What are some of the more unusual bikes you've owned?

[eddd]

I guess because they are uncommon, people are drawn to my RT and asked questions about it. Especially, and unfortunately, mostly older guys who had a motorcyle at one time. (No babes, just old guys. ) I got to talking with a fellow about the different engine layouts, and I brought up the Suzuki RE-5 rotary-engine bike.

 

This got me to wondering if anyone on the board ever owned one of these, and/or what other unusual motorcycles have you owned over the years.

 

While far from exotic, my two some-what unusual bikes were a Suzuki GT 750, the water-cooled two stroke which replaced my Suzuki T500, a 500cc air-cooled two stroke.

 

Tell us about your more unusual bikes, and you might want to include why/how you ended up with these cycles.

[Zot]

My most unusual bike was a German made NSU Supermax 250.

Apparently quite popular in Germany,not too many made it to North America.The camshaft was driven by a connecting rod of sorts driven by the crank.It was a fun restoration,but rounding up parts took a lot of time and effort.

[motorman587]

Growing up in Germany, I had to first ride a Puch Moped, , it was blue. Then I was able to move up to a Mokick, Yamama dual purpose, type motorcycle.

[Wooster]

My unusual motorcycle list includes a Bultaco 250 cc Metrella, a Rickman 125 cc enduro and a Hodaka 125 cc Combat Wombat mx.

The bultaco was a street bike with no neutral light, tach, electric start nor battery. It had a two stroke oil tank behind the right side panel with hand operated pump behind left. I'd guesstimate gas needed, reference a chart indicating how much oil to add, then pump so many strokes to insert oil into gas tank. If overestimated, there'd be too much oil in the gas (say a 1 to 30 vs the intended 1 to 40 oil/fuel ratio), challeneging bike's primitive ignition system.

The rickman had nickle plated frame, zundapp motor and automatic drive chain oiling mechanism (oil was loaded into left side of swing arm which had valve on underside; idea was that oil would drip on chain as bike ring dinged thru the woods).

The hodaka most unusual feature was its name, combat wombat !

 

Wooster, a card carrying contrarian

[SEATTLE_RIDER]

Zundapp Bella scooter. Ugly, but it was much faster than the Vespas and Lambrettas that my buddies were getting. This was in Fairview Park, Ohio......and the year was 1958. At that time you could get licensed to operate a scooter at age 14. It was heaven!

[Kelly3027]

I owned a Bultaco 360 Pursang MXer for awhile. My first street bike was a Norton 750 Hi Rider. It didn't take me long to to yank the ape hangers and add cafe bars and rear sets. If an R100GS is unusual, add that to the list.

[notacop]

I had a Yamaha 50cc step-through Trail bike as my first.

Bennili Dynamo, 50cc folding bike. Aeromachi 125 Rapid.

[subvet]

not mine but had one identical to this as my first powered 2-wheeler

 

[Alan D]

My unusual motorcycle list includes a Bultaco 250 cc Metrella, a Rickman 125 cc enduro and a Hodaka 125 cc Combat Wombat mx.

The bultaco was a street bike with no neutral light, tach, electric start nor battery. It had a two stroke oil tank behind the right side panel with hand operated pump behind left. I'd guesstimate gas needed, reference a chart indicating how much oil to add, then pump so many strokes to insert oil into gas tank. If overestimated, there'd be too much oil in the gas (say a 1 to 30 vs the intended 1 to 40 oil/fuel ratio), challeneging bike's primitive ignition system.

The rickman had nickle plated frame, zundapp motor and automatic drive chain oiling mechanism (oil was loaded into left side of swing arm which had valve on underside; idea was that oil would drip on chain as bike ring dinged thru the woods).

The hodaka most unusual feature was its name, combat wombat !

 

Wooster, a card carrying contrarian

 

I had a 73 (I think) Rickman 125 MX with the zundapp motor that I used in the woods. Really hard to ride on hills in the woods because the power came on suddenly. I think it shifted on the right and the throw seemed like 3 feet long. At the end of the day you were worn out. It handled really well down a trail. The nickle plated frame and the fiberglass were beautiful. It only weighed 195 lbs.

[BeemerLover]

When I was in 8th grade the coolest way to get to school was on a Lambretta, Vespa or Cushman. At 14 in Colorado back then you could drive these and I got to drive those my friends owned. I saved, saved and saved - almost had enough to buy one too but the next year I went to high school and saving for a car seemed more important. I guess I didn't "own" one but sure did feel like my friends bikes were also mine!

 

Gael

[rtpitt]

How about a Bultaco 200 Pursang. I would get every holeshot with that one. Another odd ball was a VOR 450 v-Cross. My brother owned a Hercules 175 - 7 speed.

[blkvelvt]

How about rght now and the past.

 

Currently own EML GT3, ATK 604 (Ron Woods built 600), Sherco 2.9 Trials and other normal stuff

 

Past has seen Bultaco 125 Sherpa, Sears Allstate 250 (Twingle), D.O.T.250, Matchless Typhoon, Rickman Bultaco 175cc, Hodaka Ace 100, Cushman scooter, Taco minibike, and others I wish I still owned.

[BUSTED]

My 49 HD would get a lot of looks. It was the second year of the panhead and the first year for the HydraGlide front fork and the front fender on the 49 was a one year model that was changed again in 50.

[Lone_RT_rider]

This is it for me....

 

 

A 1973 Harley 350 Sprint. Couldn't keep starter gears or point's working in that thing for the life of me. If you took the muffler off it would do a whole 65 mph....down hill! Oh, who am I kidding... there were no hills in Saginaw, MI.

 

Shawn

[MrHondamatic]

Other than my BMW in a land of Gold Wings and H-D's? That would have to be my Hondamatic. It's a detuned CB750 Honda with a 2 speed automatic transmission, that is not really automatic. I have to shift it, as it does not shift it's self. It does have a tourque converter instead of a clutch, and that gets attention. People have a hard time understanding a motorcycle without a clutch. So when I tell them it has a torque converter like a car with an automatic, the usually just look at me like I'm nuts. I love to take off one handed when there is someone next to me, although I don't do it often.

[upflying]

In 1968, I drove a late '50's Motobecane moped all around Baden, Switzerland. This is not an actual photo of the moped but it is similar to what I remember. At 14 years old, this was my first motor vehicle.

[Jon_M]

1954 Horex Regina 400 Single

Early 1950s Ariel Red Hunter

[Motorcycho]

people stare at me when Im on this... esp the harley guys!

 

[outpost22]

Wow, and I thought Bultaco's would be rare.

Mine was a 1969 Pursang with a Bandito rear wheel, Betor shocks, and Bing (drooling) carb. Couldn't keep crank seals in it for more than 2 moto's, and the crank was balanced and stuffed.

 

Also, the 501 Maico (Breako) was a cow.

[Wyn]

A 68 Royal Enfield Interceptor 750. Loved the chrome tank and the guy I bought it from had mounted a hood ornament on the front fender kinda like Jaguar has on the hood of their cars but it was the head of a woman with her hands under her chin elbows sticking out. It was the t--s man. Wish I still had it.

[Zot]

people stare at me when Im on this... esp the harley guys!

 

 

I feel your "pain" brother. I had a 450, raked and chopped with a sportster tank, a king/queen seat,fat rear wheel,sissy bar,pull backs and a chrome foot kickstand.

I was soooo lame back then,sometimes wish I still had the "Rumble Pig".

[JohnTena]

Wow, and I thought Bultaco's would be rare.

Mine was a 1969 Pursang with a Bandito rear wheel, Betor shocks, and Bing (drooling) carb. Couldn't keep crank seals in it for more than 2 moto's, and the crank was balanced and stuffed.

 

Yeah, lotta Bultacos on this thread! I had five 'taco road bikes before I bought my first car. Two 175cc Mercurios, a 200cc Metralla, then two 250cc Metrallas, one of which I raced in AFM for a season. They all sure taught me a lot about mechanicking!

Then I rode a friend's BMW R51/3 from Berkeley to Los Angeles and back.... I mean, this bike was so sophisticated it had a neutral light!!!

[Dietrich]

My first bike was a '39 Wanderer 98 that I had picked up from a fellow mechanic as a basket case. I had no license, had just turned 16. Got the thing going and raced through the village without an exhaust of course. On my return trip the village cop caught me and wrote me up for: No license, no insurance, no ownership, no exhaust, not roadworthy. Told me to go home and come back in the afternoon to face the music. I was in a panic just having started my apprenticeship. He was going to call my employer etc. At the afternoon meeting I feared for the worst. He gave me a stern lecture, warned me not to be seen with that thing again and charged me with illegallly riding on the side walk. Just a 10DM fine. He never saw me again. ( I rode somewhere else) and of course got a license and a roadworthy moped.

This is similar to the bike I had.

[Mike]

I haven't owned a lot of bikes, but the most unusual by far was a Honda CX500 Turbo:

 

 

The CX-T was an innovative answer to the question of how to create a lot of horsepower from relatively little displacement (82 h.p. from 500 cc.). Honda created what was at the time claimed to be the smallest turbocharger ever used in a production machine, about 2" in diameter. That little turbo spun at up to 200,000 rpm and added 18.5 lbs of boost to the CX-T.

 

It was in many ways an excellent motorcycle, incorporating bleeding edge technology in a very reliable machine, typical of Honda. But the CX-T was both exhilarating and demanding to ride. There was an appreciable amount of turbo lag--once you hit the throttle, a second or two would pass during which you would barely accelerate, followed by a mad rush toward the horizon as the turbo came on boost. This was fun, but not the best way for a motorcycle to approach power delivery. It was very difficult to regulate power coming out of a corner because you had to account for turbo lag in deciding when and how much throttle to apply. Since the transition from unboosted to boosted power was so dramatic and since I was a relatively unskilled rider at the time, I tended to err on the side of caution. I would coast through curves under more or less constant power and muster the courage to apply throttle only after I had completed the turn. That, combined with the CT-T's relatively high center of gravity, conspired to make the bike less than confidence-inspiring in the twisties.

 

Still, it was a damned cool bike. It was very comfortable, always started and ran reliably with essentially zero maintenance, and had a pretty outrageous look for a bike of that era. Mine, unlike the image I've hotlinked to, sported a reverse-image "OBRUT" logo on the front of the fairing--motorists, looking in their rear-view mirrors, would see "TURBO" and know that they were about to get passed with maximum prejudice.

[Jim VonBaden]

I haven't owned a lot of bikes, but the most unusual by far was a Honda CX500 Turbo:

 

 

The CX-T was an innovative answer to the question of how to create a lot of horsepower from relatively little displacement (82 h.p. from 500 cc.). Honda created what was at the time claimed to be the smallest turbocharger ever used in a production machine, about 2" in diameter. That little turbo spun at up to 200,000 rpm and added 18.5 lbs of boost to the CX-T.

 

It was in many ways an excellent motorcycle, incorporating bleeding edge technology in a very reliable machine, typical of Honda. But the CX-T was both exhilarating and demanding to ride. There was an appreciable amount of turbo lag--once you hit the throttle, a second or two would pass during which you would barely accelerate, followed by a mad rush toward the horizon as the turbo came on boost. This was fun, but not the best way for a motorcycle to approach power delivery. It was very difficult to regulate power coming out of a corner because you had to account for turbo lag in deciding when and how much throttle to apply. Since the transition from unboosted to boosted power was so dramatic and since I was a relatively unskilled rider at the time, I tended to err on the side of caution. I would coast through curves under more or less constant power and muster the courage to apply throttle only after I had completed the turn. That, combined with the CT-T's relatively high center of gravity, conspired to make the bike less than confidence-inspiring in the twisties.

 

Still, it was a damned cool bike. It was very comfortable, always started and ran reliably with essentially zero maintenance, and had a pretty outrageous look for a bike of that era. Mine, unlike the image I've hotlinked to, sported a reverse-image "OBRUT" logo on the front of the fairing--motorists, looking in their rear-view mirrors, would see "TURBO" and know that they were about to get passed with maximum prejudice.

 

Except my Yamaha XJ650LJ Turbo!

 

 

 

I owned the identical bike to this in 83, and whooped many an unsuspecting Honda CX Turbo, though the next year the Kawasaki 750 Turbo creamed me too. And the next year the non-turbo Yamaha 650 beat me as well.

 

Still a cool bike, and this copy has only 8600 miles on it, and rides just fine! I wont be selling it, ever!

 

Jim

 

PS Less than 6000 were made, and less than half came to the US. I have owned three of them, 2 of which are now parts (One rear ended with me on it in 83, and one not by me).

[sardineone]

My 1st thought was my present R12ST but, only unusual in perception as it's just a great all-rounder. Now to past bikes I have owned a Bultaco Lobito & a Suzuki T-500. Not hardcore unusual but, not following the mainstream either.

[Paul Mihalka]

The bikes I had over the many years would be unusual museum-worthy today, but were not unusual in their own time. The list would be Matchless, AJS, Triumph, BMW R50. The really special bikes I rode, but were not mine, were the racing bikes. Velocette KTT, Gilera Saturno Corsa. These would be serious collector's items. The rarest and not well known item would be my girlfriend's (later my wife) DKW scooter (1956). 70cc, the first vehicle I know of with a CVT transmission. Just a regular V belt on two pulleys, one spring loaded, the other controlled by weights that changed the size depending on rpm. It worked.

[NathanJessup]

Seems like I have owned alot of different bikes but one of the most unusual and best motorcycle has been my Suzuki V-Strom 1000 !

[Mike]

Cool! I wish I'd kept the old CX-T. There definitely was a turbo horsepower war-- first the CX500T, then your Yamaha, then the Kawi. Somewhere in there Honda upped the ante, too, raising the displacement of the CX-T to 650 cc. Really, I think the best of them, in terms of a good ride, was probably the Yamaha, though the CX's were pretty bulletproof.

 

Turbo technology has come a long since then, but it hardly seems necessary when modern sport bikes in many instances easily exceed 160 b.h.p.

[beemerboy]

I don't know how "unsual" this is but it's a rare one for sure; mine from 2002 until 2006 - a '92 K1 with original factory soft luggage:

 

Now I own this rare little beast, one of 50 originally imported to the US in '92; a Ducati 907: