Bikes you didn't like nearly as much as you thought you would.

I paid $8500 for a 1986 FLHTP in 1995 which was a big disappointment for me with the engine leaking oil and shaking itself apart. Luckily a guy came by with ten $k in a envelope and it was gone.

XR1200; really wanted to like it, but couldn't wait to get back on my 919...

1966 Harley Davidson XLCH
-Rebel Machine, F*ck yea!
...not so much. Spent far more time working on it than actually riding it. When it did run it made a habit of trying to kill me with non-existent brakes, dodgy handling and randomly either oiling down it'd own rear tire or setting my pant leg on fire. Oh yea, starting it was a real treat too.

Yamaha Seca (forgot the year)
-This was a friends bike that I rode a few times. Seriously numb chassis, no feedback and hated to turn. Oh yea, the engine was gutless as well.

'09 Kawasaki EX500 Ninja. Just too uncomfortable, no matter what. Installed bar risers and a used Corbin seat. I bought this bike new for $4500 OTD. I had owned a new '88 model back in '88 and loved it. But a lot of time has passed since then, and I'm a lot older than I used to be, with medical issues on top of that. I put less than 5000 miles on it in over 2 years and finally gave up and sold it. Not blaming the bike, I wish Kawasaki still made them. They were IMO the best rational sportbike ever made. But I can't ride sportbikes any more, and now only ride cruisers. I have owned a total of 41 bikes, some were better than others, but the EX was the only one I had to give up because of all the pain riding it caused.

I wanted a Connie so bad when they came out (I was in university). They got great reviews and everyone loved them – they won all the comparison tests, including against the K100RS/RT. I swore when I graduated, I would buy one and I did, bought it new in 1992 but like the girl you always wanted in high school, the reality never lived up to the expectation. It was heavy and buzzy, didn’t handle very well and I just never loved it in spite of owning it for >10 years; it was reliable though – never did anything but scheduled maintenance.

My old bike recently came up for sale on Kijiji, I was tempted to go and ride it for old time's sake but I just couldn't be bothered.

94 VFR750

Wanted that bike for years. Owned it for less then one season. Ergos were all wrong and the "whine" from the geardriven camshafts drove me crazy. I can't believe some people like that noise :huh .

Triumph Tiger 1050

Probably the worst bike I've ever ridden. Too Tall, Too fat right where your knees are, carries it's weight way too high and the worst fuel injection metering I've ever had the displeasure of experiencing.

I rode it home in evening traffic and back to the city the next morning, thought I was going to have to see a Dr for whiplash at the end of it.

vstrom 1k - couldnt "feel" the road at all. motor shook too bad past 7k rpm. i thought it sounded like a honda 400ex 4 wheeler. and it was just boring.

honda shadow 750 - no power! nuff said.

Honda Fury - more power, but get it above 60 MPH and its a chore to stay on the bastage. but it sounds great!

Early 2000's Buel X1: I test rode this beast at the MotoGP when manufacturers used to bring a fleet just for the fans to try out. While power wheelies in multiple gears was fun, it could only be done in a very narrow RPM range (about 3500-5000). Below that it had bad valve ping, above that the power curve was flat as a pancake. Pretty narrow usable range.

Mid-90's Kawasaki KLR650: I swapped bikes with a friend briefly while off-roading, and I could not believe how large and heavy the 650 felt compared to my Honda XL600R. He ended up crashing it later that day because the terrain was too rough for such a monster.

Ducati Hypermotard: I wanted one of these so bad I could taste it. As soon as I sat on the bike, I knew it didn't feel right. It felt like the handlebars were up against my knees, and I would surely go over the bars if I got on the brakes too hard. A week later I sat on an Aprilia Dorsoduro 750 at the San Mateo International Motorcycle Show. I had never heard of it until that day. As soon as my butt hit the seat, I wanted one so bad I could taste it...

Based on test rides:

Hypermotard. Just like everyone else said, you feel like you're sitting directly over the front tire. Loved the sound, loved the fact that it wheelied anytime you were more than half throttle. And it looked awesome.

R1200 GSA. Loved the way it looks. Loved how I fit on it (6'5"). But it was a bore compared to my MegaMoto.

I really, really, really wanted to love the Buell Ulysses, but after three test rides, it just didn't push my fun button. I decided that preferred a bike with a light crank/flywheel that likes to rev.

Been lucky to own a lot of bikes and ride even more.

Some of the offenders that I wanted to like: (to be fair most were new or close to it or in exceptional shape, and the tire pressures etc., were correct)

Cagiva 650 Alaruzza SS. I owned this for awhile, sort of a Mini VFR - wooden brakes, nice power band, but real slow to rev, a bit heavy and underpowered - surprise, very reliable and well put together. Bonus: Best sounds with the Bubb pipes.

Guzzi V50 Monza, loved the bike for its size, handling and light weight, super stable, but no torque, no real power, terrible way too wide gearing, which of course could not be changed.

'78 Honda CB750F. This was one of the Japanese bikes that were now supposed to handle. The flops over in corners kind of handling, required a lot of something to get it back up, what a chore. Felt piggish to me.

'99 or so Laverda 750 - their attempted comeback. Sweet handling, brakes, looks, but it was withering (in a bad way) when you realized the engine is just a larger 1970 Honda 350 that behaves, and sounds, just like one.

Kawasaki: EX500, mush all around, everything felt like mush. It was new too.

2008 Kawasaki EX250 - nicer than a EX500, but a chore to rev and ride, felt heavy. I like the 1994 - 2007 versions better.

1998 Honda VTR1000 - lovely engine. Twist and go, then get gas at 85 - 100 miles. Brakes pretty good, but another flopper in the corners, same heaviness to rightitself.

2008 Kawasaki KLR. I bought it, total crap. Brakes, power, vibes, uncomfortable, crap rusting as you watched. Good range though - but that made it worse, having to put up with misery for so long at a time.

1997 or so Honda CB750 Nighthawk - boring, everything felt muted and vague.

Honda Hawk NT 650. On paper it had so many great attributes and it looked cool too. It was a very unsatisfying ride though. Got outta that cult.

My 94 VFR was one of my favorites, and I've had a lot! I LOVED the gear drive whine!

I hounded a guy who had a 1968 Triumph Tiger to sell it to me. After i bought it and wrenched on it, i rode it about a half of dozen times and couldn't wait to get rid of it. I am a big guy and i was told it looked like a "monkey fucking a football". So i sold the thing.

Harley Sportsters, be it 883, 1200, XR1200 etc. I really REALLY want to like these things but every time I take one out, all I can think of is "Is this damned ride over yet?" They are slow, heavy, ill handling and crude.

Yamaha FZ1 2001. People raved about the tube framed naked R1. I found it to be peaky an dlacking at anything under 4500 rpm which at that point it would scream to life like a 600 super sport. It was awful. Later I rode of one the first 16 valve FZ1's the result of a total redesign. Now that was a machine! Lots of pwoer through out the rev range. Funny thing, all the magaszines called these second generation FZ1's peaky.

Yamaha FJR1300. It was blowing hot air at me like I was standing in front of a blast furnace, the clutch had no feel and about 1 mm of travel, it stalled on the downshift and just felt...weird.

There are many cruisers I knew I'd hate but took for a demo anyways.

What he said. Just don't enjoy it.

Cakeeater

Same here. I still have the ZX-14. It has grown on me, but I loved my Blackbird much more. The ZX-14 is way more powerful, but the CBR1100XX was smoother, better looking, had better build quality and was a lot cheaper to run. Simply the best bike I have ever owned.

Kawi Concours 14.

Overall, it is really is a fantastic motorcycle....lots of power, good handling, decent ergo's, very capable.

But after owning now for several months and several thousand miles....it's just ok. I'll let it go if I really find out I don't enjoy riding it.