10 Motorcycle Flops | The top ten worst motorcycles ever made 

I have had a DN01 for 12 years and I still love it.

BMW R1200 half baked styling and hideous? That thing still looks awesome today!

absolutely loved the transmission on the DN-01. perfect for urban riding, and the shaft drive was super smooth on the highway. but it was heavy, and expensive. it didn't know what it wanted to be when it grew up. naturally, it was much better rec'd in Japan.

I LOVE my TL1000s. A $200 R1 shock and 2 hours work and the rear end was transformed. Two Brothers pipes and it sounds amazing. With torque to burn it just makes me smile the whole time I'm riding it. My B-king just languishes in the shed ignored.

I love my CTX1300. I have been riding for 56 years and 16 bikes and have covered all of southern Africa and most of north This ticks most of my boxes. Visually it’s a “love it or hate it” I installed a touring windshield. If I could change anything I woul lose the stupid sound system and enlarge the side bags, but after 16 bikes I have concluded there is no “ Perfect “ bike….Happy riding…

What the hell? This list includes like 5 of my favorite bikes, including the Aprilia Futura and GTS1000.

Well I still own my 1977 Honda trail 90 With the incredible little engine that you can't kill

I remember when the Honda DN-01 came out. The acronym was soon referred to as "Do not order one".

You hope that these never happen again? Some of these bikes are just fine...sure they may not have sold well.. but they have a following and used can be a good value. Its motorcycling, there is something for everyone.

I'm the proud owner of a 2009 XR1200 that I bought lightly used in 2020. Not wrong about being heavy but it's a fantastic bike that's become a bit of a cult favorite in Harley history. I get a lot of thumbs ups and comments on it from those who actually know what it is. I would be surprised if HD DIDN'T make a modern rendition of it with the new Sportster architecture.

@8:08 A local Honda shop owner told me that franchise owners very quickly dubbed the DN-01 to "Do Not Order One!" ;-)

I must be particularly bad at choosing my bikes, my last two were respectively a GTS1000 and an R1200C, which I still own by the way. The GTS1000 was heavy, yes, but it managed to make the horrible roads of my region (Quebec) passable and it was so nice to see the horde of curious people kneeling in front of it to admire the unusual design of its direction. As for the R1200C, having tried other custom type motorcycles, it has a lot more drive than most of them and there is hardly ever a day when I am given signs of admiration watching her parade through the streets.

I have the R18 - never seen another one on the road. I still love it.

My wife had a CTX 1300. We were able to get it out the door, brand new for $9800. EVERY place we went it would ALWAYS attract a crowd. We drove it for 5 years and we almost as much as we paid for it as a trade in. She loved that bike as we traveled the country on it. But she loves her Indian Chief Vintage even more.

Have owned 2 TL1000S and still have my TL1000R since 11 years. Love it and will never sell it! But they are rare, I have not seen one TLR in the area I live in since I moved here, in 2003...

Honorable mention may be the '84-'86 Honda Nighthawk S, cb700sc. I bought a new one still in the showroom in '89, red, white, and blue. Of course, all sales were down after the 70's anyway. This bike was super low maintenance, had shaft drive, a gear indicator, and inline four cylinder goodness.

VF1000R springs to mind. It was so “ ordinary even Honda Australia would race them - VF1000 instead with Mail Campbell aboard. I had a friend who had the “R” and said he was never satisfied with the handling, power was good. He put it down to the wheel size which I believe were 16”. At that time getting good rubber for that size tire was tough. The other from that time was the Honda CBX750. It actually was a very nice bike and pretty quick. For some reason it did sell well. My only guess is that at the time that if you weren’t riding something north of 900cc it was a mid level bike. The only thing I remember of that time was a little controversy over the 16” front wheel. Thats my 2 cents worth.

Aprilia Futura was away ahead of it's time, not only did Triumph use it to style their ST, but Honda obviously bought one to style the VFR800...still one of the comfiest bikes I've ever sat on, I'd still buy one today!

How is the Yamaha Niken selling? I’ve not seen one of them on the road….

I agreed with most of the list until you came to the Honda NSA700 DN-01; which made me question all of your other opinions. The only reason these didn't sell was the price tag; because now, they are ultra-rare in the States, and people's necks nearly snap when I cruise by on one I picked up this summer. Got it for a song and a tap dance since apparently the seller listened to the likes of you - and after riding it a few hundred miles, I'm just laughing at the man's stupidity. One of the best mid-level cruisers I've ever been on (and I've ridden my fair share in the last thirty years); eclectic, beautiful, sips the gas, stable as a table, and purrs like a kitten; couldn't love it more.

The XR1200, the CTX1300, and that Yamaha with the freaky front suspension all seem like great ideas. I'd love to have anyone one of them in my garage.

My B-King was brilliant. I rode an R1220C as a service bike in the late 90s. It was a good ride. Good video, though.

Owned an Aprilia RST 1000 for 4 years. Rode great when it was working properly, which was occasional. 'Factory' support was useless on multiple electrical issues. Looking great and being comfortable only goes so far when you're sick of getting stranded. We called it the Futurama.

I nominate as flops Yamaha's 1982 and 83 Vision XZ-550 V-twins. Its engine is best described as a hopped-up version of a horizontally split V-Max. The 82 had carburetion problems, a middling single front disc and fixed-damping suspension. For 83 Yamaha fixed all those problems, lowered the bars, rear-set the foot controls and added a sport-touring fairing with lowers having innovative and efficient leg vents flowing no air/ambient air or engine heated air. The engine made more torque than any mid-size bike of the era, was one of the all-time smoothest and peak HP was decent too. Vision had superb handling and cornering clearance. The shaft drive performed seamlessly but chain drive would have saved weight and allowed easy final gear changes. If Yamaha had given it chain drive and waited for the 83 refinements (with a sport fairing instead of the larger sport-touring type,) the Vision would have more likely succeeded. Unfortunately, the world recession also helped seal its fate.

My B King is awesome! It was made way before its time. Whenever i ride it nowadays i always get compliments on how cool it looks. Handling is great, and performance wise it really doesn't need a turbo. Would be sick though.

I have a DN-01 and I love it! the transmission is amazing, fully automatic and no steps in the gears, it just smoothly matches engine speed and gearing to perfectly match any situation. the only thing is the wind screen is WAY too small. I bought an aftermarket unit that is twice as tall and it's still too small. the only other thing is, it's got to be the heaviest 700 in history. which only comes into play when you're moving it around. once underway it's no problem. my son rode it and he loves it too. i also consider it to be beautiful, it looks like I stole it from Batman

How DARE you put a TL1000R in there.😉 Awesome bike. Best sounding VTwin out there. 👌

A lesser but equally interesting list would be bikes that started off as “flops” but over time evolved into decent motorcycles that withstood the test of time.

All true. But the biggest all time flop was the 1970s Suzuki RE5 rotary. Rumor was that it was such a big flop that Suzuki loaded their left over parts on a barge and dumped them in the ocean.

You must surely include in any flop list the Suzuki RE5. Great idea, wonderful to ride but no one was ready for it and no one bought it. Well maybe a few but that was it. It had that amazing flip up instrument binnacle and the motor was so smooth you could balance a coin on its edge on the petrol tank.

The Yamaha TX750 has to be one of the biggest lemons of all time. They came out in 1973 and Yamaha Australia entered 6 or 7 of them in the 6 hour production race at Amaroo Park in Sydney, all with top riders. Only one of them finished. I became a Yamaha dealer 5 years later and by then they had virtually disappeared.

Possibly worthy of this list: Honda: PC800 Pacific Coast, Yamaha: XZ550, TX750, XV920RJ and its European version, the TR1 Harley-Davidson: XCLR hugely desirable and collectible today, but at the time nobody wanted one. Suzuki: RE-5 with the Wankel rotary

Interesting video... Thanks!👌👍

The 500cc version of the Harley Street sells very well here in Australia. It’s HD’s only LAMS (learner legal model) which makes it a popular choice for people wanting to get into cruisers. You’d want to really want that HD badge though. It’s painfully slow, too small and feels cheap- despite being quite expensive. You can get a vastly superior Honda Rebel 500 for significantly cheaper. But the Honda isn’t a HD, I guess…..

The b-king over 10 years later is still a weapon💁‍♂️🏍

I worked at HD when that Sportster came out - I sold everyone of them I could get - I would steal them from other dealers to meet my demand. Ditto for the Buells. Too many that work for HD have never been on the track, never been on dirt, never been over the 85mph mark. THAT is what killed the bike.

Suzuki TL1000 and B King are glorious bikes.....i would have them in my collection any day of the week.

I had a 1200C and totally customized it. Sculpted Corbin seat, chrome forks, all polished aluminum, de-badged, repaint. It ran great and was a real grabber wherever I parked it, including next to Harleys. Too far ahead of its time.

I must be a weirdo. I liked the R1200C, B-King, and the XR1200 is my favourite HD if I could own a second bike.

I'm sorry to see the CTX 1300 on this list, as it seems to be on almost everyone else's "bad idea" list. I bought one and it met my needs perfectly. Comfortable, fast, quiet, practical, and (I think) good looking with a MASSIVE rear tire that really grabs the road. With Honda reliability. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it's a hell of a nice bike.

Owned a Futura, beautiful bike, loved the sound and looks. Not enough dealers around though if anything went wrong. ☹️

I hope Aprilia resurect the Futura around the RS V4 engine, but with that exact styling... I'd buy it!!

As a daily street rider since late 80s and owned all types and brands, I've been around through these on the lists... Bad bikes? Hardly, not all. GTS, TL's, Ducati classic and XR1200R are great bikes. Now the BKing which I still own a 08 black on black in the garage mix. Absolutely great bike and was simply too far ahead of its time.

You forgot the Aprilia Mana 850. The bike that Honda used as the inspiration for the NC750X.

That was fun. Good job

Yeah the XR happened right during the 08-2010 recession....also the “performance Harley” wave didn’t hit yet. People either had sport bikes or regular Harleys. LOVE mine though absolutely awesome bike, definitely a ripper. People still wonder what it is today and still turns heads.

I like most of these, at least the ones designed from crazy concepts like the DN-01. Like you said, Honda from time to time, pushes the boundaries and comes up with something brilliant, but will never make them any money. The Valkyrie Rune, the crazy Vultus. Then there are the weird scooters like the Helix, or the Suzuki Gemma. Some of them are just ahead of their time.

I love my B-King and I would never sell it

Should the Niken be in this list ????

I briefly owned a ctx700n. It was as quick as a Honda Fit, and turned like a brick. The seat was way too low and the foot controls so far forward that I could barely reach them. The tiny glove box / frunk was a place to lose things down the deep narrow sides. Sold it for what I paid and moved on.

We sold a DN-01 to a lady with one leg. She absolutely loved that bike. By the way, DN-01 stands for "Do Not Order One."

I had a CTX1300.. It was actually a great bike to be honest. It was comfortable, it was surprisingly. The Bluetooth stereo was decent. The lighting for night riding was the best of any bike Ive owned. They should of sold it as a middleweight Goldwing.. A taller windshield. I traded it for a Valkyrie 1800. Some days I regret it.. The CTX was never given a chance..

I really enjoyed the CTX1300! It was a fantastic bike. Also, it had Bluetooth as well as an auxiliary jack. I put a solid 1k km on it in a few weeks time. That V4 in it was a peach. Keep in mind, I own a 2014 MV Agusta Brutale 675, so I enjoy exciting and terrifying bikes as well!

What have we learned? 1; BMW can’t (and should not) build American style cruisers 2; Harley can’t (and really should not) make Euro themed nakeds and café bikes. 3; Honda engineers have NEVER actually been out riding apparently. I know we all like different things My two bikes are a 1999 BMW R1100s and a brand new Indian Super Chief. While I really think my Beamer is essentially the on road “do anything well but not the best” bike I wanted a low seat, floor boarded, snatch your arms off torque type experience as well. Enjoy your bikes my friends, more importantly, enjoy the ride. PS, DUCATI PLEASE BRING BACK THE MH900e as I’m finally able to afford it!

The Aprilia Moto with orange tank was a sales disaster.... But I'd kinda like one in my garage.

I have owned both an 2001 Aprilia Furtura and a 2005 Honda VRF 800. I liked the Aprlia better. The slipper clutch and the geometry of the Futura made it a better handling, easier to flog bike. The VRF only had a very slight advantage in that the rider position was a bit more comfortable for all day rides. The Aprilia had much more H.P. and usable torque and the handling was much better. I slso owned a 2002 Aprilia Mille and it and the Futura had telepathic handling. It was very easy to go VERY fast on both bikes but you had to work just a little harder to wring the most out of the Mille. The Honda on the other hand was a good handling bike PROVIDED you didn't push it too hard Both Aprlias would give ample warning at their limits before things would start to go bad, the Honda , not so much. In fact it's because of this that I sold it. Out on the edge with it, like if you hit a bump while on the edge in a corner it would react very fast and with no predictability from one bump to the next. Both Aprlias were very stable and would not upset as easily. Given the Aprlias, and Italian V Twin bikes are generally better handling than the Japanese inline and even V 4s like the VRF. The Honda wasn't a bad bike, its just the Aprlias were better. As to costectics, the Furtura did take a bit of getting used to, at first the mirrors , from the front reminded me of a certain moth that has antennas that look like a fern leaf lol, but after getting to know that bike, its power and the way it handled, I accepted the funky mirrors, since looking into them was the only time I saw my buddies when we were out riding lol

Since I have been riding since the mid 80s... 1. Yamaha 550 Vision 2. Honda FT/VT 500 3. Kawasaki 900/1000 Eliminator 4. Yamaha TDM 850 5. All early to mid 80s turbo bikes All the above bikes were not necessarily bad, just introduced at the wrong time and didn't sell at all. The 550 Vision was so dismal, there were dealers offering BOGO. Yes, buy one Vision and get two! It was that bad in the early 80s in ref to sales in general.

Hey! That GTS video was shot in San Diego, my hometown. Now I want one.

I absolutely love my XR1200X, but I do see why it didn't take off. If only Harley spent the time engineering an aluminum chassis instead of reusing the tubular steel cruiser chassis. Maybe then it would of taken off and still be around today.

Ducatis Sportclassics/GT/PS were much better and more stylish than any of new scrambler series. They just didn't appeared in the right time. I rode GT and SC and they were both fun and nice to ride.

When VR46 was living in London, I was a courier and he was wearing flip flops. Valkyrie, through traffic...boy can ride. Respect. 😂

I used to own a Ducati PS1000. Nice to look at but it really needed a more powerful engine. As it was it was under motorized and not very fun to drive. In facti, it was the most boring Ducati I ever owned (I've owned some 25-30 Ducatis in total ). A bike that didn't charm the market but in fact was a very good bike was the first gen Ducati Multistrada (owned 4 of them.. :-) ) A great bike.. ugly you may say.. have you driven one I will say.. cheers!

I REALLY wanted a Yamaha GTS1000 when they came out, but couldn't justify the price. The hi tech cool factor was off the charts, but that was still not quite worth the cost.

"manufacturers should never get swept up in (motorcycle) show excitement" so true ! And applies to many things notably, of course, cars ...

This video tops the list of Worst Motorcycle Flop Videos Ever Made

Yet ten more examples of the Marketing Department believing their own hype and failing to understand what real marketing research looks like.

I almost bought a CTX-1300 when Honda slashed the price, but none of the dealers around me had the deluxe. No cruise control made searching for a deluxe not worth the effort. In fact, I passed on several Honda models because of the lack of cruise control. The F6B, and the CrossTourer are two examples of Honda falling short.

I’m proud owner of a TL1000S. Having regretted selling the first one I owned I went and bought another after trying out a couple of other makes. I guess it’s each to their own but I certainly love the ride, look and sound of my TL. I can think of worse bikes that would have made your top ten.

I saw the DN 01 by Honda at a bike show in London , (2008 I guess, I can't remember) and it looked epic! It's looks got it a lot of attention BUT as you said , a lot of bikers were saying it's too expensive for what it gives , and that it was an "automatic", but I still to this love it's looks ,maybe it's just me , but it looks like a shark 🦈

The Yamaha TDM 850 and the Kawasaki KZ1300 come to mind for this list.

How could you forget the Honda NM-4 Vultus?

This was pretty good overall, but you failed to mention a couple of the plus points of the GTS 1000. That Funny Front End worked really well - you could brake deep into corners in a way that none of the tele-forked bikes of the day could handle. And...that detuned 100bhp engine went on forever. I'll never forget meeting a London despatch rider with well over 200,000 miles on his GTS 1000! Also, the unique transmission of the DN-01 is worth a mention - as far as I'm aware, it's the only motorcycle with a quad-style fluid drive rather than the 'glorified rubber band' of most scooters or the true automatic gearbox of Honda's DCT. Honda's NM4 Vultus might feature in a future list of this kind, even though it's a great machine to ride, with stunning looks - better in both ways than the DN-01.

Flops? Yes. Worst ever made? Nope.

Loved my tricked up TL1000R in bright yellow. Harley Davidson XR1200 was a piece of crap, and the company treated buyers like someone with the plague. They pull good money now though.

You forgot Big flop from Suzuki the RE 5 ,meaby classic now,but over complicated with rotary engine

I had a mate with a DN 01.... nobody could work out what it was supposed to be...

The R 1200 c is a quite excellent motorcycle. The engine has plenty of steam, the chassis is stable, and the workmanship is of high quality. The copies sold in Germany usually have a low mileage , are unmodified and in top condition. They are now highly traded.

Well presented. I can think of a few other Honda models, namely the 'CX' line, especially the turbo models. It was Honda's attempt to build a better MotoGuzzi.

Good video

My brother had an earlier model R1200C. I rode it home from the dealership after it was serviced. Merging on the freeway was a harrowing experience, it was so underpowered and heavy acceleration was non existent. What a dog. As much as I’m a fan of BMW motorcycles, I’m on my 8th, I knew the R1800 would be yet another flop. Harley owns the cruiser market. The 1800c is not selling, It’s obvious with the abundance of inventory available on this bike nationwide.

Whatever became of that v 6 triumph. Had me drooling. Only saw one in the showroom in the states beautiful bike been a fan for 50 yrs. Haven't seen anything like it since the mid 70's when that 750 was around Cafe racer orange and brown. My good bud sold his been kicking his own bottom knowing how rare they are now. I enjoyed your program.

The Suzuki TL might’ve been killed off but it was and still is an awesome bike and it was replaced with the Sv1000 that was also a great bike. And as fair as half naked V-twin bikes they really don’t have much competition. Understandably they aren’t for everyone, but for the people who prefer a good mix of torque and horsepower over only having top-end horsepower the Sv1000s is a great choice.

Are you kidding me? If the Yamaha Niken is not the most "How stupid are you?" assembly of ugliness ever offered for sale, then what the hell are you doing? I thought all those living-room-sofas-on-three-wheels abortions were the most ridiculous thing ever until Yamaha decided that doubling the unsprung weight on the front of a pretend motorcycle was a good idea. I would really like to have an XSR, but I fear somebody might see it and remember that Yamaha also built the Niken.

I think the Suzuki RF600 and RF900 were more of a flop than the TLR and TLS, unless we're just focusing on Suzuki's racing intentions. You'd be hard pressed to ride one of those older TL's and not have a $hit eating grin on your face afterwards.

My local Honda dealership had a DN-01 in a few years ago, in burgundy with low kms and a price tag of around $9000NZ. I liked the styling, but after doing a little research I decided to stear clear.

The B-King is an excellent bike on its own... But they over promised with the supercharger, so that left a bad taste from the get go.

The Futura was actually a very good sports tourer apart from the Italian electrics. The TLR 1000R was a great bike … As a Bimota SB8R which was the bike Suzuki should have made

Loved my 09 Honda DN01...sold it to get my Indian FTR, but still miss it.

It's an absolute shame the gt1000 failed. I Loved that bike - would buy one in a heartbeat if I could find and afford one. Why they haven't revisited it properly now that retros are in, is beyond me.

The R1200C would have been a nice bike with a bit more power. I now own the K1300R, and it is fantastic.

The DN-01 is a beautiful bike to ride and looks fantastic. WTF's wrong with a bike that looks a bit different than most others.

On any form of riding (city cruising, touring, etc), the HD Street 750/500 gives me cramps on my thighs. I love Harleys, but I hate this one. Seat is too wide it makes you uncomfortable in short rides

TLS a TLS are not flops….had a 1997 TLS currently have.a TLS 1999 with Olins conversion….awesome road bike

How about doing a similar video on 1970's and 1980's machines, like the Suzuki RE5, H-D XLCR 1000 and what about the Japanese turbo charged machines of the 1980's, Honda CX650 Turbo, Suzuki XN85, Kawasaki GPZ750 Turbo and the Yamaha XJ650 Turbo. There were also the rotary powered motorcycles, DKW W2000, Norton F1, a mate of mine had one of those and it was forever breaking down, the hyper expensive Van Veen OCR1000, in 1979 a Van Veen cost £10k, I bought my mid-terraced house that year for £6.5k. There's also the afore mentioned Suzuki RE5, the motor company spent so much on it's development that it almost bankrupted them. How about the Benelli 900 Sei, they were produced from 1979 until 1989 and only a total of 1864 complete 900 Sei's left the Benelli factory in Pesaro, Italy. I've owned a 900 Sei since 1986 and I love it.

1:10 “good news is it was actually pretty good.” Proceeds to tell you why it’s not pretty good. 😂

The CTX 1300 was a restyling exercise in Hondas attempt to get the retuned V4 euro 5 compliant. It wasn’t as powerful as the PanEuropean hence the need to make it into a bagger. It flopped on both of those points

Is this a video or a jigsaw puzzle? It’s like watching cutscenes rendered on an Atari 2600

The nice thing about motorcycle failures is that it doesn't require a dedicated plant to build a failure, if it doesn't work out, they just discontinue it and the plant still survives making the other models. Unlike automobiles in a lot of cases. In the end and over time, most bikes are pretty good at what they do. You can't say that about cars.

I don't think the Ducati 1000 gt was a flop. They were just too early for the market!

I watched this and thought I dodged a bullet, until the very last flop was announced. The Honda CTX 1300. NOOOOO! Well, I bought it cheap, and I actually love it, proving once again that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.