The Worst Motorcycles You Could Buy, But Probably Shouldn't [2024 Edition]

Why We Picked It:

Just to be clear, we recognize that a well-kept, maintained, and pristine example of a Fireblade is an awesome find, and awesome bike, and should definitely be offered on. However, the CBR900RR we're talking about there is the bike that as around from 1992 to 2003, and was extremely popular at track days.

It was one of those motorcycles that was made when racing bikes and road bikes were very close in performance and specification, so it was literally a way for the average Joe McRiderman to get their leg over some serious machinery. They would take the bike to the track, and as there wasn't the fully regimented system of novice, intermediate, and advanced groups as there is today, Fireblades were being crashed left, right, and center.

If you do want to look at one, inspect the frame very closely for non-factory welds, patch jobs, bent members, and look for evidence of a rebuild. If it's clean, and there is a good, well documented service history, then it's likely to be a good bike. But do your due dilligence!

Why We Picked It:

The Ducati Panigale 1299 as one of the most astonishing superbikes to be released in the mid-2010s. It has ridiculous amounts of power, the agility of a race bike, and goes like it's been shot. However, when you have so much power, performance, and pedigree in one bike, the price to pay is reliability.

In fact, the 1,285cc L-Twin that is the heart of the 1299 was so horrifically unreliable that a class action lawsuit was filed against Ducati. The other issue at hand with the Panigale, and by extension most Ducati motorcycles is that they are not meant to be owner-friendly for service. Since about 2010, the answers in the troubleshooting guide in any Ducati owners manual is "Have your bike serviced by an authorized Ducati Service Center."

There is no denying that it is a very pretty motorcycle, and it definitely has an extremely racy engine in it. If you do look at getting one, do your due diligence about its service history, and check to see if the VIN number is one of the ones that was included in the lawsuit.

Why We Picked It:

The Suzuki TL1000S was a bike that looked great on paper. It had a ton of power, great looks, and a big V-twin so it guaranteed lots of torque. That engine, however, was also the problem.

Because it was so massive, it took up the traditional space reserved for a monoshock rear suspension. Suzuki, for some reason, decided that instead of mounting a normal side monoshock, they would use a right side mounted spring with a remote rotary-style damper that used a complicated set of spinning arms, some valves, and a couple drops of hydraulic fluid.

The thing is, if you gave the rear suspension any work at all, that hydraulic fluid would rapidly overhead and thin out, making the rear suspension about as firm as a sponge. The TL1000S has earned the nickname of "The World's Best Tank Slapper" because with the big torque down low combined with a squishy rear end, it loves to wag its tail sideways without any warning.

Why We Picked It:

The key to buying a used Ducati is to get a good one. Buying one through a dealership is best, but if you find one out in the wild, make sure you check its service records. Because of the unique way that Ducati doesn't like owners maintaining their own bikes, a lot of owners simply neglect service intervals or forgo routine maintenance because it is needlessly complicated.

As well, getting parts for a Streetfighter, be it a V2, V4, 1098, anything, really, is a test of patience and of how thick your wallet is. So, again, owners will sometimes let little things, like a cracked dash screen, a broken mirror, or a very slight oil drip just slip on by.

If you are dead set on buying a Streetfighter, the honest recommendation is to buy a new one so you will be able to take care of it and have it serviced at the appropriate times. Otherwise, and we rarely say this about bikes, you should honestly look at any other manufacturer's streetfighter-style motorcycles to avoid the headache with Ducati.

Why We Picked It:

Without a shadow of a doubt, the BMW S1000RR is one of the most astonishing, high tech superbikes to have ever been made. It is extremely popular, almost leaving dealership showrooms faster than they can make them. Because of this, there is a humongous aftermarket modding scene for the bike, with everything from exhausts, replacement fairings, and cosmetic items, to ECU flashes, engine mods, and replacing the suspension with race-grade stuff for the track.

Because of this, an S1000RR in stock condition on the used market almost reaches unicorn status, it is so rare. Even those who buy it and keep it mostly stock will replace the exhaust or have the ECU tune done, because they want the noise and the power to show off their flashy BMW.

If the mods are correctly done, the bike has a good service history, and there are no glaring issues with it, you can give it a swing if you'd like on the used market. If it's a high mileage example, it may have had its neck wrung out on the track, or been ridden responsibly for its life... As we keep repeating, do your due diligence and ask questions, ask to see service records, inspect the frame, engine, wheels, all of it.

Why We Picked It:

It should surprise exactly no-one that the first and second generation Suzuki Hayabusas are probably one of the worst bikes to buy used. You don't buy one of the fastest bikes ever made to pootle around town on a milk run, you buy it to pin it at the track (or, if you're a total idiot, on the public roads) and feel like a land-based cruise missile.

Consequently, you will find many Hayabusas on the used market that have clutches that slip horribly, gears that are stiff to engage, warped brake rotors, and the like. Owners ride this bike hard, and that means banging up the gears and maybe, in the interests of speed, not fully pulling the clutch all the way in.

The flipside is that Hayabusas have been modded to the moon and back. It's one of the few motorcycles that can handle being turbo- or super-charged, which makes that particular mod very popular. Finding a good and/or original condition first or second generation Hayabusa is literally impossible, so if you do want to buy one, allow for a hefty maintenance budget to have the clutch replaced, the transmission serviced or replaced, and the bike tuned up so it's not a ticking time bomb anymore.

Why We Picked It:

The Aprilia Shiver 750 & 900, also sometimes called the SL 750 and SL 900 in the USA, are two the best looking naked bikes of the late 2000s and the 2010s, without a doubt. It's just too bad that both of them, despite the difference in engine sizes, have very little to differentiate them from one another. Apart from the MSRP when they were both new, that is.

The Shiver 750 came first, lasting from 2007 to 2016, while the Shiver 900 arrived in 2017 and lasted until 2020. Both had extremely firm suspension, a clutch you needed two people to pull in, and both had a lethargic response to wrist action, seeming to take a moment to think about it before giving you power.

What is really telling is that despite the bump in displacement for the newer bike, both produced almost bang on 94 HP. The 750 produced 60 lbs-ft of torque, and the 900 produced 64 lbs-ft. Both do the job of getting you to and from places without issue, but there really isn't anything ultra special about them, and they are very uncomfortable to ride after an hour or two on the road.

If you're looking for a sporty, utilitarian naked bike and like the look of the Shiver 750 or Shiver 900, then by all means buy one. However, in the face of modern sport- and hyper-nakeds, the Shiver 750 and 900 feel positively 20th century!

Why We Picked It:

Ah, good old KTM. The masters of off-road and ADV motorcycles, whose bikes seem to be able to conquer any terrain while you sit on a seat that is about as comfortable as sitting on a pile of rocks.

What is vitally important with a used KTM is to check its service history, and to make sure that the owner has been diligent about regular maintenance. Since most of the pre-2019 Enduro and post-2019 Adventure series bikes are fully capable of mud, sand, gravel, grass, and dirt riding where no tracks or paths exist, they are exposed to far harsher environments than your everyday road-going sport adventure bike.

Maintenance is a chore with a KTM, as there are screens and filters to clean or replace regularly, the exhaust and headers in the way of doing an oil change, and needing to do double duty on the chain cleaning and lubing as who knows what got stuck between the links? If the bike looks to be well maintained, has a good service and maintenance history, and you don't find any issues, then for sure pull the trigger. But just be damned sure, because KTM's are also ridiculously expensive to repair.

Why We Picked It:

The Suzuki GSX-R1000 has a bit of an unfortunate reputation since its introduction in 2001. If you ever Google "Motorcycle Crash," it's almost guaranteed that this very bike will be in the first 20 results, and among the top 50, probably half of them will have the term "Gixxer" attached to them.

It is one of the highest volume superbikes out there, so there is proportionality to take into account, yet the fact remains that because of how raw and powerful the bike is, it is one of the most crashed or most damaged bikes on Earth. Before 2020, the only rider aid that they came with was ABS, and everything else was left to the rider to figure out.

If you're looking for one as a project bike, or to convert to track only bike and understand that you may very well have to repair the frame, then you are a far better wrencher than most of us! If you're looking at a used one as an actual road bike, take a flashlight or three, and inspect every single inch of the frame.

Ask pertinent questions about drops, crashes, track day incidents, and the like. If you get a weird feeling that the owner is not telling you the whole truth, it's honestly better to walk away than risk it. This is the only other bike on this entire list, apart from the Ducati Streetfighter, that we recommend you either buy a new one, or look for another superbike like a ZX-10R or an R1.

Why We Picked It:

Yamaha build incredibly sturdy motorcycles, and they can take horrendous amounts of abuse and come out the other side mostly intact. It is perhaps for this reason that the FZ-07/MT-07 is one of the most popular sport naked motorcycles in the world.

If you're riding responsibly, not much can beat it in terms of having the perfect balance of performance, agility, and power. If you aren't riding responsibly, it is one of the most popular sport nakeds to get hooned about in a parking lot, wheelie-ing back and forth, doing tail slides with, and as a consquence of said hoonage, drops and tumbles are to be expected.

By all means, if you find a well maintained example, buy it, but inspect the hell out of it before you shake on it. Definitely inspect the frame, but more importantly because of the stresses that hoonage puts on a bike, check the chain, the sprockets, the brakes, and the engine with a critical and objective eye. If something seems off or wrong, ask about it or walk away. If the chain seems extremely slack, despite the rear axle almost all the way out for its chain tension adjustment, you might be able to negotiate the price down so you can get a new chain and socket set installed after buying it.

Just remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is, especially with such an in-demand bike as the MT-07