**TOP 5 MAKES OF ALL TIME**

[r1dave]

Revised top 5:

1: Honda - Largest market share in europe, gave us the Blade, RC30, RC45, NC30, VFR etc. Best build quality.
2: Yamaha - Gave us the R1, R6, RD (various sizes, all good), 0W01.
3: Ducati - For sheer design beauty, 916/996/998 and of course the 1098 & 848, overlooking crap electrics
4: Suzuki - for the madness that is the GSXR range, and of course the RG & RGv
5: KTM - for incredible motocrossers, the awesome handling RS250, the great RSV, and the hooligan Tuono.

Fundamentally all of the above manufacturers make great bikes that actually excell in some area of PERFORMANCE. Admitedly the first list features some much better options if you wish to plow a field, or cover the nations roads in oil, or if you just have a strange polishing fetish!

Oh, by the way, not saying anything bad about Kawasaki or Triumph, just think the others are more noteworthy. That said the KR1 definately deserves a mention as does the 675 & 1050 Speed Triple.

i wouldn't put honda top

they have been selling underpowered bikes for years n years
even the new 08 blade is no match for the GSXR1000 or zx10r or R1 and the 600 no one use it in stock 600 cos it to slow
they have build quality thats about it
and the reason they have the largest market share is because of the cub`s 50 , 70 , 90 ect not quite top of the range

Have to agree with you there pete

[Funky]

Yamaha- the innovators
Honda- so many classics and solid reputation
Ducati- the racing pedigree and prestige
Triumph- got to have a brit
BMW- for doing things differently.

thats my list.

[kawasakiz]

I pretty much agree with FESTERS list but i seriously doubt whether the Knee Down Plastic Warriors would agree. They are too young,they only know the bikes that look like refugees from the race tracks. If you ride a R1 it dosent make you a Valentino Rossi. When i was just a young lad everyone wanted Susuki's, something to do with a certain Mr Sheene. Marketing comes in the form of people aswell, the list is endless. I do not ride a Bike because Steve Mcqueen or Rossi or Sheene or Hailwood or Fogarty or............................................. Anyone! I ride a Bike because i want to. Harleys are fun to ride, there not designed to be knee down racing machines, dosent everyone know that the speed limit on single carriageways is 60, my Harley dont shake at 60, well not too much

[TLS-Moose]

An impossible question to answer without defining the selection criteria ......

Despite what is said, modern motorcycling (road & racing) owes so much to Honda......any of the other japs have created land-mark bikes that have moved motorcycle development forward at some point, then you have the stalwart british manufacturers Norton, Triumph, BSA - but what of innovators like Brough, Vincent, Scott

The first European that comes to mind is usually Ducati but what of Guzzi (V8 anyone?), Laverda (V6 folks?), Benelli (the first production I6) and then you get the others .... Gilera, CZ (!), MZ (!), all who have wonderful racing histories - indeed the modern japanese 2-stroke would not exist without the eatern europeans - before you get to people like BMW.

What about the little people that got nations of teenagers exited and moving around - Garelli, Derbi, motobecane, malagutti, etc.,

Innovators - Harris, Bimota, etc.,

As for the Harley clones ...... the greatest irony is that the bulk of the multi-thousand pound eye-candy that attracts everyones gaze are rarely Harleys as such, but use S&S, Rev-Tech or similar power plants As for people like Victory, how can a company only a few years old that have only ever produced Harley clones be up there - what about Indian ..... far better bikes and history

[FESTER]

i'd go one further and say daddy and mother of all useless crap motorcycles

interesting school of thought ...not . remind me to bring along some of my Hells Angels mates at the next ride out . You can put your views direct to them !! . As for leather clad homo`s look around ya . thought there were shit loads of them in swb already .

[billinom8s]

i'd go one further and say daddy and mother of all useless crap motorcycles

interesting school of thought ...not . remind me to bring along some of my Hells Angels mates at the next ride out . You can put your views direct to them !! . As for leather clad homo`s look around ya . thought there were [poo poo] loads of them in swb already .

oooo fester, careful now


next ride out ? i wasn't aware u had actualy turned up to 1 yet ? come to think of it haven't seen you at a pub meet either.
do you really exist or have you been sent over from the darkside ????????????????????????????

[Music]

[url][http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/Cont ... =en_GB/url]

Have a look at this mmmmm Harley's don't go round corners Go onto yourtube and type in Harley racing

Fester would you like to bring my chums along

Every one to there own I suppose but you would not here me say sports bikes are all the same all made of plastic can't tell one from the other and

THEY HAVE NO SOUL!!!!

But I didn't say they just heard it

Music who rides one of them Harley custom bikes and [Censored] proud of it

[billinom8s]

like you say, each to their own. No doubt the track racing that harleys do is fun to watch and evel actually made one fly. But banter makes the world go round, true the plastics all look similar and can do silly speeds that can't be used. When it comes down to it tho there can never be a definative list so lets just have fun disagreeing.

[TLS-Moose]

[url][http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/Cont ... =en_GB/url]

Have a look at this mmmmm Harley's don't go round corners Go onto yourtube and type in Harley racing

Would love to, but your link doesn't work

THEY HAVE NO SOUL!!!!

What determines soul (or is that SOULTM HD Co )

I'd say other bikes I've owned such as the Dukes/Guzzi's/Morini's etc., have had it ...... but there again both the Kat and GPz1100 I've owned have had "character" too ..... and I'd say the TL has it in spades (the cantankerous bu**er!) The odd thing is that "Soul" and "Character" are often terms used to justify something that costs more and is less practical/rounded/efficient ......... and as some will happily point out from my past bike history I am in a position to talk about that .....

[Tom L]

i tried finding some harley racing but its all drag strips, im quite interested to see how people get them to go round corners.

i've never ridden a harley so im not really in a position to say, i just remember watching a documentary about 3 guys who bought new harleys and were going to drive across europe and all 3 broke down before Dover. One guys crank case split , one guys immobiliser froze for no reason and the the thirds guys key go rattled out the side of the bike on the motorway so he couldnt turn the engine off. living the dream

[FESTER]

Hey Music , good to have you with me mate . I would love to turn up at one of these ride outs with you and your mates . And talk to these Narrow minded self rightous . i love myself [Censored] . I thought we were all bikers together . Seems not .

I know plenty of people that ride Harleys , they aint all Angels either . One of your members on er once told me that this forum is full of sports bike [Censored] that dont care about anything else but their sports bikes . I thought no surely not , its a bike forum . But hey ...she was right .

You are just a bunch of self obsessed , i love myself w.....s , who ride around in their matchin leathers and helmets that match their bikes . And you got the nerve to call Harley riders homos .

[Censored] [Censored] [Censored] .........the lot of you . Go [censored] yourselves , you narrow minded bigots .

[TLS-Moose]

Hey Music , good to have you with me mate . I would love to turn up at one of these ride outs with you and your mates . And talk to these Narrow minded self rightous . i love myself [Censored] . I thought we were all bikers together . Seems not .

I know plenty of people that ride Harleys , they aint all Angels either . One of your members on er once told me that this forum is full of sports bike [Censored] that dont care about anything else but their sports bikes . I thought no surely not , its a bike forum . But hey ...she was right .

You are just a bunch of self obsessed , i love myself w.....s , who ride around in their matchin leathers and helmets that match their bikes . And you got the nerve to call Harley riders homos .

[Censored] [Censored] [Censored] .........the lot of you . Go [censored] yourselves , you narrow minded bigots .

Thanks to you carefully worded and well reasoned response Doesn't this represent exactly what you're complaining about but from the other direction

As it happens my helmet does match my leathers - they're all black (though the bike is red) .... the helmet is about 8yrs old now, the jacket around 20, and the latest trousers relatively new at 2 yrs old the wife an kids might dispute the homo comment, but you're right, they would probably agree with with the narrow minded biggot bit even though I've never owned a bike with a full fairing

As for turning up at ride-outs, it has been said many times how (sincerely) welcome you would be ...... but you actually have to be there to get that welcome

[Blue]

Boy fester knows how to wake the site up

1,Honda should be top because a: they have put more peole on 2 wheels than anybody else, I know a lot of them were scooters but still people on 2 wheels and b: cos I have one and its great

2,Yamaha: cos everybody had one through the 80s, RDs and the one that started me into bikes, the humble DT50 and they now make the bike I want but can't have. A matt black R1.

3,Ducati: for bikes such as the 916, 1098(mmm) and the new monster 600 thing.

4, Harley: Yes them. for 2 things, The new last year, the matt black Fatbob( stupid name but cooL bike) and they do corner. I videod a american cop training around cones at Daytona raceway and he was corning so far he got it scraping . I would get it on you tube but I don't know how

5, Triumph:they only just make the top 5 cos even though they make some great bikes such as the 675,speed triple, new tiger, ST and rocket 3, they still can't get it quite right in repect of build quality and a differing range, How many bonnie spin offs do they need.

The thing is, we will all ( I hope) have very different ideas for a top 5 but it is a laugh reading this thread

[Music]

Just cut and paste this into your browser and click view video

http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/Cont ... cale=en_GB

like you say, each to their own. No doubt the track racing that harleys do is fun to watch and evel actually made one fly. But banter makes the world go round, true the plastics all look similar and can do silly speeds that can't be used. When it comes down to it tho there can never be a definative list so lets just have fun disagreeing.

Ahhhhhhh thank you bud

you talk about flying Harley's take a look at this when Men were men and boys well they just drooled













The question about soul until you have ridden one on a long run slept under it, under the stars you will know

[FESTER]

Ive had enough of this crap . Cant be arsed with you [Censored] on ere anymore . With the exception of My mates Blue and Stitcher , the rest of you can go f..k yourselves . You are all just narrow minded , p..s taking t...s , who just dont appreciate all bikes .

If it aint a sports bike , than you lot aint interested . I belong on loads of other forums / clubs where everyone is welcome . Not a bunch of narrow minded idiots , so far up their own , and each others arses , its unreal .

So yeah , id like to say i enjoyed being on ere , but i quit . And yeah you can all start slagging me off now i aint gonna be on ere anymore , cos thats what you bunch of cowards do aint it .

So go f..k yourselves .......................