What motorcycles have you owned that you loved but they didn't love you back?

[Rough Edge racing]

 Pete, about 12 years ago I bought  750 Intercept basket case. I liked the big chunky engine and read all the stories about how smooth they run compared to the other big bore Brit twins. I have no knowledge if that's true any more than 120 MPH 650 Twins....It was missing a few parts, the parts that are always missing because they are unobtanium...I sold it to an RE collector...
 

[Lannis]

  You never heard of Al Eckstadt on the Brit Bike Forum ? He rides a 60's 750 RE Interceptor to various rallies in NY state and maybe beyond..

Yep, I've heard of him, didn't know he did extensive riding to rallies on an RE.

I've ridden my BSA from Virginia to Brit rallies in Massachusetts, New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina ... and I still have never seen an RE ridden to any of them.

Maybe I will someday.

Lannis

[brenwin]

012 Stelvio left me on the side of the road 3 times with failed regulators . Did everything to find the problem with no avail . Loved the ride but sold it last fall . Maybe a new wiring harness and electrics all around would of solved the problem but wasn't willing to take that on .
I don't even want to talk about the 74 Norton I owned for far too long ! ☠️

[Rough Edge racing]

Yep, I've heard of him, didn't know he did extensive riding to rallies on an RE.

I've ridden my BSA from Virginia to Brit rallies in Massachusetts, New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina ... and I still have never seen an RE ridden to any of them.

Maybe I will someday.

Lannis

 I know you ride long distances on that BSA...The A10?  The last A10 I saw on the road was the one I sold 12 years ago...It was modified to my style but it seemed a better rider than a 650 Triumph...I sold the A10 and a 53 Triumph Thunderbird I had for many years because I had given up on riding....A dumb decision based on interest in hot rod trucks...Now the trucks are gone and I have other bikes...

[ritratto]

I had a R75/5 for about a year. Great looking bike and I loved the look, but it was like a big scooter. No personality. No comparison to any Tonti frame bike. Sold it cheap just so I could buy a round head Guzzi!

[Huzo]

Yep, I've heard of him, didn't know he did extensive riding to rallies on an RE.

I've ridden my BSA from Virginia to Brit rallies in Massachusetts, New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina ... and I still have never seen an RE ridden to any of them.

Maybe I will someday.

Lannis

RE ? Is that for Rough Edge, Royal Enfield or RE 5 (rotary Suzuki)?

[Lannis]

RE ? Is that for Rough Edge, Royal Enfield or RE 5 (rotary Suzuki)?

"Rough Edge" probably wouldn't like being ridden to a rally, so you can have the first go. 

RE 5s are getting pretty thin on the ground, so I'm not expecting to fall into a group of those.

So THIS RE specifically refers to the Royal Enfield Twins (Meteors, Interceptors, etc).   I see lots of Royal Enfield singles being pottered around in places you wouldn't expect them, though ....

Lannis

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Closest to that description would probably be the Benelli 650S Tornado I had back in the early '90s. I never really loved it, but it was fun and unique. It developed some new malady on nearly every ride and I dutifully fixed it (or tried to) each time. Silly stuff like the nut on the crankshaft primary gear coming loose and the gear sliding out against the case on the overrun. The electric start sprag clutch stopped functioning (never fixed that) and then it developed a "stutter" that no matter what I tried wouldn't go away.

It's stay with me ended when I got married and there was precious little garage time available. There might be another one headed my way sometime this year, so maybe the 2nd time around will go better...

[Huzo]

"Rough Edge" probably wouldn't like being ridden to a rally, so you can have the first go. 

RE 5s are getting pretty thin on the ground, so I'm not expecting to fall into a group of those.

So THIS RE specifically refers to the Royal Enfield Twins (Meteors, Interceptors, etc).   I see lots of Royal Enfield singles being pottered around in places you wouldn't expect them, though ....

Lannis

Don't know about RE 5's being thin on the ground Lannis. Half of the ones sold in Oz are still around, one's in the Melbourne Museum (honestly!) and the other one is.... somewhere else !

[Triple Jim]

An RE5 usually show up at the annual Deals Gap  2-stroke meet, so I see one about once a year.   

[Lannis]

An RE5 usually show up at the annual Deals Gap  2-stroke meet, so I see one about once a year.   

So, then, half the ones sold in America are still around!   

Lannis

[Huzo]

So, then, half the ones sold in America are still around!   

Lannis

(Muffled chuckle)...

[Arizona Wayne]

So, then, half the ones sold in America are still around!   

Lannis

The first bike I bought that let me down was the 2nd bike I bought in my MC history.  It was a slightly used Yamaha YDS-2 250 twin carb 2 stroke that looked like new but had a vibration at idle and I bought it from a Yamaha dealer in '63?  It was my 2nd Yamaha 250 bike(1st was bulletproof) and I bought it because it had 5 more hp than the 1st.  It blew pistons repeatedly(only cost $25 back then for a rebuild) but later found out the reason it did was because the crank bearings were too soft and that put the timing off the points on the end of the crankshaft.  It literally blew holes threw the center of the pistons!    That's the only bike I've owned that did that to me.



There are new RE5s still in the crates you can still buy new.  If your interested contact Suzuki.     Met a Suzy rep. years ago @ Laguna Seca while ogling a black RE 5 rotary and that's what he told me.

[Steph]

My only experience with a 750 Enfield was a Rickman Enfield. There is or was one in town Rough. All I remember is it had 4 gears and 6 neutrals. Odds were better at getting a neutral than an actual gear.

Pete

I had '72 Rickman RE.
-but mine ended up with a BSA 750 Rocket III engine with 5 speed and electronic ignition. Apparently, they were sold new with a spare RE 750 engine out of Winnipeg, Canada.  The RE engines both blew up and the previous owner replaced it with the BSA engine.

It was exotic and not my favorite bike, it felt like my old Monza, slightly faster and not very practical.

[Cal3]

Stephan,
That triple in the Rickman frame is sweet

At one point I had a Rickman CR with sohc Honda 750 and a Benelli Sei in the garage at the same time. I so wanted to see if that six banger would fit in that Rickman. But good judgement stopped me from screwing up 2 bikes at once.

[oldbike54]

I had '72 Rickman RE.
-but mine ended up with a BSA 750 Rocket III engine with 5 speed and electronic ignition. Apparently, they were sold new with a spare RE 750 engine out of Winnipeg, Canada.  The RE engines both blew up and the previous owner replaced it with the BSA engine.

It was exotic and not my favorite bike, it felt like my old Monza, slightly faster and not very practical.

 That is every Ton-up-boy's damp fantasy . Right there with Slippery Sam 

 Dusty

[aiken]

My 2014 V7 Stone. My sixth motorcycle. Bought it new and kept it for 2 years and eight months, put 27,400 miles on it. During that time it spent a total of almost five months in the shop. Engine replaced under warranty, drive train replaced for free, several odd failures of various types... Never made it between an oil change without having to bring it in for something. Never before spent so much money on keeping a motorcycle road worthy. Last time I picked it up after being in the shop for five weeks, I rode it straight up to another dealer and traded it in. Happiest day of my life....

[TBShorty]

My 2004 Thunderbird Sport was the best handling motorcycle I've owned.  Great brakes, plenty of lean angle and that lovely 3 cylinder howl going to redline.  Pulled like a freight train, such fun. Oh yes and the most comfy saddle ever.  Unfortunately the thing was too top heavy and even with winding down the rear shock and lowering the triple clamps it was still too tall for my 30" inseam. Tipped over a few too many times in the 6 yrs I owned it.  Broke my heart to see it go but eventually I would hurt it or it would hurt me.  Have a nice, sensible, smell the roses V7 Stone.  Now this would be a fun ride with 85 hp.

[aiken]

typical...