boss Hoss had little good said about it. Also the reincarnation of the Norton from about 15 years ago allegedly had a howlingly awful build quality. Loved the dry humor.
so many bikes, I had to stop somewhere 🙂there is more to come though mate, i started, it got outrageous, so i have split it up 🙂 the Ugliest is the next one 🙂 🙂 Cheers for watching. Ride Free 🙂
The AMF 1974 1000cc Sportster had the most dangerous transmission ever made. It would lock up or explode throwing hot oil onto the legs. Sabotage? Perhaps......But it was still one of the best looking junkpiles ever made. The employees bought the company and saved it.....,Maybe?
glad you enjoyed it mate 🙂 Theres plenty more on the channel, hope you will look around and find something your interested in. there is more on the website too. and there will be more to come. Cheers for watching and thanks for the support. Ride Free 🙂
Somewhat controversial to describe the Niken as one of the 'worst bikes'! Apparently it is great to ride, with superb handling and braking,especially in dodgy conditions. Just cos Sportsbike riders don't want one doesn't mean it isn't any good - many bikers seem to be stuck in the 90s. There again I don't want one either - very ugly, no wind protection, complex, no storage, and being a fair weather rider myself these days, I don't need the extra grip in poor conditions (normally).
it wasnt just sportbike riders, no one wanted them, as you say, ugly and over complicated and IMO as i say, they do nothing better, it is all a bit of fun though
@@barebonesmc The Niken seems to have found a niche market as a camera bike in cycle races. You see plenty of them in the Tour de France and other big televised races. I guess the 3-wheel layout gives extra stability on slower uphill sections with the cameraman stood up on the pillion and all the extra weight of the outside broadcast equipment. I am also led to believe the twin front wheel helps to stop the front end washing out on tight bends which would be a bonus on the downhill side of the mountain passes with all the hairpin bends. I really admire the skill of the riders who manage to stay in front of the cyclists who reach terrifying speeds on these tricky descents.
@@NJT1000 a few people have said the bike races, i would think the little Piaggio would do better though lol. i managed plenty of hairpins on 2 wheels this year so 3 is just a waste 🙂 see here th-cam.com/video/MjqM3gvXZHw/w-d-xo.html have fun 🙂
@@joshuaanothereraseddad thats the thing, technically it isnt a trike, the wheels would have to be further apart for it to be classified as a trike apparently,
I bumped into a guy at a services on the A2, he was on a DNO1. He loved it and said he wouldn't swop it for anything. Different strokes. What about the Voskhod?
a fair point, it was just a bit of fun, i just hated mine, and couldnt sell it, no one wanted it, i couldnt even give it away. and if we all thought the same it would be a boring world mate, 🙂Cheers for watching. Ride Free 🙂
@@d.e.b.b5788 harsh 😂😂😂 some would say. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 it takes all sorts 😊 if we all thought the same it would be boring 🤣 did you see my recent Harley rant on the other channel?
What's not to like..... lmao, the only one of these I've actually seen in public is the Honda 400(Hondamatic). I actually like the way she looked but I'm glad there are folks in the know about today's bikes who can help steer me away from the trash & I do ask. I suppose that even the worst set of wheels will have those folks who made use of them & made it work for them. Like I made a moped suffice when I lost my license to drive. I made use of a POS for 3 yrs & she cost $1200 + $200 more for the aftermarket muffler & electronic timing that got me an extra 12 MPH so I could ride 42mph on the roads. IT was an awful thing I went thru on an awful pos moped but I LQQK back w/ a fondness that I got thru the time. Great video you've made for us.... I guess you saw most of these in your travels during those years but many of them never made American shores. Yes, I liked it...... 👍👍
I rarely look down thru the comments section.... on most videos I do this & I'm not sure why channels get certain types of posts? It's the character assassinations that I do not like & I heard ya in the front end - you were getting ahead of it so I try to balance thoughts or draw a shot against myself. And it's alright b/c there's a big difference between healthy banter & going for a channel's throat. Most of the bikes you showed I wouldn't ever consider buying even if I had the money of Jay Leno..... it takes a lot to do these videos >> > kudo's for standing tall..... peace
@@diggy-d8w i think i can honestly say i have fewer trolls than any other channel, its rare people arent respectful, even when we disagree :-) if they are, i try to put them off pretty quick n so it doesnt have chance to grow :-) have fun mate
It's not really a motorcycle, but when I was a kid I had an AMF Roadmaster moped, with the engine suspended above the rear wheel. It drove the wheel via a friction roller that ran on the tire itself. To say this thing was a pile of shit would be an understatement! Everything broke on it.
Cheers for adding this. as i have often said, if we could amass the combined knowledge of all the subscribers we would have the most comprehensive motorcycle encyclopedia ever 🙂
I had one of those bolt-on to your 10 speed two stroke motor with a friction drive.Weak acceleration, Ate up tires and spun uselessly wherever it got wet. Junk tech
Thos Niken things did find one tiny market. Support bikes for the Tour de France. Still occasionally see them there. Presumably for stability when following the riders really slowly up steep climbs. Not sure, though. Still never found that I can keep balance any better going slowly on my bicicyle than my motorbike.
My neighbour, across the road from me has a BSA Ariel 3. I love it, it's quirky as you like. Despite it's failure to flood the market, I think it's got a certain charm 😁 Nice video 👊🏼
glad you enjoyed it mate 🙂 Theres plenty more on the channel, hope you will look around and find something your interested in. there is more on the website too. and there will be more to come. Cheers for watching.Hope you will climb aboard. Ride Free 🙂
I bought a new 1977 Sportster....... I was surprised it wasn't on your list...... I ran out of gas. By the time I got back to the bike with a can of gas, someone had stolen it...... I spent the next several months in fear that the thief would indignantly return it.
As someone who lives in North America I have never heard of half these bikes. But the Dodge was never intended to be sold, it just a show bike they dragged around to car shows. At the LA car show I asked one of the people at the Dodge Viper booth and they told me it was just a one off show bike.
you will get a different story from everyone, many from sources close to dodge, it will vary from 10 were made for collectors, to 1 was built, to the "we could never get it to work, one was built but it was a mock up with the only way to make it rideable being to blank off half the cylinder blocks. smoke and mirrors in the end obscures any real truth i think
Which one? I loved my 500/4. And the later E model proved itself in the cb500 cup race series 😊😊 the 500T wasn’t so hot. But at least it looked good 😊😊
@@pashakdescilly7517 and i can see the point there, for commuters who havent ridden before i can see how they would feel reassured, but on a 100HP sports tourer?? nah
The three wheeled scooters main feature is that if one wheel hits a slick section of road or a pot hole while cornering, chances are that the other doesn't.
@@erik_dk842 they obviously didn’t test it around here. You can’t get away from the basic physics of for ever action there is an equal and opposite reaction. So when one side hits a pothole ………….
It was pure joy to find and listen to one of these 10 Worst Motorcycle list/vids that are not only made by an actual rider but doesn't use an annoying AI voice bot to read the script. Loved this greatly and subbed. I rode one of those CM400 auto once at a show room. At the time I owned a CM400 standard as my first bike and was looking to upgrade to a newish but used CB750 and tried out the CM400 auto for a lark......it was just as horrible as you said, under powered and dreadful. When I got back to the stealership, my new to me used CB750 was prepped and ready for me to ride away. They even threw in a full tank of gas. Apparently they along with the CB750 automatics were meant mainly for the US market as a way to bring non-riders into the sport and were asked for by Honda's American marketing arm. Big mistake, allowing marketing to dictate to engineering.
PMSL, they are the scourge of YTube at the minute lol, youd be surprised how many times someone has tried to say i am AI and seems to be totally convinced by it 🙂 welcome aboard mate, from one grumpyoldfart to another 🙂
DN-01. "Born with an identity crisis" You think in the modern world the kids who don't know if they're Martha or Arthur would be buying these by the bucket load...
I don't own a motorbike or hanker after one (I owned a Kawasaki KDX 175 years ago as a young man), but this channel is entertaining. The motorbikes featured in this video are hideous in every way imaginable. I can't begin to envisage the humiliation of being rubbed out on one. Voted and Sub'd!
sorry mate, i was always going to upset people with this one, but its a bit of fun really, I do respect Eric Buells ideas, he thinks outside the box which is always good, and if we all thought the same it would be a boring world 🙂Cheers for watching. Ride Free 🙂
@@jktl1000s i did go and test one, but it just felt all wrong to me, could i have got used to it? yes probably, did i want to? nah, but thats just me, and if we all thought the same it would be a boring world mate, 🙂Cheers for watching. Ride Free 🙂
@@barebonesmc I dont like the looks, but i definately like to try one. Just because it is so odd. Same with feet forward motorcycles. Ugly but so quirky.
Two front wheels, FOUR full length front suspension legs - FOUR! Plus a load of other complicated parts to make it perform an unnecessary function that no motorcycle rider ever asked for!! So, Why? There are other motorcycle front suspension designs such as leading link. The Honda Cub (the most successful vehicle of all time) and a very handy two stroke Grieves off-roader of the 1960s had variants of the design. They are definitely not pretty or sophisticated, but they work. But Yamaha tried to make something clever and sophisticated, but clearly failed. That front end is not just heavy and cumbersome looking (it’s actually certifiably ugly), it’s far too complicated and totally unnecessary - something no one asked for. So, it’s a Sinclair C5, a Cyber Truck, a Kackling Hyena running for POTUS, a male ‘trans’ boxer inflicting injuries upon female boxers in the woke Olympics… it’s a ludicrous lemon. But most of all, just like that nasty BSA, it’s not a motorcycle.
![ตีสิบเดย์ [FULL] | เปิดใจ "อาจารย์ เบียร์ ฅนตื่นธรรม" นักสนทนาธรรมสายดุดัน!](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/vqaBI_mnoDk/mqdefault.jpg)
Anything built by Orange County Choppers should be on this list
that would be a list all of its own lol
Orange County Choppers made some very unsafe bikes that i would not even test ride for free muchless buy one.
Lmao I just made this comment to scroll down and see yours😂😂😂
@@auggie803 I think I would pass on that one too 🤣🤣🤣
@@sageoz9886 have a great week mate🤣
I was working for BSA Group when the awful Ariel 3 was lunched. Just before its demise demonstrators were sent around the plants in the group in an attempt to get employs to buy one, at an amazing discount. Like the Ariel 3 this was doomed to abject failure but we got 30 minutes off work to watch one being ridden round and round in endless circles. Thanks for the memory and a laff.
thanks for your support 🙂Cheers for adding your bit too mate. Ride Free 🙂
I was wondering what gave Honda an idea for the Gyro.
A mate of mine had one bad though it undoubtably was I am not sure it was as bad as the C15.
@@kethughes8266 The Sinclair C5, Oh dear, its hard to imagine anything more bizarre than the Ariel 3 but you have spotted it, I remember the hype at its launch in the 80's but from then on it went down hill. I seem to remember it was made in a washing machine factory and launched in mid winter, perfect 😵💫Thanks for giving me a laugh
@@ahabdacapn661 i am truly shocked, never seen that one
My first motorcycle was a 1976, 750 Honda Matic. It was so slow, the police could catch me on foot. I still loved it and rode it slow on purpose. It still got me to the beach.
Great story 🙂Cheers for adding your bit mate. Ride Free 🙂
@karlfonner7589 Check out my reply. I had one to. It was a real lpve/hate. I could ride one handed in town or highway while drinking(coke). But embarrassingly slow!
A mate of mine has one in his garage.
@@duster.2:31
It's the bike Prince rode in Purple Rain - - barely Man enough for that one with a full Vetter fairing.
I bought, and still own a Niken and it's front end has never needed anything other than regular maintenance. In fact the whole bike has never broken down. I bought it after back surgery to get back on the road...and just haven't bought anything else.
and if it suits you that is all that matters mate, if we all thought the same it would be a boring world, 🙂Cheers for watching. Ride Free 🙂
Best bike I’ve ever owned (owned a vtrsp1) im 60 now a still ride in all weather as i feel way more confident.
@@jktl1000s and as you know mate, having confidence in whats underneath you makes more difference than most things 🙂 enjoy it, this was all just a bit of fun 🙂 i would love an SP1, but not for the road 🙂
I agree, I have ridden one, I was very suspicious at first but it is great. I never heard problems with it. Only downside , it is expensive 😂
I have the same experience: I LOVE my Niken: it has been a wonderful and very reliable bike. Great to ride hard, and equally suitable to ride more relaxed. Not sure (except possibly its looks) why people consider it a 'bad motorcycle'. And in my experience it is only people who have never ridden a Niken that think it is 'bad'.
My first ever bike was an Ariel Three. When I was 14 I wanted a motorcycle & my mum said a big no. I bought a non running Ariel Three for £4.73 & when I took it home my reasoning was ‘it’s a tricycle’. I got away with it for being smart & not clever!
Great story 🙂Cheers for adding your bit mate. Ride Free 🙂
Great vlog. I laughed out loud more than once. I actually really like the DN-O1 & the Niken, but I am a bit weird. Damn... that CFMoto at the end was truly shocking. 😅
Thought I'd mention that TH-cam unsubscribed me from your channel. It's happened with a few other channels, too. I don't know what the heck they're playing at.
cheers mate, im having nightmares with them to be honest, so many comments arent actually being published, i cant even comment here from the backup channel now
This is a fabulous compilation of the worst of the worst. I remember each and every one of those piles of crap. I worked for Kawasaki and later Yamaha. In the R&D department and we saw an endless stream of bad ideas come down from corporate. Somehow when someone is put in the higher management levels they had to put their ideas into the mix with the corporate boys. It becomes abundantly clear that getting to the top of an industry didn’t make them any brighter. There are of course other jewels of the two wheeled industry. The Puch Twingle comes to mind. A 350 twin with one connecting rod and cast iron cylinders was my favorite of the why bother models. It was pathetically underpowered and fortunately it wasn’t fast enough to 😊get you into too much trouble because the stamped sheet metal frame and front forces were as spongy as if it were made of wood. Did I mention the saddle? A blob of foam covered with some rather slick plastic let you slide around while trying to get the thing to go around any corner. We took one of them to a flat track race as a joke during intermission to give the crowd some entertainment. The plan was to take it out on the infield track and wrestle it around some corners and then have it catch fire. Sounds like fun doesn’t it? Well it had a fuel line pop of the carburetor during a corner and cover the engine and my boots with gasoline and proceeded to catch fire. That definitely got the crowd cheering and I didn’t know it was happening until I felt the heat and looked down. I hopped off of the bike and let it burn. The crowd liked that even more. Apparently they didn’t appreciate the infield entertainment. A complete and utter failure. I learned to not get involved in anymore ridiculous schemes again.
😂
I had a Puch scooter. First powered two wheeled thing. Cost an arm and went directly to the auto electrical business to be fixed prior to use. I got Five trouble free miles from it and it simply died. Change gear with a twist of the clutch lever. Up to three times. Your comment is the first mention of Puch I've heard in fifty years. No surprise after what I experienced.😅
Great story 🙂Cheers for adding your bit mate. Ride Free 🙂
Hello mate. I love this! So many manufacturers have got it wrong over the years. The worst one that I’ve owned is the first Suzuki TL1000S. To put this into context I was racing for Suzuki Australia at the time with Phillip Island as my home track and got one for the streets. No matter what myself or even race team manager did to adjust suspension set up it was borderline dangerous in high speed corners. It sounded incredible, was quick in a straight line for its time, just lacked the ability to mildly push it through corners to a point where I had the chain come off the rear sprocket, mid corner. My team manager was an Australian Champion from the early to mid 80’s and his thoughts after he rode it were the same. It just spent more time in the shop than on the road until Suzuki admitted it had “a fault” and ended up replacing it for free with the R version. This was an improvement however only had a bandaid fix to the rear setup instead of a complete redesign that it required. So, for me the S was the worst bike I’ve owned in over 40 years. Keep up the awesome work you do and provide as it’s second to none and possibly why TH-cam is causing “happy days” for you. 👍😎🇦🇺
The TL S was a challenge lol, another great story mate 🙂 and cheers as always for the support
I am so happy to see that someone else thinks the TL is crap. I bought a low mileage one last year, owned by a moron. Spent the winter doing it up. When I finally ride it, such a disappointment. The fact it's fricking uncomfortable is irrelevant, too many broken bones to ride anything more focused. But the engine performance is underwhelming, the handling improved with the damper off, I am a quick rider, but don't ride like a c#ck.
The really annoying thing is a few days after getting it, I got offered a gsxr1100m nearly stock for a couple of hundred quid more.
@@StoffelDilligas 🙂
The infamous Rotary Shock was the downfall of the TL1000s - I loved the look of the 'S'more than the 'R' - I nearly bought one but glad I bought a VTR1000 Firestorm instead - the TL1000r motor made a good bit more power than the VTR - Bimota used it in their SB8R the Late Great Anthony "Go Show" Gobert shocked the world & won a WSBK Race @ Phillip Island back in 2000 in the wet on one beating all Works Factory Bikes on basically an Exotic Road Bike! -Cheers 👍
@@purebloodheretic4682 Such a wasted talent that Anthony had where he was caught up in the fame and glory and got involved with the wrong crowd that ultimately ruined his career with his drug addiction. I can say this as I spent an entire season racing against Anthony during the year he finished first in the Australian 250 cc production class series. I was also still racing in that same category when his first attempt in WSB ended in Anthony winning both races at Phillip Island and being the youngest to ever do so. A year later he turned up at just a club level race event (same track) with a gorgeous blonde and brand new 911 to “show”. Sadly, it all went to his head way too early without any failure management supporting him. I nearly purchased the last bike he raced at Phillip Island as it was a 2005 CBR1000RR that had about $200k spent on it and in the right hands is still capable of incredibly fast lap times today. We used to joke about me being 364 days older. RIP mate!
Congratulations on your video, a pleasure to watch. You missed the Amazonas 1600, fabricated years ago in Brazil with the VW Beetle engine. It deserves being in your list so much.
& don't forget the Hesketh Vampire 🦇
Yes, I was disappointed not to see this included, too.
The Megola was a German motorcycle produced between 1921 and 1925 in Munich, with a 5 cylinder radial engine mounted inside the spokes of the front wheel. No starter! The only way to start it was a running jump start, and stopping involved stopping the engine first. Amazing!
wasnt the advice, "if you need to stop, ride around in circles until you can proceed" PMSL
The complete-loss oil system must have made for messy, dangerous rides. An oil wiping scarf to clean one's goggles was likely mandatory gear,
There is video of Megola machines on a front centre stand. The owner grabs hold of the wheel and pulls it, starting the engine. After warming it up, he pushes it forward, the bike comes off the stand and he rides away. Weird, but not truly awful. The race version did have some success, BTW.
Vellocette LE I think caused the demise of Vellocette
shhhhb lol. Soon 🤣🤣🤣
I always assumed the Tomahawk was never intended as a production bike. It was Dodge's half-attempt at a concept bike, and half marketing ploy for their Viper engine.
probably right, 🙂Cheers for watching and for the comment mate. Ride Free 🙂
Not probably right, exactly right, I'd much rather be on the Millyard Viper, better design and built in a garden shed.
@@michaelglinski3809 yeah I expected to see Paul snr stroking his mo nearby
Well, probably similar to the GP bike that Colani once designed in the early 80s. We at HRC have seen the pictures and ... we couldn't stop laughing. The chassis designers only pointed out two things, the wheelbase and the distance from the countershaft to the swingarm axle. These two things alone make the thing (race-wise) undriveable.
I had an English teacher who bought a BSA Ariel 3, She utterly hated that crappy thing - even when it would run at all.
PMSL Great story 🙂Cheers for adding your bit mate. Ride Free 🙂
I had a Norton Jubilee, it felt like a hurriedly put together Norton Twin down-scaled to 250cc to compete with all the Japanese imports in the early / mid 1960.
Cheers for adding. It’s not a bike I know well so good to hear. Cheers for watching
AMC engined bike... Should not have been a Norton.... sounded like a tobacco tin full of nails...
The BSA Arial 3 was the bike that probably caused Royal Mail to change over from BSA Bantams to the Austrian 50 cc Puch Moped, which is the type I rode for the Royal Mail for 2 years, which wasn't the best bike in the world.
My first bike on roads was a Honda novio lol. The Honda version of the puch maxi 😂😂 I want to know what was maxi about the puch😂😂😂
@@barebonesmc The first bike I actually bought was the Yamaha FS1E 50cc moped, the original Fizz Bang, probably, or said to be the best of its type at the time. Surprisingly regarded as a classic today. some going for about 6 grand, if they are in good nick.
@@WilliamJohnwon1522 fizzy prices are ridiculous now lol, the price of memories i guess 🙂 #RideFree brother #togetherwearestronger
As an american I have not heard of half of these motorcycles. The last one had me in stitches (laughing) with its self draining oil system.
Thanks for the video.
glad you enjoyed it mate 🙂 Theres plenty more on the channel, hope you will look around and find something your interested in. there is more on the website too. and there will be more to come. Cheers for watching.Hope you will climb aboard. Ride Free 🙂
Me neither especially the d n o 1
Glad I surprised you mate 🙂Cheers for watching. Ride Free 🙂
Well, the ‘Americans’… which ones, the US citizens or who do you call Americans? Aren’t Canadians and all in South America not also ‘Americans’?
Most of you don't know the difference between their Country and the Continent. So hardly surprising.
I still remember the adverisements for the BSA Ariel 3:
„Here it is, whatever it is!“
Talking about confidence in your own product…
is that really what it said ?? pmsl 🙂Cheers for watching and for the comment mate. Ride Free 🙂
'It looked like a lawnmower engine was powering a ray-gun'
😆😆😆😆😆😆
ok so sometimes i go off script lol 🙂
😁😊😎😂🇺🇸
That Dodge "bike" looks like the designer was a fan of the movie Tron.
Maybe 🤣🤣🤣
Awesome video. Enjoyed every second and every word of it. Alternative name of this video could be "very, very interesting but awful bikes"😂
glad you enjoyed it mate 🙂 Theres plenty more on the channel. hope youll climb aboard. Cheers for watching. re the title, apt, but we all have to contend with the youtube algorithm and its idiosynchrosies 🙂
Just love some of your descriptive remarks. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Glad you enjoyed it mate 😊 if you like the humorous side the Triumph video with the warning label should make you smile 😊 I do just go off script sometimes 😊 have a great weekend
The rotary engine has always given problems, just ask NSU... Mazda poured a fortune into getting the tip seals right. I used to race an Mazda RX-3, but with a full-race periphial-port 13B instead of the standard 12A engine. I periodically had to replace the tip seals with new ceramic ones that cost $1,000 each and there's three of them in the engine. That was back in '93, so that 1k would be $2,200 each in today's money.
ouch lol, hope alls well mate 🙂
Jeez you must've loved that car goddam
@@dietznutz1 Yes, I did. The car, like the money it consumed, went pretty quick! There's a truism which says that: "The way to make a small fortune in motor racing is to start with a very large one."😁 Fortunately, my then-wife equated the small size of the tip seals to small cost; I didn't enlighten her... 🤣
Though I owned and loved my RX7 car. Rotary bikes not so much. Wankel rotary was a band wagon. The Simpsons did a show on mono-rail. Same deal.
Rotary....A Modified egg beater....
Very well done. It was very interesting as I had never heard of most of these disasters! Thank you.
glad you enjoyed it mate 🙂 Theres plenty more on the channel, hope you will look around and find something your interested in. there is more on the website too. and there will be more to come. Cheers for watching.Hope you will climb aboard. Ride Free 🙂
That awful Honda 400 automatic was the bike Prince rode in Purple Rain. With a huge hideous fairing.
Ah! I always thought it was a CX500 Custom or Silverwing....my bad.
That Kutter fairing was absolutely atrocious.
@@geoffreylotz3661 You ar right Geoffrey.
Superb and very entertaining video. Had me laughing at the way through and gasping in disbelief :-)
glad you enjoyed it mate 🙂 Theres plenty more on the channel, hope you will look around and find something your interested in. there is more on the website too. and there will be more to come. Cheers for watching.Hope you will climb aboard. Ride Free 🙂
The Honda DN01 LOOKED superb!
AND, looking on eBay, they still command strong £.
A great video, thanks!
glad you enjoyed it mate 🙂Cheers for watching.Have a great week. Ride Free 🙂
I had a good giggle listening to your description of these bikes.
glad i made you smile mate 🙂 that was the aim 🙂
@@barebonesmc Me also. First motorcycle vid I really enjoyed for a long time.
@@stephenbingham5935 if you want a giggle this one i let rip lol th-cam.com/video/dDpRBpZezDM/w-d-xo.html bear in mind i am a Triumph owner lol this was a funny one too, just not as extreme th-cam.com/video/-ShyOCbssDI/w-d-xo.html hope you will climb aboard mate, we do have a great bunch of subscribers 🙂 have a great week
I had the1975 MotoGuzzi 1000 convert. It was like the Hondamatic with the two speed gearbox with the heavy Torque converter. Great for stop and go traffic and the police style handlebar fairing and square fiberglass panniers gave it the police look. The seat wasn't a good single police seat and it killed my back going from Okla to San Diego,San Fran, Denver back to OKC. I traded it for a 72 850 El Dorado which was a better bike but rattled and clanked like the Tin Man at a Disco.
Yeah this one was very funny.
I don't know why every Harley Davidson motor cycle ever manufactured isn't on your list?
The commentary is top class funny and also very informative 😂😂
Thanks for your support mate 🙂 If you loke the funny side try this onne if you havent seen it lol th-cam.com/video/dDpRBpZezDM/w-d-xo.html have a great day
If all 10 aren't Harleys, his list is wrong
lol. I rarely choose the obvious or it would be boring 😊😊
You are cruel. I love it!
I had a 1980 FLH80. The POS never went more than 8 miles without a breakdown. 6 miles back on that trip the throwout bearing failed. I gave it away. The guy I gave it to face it to his father. He gave it away...
Ride a Harley, ride the best, go a mile and walk the rest.
To be fair, there was an Harley engine in it (ironically probably the best part of that Buell).
Hahahaha. BSA ariel 3 truly horrific but a hilarious fun ride
Cheers for the mention mucker
you are a gem mate 🙂 cheers again, hope some of the subs swing your way 🙂
I remember the Ariel !!
Love your video. Best wishes .
You too mate, and thanks for your support 🙂Cheers for watching. Ride Free 🙂
DN-01 transmission complicated?? 😮 I got my right leg amputated because of a motorcycle accident. My first bike after that (2 years after) was the DN-01. The HFT was an engineering marvel. Smooth and reliable, it serve its purpose as an easy-to-ride bike. Unpractical, maybe. But that thing was the center of attention for those who knew little or nothing about motorcycles. 😉
overcomplicated from an engineering perspective is what i meant, sorry, in the same way as the Niken front. and it was all a bit of fun mate, my philosophy is if it makes you smile ride it, thats all that matters
The Honda CB125T from the early 80s was my worst nightmare. Setting valve clearances required removal of the tail light, seat and petrol tank, and the oil filter was internal requiring splitting the crankcase to change it. Oil changes were scheduled for every 1,250 miles, and if you didn't change the filter at the same time, it soon clogged leading to the camshaft eating its way through the head.
Top end was pretty good at around 80 MPH, but it had to do 12,000 RPM to get there. There was no rev limiter, so it was easy to accidentally hit 14,000 RPM if you weren't constantly watching the tacho. Needless to say, mine spent nearly as much time in bits as running. If you ever get offered one of these old "gems", run away VERY quickly!
Ouch lol. The voice of a thousand spanners being thrown across the workshop 😂😂😂
Yes had one of them blew a rebuilt engine in 3 weeks they where awful
Ouch 🙂Cheers for adding your bit mate. Ride Free 🙂
... well, ... if you can't stand the heat, avoid the kitchen ... 🙂, ... the Honda 125 T was a dream after experiencing the Maico 125 streetbike ...
Cz motorcycles my neighbour had one what a piece junk of needed the grip of Samson to pull the clutch lever in lol
Thanks for an interesting vid with some hilarious commentary. I subscribed!🌞
Welcome aboard mate, enjoy the ride and cheers for the support. the iumph videos are a bit sarcastic if you like a laugh (I am a Triumph owner lol)
At the other end of the scale, you have the C90 (still the World's most popular motorbike), and my first machine - a (third-hand) Honda CB250N, 6 speed transmission, CDI and electric start. An absolutely wonderful machine, that lasted be many years.
the mighty cub features here th-cam.com/video/WikCG7WxPy8/w-d-xo.html and i featured the 400 Superdream here too th-cam.com/video/c4n0iL9mUW8/w-d-xo.html the 250 will find its place in time
@@barebonesmc Definitely agree with your assessment of the cub! One gets the feeling that EVERYONE who rides motorbikes has at some stage borrowed (or owned) one of these - I used mine as a dirt-cheap commuter. As for the GPZ500, my second machine was it's tourer version - GT550, and although mechanically sound, the electrics were something else entirely, with problems of water ingress, and igniter coils that sometimes lasted only months.
The Norton Commando introduced in 1969 should be the first on the list. I knew every nut and bolt of this motorcycle well having purchased a new one and two used over the years. This piece of junk was a last ditch effort by Norton Villiers to stay afloat and mechanically it was an utter shame. Although the engine was a good one everything else on the bike had problems do to cheap materials, bad design, and no quality control at the factory. Starting up front the drum brake was nearly useless at its best and the fork tubes were plated with a soft material instead of hard chrome leading to worn seals and a scored tube. The bike would shimmy terribly because no dampener was present and this led to a record number of crashes and fatalities. Adding to this was the poorly designed rubber mounted frame. The transmission mainshafts would either bend or snap under hard usage. This happened so frequently that there was a backorder of them at the factory for months in the early seventies. The shaft that held the swingarm in place would loosen in the frame causing excessive side play at the rear wheel. The exhaust header pipes would frequently break at the flange and the rubber mounts used at the mufflers were too small and broke constantly. The action for the clutch cable was poorly designed making for a very hard pull and constant broken cables. I firmly believe that this bike was built so poorly and handled so badly that it never should have been allowed to be sold.
Ouch lol, an eloquent story from the rough end of the spanners 🙂Cheers for adding your bit mate. Ride Free 🙂
Anything made by Orange County Choppers😂
lol
Very funny commentary especially the last one. Very enjoyable
Glad you enjoyed it mate. If you like the humour look for the triumph video with the warning label on the thumbnail lol. I was on one that day 🤣🤣🤣
That CFMoto V5 looks like a motorcycle designed by the same AI that gives people three arms and 15 fingers.
PMSL, it might be easier to ride if you did have lol
I have 3 arms and you would be surprised how useful they are.
Don't forget about the 3 breasts!
@@jimsmith1856where do you live? An atomic bomb test range?
@@davidmunro2077 Have you been following me? Us?
I wouldn't mind having a BSA Ariel. Just for fun!!
Nobby certainly had fun on his, go check his charity run out, he does it on something silly every year 🙂 his link is in description
Honda makes a trike called the Gyro. Japanese domestic market only but sometimes people bring them into the country. Worth looking out for if that sort of thing floats your boat. There's a whole scene in Japan where people modify the crap out of them with fat golf cart wheels on the back. They can look pretty wild.
@@protonpillpopper1 they sell them in other countries too. Apparently Greek bakers love them 😂😂 but the Bajaj RE outsells them in most countries 😊
That was fun, especially the last one!
Saw the headline and immediately thought "Better not have any MZ's...Beter not include the CX500"
lol, i was hovvering on the Maggot but i have saved it for another video lol glad you enjoyed it mate :-) hope all is well
I've owned many bikes over 25+ years of riding road bikes & the CX is still one of my favourite machines - the Styling wasn't the prettiest - but they make a great Cafe Racer! I guess it's a bike you have to own to appreciate - Cheers 👍
@@barebonesmc I bought maggot # 2000262 in 1978. I rode from Florida to Point Barrow Alaska, back down to Tijuana, across the Mohave Desert and back to St Augustine. Then rode up to Deals Gap for a week and finally about 60 miles frome home, the weak alternator gave up. I put 18000 miles on mine. tires, alternator, oil changes and filters were my only expenses. Even got a factory recall for free . Not my fastest bike, but damn reliable and comfortable and I rode it more miles than anything else I ever rode, including cages.
@@billstuart8481 we all have our favourites mate n would be boring if we all thought the same 😊😊
@@barebonesmc The CX500 was a HUGE success even after the camchain horror. It probably made Honda a shedload....so using it as a failure would be inadvisable.
"It looks like a frog with something horrible being done to it." LMAO! Yep, bikes, no A.I, funny, subbing.
PMSL, youd be surprised how many times i have had people convinced i am an AI lol, if you like a laugh (and arent a Triumph owner (I am)) youll smile at this one th-cam.com/video/dDpRBpZezDM/w-d-xo.html
@@barebonesmc Mate troll away, also tell them there's a bridge in Sydney you own that you'd like to sell them. 😅 Still solid work, I'll have a peek at that recommendation.
thanks for your support 🙂Cheers for adding your bit too mate. Ride Free 🙂
The majority of british motorcycles had self draining oil systems.
But then the factories were mainly still using WW1 manufacturing machinery, while Japan got $millions from the USA, to rebuild their factories and re-equip them with the latest equipment.
Britain was still paying back, ''Lend Lease'' debts to the USA until 2006!
.
The politics of war eh. Rarely a good thing. Vertically split crankcases do have their advantages too though 😊 people easily forget the good bits about British engineering. But yes there were bad bits too 😂
@@barebonesmc
I remember one piece of Jap engineering 'wonder'...IF/WHEN the kickstart spring broke, you had to remove, and split the whole engine to replace it!
I also remember the Raleigh 'WISP' that I rode from Singapore to Ipoh and back, (about 800 miles) or rather my bum does!
No suspension, on rough roads, caused the spokes to stretch past their elastic limit, and the whole wheels became a loose collection, of bits.
The engine rear mounting bracket broke, and I had to make a new stronger one and have it welded on.
I subsequently progressed to a Triumph 3TA, and then to a 1953 Model 7 Norton, which I shipped back to the UK. I had that bike for over 50 years. Fully restored it, about 10 years ago, but it was recently totally destroyed in a fire, together with my restored 1961 Norton Dominator.😒
.
@@barebonesmc
When the Japs started producing 250cc ohv twin cylinder motorcycles, that were really fast, BSA also made one, BUT they put it in a _scooter!_
They called it the ''Sunbeam''! 'Bumbean' would have been more appropriate.
.
Clown.
Part of the reason was the dry sump lubrication which meant the only oil that leaked from the crankcase was any residual oil that the scavenge hadn't picked up. Velocette crank cases were quite tight - what a pity they actually designed them so oil mist would pass from the crank case into the chaincase to keep the chain lubricated, and it would then fall out of the bottom. Two out of three of my Triumphs were oiltight.
We cannot blame the machinery or US greed, it was prioritising all the wrong things, from the IoM TT to Lady Docker's fur coats.
1:54 The Honda DN01 looked good !
A true rogue's gallery of duffers,almost enough to turn you off biking! Great vid!
🙂Cheers for watching and for the comment mate. what were your favourite bits? Nothing could drive me from 2 wheels 🙂 Ride Free 🙂
I think my favourite dud of the clip was the CF Moto at the end... hilariously awful! 😊
@@stevepage2541 some things are best unseen lol, but once youve seen them they never go away lol
Loved this video. No holding back!
glad you enjoyed it mate 🙂 I say it as I see it, 🙂Theres more on the channel and on the website linked in description, Cheers for watching.Have a great week. Ride Free 🙂
For a REALLY controversial video you might cover all the (legitimate) reasons British motorcycle sales imploded in the US as later riders had different expectations not involving constant wrenching and frequent breakdowns. (Being a masochist I collect Tridents and Commandos but daily an FXR, another machine where rubber mounting took the buzz out and had considerable John Favil influence.) For example the Commando Prestolite two brush (what were they thinking?) starter and its four brush Harley brother soiled the reputations of two famous motorcycle companies (and both problems are frequently cured by superb Denso OSGR Light Duty aftermarket replacements).
The flood of vintage Triumphs, Nortons and BSAs coming out of barns and garages as their original owners kick the bucket is thanks to a frustrated public giving up then leaving them there. Another vid could be made chronicling all Harley's mechanical eccentricities (which made the aftermarket large and wealthy).
Why any motorbike still requires an inner primary cover removal for a transmission sprocket change when Milwaukee used right side drive on their K-model flathead immediate ancestor of Sportster all the way to the last Evo Sporty is a mystery. RSD gearboxes work fine thanks to Burt Baker but only fit custom frames.
Cheers for adding this. As i have often said, if we could amass the combined knowledge of all the subscribers we would have the most comprehensive motorcycle encyclopedia ever 🙂
Seat padding was luxuriously ineffective! 😂😂😂
That alone got me to subscribe to your channel.
Glad I made you smile 🙂thanks for your support 🙂Cheers for adding your bit too mate. Ride Free 🙂
Love your content and channel, thank you!
Welcome aboard mate, enjoy the ride and cheers for the support
You pitched that just right, some real horror stories there.
glad you enjoyed it mate 🙂 Theres plenty more on the channel, hope you will look around and find something your interested in. there is more on the website too. and there will be more to come. Cheers for watching.Hope you will climb aboard. Ride Free 🙂
"But it's all done in the best POSSIBLE taste!"
PMSL, memories 🙂
Oh the horror.
Sometimes they do just get it wrong lol 🙂Cheers for watching and for the comment mate. Ride Free 🙂
My dad had an Arial 3 with about 5 miles on the clock. He was given it. I fella he knew's wife had bought one without his knowledge. Got to the first roundabout, fell off and called to be picked up. My dad was given the bike and it sat in the barn until someone bought it off him in the 90s
Sounds a likely story lol, im sure that is the way a few went 🙂
To be fair i rode a DN01 and its was one of the most comfortable bikes ive ever rode, but then i also like the big 650 Burgy. Ended up with a CBR instead 😂
i just hate feet forward to be fair 🙂Sorry its taken me so long to reply 🙂Cheers for watching and for the comment mate. Ride Free 🙂
Apparently the Boss Hoss had little good said about it. Also the reincarnation of the Norton from about 15 years ago allegedly had a howlingly awful build quality. Loved the dry humor.
so many bikes, I had to stop somewhere 🙂there is more to come though mate, i started, it got outrageous, so i have split it up 🙂 the Ugliest is the next one 🙂 🙂 Cheers for watching. Ride Free 🙂
I saw a Yam Niken last weak, bloody strange thing, great commentary 🤣🤣🤣👍
Glad you enjoyed it mate 😊 try the triumph one with the warning sticker on the thumbnail if you like a giggle 😊 and yes I am a triumph owner lol
DN-01 is a nice looking bike, they could probably remake it today using a CMX1100 DCT, it might even work better.
if we all thought the same it would be a boring world mate, 🙂Cheers for watching. Ride Free 🙂
It was certainly unique and attention grabbing. Could have been something special.
It looks an awful lot like the NM4 (2014-2019)
@@Grunchy005 shhhhhhhhhh 🙂
The poetry is pure class! 👍✌️
Glad you enjoyed it mate. Welcome aboard
The AMF 1974 1000cc Sportster had the most dangerous transmission ever made. It would lock up or explode throwing hot oil onto the legs. Sabotage? Perhaps......But it was still one of the best looking junkpiles ever made. The employees bought the company and saved it.....,Maybe?
The amf years didn’t go well 😊😊
I've subscribed plus shared to my friends on Facebook
glad you enjoyed it mate 🙂 Theres plenty more on the channel, hope you will look around and find something your interested in. there is more on the website too. and there will be more to come. Cheers for watching and thanks for the support. Ride Free 🙂
Absolutely fascinating. Thanks for sharing.
Glad you enjoyed it mate. Hope you will climb aboard. Loads more on the channel 😊
The Yamaha TX750 would be in good company in this list
I had to stop somewhere though mate 🙂 Cheers for watching. Ride Free 🙂
4:20 “it looks like a frog that was having something horrible done to it“… Instantly subscribed after that one!
Welcome aboard mate, enjoy the ride and cheers for the support
Somewhat controversial to describe the Niken as one of the 'worst bikes'! Apparently it is great to ride, with superb handling and braking,especially in dodgy conditions. Just cos Sportsbike riders don't want one doesn't mean it isn't any good - many bikers seem to be stuck in the 90s. There again I don't want one either - very ugly, no wind protection, complex, no storage, and being a fair weather rider myself these days, I don't need the extra grip in poor conditions (normally).
it wasnt just sportbike riders, no one wanted them, as you say, ugly and over complicated and IMO as i say, they do nothing better, it is all a bit of fun though
@@barebonesmc The Niken seems to have found a niche market as a camera bike in cycle races. You see plenty of them in the Tour de France and other big televised races. I guess the 3-wheel layout gives extra stability on slower uphill sections with the cameraman stood up on the pillion and all the extra weight of the outside broadcast equipment. I am also led to believe the twin front wheel helps to stop the front end washing out on tight bends which would be a bonus on the downhill side of the mountain passes with all the hairpin bends. I really admire the skill of the riders who manage to stay in front of the cyclists who reach terrifying speeds on these tricky descents.
@@NJT1000 a few people have said the bike races, i would think the little Piaggio would do better though lol. i managed plenty of hairpins on 2 wheels this year so 3 is just a waste 🙂 see here th-cam.com/video/MjqM3gvXZHw/w-d-xo.html have fun 🙂
Considering it's a trike it doesn't even belong on this list.
@@joshuaanothereraseddad thats the thing, technically it isnt a trike, the wheels would have to be further apart for it to be classified as a trike apparently,
Excellent video
Whatever you say about the Ariel 3. The video proves it does function as such! 🤣
I cant believe what Nobby did on his :-) link in description 🙂
I am so pleased that I didn't find my bike on your list. Stop what you're doing and just stick to the good ones.
its all just a bit of fun mate 🙂
I bumped into a guy at a services on the A2, he was on a DNO1. He loved it and said he wouldn't swop it for anything. Different strokes. What about the Voskhod?
if we all thought the same it would be a boring world mate, dont know the Voshkod to be honest, ill do some digging 🙂Cheers for watching. Ride Free 🙂
@@barebonesmc , an absolute Soviet horror. Must be seen to be believed.
@@terraplane49 a whole new family to explore lol, i like the ZDK-175 though lol
Nothing wrong with a Vokshod. Basically a Russian built Jawa...
The Hondamatic was absolutely brilliant. I know of several amputees that can still ride because of that motorcycle.
a fair point, it was just a bit of fun, i just hated mine, and couldnt sell it, no one wanted it, i couldnt even give it away. and if we all thought the same it would be a boring world mate, 🙂Cheers for watching. Ride Free 🙂
Just say Harley Davison and leave it at that.
lol 🙂Cheers for watching and for the comment mate. Ride Free 🙂
Hey, it was a good enough motorcycle when it was designed, which was............. uh, 1920? Shame they never made any substantial changes.
@@d.e.b.b5788 harsh 😂😂😂 some would say. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 it takes all sorts 😊 if we all thought the same it would be boring 🤣 did you see my recent Harley rant on the other channel?
😂👍
How many non Harleys do you see still on the road after 40 yrs?
The Brough Superior SS100 1932 model was unsafe at any speed, so was I told by one of my elderly uncles.
Glad it jogged some memories mate😊 the new one looks worse 🤣🤣
What's not to like..... lmao, the only one of these I've actually seen in public is the Honda 400(Hondamatic). I actually like the
way she looked but I'm glad there are folks in the know about today's bikes who can help steer me away from the trash & I do
ask. I suppose that even the worst set of wheels will have those folks who made use of them & made it work for them. Like
I made a moped suffice when I lost my license to drive. I made use of a POS for 3 yrs & she cost $1200 + $200 more for the
aftermarket muffler & electronic timing that got me an extra 12 MPH so I could ride 42mph on the roads. IT was an awful
thing I went thru on an awful pos moped but I LQQK back w/ a fondness that I got thru the time. Great video you've made
for us.... I guess you saw most of these in your travels during those years but many of them never made American shores.
Yes, I liked it...... 👍👍
thanks for your support as always, and even the bad ones have a place lol, and their champions 🙂🙂Cheers for adding your bit too mate 🙂
I rarely look down thru the comments section.... on most videos I do this & I'm not sure why channels get certain types
of posts? It's the character assassinations that I do not like & I heard ya in the front end - you were getting ahead of it
so I try to balance thoughts or draw a shot against myself. And it's alright b/c there's a big difference between healthy
banter & going for a channel's throat. Most of the bikes you showed I wouldn't ever consider buying even if I had the
money of Jay Leno..... it takes a lot to do these videos >> > kudo's for standing tall..... peace
@@diggy-d8w i think i can honestly say i have fewer trolls than any other channel, its rare people arent respectful, even when we disagree :-) if they are, i try to put them off pretty quick n so it doesnt have chance to grow :-) have fun mate
You are very diplomatic, I must say...... great attribute & is lacking in many people. kudo's
@@diggy-d8w i have my moments lol, some would disagree for sure though lol, as we say, i dont suffer fools gladly 🙂
I have a cfmoto, or as we call it around here, the boat anchor.
Pmsl. There’s a few would make better anchors than bikes 😂😂
It's not really a motorcycle, but when I was a kid I had an AMF Roadmaster moped, with the engine suspended above the rear wheel. It drove the wheel via a friction roller that ran on the tire itself. To say this thing was a pile of shit would be an understatement! Everything broke on it.
Cheers for adding this. as i have often said, if we could amass the combined knowledge of all the subscribers we would have the most comprehensive motorcycle encyclopedia ever 🙂
@@barebonesmc Thanx!
@@Flies2FLL my pleasure mate
I had one of those bolt-on to your 10 speed two stroke motor with a friction drive.Weak acceleration, Ate up tires and spun uselessly wherever it got wet. Junk tech
@@aaronhumphrey2009 must have been a challenge 😊
Honourable mention: Amazonas.
th-cam.com/video/CAciswww0Lg/w-d-xo.html 🙂
Thos Niken things did find one tiny market. Support bikes for the Tour de France. Still occasionally see them there. Presumably for stability when following the riders really slowly up steep climbs. Not sure, though. Still never found that I can keep balance any better going slowly on my bicicyle than my motorbike.
someone just asked re that so cheers for adding, not something i watch to be honest 🙂
My neighbour, across the road from me has a BSA Ariel 3.
I love it, it's quirky as you like.
Despite it's failure to flood the market, I think it's got a certain charm 😁
Nice video 👊🏼
glad you enjoyed it mate 🙂 Theres plenty more on the channel, hope you will look around and find something your interested in. there is more on the website too. and there will be more to come. Cheers for watching.Hope you will climb aboard. Ride Free 🙂
If I had to choose, the BSA looks like the most stupidly fun of the lot.
Nobby th-cam.com/channels/mGyZoqYKa3UcAjIZxJKStw.html had great fun on their charity run lol
I bought a new 1977 Sportster....... I was surprised it wasn't on your list......
I ran out of gas. By the time I got back to the bike with a can of gas, someone had stolen it...... I spent the next several months in fear that the thief would indignantly return it.
You're a very courageous man to admit something like that. Hope ya won't be wakin' up to v-twin rumble in some near night time.
@@markkumanninen6524
It took a while but I got over it....
@@markkumanninen6524
Sportster owners understand......Even that thief must regret it...... lol
lol the sickness will be upon you :-)
As someone who lives in North America I have never heard of half these bikes. But the Dodge was never intended to be sold, it just a show bike
they dragged around to car shows. At the LA car show I asked one of the people at the Dodge Viper booth and they told me it was just a one off
show bike.
you will get a different story from everyone, many from sources close to dodge, it will vary from 10 were made for collectors, to 1 was built, to the "we could never get it to work, one was built but it was a mock up with the only way to make it rideable being to blank off half the cylinder blocks. smoke and mirrors in the end obscures any real truth i think
Dont forget the Honda CB 500 ... No power , overweight , no brakes , no handling ............ wonderful thing !!
Which one? I loved my 500/4. And the later E model proved itself in the cb500 cup race series 😊😊 the 500T wasn’t so hot. But at least it looked good 😊😊
Very informative ...love it🤙🏻🤙🏻
glad you enjoyed it mate 🙂 Theres plenty more on the channel. hope youll climb aboard. Cheers for watching. Ride Free 🙂
I'd have just filled it with HD. :D
i never choose the obvious mate 🙂
@@barebonesmc 😂
@@azimuth2142 have a great week 🙂
Bro. The annalogies are on point 😂😂😂
Isn’t the Niken what most of the photographers are using on the cycling tours? They are definitely using a big bike with double front wheels.
not something i watch so i cant say, but there isnt many similar, piaggio do a scooter with similar front but it is smaller
@@barebonesmc I see quite a few of those Piaggio scooters with double front wheels. The owners seem to like them.
@@pashakdescilly7517 and i can see the point there, for commuters who havent ridden before i can see how they would feel reassured, but on a 100HP sports tourer?? nah
The three wheeled scooters main feature is that if one wheel hits a slick section of road or a pot hole while cornering, chances are that the other doesn't.
@@erik_dk842 they obviously didn’t test it around here. You can’t get away from the basic physics of for ever action there is an equal and opposite reaction. So when one side hits a pothole ………….
It was pure joy to find and listen to one of these 10 Worst Motorcycle list/vids that are not only made by an actual rider but doesn't use an annoying AI voice bot to read the script. Loved this greatly and subbed.
I rode one of those CM400 auto once at a show room. At the time I owned a CM400 standard as my first bike and was looking to upgrade to a newish but used CB750 and tried out the CM400 auto for a lark......it was just as horrible as you said, under powered and dreadful. When I got back to the stealership, my new to me used CB750 was prepped and ready for me to ride away. They even threw in a full tank of gas.
Apparently they along with the CB750 automatics were meant mainly for the US market as a way to bring non-riders into the sport and were asked for by Honda's American marketing arm. Big mistake, allowing marketing to dictate to engineering.
PMSL, they are the scourge of YTube at the minute lol, youd be surprised how many times someone has tried to say i am AI and seems to be totally convinced by it 🙂 welcome aboard mate, from one grumpyoldfart to another 🙂
@@barebonesmc What? With that gravelly old mans voice? (Don't worry, got one of my own as well, bought, paid for and well earned.)
@@gumpyoldbugger6944 yep, some just convince themselves im sure, very odd 🙂
DN-01. "Born with an identity crisis"
You think in the modern world the kids who don't know if they're Martha or Arthur would be buying these by the bucket load...
🙂
I like how the Honda DN01 looks to be fair
So many cases of what might have been 🤣🤣
You forgot Harley, for the first 75 years of their production.
lol, harsh 🙂
The real early ones at least have some vintage appeal
@@oftin_wong there is good and bad from them all, whatever name is on the tank 🙂
@@barebonesmc this is true
@@oftin_wong I agree, I would love to own one,
That first Honda DN-O1 I thought for a second you were talking about the NM4. How do those two compare?
shhhh lol, soon 🙂 its a bit like comparing dumb and dumber lol
The worst bikes ever made: just list every Harley Davidson ever made
harsh lol
I don't own a motorbike or hanker after one (I owned a Kawasaki KDX 175 years ago as a young man), but this channel is entertaining. The motorbikes featured in this video are hideous in every way imaginable. I can't begin to envisage the humiliation of being rubbed out on one. Voted and Sub'd!
Glad you enjoyed it mate. Just realised I forgot re the poll n I’m away at minute. Damn. But cheers for reminding me 😊
@@barebonesmc 👍😎
I love my Buell. Traded in my BMW K75 for my Buell. Snob
sorry mate, i was always going to upset people with this one, but its a bit of fun really, I do respect Eric Buells ideas, he thinks outside the box which is always good, and if we all thought the same it would be a boring world 🙂Cheers for watching. Ride Free 🙂
That 3 wheel Yamaha is hilarious. Thanks man. Great video.
Sometimes they do just get it so wrong lol 🙂Cheers for watching and for the comment mate. Ride Free 🙂
@@barebonesmcyou obviously haven’t ridden one…
@@jktl1000s i did go and test one, but it just felt all wrong to me, could i have got used to it? yes probably, did i want to? nah, but thats just me, and if we all thought the same it would be a boring world mate, 🙂Cheers for watching. Ride Free 🙂
@@barebonesmc I dont like the looks, but i definately like to try one. Just because it is so odd. Same with feet forward motorcycles. Ugly but so quirky.
As I said 🙂if we all thought the same it would be a boring world mate, 🙂Cheers for watching. Ride Free 🙂
I like the Niken and that a manufacturer pays for new development instead of just treating everything as a cash cow. They still sell it,
if we all thought the same it would be a boring world mate, 🙂Cheers for watching. Ride Free 🙂
Ha, I think you need to get on one on a cold gravelly road in the mountains.
It’s an effective tool.
they sell it to whom? back to yamaha I guess LOL stupid idea nobody asked for...
@@BRMCaptChaos Im happy with 2 wheels and less to go wrong 🙂 but each to their own 🙂
Two front wheels, FOUR full length front suspension legs - FOUR! Plus a load of other complicated parts to make it perform an unnecessary function that no motorcycle rider ever asked for!! So, Why?
There are other motorcycle front suspension designs such as leading link. The Honda Cub (the most successful vehicle of all time) and a very handy two stroke Grieves off-roader of the 1960s had variants of the design.
They are definitely not pretty or sophisticated, but they work.
But Yamaha tried to make something clever and sophisticated, but clearly failed. That front end is not just heavy and cumbersome looking (it’s actually certifiably ugly), it’s far too complicated and totally unnecessary - something no one asked for.
So, it’s a Sinclair C5, a Cyber Truck, a Kackling Hyena running for POTUS, a male ‘trans’ boxer inflicting injuries upon female boxers in the woke Olympics… it’s a ludicrous lemon.
But most of all, just like that nasty BSA, it’s not a motorcycle.
I knew someone who owned the BSA aerial three-wheeler for about 40 years It amazing to see it being written every summer year after year after year😮
Great story 🙂Cheers for adding your bit mate. Ride Free 🙂
Insaw the tumbnail i was like 🤔looks like a fallout 3 bike😅
One of my ink sketches mate😊 if your interested search motorcycle art on channel and there’s a video of some of the originals
heres some of my artwork mate th-cam.com/users/shorts7he9G0Ue8x4
@@barebonesmcit lokks really dope
It looks really dope @@barebonesmc
Great video mate keep them coming,had to hit sub button
Welcome aboard mate, enjoy the ride and cheers for the support