worst designed features: GS & others

[hmmmnz]

thats carbs in general though, but i wont mention your laws that let them come out proberly tuned

[Alphamazing]

Am I the only one that actually LIKES the white wheels? I think they look great.
I think the '04 seat is fairly comfy, too.

My biggest for design features:
The damn tank lines and petcock
The tank not having a pivot (have to take it off, rather than being able to rotate it)
Touchiest carbs on the planet

The suspension is understandable, as it's a budget bike. The skinny wheels and tires are understandable too. Budget bike needs budget tires that can do a lot of miles.

[GeeP]

obviously you haven't compared it to a long stint on a CBR250RR

I'd love to ride one of those!  Can't get 'em here.   

Worst design feature?  How about that big carbide lamp up front?   

[CirclesCenter]

I love the white wheels... Except when I have to clean them (all the time) But I have a white jacket so Phhbbbt...

[shik]

Well, the white wheels are nice, except for when they need cleaning. Which is a little to often imo.

Hmm, the seat thing? I heard alot of talk about that, also when i took my license, I personally dislike the seats on the new GS'. But that changes from person to person it seems.

Petcock problems I haven't had yet.
Haven't really had my bike for long enough to figure out what I think is the worst designed features yet.

[lachie]

need for a petcock on the 05's....

to remove the tank without losing 10ltrs for premium fuel is a pain in the a$$.....

and the el cheapo fuel lines used tank to frame mounted petcock... cheap and nasty - mine had cracks in it after 4000kms!..

[Chuck]

Back brakes squeel because they are not used enough. Thus not using them because they squeel, makes the situation even worse.

Agreed.  When I got my '01 (in '03) it had a squeal.  After a few weeks of just using the rear regularly under normal conditions it went away.  You gotta use it to keep it clean.

[The Buddha]

Oh no ... GS isn't even close to the looooong list ...
Here is is just in the order of the worst features on bikes that I have seen ... not all inclusive by any means ...
1. Vulcan 750 - alternator that needs engine pulled... and a regulator that sat under the battery and shorted oout often so you'd eat alternators often ... Bad and happens often ...
2. Shadow 600 seat ... I cannot count how many bolts I have lost tyring to secure it. Sold it just to get rid of that ...
3. Vulcan/EX500 ... valve cover removal needs radiator moved forward and out of the way ... and of course the system needs to be drained ... since water hoses are in the way of the valve cover too ...  - applies to eli/concourse/old ninja as well.
4. Virago 1100 carbs (I have heard vulcan carbs are also a nightmare but fortunately I haven't felt it myself) Touch wood ...
GS and the KZ series kawi's and XJ yamaha's seem to have the least of these "features". Honda CB series is a distant fourth - its problem is starter clutch ... you lose it, toss the bike, its in the middle on the bottom requiring cases split.
There is prolly many more ... just dont remember them all now.
Cool.
Srinath.

[Alphamazing]

Honda CBX (inline 6-cyl bike) - Needs the engine dropped to get to the carbs. All 6 of them. To do that you need to take off the full front fairing and headlight assembly, the seat, side covers, tank, airbox, then drop the engine to get to the carbs.

[corndog67]

But the CBX sounds so cooooooollllll.

[Alphamazing]

But the CBX sounds so cooooooollllll.

Oh jeeze, no freakin' joke. My father put some Kerker pipes on there and it sounds soooo sweeeeeet. It's a shame he's gonna sell it though, it's really nice looking with the custom tape.

In fact, when he first got it:

[Egaeus]

6 carburetors?  How do you balance 6 carburetors?  I don't think I'd have a bike for very long. 

[Alphamazing]

6 carburetors?  How do you balance 6 carburetors?  I don't think I'd have a bike for very long. 

Balance 6 to 5 to 4, then 1 to 2 to 3 to 4.

[lumpoffire]

Wow, that is one clean CBX.  Now that Suzuki has an inline-6, maybe the old Hondas will  experience a renaissance.

[Alphamazing]

Wow, that is one clean CBX.  Now that Suzuki has an inline-6, maybe the old Hondas will  experience a renaissance.

I'll send my father your compliments. The bike has custom pinstriping (the gold tape instead of the stock blue and white tape), the fork lowers removed, and the crash bars removed.

For reference, a stock '82:

[Kasumi]

Bikes which are designed in such a way that your forced to take it into a garage to do any just-more-than-minor-maintenance work. E.g BMW touring bikes. You either spend mucho £'s on all the special tools required to do a minor job such as bleeding the brakes, or you take it into a garage and get ripped off. Its a pain in the arse, for example to bleed the brakes you need a special tool which will work around all the techno-gear they put on the servo assisted brakes just to get to the bleed valve. And there are 5 bleed valves on the brakes servo motor alone. Surely they could design this differently. Also to get the panels off the side you need a special tool to do it easily, or you can faf around with a long socket wth extension to reach the bolt to undo it.

[Onlypastrana199]

I have a complaint....the 01 GS seat that I spent all weekend on sucks! My gs's seat is waaaaay better and its still stock.

[EDub]

i think the gs is perfect and beautiful