There are a lot of cheap Chinese-made bikes on the market that quite frankly, nobody actually wants to ride. The bikes we're going to look at today are not like that, these bikes are classics!
So why don’t we want to ride them? Well, like most people on this planet, we like life. These bikes are pain inflictors and widow makers. Some have too much power for their own good, others have strange problems that can cause a violent crash at almost any time while riding the machine.
Here are the 10 Classic Motorcycles we won’t even ride if you paid us.
10 Kawasaki H1 500
The issue with larger displacement 2-stroke bikes is the powerband. Although the bike will only make 60 horsepower on a good day, when all 60 horses come at you while trying to (you never will by the way) get your knee down in a corner you're going to get hurt, no matter how experienced you are.
The frame and original brakes also leave a lot to be desired, so making the bike stop safely is still going to be a challenge even if you do manage to stay right-side up.
9 Vincent Black Shadow
One of the first bikes in history to make use of the engine as part of the frame, at the time a revolutionary design.
Now, the design is both dated and flawed, with too much bend and flex in the wrong areas where the engine is joined to the rest of the bike. This was not the main problem with this bike though, the brakes were awful, worse than only slightly more modern scooters!
8 Honda Super Cub C50
One of the most popular and reliable modes of transport in the history of mankind. It gave entire nations mobility, but that didn’t come without a few notable downsides; people who didn’t have a clue how to ride could own one of these mopeds!
They are also very slow, and unable to maintain safe speeds outside cities. Worst of all, if you downshift too quickly, the rear wheel would lock-up and send you straight to the ground, or street pole.
7 Honda CBR900RR Fireblade
One of the most ground-breaking motorcycles of its time, the bike weighed as much as a 600cc, and was faster than most liter-bikes. For this reason, it is also one of the most dangerous, made in a time before electronic aids, it was deadly in the wrong hands.
It really needed an experienced rider, sadly many novices would try their hand at taming this beast and fall well short.
6 Suzuki TL1000s
So how does one of the best bikes from the 90s find its way onto our list of bikes we would rather not ride? It is another bike with an engineering flaw, one that is a lot less easy to see.
Suzuki decided to make the standard rear shock unnecessarily complex. Instead of a regular coil-over, they fitted a separate spring and rotary damper with push-rods inspired by F1. The oil would overheat with really aggressive riding on tight bends, then gradually the rear would get vaguer and vaguer until you lose it altogether.
5 Suzuki Hayabusa GSX1300R
Most will credit this as the first hyper bike and it is, without doubt, a straight-line king. It has an absurd amount of power; the bike is also huge and heavy. This helps it stay planted when going at hyper-speed, it also makes it very dangerous at lower speeds and very awkward to handle.
The early versions don’t come with ABS or any other rider aid, good luck to any inexperienced riders that throw a leg over this beast!
4 Honda ATC 250R
Another bike that was dangerous for completely different reasons. It kind of made it onto production missing a wheel, granted, the 3-wheel movement is likely responsible for the entire ATV market but putting these bikes/trikes in the hands of non-riders was dangerous.
Taking a corner at speed without really knowing the limitations of the vehicle would result in immediate ejection! Looking at guys power-sliding these bikes looks great fun, but a regular 4-wheeler just makes more sense for most people today.
3 Suzuki TM400
For a 70s dirt bike, the TM400 had far too much power for its own good. Not to mention the powerband that would almost inevitably hit as you go into a corner.
Couple that with poor suspension (for the time, even) and a dodgy frame, and you have a bike that's hard to ride for anyone, no matter their skill level.
2 Maico/ATK 700
An even more powerful 2-stroke machine. The Maico or ATK in North America, had a good frame and suspension and was a lot lighter than you might think at 238 pounds.
It makes 78 horsepower... and is made to be ridden on dirt. If you don’t know what you are doing, this bike will eat you for breakfast! Maico are back making a new version of the 685cc beast.
1 Yamaha TZ750 Flat Tracker
Flat track racing in the 70s was bonkers, with more deaths than any motor-sport would like to admit. One of the killers were these TZ750s, 125 horsepower from a 2-stroke with no front brakes.
Kenny Roberts was an accomplished pro racer, even he said “they don’t pay me enough to ride that thing.”