Paul's Rants - 'Bad' bikes!
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- Опубліковано 27 вер 2024
- We all hear the horror stories, you know the ones - 'I wouldn't touch one of them with a bargepole', 'Terrible machines, I remember my uncle saying a man down the road had one', 'They all go bang in no time', etc, etc.
This just touches lightly on a subject which could be looked into much more deeply, but, in a nutshell, are many 'bad' machines as bad as some stories would have us believe? You decide!
Ok bikes can have design weakness , but mechanical idiots are the main cause , cant design for that .
Exactly!
A bad bike is one that makes you unhappy.
I currently own a RE 500 Electra EFI, I bought it because I live in the middle of Lincolnshire where the roads are for tractors and it's a winner for me. I also had many years ago, the Honda CB500T and yes that spat out the cam chain between the barrels after 20,000 miles, I stripped the engine down and found that the "slippers" were not held in place correctly, got another barrel and rebuilt it, carefully making sure the slippers were slotted correctly and I had that bike for at least another 40,000 miles, it never let me down. Whilst I had the old barrel on the bench, I cleaned it in an ultrasonic bath and thought I would give it a go at repairing it, I made some aluminium rods (from old brake parts) and proceeded to torch weld the hole up, after much fettling and grinding I got it looking good, Thinking I might need another barrel, never needed it. that barrel sat on my shelve for years, then I heard that someone needed a barrel for the same reason. I exchanged my one for his (plus some beer tokens) and he fitted it with my experience about the slippers, he had that bike going for another 9 years before he sold it. I cleaned up that barrel and did the same, that is now sitting somewhere in the back of my shed with oily rags in the barrels in a plastic bag somewhere.
my royal enfield 500 electra x has been with me for 8yrs i got this bike because it has a eletric start im a right leg amputee and i cant see me selling it any time soom all the best murf
A good point, well made. Looking after a machine the way it was intended is a fair expectation if you want it to perform as it was intended. I'd only briefly heard of the reputation of the CB500, years ago, and could never quite believe it was all that bad and you seem to have confirmed my view.
I present for the consideration of the court, the GPz305. A lovely riding motorcycle but which has also been described as "A hand-grenade looking for a war.". I thought it was all being talked up and thought it was the ideal bike for the wife as her first big bike. Three full engine rebuilds later, we scrapped that idea and bought her a CB500s. Yes they can do many miles if you "take it easy" but what's the point in having a bike you can only take up to 2/3 of its top speed without constantly worrying about it throwing a conrod through the front of the engine?
I'm pleased someone mentioned the 305.👍
Kawasaki made a mistake with the 305 twin and the 200 single
I had the use of a GPz 305 for several months and probably did about 12 or more thousand miles on it and despite me thrashing it within an inch of its life it was totally trouble free, I think with all bikes there are always a few lemons.
@@grantbaker3336 That was the issue lol. People bought GPZ305s in the UK to do a job: commuting and courier work. They expected Japanese reliability and wanted reliable transportation, and the bikes provided that until some kind of issue occurred at 30000 miles-ish, I think. Twostroke350 has more info about them and would be able to confirm. Not many are left, and I've never seen a high mileage version for sale.
@@GTMarmot They had numerous design issues. The main one was they bored out the fairly reliable little z250 twin motor to 305 to give it a higher top speed than the superdream which was its competitor. They didn't leave enough meat on the bones so they are prone to heat-seizing if ridden at anything over 70-75mph or with much weight on them for long. The other big issue is a combination of a TINY oil pickup with a gauze sock strainer in the sump (like biro pen diameter and I've seen larger gauzes on fuel taps) and a plastic oil pump drive gear. So if (when) the oil pickup starts to become clogged, any hint of increased load on the pump causes the teeth to strip and you loose all oil pressure. First sign of this is the cam seizing. I think to fix it you'd need to retro-fit a larger pickup and an oil cooler. I always thought a 305 chassis with a superdream engine would be a nice bike.
G'day Paul, your spot on with what you have said, firstly maintenance utmost importance, if a motorcycle brakes down it happens too all that are rode regular it doesn't make them a lemon, cheers mate, Neil 🤠.
The BSA A65 was the engine of choice for the sidecar racers in the '60s long before Devimead or SRM conversions hit the market.
I have a 1966 Triumph ' Saint ' 650 , ex Police here in NZ .
Back in 1985 when I grabbed her it was in good nick , 30,000 miles .
I rode , maintained and loved that bike for years but then one afternoon while riding home from work on a sweet sunny summer afternoon .
BANG !!!! STOP
Bought my 500T August 1975, covered over 18,000 miles in 11 months in all weather, no problems. Cost £712, got £680 in part exchange against Honda 750 F1. Fitted TT100 tyre on front and a Michelin on rear to cure handling problems. Serviced regular by myself - no problem.
I had a honda cb500t chop 40 years ago, I was only 17 when I rebuilt the top end and had it rebored, 6 miles later the front cam chain roller sprocket done the same as yours..ate through the front of the barrell, I rebuilt it again but ended up with it only firing on one cylinder , fed up , i sold it for peanuts.
10 years later I bumped into the buyer again, and asked him about the bike and he said I put the carb to carb link fuel pipe to high and the fuel obviously couldn't get to the other cylinder and after that he said it was the most reliable bike he'd ever owned
Regarding the Thunderbolt Paul, Is it possible to give us a video demo of how to remove the oil filter from the tank, with the tank still attached to the frame? Mine sits right behind the frame, or enough behind it to make it inaccessible.
Another good video. Thanks Paul.
Good discussion Paul.
I didn't know the Navvies gearbox selector mech had been redesigned later, thanks.
‘A lighter shade of grey - ‘ - so bad the press in 🇮🇪 are saying the spuds and cereals arent growing…
good show by the way
Absolutely, I did the old National Rally 600 miles in 24 hours on a Norton Jubilee, never missed a beat.
I've got an 82 Honda VF 750 C Magna and I couldn't be happier with the motor in that. I'm in Australia and it was an American import back in 2011 and only has about 45,000 kms on the clock. Get it serviced no more than every 6 months or about every 5,000 kms which ever comes first.
Paul, you seem to have all the bad bikes so we should all be right.
Interesting you started your commentary on the "Royal Oilfield" as some funny chap once told me they were called, do to how much oil flowed out of them (a total loss arrangement no doubt).
It is a pet hate of mine to hear that derisory name. They don't have to be like that, although the last Bullet engine I rebuilt has a tiny leak which would be easy to live with. I suspect a damaged crankcase joint is probably the culprit.
Lovely talk Paul , yes your right it's all down to maintaining them correctly, so for me there's no bad bikes it's all down to if you like it or not. My best wishes to you from the Philippines ❤️💪👍😉😀😁🏁🏍️🛺🐑🇵🇭🏴
In 92 when I bought my 441 the bikers would call it the Victim. I cafe it and suddenly it was cool BSA and they did not know a B50 clutch was in etc. It did well over 150 000 and 3 barrels. I watched my buddy lock up a cm400 because of cam chain slack break.
I had a CB500T that melted a piston. I got a replacement engine when I bought the bike but the bloke had left it outside with no plugs so it was seized. Me and my dad got it running after deseizing it with diesel. About 5000 miles later it snapped the cam chain. Fortunately I had a CB500/4 at the same time which never gave me any trouble. But I enjoyed the 500T very much when it ran.
I've had several difficult relationships with Italian bikes, particularly a rather truculent Laverda and it was usually down to fragile electrics which i believe was eventually sorted out by fitting Japanese equipment.
Hi Paul.
Yup, take all service intervals seriously.
It’s my impression that modern bike riders are kind of spoiled when it comes to that cause bikes have improved in this area. And who’d complain over things getting better...?
But you can’t expect an old (-or just old fashioned bike like my RE Bullet 500) to live up to modern criteria’s.
Know what you’re buying. Read the service manual and take it seriously. Don’t neglect your bike because you’re a spoiled kid and then come sulking if you’re bike has broken down.
You know what, Paul. It’s all worth it. I directly enjoy the maintenance work. Maybe I’m just an old tosser longing for The Good Old Days😆
I've only had Japanese bikes and never had a mechanical breakdown but. I did find ignition electronics to fail sometimes.
I had a CB500T in orange. It was nice machine, didn't have it that long but had no issues.
had one of those Hondas, really liked it, very reliable for me but after I sold it I heard it spat out the cam chain
Watched my Dad lots of times cutting nettles with that Allen scythe.
Ok , None of those are Bad Bikes really. If you want an example of a Truly Bad Bike? I suggest you go and purchase the dreaded Yamaha TX750 twin of the early 1970s. The only good thing was you could swap the front end onto a Yamaha TT500 easily for a disc brake and 19 inch wheel. The TX750 I have seen in junkyards are always missing the front forks
Can you get closer any to the camera?
Not really, sorry.
Hi found your channel a couple of weeks ago and have been loving the videos, I was wondering what is the newest production year Enfield you've Asboed? (Asbo Number)
& Is a Electra x with 38000 miles to high to consider buying?
I am up to number 50, but only a few are Electra X. 38000 miles is very respectable, but if it hasn't been rebuilt already, I would be wary.
CX 500 had cam chain issues not big ends
Early ones definitely had poor big ends as well.
@@paulhenshaw4514 never heard of that issue just the cam chain
@@frankmarkovcijr5459 Well documented problem. The big end clearances on the first ones was tight & they needed careful running in which many didn't get.
@@paulhenshaw4514 you are talking about the Triumph Cub right.
@@frankmarkovcijr5459 No, the Honda CX500.
I have a CB500T engine that had a cam chain break. It's odd that other, similar, Honda engines such as the 450, 250 and 360 have a good reputation and this one doesn't. The torsion bars instead of coil springs for the valves make it interesting design for me.
I had several CB twins. The later ones 250/360's had weak top ends, camshaft failures, breaking camchains, etc. My CB 350 K4 was a great bike, though.
I had a 250 t. It had a small end bearing fail. The top ends weren't known for being particularly well lubricated. They were fine if you changed the oil regularly, but it just took one slack owner to turn them into a ticking time bomb. The oil galleries were quite under done, unfortunately, and would clog up if not maintained.
Ive got a tank for that Norton
They all look dreadful to me. Maybe the Norton might be something you would want to own? I live in a big country and I ride 2500 klms every month on a single round trip to see my mum. I would not touch anything of them. Not for the tourer.
Different bikes are made for different purposes and tastes, but that does not make them good or bad.
Ducati has left the chat😂
RT450 is almost as reliable as a BSA LOL! had 2. Great while they last then expensive to fix up.
I've owned two round barrel guzzies, 850 and 1000, I got fed up of people complaining about the 'bad' electrics, my normal retort was, that's funny, same as bmw Bosch electrics, I've never heard of Bosch electrics being bad, the only possible bad point on guzzies was the Lego handlebar switches even though they weren't that bad.
It's a bit like if you do a good job nobody says anything, but the slightest problem everyone goes on about it
@andrewlenger
The big Guzzi’s round blocks are lovely, great torque, character and road presence, Handling and brakes non too shabby either. The T3 is a belter.
Rewired large parts of my rb spada. Fitted a mag kill button for the horn push and a sh Honda alloy switch block for the lights park head indicator and dip. No problem with any electrical issues. Can’t even remember why I sold it! Loved the asthmatic wheeze and shudder when you hit the start button. Ran on rails with the right tyres on.
Yes, I had a 76 t3 cali, got rid of it as it was pretty worn out, 90 k miles plus, missed it so bought a spada 1000, ended up looking like a t3 when I finished with it
I fitted triumph butterfly handlebar switches, took some repurposing of the the switch layout, somebody commented "your clever c..t" I replied no I'm just not a thick bastard.
I hate that Bosch alternator design with a vengeance. Two rotors over 5 years ownership of my 1978 850 T3 and one on m 1981 BMW R100RS. I replaced the rubbish Guzze handlebar switches wit a quality item from a Suzuki GS1000
I never had problems with the alternator, but a lot of people took off the spacer behind the front cover, it's there to leave an air gap for cooling.
Most bikes I've had I fitted a Suzuki cluster switch so all bar kill switch on clutch side
The Honda 450 CBs were outstanding machines--mine was great. The 500T, however, was a gutless piece of junk, maybe the worst motorcycle Honda ever produced. My dad bought one and found out what others said: it was a pathetic shadow of the 450s. Why that was, I have no idea.
While my own CB500T has reached 70 mph towing a mate's broken down Mini - he was flashing his lights to slow me as there was no servo for the brakes with the engine dead - and 100 mph [indicated] towing a mate on a Tiger Cub which had no engine - the things we used to get up to! My CB500T has bags of torque, don't know what was wrong with your dad's machine.
Hey Paul....... What no mention of the Trident? Probably the most unreliable, smokey and let's not forget the blow ups... 😂😂
I don't know what Tridents you are thinking about, but certainly not mine, but then mine still runs three sets of points and it's original Concentrics.
@@paulhenshaw4514 Paul, I'm not saying yours or particularly mine....... But I think they were one of the most criticised machines back in the day, mostly by people that had never owned one.... 🤣🤣
Oh, I see now! I did wonder! Like most other 'classics', good or supposedly bad, a Triple can quickly be transformed into an unreliable, messy pig of a machine, but those responsible rarely, if ever will admit it was they who ruined their machine in the first place.
Ooh - it seems I've lost a subscriber with this one, must have struck a nerve somehow!
Wasn’t me . I own a “ bad bike “and doing fine .
So the cb500t was only 34hp wow
Usually quoted as anywhere between 39 - 42 bhp, as far as I have seen.
According to David Silver Honda museum, the CB500T had 34bhp @ 8,500 rpm. Top speed 101mph. 🤷🏼♂️ I had a brown one in 1976 and loved it. Have looked at a few recently, but no good ones still around.
I have definitely seen 39 and 42 bhp quoted for the CB500T and as much as 44 bhp for some of the earlier CB450 models. I have owned my CB500T since 1983, covering over 60,000 miles and have frequently seen readings with three figures on the speedo, at least.
Haha
I bought a 500T new in 1976 and kept it for two years , its handling left a bit to be desired and it blew the silencer innards out after a motorway blast. I was a lot younger .....
I can say the same fore a Norton Commando with the Isolastic system and all the different adjustment points. aluminum con rods seem a little weak but all the Brit bikes had them. I found a 1970 S rolling basket and it seems like a fools errand to restore but i am committed to bringing it back and Im enjoying the journey.
I remember when the cb450 was the biggest bike Honda made. They had little torsion springs to help the coil valve springs with harmonics. Did the original design not have coil springs at all?
The CB450 and 500T relied soleley on torsion bars, there were no valve springs other than those in either machine.
Good to see the moggy making an appearance . Love the lines of the BSA and the Norton..
Hi Paul. My pal bought new a Honda 500T which I bought off him in 1980, I was at the time a motorcycle courier in London when you could make a good living at it, I bought it as my plastic maggot needed a cam chain tensioner i only had weekends to service my bikes I thought the 500T would fill the gap, I wasn’t disappointed I covered eighty odd thousand miles on it before selling, the only two things went wrong in my care, one of the gears broke in the gearbox, easy fix as a pal gave me an engine, took the lump out turned it upside down removed the bottom of the engine swapped out the busted gear, reassembled bunged it back in the frame. The second was the dreaded exhaust system rusting out that balance box was in direct line with the front wheel bunging salty mess on to it.. I replaced the cam chain and the tensioning wheel and the other two while the lump was out. I changed the oil every 2000 miles the oil centrifuge worked well captured a lot of gunge in the two thousand mile. All in all a good bike, in fact in on the look out for my collection, some time back I missed a one owner very low mileage one for five hundred quid shame it was down in Kent while I for my sins live in the outer boondocks of Scotland. These engines were a bored out 1960s black bomber they were quite quick having chased one down the A41 past the Busy Bee cafe way back.. Now 77 still ride my bikes which are : 1965 Triumph Trophy TR6, 1977 Honda 400f2 bought in 81 and a Kwqucker GT 550 G9. which is my long distances bike.. luv the content yer put up although I sometimes shout at the screen ‘yer don’t wana do it like that’.
I have a 1967 BSA Spitfire that was rebuilt once in the 80's and had a oil filter added. Since then it's gone from Sweden to Italy twice and Greece once, and still gets ridden fairly often with no problems at all.
I've owned a 1973 Triumph 750 for over 42 years. The build quality and performance is nothing to brag about. I love it.
In my younger days as a skint apprentice I always ended up with so called 'bad bikes' because they were cheap, but I can honestly say that non of them really let me down.
Bought an RE Electra new in 2005. Rode it 68,000 km's, also read horror stories about crank pin, had the crank done, mechanic said it was perfect but changed the bearings and balanced it better it never was. Sprag clutch stopped working, no drama, changed it myself. Needs new piston rings now and then... Finally, after my share of electrical gremlins beyond my abilities passed it on to a more knowledgeable colleague for pocket money. Now learning how to live with another 20 year old bike, a Moto Guzzi...
Thanks for the enjoyable video. I've tended to like the bikes that are often considered failures for some reason and even wanted a Kawasaki z750 twin!!
I loved my Honda cb500T. Rode it around France in the coldest winter they'd had for decades in the North. It carried me, a partner and all our camping gear and was lovely to ride. I also used it as a long-distance despatch bike when I owned a small express delivery business. 4 decades later I now own another 500 twin, a Kawasaki ER5. The ER5 is definitely a better bike and quicker as well. However, it somehow doesn't feel as enjoyable to ride. Having said that, I'm about to sell it and stick to my 2-wheel drive Dnepr outfit as the state of my hips is making mounting, dismounting and placing my feet in the ground is now making riding solos a painful nuisance. At least I'll have somewhere to stash my walking sticks now.
Hi Paul. Any bike that’s not looked after properly will definitely develop problems. Regular maintenance is vital.
The only bad bike is one that is poorly maintained!
BSA needs Devimead conversion.
Not neccessarily, I have rebuilt two devimead / SRM converted a65 engines. Maintenance is key to long engine life.
I agree with the cat. My favourite is the BSA.
Hi Paul. Llanon TR5 here. Re your mention of the gunge in the bottom of the oil tank. On my Trophy when I first got it I removed the oil tank as it had at least a quarter of an inch layer of horrible black excremental gunge in the bottom. That is why I asked you to check the sludge trap for me. Good job you did for me as you had to replace the con rods as well so I made the right decision and you did a fabulous job for me. Many thanks. Barry.
Thank you, Barry!
Wanted a Royal Enfeid for 50 years. Finally got an iron barrel 500, Indian market Bullet w/ 4K miles ,in showroom shape! Transmission went out after 500 miles doing 5 mph in my driveway! Not a dealship for hundreds of miles!
I remember warning a customer not to buy the Honda due to USA mag reports of camchain woes. Sold him a Yamaha 650 twin instead. I worked for Snide and Shark......
Totally agree with your observations. People always try to get away with NOT doing regular maintenance especially oil changes at recommended intervals. BSA A65s go on forever in my opinion without replacing timing side bushes likely worn out by lack of oil changes at the right time. At least my experience…
I bought a 1985 Honda VF750FE with only 5k on the clock in 1988 .
When i came to service it and check valve clearance i found i had 4 totally buggered cams.
This one had the upgraded cam lubrication so the previous owner must have thrashed the bollox off it at Santa Pod.
£600 later it was repaired and promptly sold.
Wise words.
That Navigator reminded me of a friend in my student days who had one - it leaked like a sieve but was 100 reliable and once was the only bike that managed to arrive at a bike rally. Even the much-vaunted brand new Honda 750 broke down (they were famous for shedding rear chains)
all great bikes if looked after, If I see a bike I always look at the rear wheel drive chain first, that tells me everything about the bike and its owner.
I can think of quite a few dire motorbikes !!!
Very good sir. Thanks !
Good old Paul !!!
No such thing as a bad bike , just bad owners
Maintenance is every thing
That’s not true. There are poorly designed and unreliable bikes.
@@G58 bad breaks can be scary as hell ,I had a Harley with terrible front breaks,I always was worried if I could stop in time took the fun out of riding, there are after market beaks for any bike,ihad a 1970 kawasaki with a leaky break master cylinder, always putting fluid in it
@@Mark-i9k5i Great examples.
I contend that ALL modern bikes, especially adventure bikes, with upside down forks are inherently bad. When the seals go (and they always do) they don’t just weep, they leak out rapidly with every compression of the piston (there’s often only one), destroying all damping, and soaking the brake pads and front tyre!!
I have almost the same level of animus towards EFI and electronic ignition.
@@G58 I hate upside-down forks*** who designed this..
Most motorcyclists have a total lack of mechanical sympathy and little understanding of the intricacies of maintenance. I worked as a workshop manager for a Yamaha dealer and ran a Suzuki supersports dealership. Very few bikes are bad. Aprilias not included in that, they really are a bit rubbish 😂
Ya just get on 'em, bounce 'em off the limiter in every gear, change the oil every 10,000 or so... what can go wrong?
British twins were pretty crummy all around compared to a Japanes bike in the 70s but Triumph has been making fantastic bikes for a long time now.