Looks Can Be Deceiving
Motorcycles are probably the most freeing vehicle you can own. Not only that, but both classic and modern bikes are usually meticulously designed, sleek, and stylish. Unfortunately, their looks don’t always match their performance. Below, you’ll find bikes that looked great but rode terribly.
Ducati Scrambler
Ducati is famous for designing some of the best bikes on the market, and the Scrambler has received plenty of praise. However, despite its great design, some of its features, such as the suspension, are troublesome, and many find the upright riding position to be incredibly uncomfortable.
Honda Fury
While its design promised fury, this Honda bike’s performance was actually very meek. It’s a good choice for slower rides, but struggles to take corners swiftly and is difficult to handle at high speeds. Its weight makes it feel clunky.
Kawasaki W800
The Kawasaki W800 looks like it should be packing plenty of power, but that’s far from the truth. It has a fairly mellow engine that struggles to accelerate to the top speeds of other powerful-looking bikes. The W800 is better suited to cruising.
Harley-Davidson Road Glide
Unfortunately, your eyes aren’t deceiving you; we really have put a Harley on this list! The Road Glide is a more modern Harley, and perhaps that’s the problem. It lacks the raw power and potential of its predecessors, and many find it to be stiff and awkward.
Suzuki RE5
While many people loved the look of the Suzuki RE5 and its rotary engine, those were really the only big selling points. The engine often overheated and suffered wear and tear, which made it difficult to rely on for long rides. It also has poor fuel efficiency.
Yamaha V-Max 1200
The Yamaha V-Max 1200 is best described as a two-wheeled muscle car. But sheer power and bulk aren’t enough to guarantee a good ride. In fact, its weight often worked against it, causing it to wobble and topple during rides, and the engine was temperamental on the best of days.
Indian Scout
The Indian Scout is the oldest bike on this list, and its unique design deserves some praise. However, its performance shows its age. The riding position is too uncomfortable to manage more than short rides, and it’s liable to have several mechanical and electrical issues.
Kawasaki H2 Mach IV
Beware the Kawasaki H2 Mach IV! It looks great, but it’s one of the most dangerous bikes around. Riders have nicknamed it “the Widowmaker” due to its risky performance, which involved a poorly-timed throttle roll-on that spun out the back wheel, shocking even experienced riders.
Maico 250
The 1982 Maico 250 is certainly not a delicate-looking bike, but for those who race dirt bikes, it’s an image of glory. Unfortunately, many riders had issues with its performance, particularly the dodgy suspension, head shake, and broken shock shafts.
BMW F650 Funduro
BMW is known for making beautiful vehicles, and the F650 Funduro was no exception. Not only was the attractive exterior prone to rusting, but the bike also had ignition problems, occasional engine cut-outs, and poor off-road capabilities. As a result, it was tricky to ride.
Bimota V Due
The Bimota V Due is perfect in its simplicity, like a true racing bike. Unfortunately, it was a complete disaster for riders and the Bimota company. It was completely unreliable to ride, with bad oil leaks, poor power delivery, and crankshaft failures. Many riders returned their bikes.
Can-Am Spyder
Despite its name, the Can-Am Spyder doesn’t have eight wheels. But its three-wheeled design is absolutely striking, if impractical for everyday riding. Many people have found braking to be problematic, and it’s also common for coolant to leak, which can lead to performance-hampering engine damage.
Suzuki B-King
While it might be a king in looks, this Suzuki bike was often more trouble than it was worth. It lacks the expected supercharged performance, and its heavy weight makes it difficult to handle, especially at high speeds and around corners.
Honda Hawk 400
The Honda Hawk 400 is as beautiful as its namesake bird, but nowhere near as intimidating in nature. The CB400T version, in particular, is bad to ride due to issues with the ignition and transmission. Instead of riding smoothly, it’s sluggish and jerky.
Morbidelli V8
Anything with a V8 engine should ride well, right? Wrong! The Morbidelli V8 was a gorgeous limited-production bike with a hefty price tag that simply couldn’t meet such high expectations. It was difficult to maintain, which led to several riders struggling to keep the engine in top condition for frequent riding.
Hyosung GT650R
The Hyosung GT650R is well-deserving of the superbike title for its appearance alone. But even with such raw power, many riders often struggled to start to bike due to overheating, and a series of mechanical failures while riding made it a risky motorcycle to choose.
Yamaha Niken
Where do we begin with the Yamaha Niken? It’s got some of the most unique wheels we’ve ever seen on a bike, plus an aggressive, bulky build. Sadly, its design negatively influenced its performance by making it less stable, especially when riding fast. It also created an uncomfortable riding stance.
Harley-Davidson Sportster S
It’s hard to fault Harley-Davidson, but even they’ve had some duds. While the Sportster S is by no means a terrible bike, it’s far behind other Harleys in terms of performance, though no less beautiful. Engine failures and random cut-outs during riding are its biggest issues.
Kawasaki H1 500
The Kawasaki H1 500 looks like an absolute beast, and with that two-stroke engine, it is. But spark problems and poor fuel efficiency have ruined many a riding experience for those who own an H1 500, as has poor handling and braking.
Vincent Black Shadow
We can see why the Vincent Black Shadow was a beloved 1950s superbike! It’s breathtaking to look at, but it doesn’t ride as well as we’d hoped. The clutch is a big problem during riding, often seizing up or slipping. This is dangerous and makes for a very bumpy ride.
BMW S1000RR
The BMW S1000RR looks like a high-performance bike, and it can be fun. But it has been plagued by a series of problems that have impacted the quality of the ride. These include startling engine seizures, loose wiring, and bolts coming loose while moving.
Honda DN-01
The Honda DN-01 is a bike we’d definitely look twice at, but its gorgeous bulk is actually hiding a sub-par ride. Unsurprisingly, it’s a very heavy car, which makes it a bit of a chore to handle, and several riders have even reported parts scraping while cornering.
Suzuki GSXR 1000
Suzuki makes some of the most stunning bikes, but not all of them are easy rides. The 2001 GSXR 1000 was a bit of a disappointing addition to the GSXR series, with some worrying power loss issues that would make even the biggest daredevils take pause.
Kawasaki Vulcan 2000
Vulcan was the Roman god of fire and metalwork, and we can see why he was the inspiration for this powerful V-twin cruiser. Unfortunately, the ride isn’t quite so godlike. Ignition is often an issue, causing the bike to stall and even fail to start at all.
Benelli Tornado Tre 900
The Benelli Tornado Tre 900 is utterly majestic, and we’d expect nothing less from an iconic Italian manufacturer. But, many riders find it to be very unreliable to ride because some parts are so vulnerable. The alternator shaft, for instance, snapped on several models.
Ducati 916
There’s no denying that the Ducati 916 has earned its iconic status. But is it as good as it looks? Most often, no. Their age means that they don’t ride as smoothly as modern bikes, and many riders have complained of clutch failures, loose nuts, and electrical failures.
Harley-Davidson SX 250
Harley-Davidson designed the SX 250 during the ‘60s off-road biking craze, and the design certainly delivered. But the two-stroke engine meant that the SX 250 was actually a nightmare to ride because it was so unreliable, which isn’t what you want when exploring rough terrain.
Kawasaki Z250
The Kawasaki Z250 is a respectable and attractive entry-level bike, but it’s not the incredible ride that seasoned motorcyclists would desire. It often presented many of its problems during transit, such as hydraulic locks, twisted cables, and engine misfires.
Yamaha YZF-R1
For an innovative and exciting-looking bike, the Yamaha YZF-R1 is actually quite deflating to ride. Some riders have described the controls as “garbage”, and it’s certainly common for the clutch to experience difficulties while on the move. The brakes also wear out easily.
Cannondale X440
Despite creating an eye-catching, unique look, Cannondale rushed production of the X440, which led to plenty of backlash. The bike was too heavy and undersprung to provide a high-quality ride, and many people discovered that the rod bearing was shockingly weak.
Suzuki Hayabusa
How can a bike that was once named the world’s fastest production motorcycle be terrible to ride? For the Suzuki Hayabusa, the twin-cam engine is likely to blame. It’s common for twin cams to melt cam chains, making the Hayabusa a risky ride. The clutch is also clunky.
Honda Shadow Spirit 750
The Honda Shadow Spirit lives up to its intriguing name in terms of looks but not performance. The exhaust sputters while the engine is on, and it’s not uncommon for the bike to stall. It may also overheat and require time to cool down during a ride.
Ducati Paso 750
We could look at the Ducati Paso 750 all day! But, sadly, we couldn’t ride it. Its poor rideability is caused by the Weber carburetor, which isn’t recommended for bikes and triggered several serious electrical and fuel failures.
Buell Blast
This 2000 Buell bike may look like a blast, but its performance didn’t quite meet expectations. It has a reputation for being underpowered, slow, and lacking suspension, which is everything you don’t want in a bike. Many riders can attest!
Harley-Davidson V Rod
We thought we’d end the list on a high note, which is ironic as this Harley’s issue is its low height. It looks as strong and powerful as it drives, but the stooped build is seriously dangerous, especially for cornering, and it’s also incredibly uncomfortable to ride.
