Best handling bike that you have ever owned and why

[Searchguru]

Yep, 49cc of awsomeness in the morning and 862cc in the afternoon. The first opportunity I got to open it up from a standstill (Cemetery Junction, Reading) I started to fall off the back with the acceleration which rolled the throttle on even more until my hand came off the grip. The return springs on the carbs were very good and my nuts then hit the back of the tank. Lesson one learnt. Lesson two was about five minutes later on the motorway where I opened it up to an indicated 130 mph in the outside lane of three. All was good even though it was really quite foggy until a bid white coach moved out into the outside lane. It had no lights on in what was now thick fog and chose to pull into my lane when I was doing nearly twice its speed. I slowed myself down then and decided that I was trying to run before I could walk. Lesson three was five years later when my soon to be (first) wife thought we ought to sell the bike to realise some money. I should have known better than to listen to her.

[wetdog]

what did you pass your test on ?

[Stitch]

Think it must have been my Kawa Z650 great bike until I put the K&N filters on with the Harris pipe, it sounded and went great but it was a pig to start. It also was or seamed a lot lighter than my GS1000 which was a big beast of a thing, well it was  to a little lad like me.

[Bomber]

Stitch.. you should have stuck to the fanny Barnett!

[wetdog]

i also find oil in frame bonnie tigers good handling machines , most of the big jap 70/80s machines I have rode could not handle the power they had . fork braces metemex swing arms etc did very little to help , had a harris gs 1000 and looks to die for , but was not as good a handling bike as a rob north t150 I had , and the noise was pure music

[Searchguru]

what did you pass your test on ?

My mother's Honda CD175 with Bes Decibel megaphone exhausts. Really quite loud and the examiner knew exactly which part of the test circuit I was on. I used to borrow it from time to time and ended up in a bit of a coma for a week after T-boning a Ford Anglia with my mate on pillion. We were going to see the Zal Cleminson Band at the local college. I have no memory of that day from about 20 minutes before the accident or anything for a week and a half after. The Honda was cheap to fix and I wasn't convicted as the Anglia shouldn't have been on the road, apparently. I was a really nice bloke before that accident , by all accounts, but I've turned into a right **** now. It's funny what a head injury and 35 years can do!

[wink]

I passed my test on a Tandon, 50 years ago.

[Bomber]

Yep.. clip board and drive round the block... bin there done that

[murdo]

Mine would have to be my Ducati 500 Pantah. Had a few suspension mods and of course the 'Conti' pipes. Think that my Honda ST1100 would be a VERY close second, so easy to throw around for a big bike. 

[wetdog]

st1100 nice bike if its not rotten , if it starts to handle poor take a good look at the swing arm , ive had two here both with the same problem , the k100 is also a easy bike to live with and performs better than expected , i see they are now doing well in the bears race series , and laverda , ducati, moto guzzi racers watch out , they are cheap can be made to handle (better) and can be tunned and still be relyable

[murdo]

The rusty swingarms are not a problem here in Aus. Some of them wear out because of the big miles we do, (one Aussie owners club member has over 500,000km on his 1100) but are such a reliable bike and easy to maintain. Most problems in 1100's now are age related, eg split rubbers etc, but have not heard of anything major going wrong with them. Now Honda have stopped making the ST1300 and are trying to sell us the VFR1200 as a replacement. Not half the bike of the ST's. 
 

[wetdog]

sounds great , mats just gone to Addalaid ? took his bikes with him (B50s triumph harleys ) and after 7 months there has rode 7000 miles ( over here he did 4000 in 3 years ) says its the place for space ,weather , doubt he will come back . over here uk if its pressed steel it rots bad , cars and bikes , may be down to the amount of salt we throw on the roads when its winter

[murdo]

Only salt over here is on the dining table in little pots, or in dried up lakes in South Australia where once a year you can take your car/bikes and go REAL FAST. The one they use (Lake Gaidner) is 150Km long x 90Km wide, so we have a bit of room to open them up.

[mell357]

Best bike and biggest surprise was a Yamaha Fazer 600, bought it cheap when I had to cash in an R1 as we were extending our house at the time. Absolutely fantastic value for money and a big grin factor.

Worst bike, 1979 Kawasaki KH400. Had it when I was 19, mental fast in a straight line but frightening in corners. A KH trait I believe. Still, wish I still had it now. Still love two stroke triples.

[brakemanbobsmith]

Suzuki GS 750 with a set of clip-on's Bullet Faring some good Dunlop tires and a set of setbacks! That thing was an awesome handler!
Worst Handler I owned was a 78 Kaw Z1, Like throwing your leg over a 2x4 and handled about as well I suspect!
But was it awesome in a straight line! Seen the other side of 150 many times! (yes it had work done!)
Looking back it's a wonder I'm still here!
Ah to be 20 something again! You know we were Invincible back then Right!
Road rash was a badge of honor! If you never had it you really didn't play hard!
Dang I must have played really hard!