High Mileage Bikes

[murf]

A low mileage bike will always be a safer buy than a high mileage bike if they are taken care of in a similar manner. The only difference being if the bikes are not taken care off, in which case the high mileage bike will have a much higher tendency of premature failure. Example - two owners both have a 2010 SS......none have done any maintenance (not even an oil change), except one has 5000km and the other has 25000km. Which one is a better buy? Right before the high mileage bike is up for sale he changes the oil, airfilter, chain, sprockets and brake pads and tells you that he checked the valve clearences.....the high mileage bike looks pretty good now. Not to mention the one with high mileage needs a suspension rebuild, how are you going to know? That's why high mileage bikes aren't worth much.....every mechanical device like a car or bike has a finite life span.

[frekeyguy]

A low mileage bike will always be a safer buy than a high mileage bike if they are taken care of in a similar manner. The only difference being if the bikes are not taken care off, in which case the high mileage bike will have a much higher tendency of premature failure..

How can you come up with that reasoning? Why would higher mileage bikes = premature failure?
If parts haven’t already failed, they might be coming up to their usable/schedule lifespan.

Premature failure would be related to low mileage bikes that have parts that failing under normal condition....eg. the Hyonsung brand…..had a bad rap for this...

Not to mention the one with high mileage needs a suspension rebuild, how are you going to know?

By looking/checking the components, just like anything else….for the front suspension, look at the fork seals, have they been changed? How does the suspension work? Does it compress properly? How does it rebound?
..for the rear…has the shock ever been rebuilt? What gen bike is it? Stuff that’s 2004+ usually tend to have better rear shocks, older stuff doesn’t tend to be very good.
Older bike like, eg.sv650 with a $40 used 636 or zx10 rear shock will make it much better……

That's why high mileage bikes aren't worth much.....every mechanical device like a car or bike has a finite life span.

If you know what you are buying, you’ll realize you are getting a great deal. With some basic know-how, you can learn to make a older bike hang with the new stuff…..

[zeniceguy]

just nice pepy riding, most people wont be on the track

[murf]

How can you come up with that reasoning? Why would higher mileage bikes = premature failure?
If parts haven’t already failed, they might be coming up to their usable/schedule lifespan.

Premature failure would be related to low mileage bikes that have parts that failing under normal condition....eg. the Hyonsung brand…..had a bad rap for this...

Are you kidding? So if two bikes are not taken care off the higher mileage bike won't likely fail before the low mileage bike?

I bought a 2 year old CBR1000RR with 4000km that never had the oil change, since it only had 4000km I felt confident it wouldn't be a problem.......if it had 20000km with no oil change would it be more likely to have a problem?

Suspension wise not too many riders change their fork oil every 2 seasons as required per manuals.......plenty of the those don't need fork seals replaced, and you can tell by bouncing on the forks on a stationary bike eh? Not all of us are as gifted as you.

[RockerGuy]

A low mileage bike will always be a safer buy than a high mileage bike if they are taken care of in a similar manner. The only difference being if the bikes are not taken care off, in which case the high mileage bike will have a much higher tendency of premature failure. Example - two owners both have a 2010 SS......none have done any maintenance (not even an oil change), except one has 5000km and the other has 25000km. Which one is a better buy? Right before the high mileage bike is up for sale he changes the oil, airfilter, chain, sprockets and brake pads and tells you that he checked the valve clearences.....the high mileage bike looks pretty good now. Not to mention the one with high mileage needs a suspension rebuild, how are you going to know? That's why high mileage bikes aren't worth much.....every mechanical device like a car or bike has a finite life span.

I'd have to agree w/ murf here. If I had a choice I would definitely choose the low mileage bike. Its less of a gamble

[Brian P]

The apparent condition of the bike is still a vastly more important indicator than the number on the odometer.

A high-mileage, but well-cared-for example is preferable to one that's low-mileage but thrashed.

[Singe]

I'd have to agree w/ murf here. If I had a choice I would definitely choose the low mileage bike. Its less of a gamble

If I had a choice between the two, I would be more concerned about why each person is selling the bike and would also take into account the actual person selling the bike.

If I had the choice, I would take the higher mileage older guy's bike, (y'know they guy who's had >10 bikes in his riding career) over a younger guys first bike with low mileage and questionable treatment (read: learning experience), every single time.

[Vlad]

If I had a choice between the two, I would be more concerned about why each person is selling the bike and would also take into account the actual person selling the bike.

If I had the choice, I would take the higher mileage older guy's bike, (y'know they guy who's had >10 bikes in his riding career) over a younger guys first bike with low mileage and questionable treatment (read: learning experience), every single time.

^ It's even better to get a low mileage bike from a middle age crisis newb rider baby boomer who bought it on a whim to feel young and slapped a lot of bells an whistles on it before he realized 500Km later that he has no balls to ride it or his wife threatened to divorce him.

Anything over 20,000Km is high mileage when I'm buying. Anything under 100,000Km is just broken in when I'm selling.

[dricked]

20,000 is not high mileage for a street bike, 30+ and that's when important/expensive things break without regular maintanence. If the oil has been changed on a regular basis then it should be fine. The only things that are going to fail at that point are probably things that are a known problem with a particular model.

[Brian P]

30+ and that's when important/expensive things break without regular maintanence.

Emphasis added. 30,000 km without ever changing the oil - Big problem. 30,000 km with an oil change every few thousand and no evidence of abuse? No problem.

[Singe]

^ It's even better to get a low mileage bike from a middle age crisis newb rider baby boomer who bought it on a whim to feel young and slapped a lot of bells an whistles on it before he realized 500Km later that he has no balls to ride it or his wife threatened to divorce him.

Anything over 20,000Km is high mileage when I'm buying. Anything under 100,000Km is just broken in when I'm selling.

Sometimes its better, sometimes not, depends on whether Mr. middle-age-crisis tried to do his own work without knowing what he's doing, wouldn't it?

The point here is that there's always a risk, your example takes mine further and I don't necessarily disagree with it, but 20k isn't a deterrent for me, and here I agree with you again, its a bargaining point!

[omnivore]

It has also been brought to my attention by riders over on advrider.com, where guys actually ride their bikes around the world etc, and thousands of the members have over 100,000 miles.......that a well kept higher mileage touring bike is an example of a bike owned and cared for by someone who liked to ride it far. And riders who ride far do not want to be stranded, so they tend to take very good care of their bikes, and don't neglect them. The bikes with higher mileage often see regular use and regular maintainace, which goes a long way to preserving the bike's mechanicals as oppsosed to shelfing a bike 10 months of the yr.

[cutsheal5]

my bike as 76,000kms all is well had to replace second gear twice and my head tube bearings(saw it coming a LOONG time ago) and the chain good excuse to do the 520 conversion. The bike is taken care of rides amazing wouldnt change a thing about it, Proper maitnence goes a LONG way

[Brian P]

At 64,000 km, my '04 ZX10R has required nothing other than oil changes, tires, brake pads, chains, air filters, and spark plugs. I've checked the valve clearances twice and have yet to have to change a shim. As far as the way it runs and looks, aside from dirt built up in some places (I'd rather ride it than clean it), it will pass for a new bike.

[RockerGuy]

At 64,000 km, my '04 ZX10R has required nothing other than oil changes, tires, brake pads, chains, air filters, and spark plugs. I've checked the valve clearances twice and have yet to have to change a shim. As far as the way it runs and looks, aside from dirt built up in some places (I'd rather ride it than clean it), it will pass for a new bike.

I checked my previous bike at 60k and it didn't need shimming. From the ppl I've spoke to, nobody has had to do any shimming at 40k. I'm just gonna check mines again at 100k, lol

[turbodish]

Hydraulic lifters for the win. Gas and go.

[frekeyguy]

I checked my previous bike at 60k and it didn't need shimming. From the ppl I've spoke to, nobody has had to do any shimming at 40k. I'm just gonna check mines again at 100k, lol

checked my srad at around 40k, didnt need adjustment, checked again at 60k didnt need adjustment.

I am thinking that they need a adjustment at 20k, and dont need really need to be reshimmed again. But checking it is the easy part.

both my bikes are under 20k, so we will see how well my theory holds up.

[silverbullet132]

speaking of maintenance schedules, should you go by what the manual says or earlier?

ex: the manual for my sabre says to change the oil every 12,000km (i have done it every 3k)

[turbodish]

speaking of maintenance schedules, should you go by what the manual says or earlier?

ex: the manual for my sabre says to change the oil every 12,000km (i have done it every 3k)

The manufacturer's recommendations are set up to help protect the manufacturer from warranty claims arising from normal use. Unless your bike is being used under severe or racing conditions, the manufacturer's recommended maintenance schedule is usually more than adequate to keep your bike in good running condition. Just use reasonable quality oil that meets the bike manufacturers specs.

[silverbullet132]

oh alright
so my current oil should be fine for awhile (about 1500km on it over the winter)?