There are a few cheap and cheerful Chinese bikes on the market that are not all that easy to ride, but we are going to ignore their existence for now. We are also going to ignore the biggest killers of them all: scooters, which are responsible for more deaths than all other bikes combined.
We want to focus on some bikes that were downright dangerous in the wrong hands. These are pain inflictors and widow makers; some have more power than mere mortals could handle, while others have problems that can and have caused violent crashes. Bikes that have now become infamous for how difficult they are to ride.
10 Kawasaki H1 500
Larger displacement 2-stroke bikes have a powerband that makes 80s turbo-lag look tame.
Although the newer fuel-injected bikes have found ways to mitigate that to some extent, this relatively mild 60 horsepower machine will give you all those horses at precisely the moment you get your knee down in a corner. No matter how experienced you are, this usually won’t end well.
9 Honda CBR900RR Fireblade
When it first came out in the early '90s, it was one of the most groundbreaking motorcycles of the time; it only weighed a fraction more than the 600cc, and made more power than most liter-bikes.
This combination of power and weight advantages made it superior in every way to its peers, and a mighty track machine in the right hands. It was also made in a time before electronic aids, and was deadly in the wrong hands.
8 Vincent Black Shadow
The Black Shadow was one of the first bikes to use the engine as an integral part of the frame, a revolutionary design when it first came out. Decades later, motorcycle design has come a long way, this design we now know has a fatal flaw; it has far too much bend and flex in the wrong areas.
This wasn't the only problem with this bike. The brakes were also shocking, even for the period, so getting up to speed was not a problem, but stopping was near impossible.
7 Suzuki TL1000S
Suzuki wanted to make something of a statement with their rear shock. Instead of a regular coil-over, they fitted a separate spring and rotary damper with push-rods inspired by F1.
Although the ambition was admirable on this otherwise solid bike, the execution was found wanting as the oil would overheat with really aggressive riding on tight bends, gradually the rear would get increasingly vague until you suddenly become part of the foliage.
6 Yamaha TZ750 Flat Tracker
Back in the '70s, flat-track racing was bonkers, with deaths becoming all too common. One of the most dangerous, of these already dangerous machines, was the TZ750.
It was capable of making 125 horsepower from a big bore 2-stroke and had no front brakes. Three-time GP champion Kenny Roberts was famously quoted as saying, “they don’t pay me enough to ride that thing.”
5 Suzuki Hayabusa GSX1300R
In a straight line, this is one of the fastest, cheapest bikes you can buy. It has an absurd amount of power considering how affordable it is.
To keep it planted when going at hyper-speed the bike is long, and also very heavy, making it dangerous at lower speeds and very awkward to handle.
4 Maico/ATK 700
Maico or ATK in North America, had a solid frame and suspension and was relatively light considering its large displacement, weighing in at 238 pounds. Few modern dirt bikes make as much as 78 horsepower, and that makes for an impressive power to weight ratio for something ridden on dirt.
This bike will eat you for breakfast if you don’t know what you are doing, Maico is back at it too, making a new version of the 685cc beast.
3 Ducati Desmosedici RR
After winning their first-ever MotoGP championship, Ducati decided to celebrate it by creating this street-legal version. It was a trendsetter, with many rivals following their lead, creating track replicas of their own, some of which are certainly cheaper, but few get as close to GP machinery as this.
No rider aids, and 170 horsepower at the wheel make it something of a handful. This one is strictly for the experienced racers out there.
2 Suzuki TM400
With a rudimentary frame and suspension, the TM400 had too much power for its own good. Lest we mention the powerband that would inevitably hit as you go into a corner.
Some bikes are hard for novices to ride, but this is a bike that's hard to ride for anyone, no matter their skill level.
1 Honda ATC 250R
What made this so dangerous was two crucial issues. Firstly, taking corners is the most counterintuitive thing imaginable; most people would want to take a corner slowly and cautiously. However that, more often than not, would lead to a crash. Powerslide the thing, or ride it fast through a corner, and it is actually safer, some would even argue stable.
The other factor was that companies indiscriminately marketed this thing as a toy for teens; this was a weird marketing decision if you consider these bikes are hard enough to ride for experienced riders. Let alone children.