Lemons, most of us would have had something we consider a lemon, sometimes for logical reasons, sometimes illogical reasons. We can develop great expectations of a bike only to suffer a reality check once we have bought it.
Like a young child when they get their first set of running shoes, they will be ecstatic with excitement at the thought of putting these fantastic things on their feet, but the excitement soon turns to disappointment when they find they still have to put one foot in front of the other quite quickly in order to actually run.
Sometimes bad bikes can give us great fond memories of a certain time in our lives so we can forgive them their shortcomings.
The KLX 250 often makes the world’s worst bike lists. Mine gave me a lot of grief and gobbled huge amounts of money as I tried to make it go faster. It consistently broke spokes and I lost count of how many times I wore out the motor. Its final downfall was when the gearbox exploded, literally, most likely from way to many power shifts.
But despite all this I still have very fond memories of this bike. It made me a better rider as it taught me how to corner harder and to keep momentum in difficult spots. It also taught me how to be a mechanic as I had it apart so many times.
Of all the bikes I have owned I only consider 3 of them to be lemons.
77 DT400
It probably didn’t help that I longed for an XT500 but at 17 & 9 months the DT was all I can afford. It was okay at first with my new found freedom but when a mate bought an XT I came to realize how bad it was. The XT would consistently out drag the DT and always by a huge and easy margin. One road trip the DT went through 5 tanks of fuel while the XT only used 1 tank. How it could use so much fuel and still be gutless was beyond me. An attempt to lean it out by the bike shop resulted in a melted piston. It was good for sliding around corners on dirt roads but that is the only good thing I remember about it. I tried not to hold against it an altercation with a truck that put me in a wheelchair for 3 months. I did fix it and ride it again but it was now on borrowed time.
88 TT 350
I trail rode a 125 the year before and while that was great fun it was a bit tedious on long trailrides so I went for a 4 stroke for 88. The 350 seemed like a good thing, more power than an XR250 and more nimble than an XR600. It always seemed though that in Enduro’s the 600’s would go under me in corners and the 250’s would blow me away down the straights. It was an okay trailbike but I just couldn’t come to terms with it as a race bike. Never really felt comfortable with it. Cam chain jumped a tooth during the Mallee Rally and I lost interest in it after that.
Montesa Cota 304 (Late 80’s)
I once knew a girl that had to sell her car because it kept having accidents all the time. I was a lot like that with this bike.
Always had an interest in Trials and then a mate lent me his 242 for a couple of weeks. It felt bloody weird the first time I rode it but when I got used to it I amazed myself at the places I could go.
Had to have a Trials bike myself now. I want one and I want it now.
Could have got a deal on a demo Fantic but I didn’t know much about them at the time so I opted for the Montesa as I at least knew a little about them.
Dnfed every second Trial at first.
Chain dislodged itself and became stuck in the enclosed tube it runs in, the event was over before I could get it sorted.
While warming up at one event the countershaft sprocket broke in half. Could have borrowed a sprocket but the taper was a different size to the earlier models so I packed up and went home.
The flywheel would consistently shear the key and fall off. Tried all sorts of thing to keep it on, lapped it in, tried not to rev it too hard.
Had a box of spare keys in the toolbox but pushing it back to the tool box was a pain.
One practice trip it unhooked itself in the trailer and the handlebars punched a hole through the fuel tank of the next bike.
One mate still laughs out loud about the time I hit neutral while going up a hill. Bloody fastest I ever traveled on a bike was on this thing going backwards. I was amazed at how long I stayed upright for but that only allowed the velocity to build up higher. Malcolm Smith is able to do this maneuver with style and grace but not me. The coming to a stop at the bottom was quite ugly.
Traded it in on a Fantic a year later.
What are your lemon stories?
