Adventure Bike Rider Forum

ethanol was a US invention to give the central US "corn" growers a market--you ought to see the plants in Illinois and the barges full of the stuff ready for processing!--it contains its own oxygen--hence the lower calorific value and its effect on tanks and the like. I'm just resurrecting a good old CB500 that had been left standing for two years--the carbs have taken two attempts so far to sort them--nearly there--and I had to fit a new fuel tap--which on replacement gave me a problem as the filter tower just disintegrated and I had to fish the bits out of the tank--fortunately I had bought a complete tap assembly--Chinese, ok, and cheaper than a couple of OE gaskets! HOWEVER, as to general quality it is excellent--frame paint etc--built in the late 90s when Honda quality was at its peak. I also have a late 90s Transalp and that to is just about perfect. Its a shame that Honda have lost it a bit--just by a good , old one!

From what I hear....KTM is going the same way.

Interesting how many of the UK's top enduro riders are now NOT KTM mounted.

But surely money talks, to a certain extent.
But not if they would come last every comp.

A complete and utter lack of orange in the top ten

must tell us something

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_FIM_ ... ampionship

Cozi70 Yes that's Who it Was

Thanks for following up with them and giving your advice out there. Not so good though, but you did your best.

Older Honda are ok

My mate bought a old tdm900 for commute in London last years with zero probs... Cost him 3000 grand over 5 years..

Just to add a bit of controversy, my CRF250 Rally, Thai built, after two and a half years and 18k has not had a single problem, not one. My 34 year old Honda C90 has never let me down either, although that only has 16k on it after all those years

The most reliable bike I've ever owned in terms of mileage was my Ducati GT1000 with not a single fault in three years and 63,000 miles in all weathers.

In fact I've only had one bike in 25years (out of 30 odd) that was a reliability nightmare, and that was a Suzuki Intruder (and no, I don't know why I bought it either) the blooming wiring loom was replaced twice under warranty because it literally rotted away. Utter garbage.

sounds like the quality standard is dropping, with Honda?
because of production in cheaper, relatively third word countries?
though production in Japan itself still has high standards?

I have always opted for Honda .. for it reliability reputation and good pertinent models.
Though I always liked the look of Suzukis.

I was impressed with my previous crf250L, and thought the wheel rims were very strong and remained true, and the looks were great.
But in the end I came to think that, despite the build quality being very good .. paintwork, strong wide seat, engine finish etc etc .. the `budget` element came to the fore more and more.

the suspension was poor, to be polite, and basically non-adjustable, the tyres were absolute shite off tarmac, brakes poor to adequate, and the clutch a silly nightmare after a few k miles.
I bought it with the idea of being able to ride 80 miles to a good mid wales lane/s and then ride home after doing the lane.
I think it was the universal `knobbly/road tyre` problem that finally scuppered that idea, as I had to grind home at 45 - 50 mph after a gruelling day.

So I cant blame Honda for that, but I can blame them for producing a relatively very heavy bike.
OK .. its a budget bike that uses a heavy existing 250 road bike engine to keep costs down, and a steel frame and budget suspension etc etc
but if you want real quality and lightness I believe you have to change colour … orange has now become a very attractive colour to me.


Also, if I think back to the Hondas I have known intimately, they all failed eventually, even though they had very considerate use and good personal maintenance ..

Blade 954 .. engine fucked for no reason .. gentle use.
ST1100 .. just stopped working .. still dont know why .. had to scrap, as moved home.
crf230 .. engine lost oil for no apparent reason .. terrible noise .. got rid, as not afford work to it.
crf250X .. seat a real pain in the ass .. too tall, too heavy, too much maintenance.
NC750 .. nice engine, very economical .. boring as fuck .. fork oil seals blow.

.. but it seems that is just the way it is now? in terns of quality?