Yamaha BT1100 Bulldog

I've had many bikes inc Harley D's, but I love this bike, it has low down torque and just thunders along, not too heavy or fast easily managed, smiles per miles for me

The overall performance of the bike was really good. Gearing, clutch, Slow speed riding everything is perfect and makes easy drive.

I traded in a beautiful 2012 TMax 500 mark 3 against a lovely looking Bulldog BT1100 at Metric Motorcycles in Bournemouth, test riding it in February on our local bypass in cold, wintery conditions. I was really happy with the bike, just what I wanted,a big relaxed V-twin motor in a roadster frame with good handling and brakes and a little screen for some protection. The Bulldog was giving me around 60mpg, and cruised easily at 80mph, with a top speed of just over the ton. All in all a great bike and I was really happy with it.. until the weather warmed up, and I began to notice that the slight tapping sound the engine had had turned into a nasty knocking noise which vibrated through the tank and into my upper legs - horrible! Despite having the clutch modded by a person of SV fame, and replacing various bearings and parts I couldn't track the cause of the vibration down, and Metric didn't want to know, telling me "they all do that, it's part of the V-twin character", which was only half true. I sold it back to them for half of what I had paid (I had also accidentally put a couple of small dents in the tank when the wind blew the tank backwards while I was working on it). Nice though the bike was it had to go, and I did a deal on a VFR750 with them, but I made sure I gave it a good long test ride before I bought it, and the engine was good and hot. So thereby a lesson was learned. The fact that I got a speeding ticket on the Bulldog after having a clean license for 50 years just added to the experience. No matter. If a nice one came up at a decent price (with no engine knocks) I would be tempted to buy it. They are a very endearing bike.

The best, relaxed driving, unless you are a racy and want a sincere bike to ride and with so much torque that's right for you.

Slated by journalists who get their kicks out of high powered irrelevant race bikes, this is a great, if a little underpowered stable, roadster in the classic sense with fuss-free shaft drive 60mpg & low running costs. Good for touring & commuting, not so good around Oulton Park :o)

I have owned mine for 1 year, and it was bought to slow me down after losing my licence on a Fazer FZ1.

I wanted it as its air cooled, easy to maintain,has a shaft drive,R1 brakes and good fuel consumptiom.

I have joined a "forum" and they have been a great help in modifying the bike and making it so much more fun.

I have removed the "carb restricters", changed to a K&N filter, put thicker oil in the forks, and Removed the AIS unit and got a pair of Carbon cans on and had it dyno,d the difference is amazing and the bike handles superbly.

I have had the pegs down and the bike has had the tyres right off to the edges,

I have often taken people on sportsbikes on the outside of roundabouts.

I love the grunt and pick up out of corners and i still know that i wont be able to go over 120mph so dont try.This has saved my license.A great bike that always gets attention and 55mpg and 100% reliable so far.and a better sound that any other bike with the carbon cans. Go to any harley garage and see the attention they get. A very underated bike.

I have owned many bikes over many years, and just traded a 1200s bandit for a 2004 BT1100 with 5000 miles on the clock. It is very well finished,and lollops along a quite a rate. I use that word as it best decribes the way it goes. It has a lot of useable power and is easy to ride in traffic with stacks of urge for the motorway.Having got used to the 1200 Bandit which would accelerate and go on and on at a terrific pace until you backed off,(I never reached its full potential) the bulldog is quite a different ride, quite a bit easier on the wrists and a lot more economical.Shaft drive makes for a lot less maintenance and is cleaner than a chain.I recommend it.

Not the bike for a racer! I live in Switzerland, plenty of hill, passes, narrow roads and then on to Germany where the Autobahn has no speed restrictions. This bike copes with all of it without fuss and performs well in town on stop-start busy road use. The range is more than adequate and it performs OK with 2 up (and we are not lightweights). I have owned a few bikes (more than fingers) and since my z650 died in London in the eighties I have never so much wanted just to get on a bike and ride. There are some problems getting extras like side boxes etc. now that the model is no longer made but there is still some choice. If you want a bike that is:

Fairly heavy (220 kg). Shaft drive. Adequate range. Steady footed on the road. Good brakes (R1). Good sound. But you do not intend to race or challenge then this could be the right bike. They are pretty cheap second hand and opinion seems very polarised. Either they are hated and laughed at or loved by their owners. Sort of reminds me of my first bike a CX500 but with double the power and reliable as hell....

GREAT CRUISER, ECONOMICAL - 60+MPG, LOOKS GREAT, FABULOUS VALUE FOR MONEY

Just rode 140 miles home from buying my mint bulldog in the rain and horrendous wind and i loved it , well planted , safe , easy to ride and suprisingly fast ,lovely gearbox (i had a tdm yuk )and those fuel aftermarket cans make it sound like a harley, overall bloody great!!!