I thought id better say hello properly, cos you be seeing me around on the notice boards. The names Matt, Im a 35 yr old bike fanatic, if its got 2 wheels and an engine im probably gonna like it! Been riding for 14 years, the ex wife made me sell my bikes to finace some rug rats so there was a 6 year gap. But as soon as the divorce was through (5 yrs ago) the bikes came back. I live on the Dutch/belgium border with my lovely cloggy woman who accepts that bikes are my first love! My daily ride is a Thunderace, my mistress is a GSXR 750RR, in the winter i ride a moped and i got a project or two (which might or might not be put back together!).

I see that there is abit bike racism on this site :? so im here to put the cat among the pidgeons :twisted:

hi and welcome to the board mate, i aint a bike racist, tbh i dont think any of us are it's mostly just taking the piss, except for 'eXTreme', you wanna watch him :shock: 8)

I don't think I'm a bike racist either. We've even got italian stuff in our garage( although it doesn't go out in the rain :!:

Welcome

I'm not a bike racist, but there are a lot of suzuki's I don't like though.

The GSX isn't too bad...

:hi

OK...let's clear this up once and for all.

Yams...love'em.

Kwaks...like 'em a lot.

Hondas...excellent products but nothing of interest to me.

Brit/European/American....wouldn't touch them with a bargepole.

OK....who's left? Oh yes....the K Mart of Motorcycling...Suzuki.

I make no secret of the fact that I don't like Suzuki. Why? Well it's not actually the bikes themselves, though some of them are cheap and nasty....no, it's the ethics of the company.

Examples:

Persistent failure over the years to accept warranty defects...i.e. Hayabusa subframes cracking, TL 1000S speed weaves (which killed people), and the legendary 2nd Gen Bandit 12 oil burning issue. In fact, Suzuki still maintain to this day that using a litre of oil per 600 miles is acceptable for a new engine. And ONLY if your dealer can prove to Suzuki that it's using more than this will your claim be looked at. Personally I find business practices like that to be totally unacceptable, definitely immoral, and possibly illegal.

Another example is the development of the Big 4 in the Sixties. While Honda, Kawasaki, and Yamaha were working hard to develop their product....what were Suzuki doing? Well basically they were stealing another Company's 2 stroke technology...lock, stock, and barrel by arranging the defection of East German MZ rider and engineer Ernst Degner from behind the Iron Curtain. He got out with his wife, his son...and ALL of MZ's secrets. Suzuki then went from having nothing to winning GP's inside a year, and MZ went down the pan.

I could fill pages with all this stuff covering cheap and nasty builds, "sharp practices" etc, but I can't be arsed.

All I would say is that all the people who hold Suzuki Motor Corporation in such high regard need to learn a bit more about the company they're giving their money to. If you want to support a company that refuses to stand behind it's products however substandard they may be, and fails to conduct its business in an ethical way....then be my guest.

i knew this was coming 8) you're right about the mz bit, in the 60's they pioneered and built the best strokers 8) i'm sure it was that guy who actually thought up the expansion chamber. tbh there are a few suzuki's i like, the sv650 being one of them 8) i think i would buy one but would always prefer to have a yam if poss

I like the V Strom with the 650 V twin motor....but I'm not going down that road again cos I know where it leads.

i cant argue with any of your points xTreme but i have never bought a new bike so warranty issues have never affected me. All i know is, off all the bikes ive owned, from sportsbikes to ratters, everyone had its niggles or strange habits. I loved em all. But some more than others!

I like the V Strom with the 650 V twin motor....but I'm not going down that road again cos I know where it leads.

i wish yamaha would build something along the same lines :roll:

So do I Alan. :cry:

Matt....are you a Brit living in Holland then?

yes mate, actually live in belgium 2 minutes away from the dutch border, work in holland, live with a dutch woman and spend most of my time in holland. Only living in belgium cos houses cost half as much as in holland. It was a bang for buck thing!

Where in the UK you from then Matt?

Im a Lincolnshire lad, the land of twisty roads and tractors just around that blind corner!

cool, i drove (well was in the passenger seat) though lincolnshire once going to cadwell nice place, would have loved to taken a bike up there

welcome aboard m8.

i'm not a racist, i like virtually everything on 2 wheels and have respect for anyone on the road on a bike.

any jobs going in holland :wink:

i aint racist, honda suzuki kawasaki etc... are all equally SHITE kidding 8) :wink: :roll:

Im with you on that BeezKneez.

and have respect for anyone on the road on a bike.

I don't. 8)

When the next motorcycle industry recession comes along, and biking is no longer seen as fashionable (and that has happened twice since I've had bikes), then we'll see who the REAL Bikers are. 8)