Found a guy that had a KZ550 and an RZ350, $1500 for both bikes. The RZ, well, you can see it at the track. The KZ was a total dog. I will have a GPZ550 one day.
my 02 998 R.... After purchase (slightly used) it developed an electrical/ECU gremlin that caused ignition shut down above 8500rpm (under load only) and when the rpm dropped below the said point KABOOM went the rest of the gas still being metered into the motor. Besides the lurching and 4 foot flames shooting out of the pipe, the motor chewed up the stator/rotor combo due to the excessive vibrations and the whole bike has been sitting in the garage since. I've had the parts fixed and replaced (although the only solution so far is an aftermarket ECU for $1k - I even bought a replacement ECU and had DucShop dyno check one of theirs without luck) however I wont race it until the engine is blueprinted due to the thousands of shavings that went floating around inside the case. For the price of the blueprint, I bought a track SV, dropped about 2k into it, and have paid for about 6 race weekends so far and I'm about even... When I sell the SV, I'll put the leftover $$$ into the Duc and track it then... Such a letdown though....
My first ever bike - a 76 HD SS175. Basically it was a rebadged Aeromacchi - which is Italian for "unreliable." Bought it not running from a guy who just wanted it out of the garage. It was a 2 stroke so all the oil had gummed up the carbs and hoses. Dealer got it running for a reasonable price and I started my 2 wheel career. It would constantly foul plugs, smoke, and blow the main fuse on downshifts. The last part almost always at night leaving me with no headlights. In the middle of the following summer it detonated a plug and took out the head and piston. Had it completely rebuilt. Had all the same problems to the point where I just hated to ride it. So it's still sitting in my brother's garage. I don't have the heart to sell it.
TLR-1000 - Was one of the first guys to get one, had it on the track in a month! IT WAS A TOTAL 500lbs. POS. Great Track bike...crappy race bike.
Two mid to late 70's BMW's. R65 and R90. Don't remember exact year, but it was right after the toaster tanks, the toasters are what I wanted. They were pretty inexpensive and I got them with fairing and bags. I had ridden Japanese bike my entire life, and I heard great things about BMW's. I bought them, cleaned them up and repainted them. Man what crappy feeling gearboxes. Both had electrical problems, one of them constantly, Bosch electronics, one small step up from Lucas, in my eyes. My brother in law and I rode them up the coast from S. Cal to N. Cal in about 93. We were stranded at least 3 times. I remember adjusting the points, in a grocery store parking lot, to get one of them going again. After that crappy reliability, I told him he could keep one and sell the other, and send me the money. I flew home.
89 GSXR. to be fair it had been handed around to every squid in the county by the time I got it. i was never so happy the day i stood in the street watching it ride away with money in my hand.
200cc Roketa Quad for my wife. Ran great for the first few months - but the suspension was worse than terrible and became ridiculous sensitive to temp/chock to start after the break in. Engine was very hot on the rider when the engine temp was not overheating. Sold it super cheap as there were very little buyers interested in it.
If I got it for free does it still count? A chinese 110cc ATV. Total POS. I bought a sad beater LT80 for cheap and knew better when I did it. It had been beat into a POS.
Ducati 851. I thought it'd get me chicks and it didn't! All it got me was bills, invoices and eventually a moto guzzi daytona.
My buddy pete, Boccarp, lent me a old 03 cbr 600 to take to the track once when I was brand new to the track. He wanted to sell it and figured I might buy it after I rode it. Well I proceeded to crash the bejeesus out of it in Turn 2 at Thunderbolt. Had no choice, paid full price and fixed it. Sold it a few months later though for almost the same price...