Apparently my bike is "worn out" and I'm riding on "borrowed time."

[sharkattack]

While my wife and I were running errands this weekend, I decided to stop by a relatively large local dealer for some oil drain plug washers.  After telling the guy what kind of bike they were for so he could look up the part number, he asked me for the year and make of the bike a second time.  I replied "It's a 2001, Yamaha R1."  He then said (paraphrasing) "Wow, we don't see many bikes that old around here."  

I told him it's only 6 years old and has approximately 25,xxx miles on it.  I also told him that I hardly consider a 6 year old bike with only 25,xxx miles on it worn out and ready to break down at the drop of a hat.  By this time another (dealer employee) guy had wondered up to the service counter.  The first guy told him "This guy has a 2001 R1 with over 25,000 miles on it!"  (Like it was some unheard of feat.)  Both of them started asking about engine rebuilds, problems, etc.  I told him there are loads of guys on several Yamaha forums with over 50-70K on various years R1s and FZ1s, with all of them still running just fine.  Both of them immediately called BS.

By now I had my parts and had paid for them and was getting ready to walk away.  However, I just couldn't stop thinking about this.  Why on earth would someone, especially someone who is (supposedly) into bikes think that 25,000 miles is the end of life for a modern sportbike?  I highly doubt they were trying to plant the seed of thought in my head that I needed a new bike so I better talk to their trusty salesmen on my way out.  These guys weren't that bright.

1. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I honestly feel that at 25,000 miles I'm just scratching the surface of this bike (2001 - R1).  What do you think?  I maintain it to a "T" and am as particular as anyone you'll find when it comes to taking care of it.  Ask anyone I know and they'll confirm this.

2. About how many miles do you honestly expect to get out of your bike?  

3. Do you consider 25,000 to be "a lot" for a modern wrong that's been maintained properly?  Why/why not?

4. What was the mileage of the last bike that you got rid of due to mechanical reasons?  (I'm not counting getting rid of it because you were tired of it.)

5. What's the most mileage you've seen personally, either on your bike or someone else's?

[UFO]

3. Do you consider 25,000 to be "a lot" for a modern wrong that's been maintained properly?  Why/why not?

For average street riding?  No.

I've seen lots of bikes with close to 100,000 miles.  Serveral VFRs over on vfrdiscussion.com have 100,000+ miles on them.

Another case of Clueless Dealer Employee Syndrome.

[FiremanBob]

I expect to get over 100K miles on my 85 Sabre, with regular care, as other SabMaggers have achieved.  A great many motorcycle salesmen aren't too bright - if they were a little smarter, they'd be selling cars.  Probably most of their friends who have Rs stack them up before hitting 20K.

Back in the 60s, when metallurgy and manufacturing tolerances were primitive, bikes were much more short-lived.  My 1964 CB77 recommends a rebuild around 15K.

There are knowledgeable, honest dealers out there, but their rarity makes them stand out all the more from the crowd.

[Uncle Bob]

squids think 10K miles is an unbelievable amount of miles.

Squids also believe, that any bike more than 2 years old, is an antique, because its no longer the latest, greatest thing, therefore its undesirable

Squids are also morons *shrug*

[Mastros2]

I have a 1999 Buell with 28k on it, air cooled and everything.  If I don't see 100k, I would be upset (unless I buy a newer Buell by then!).

[Mydlyfkryzis]

If you were a squid, boing wheelies all day and keeping the engine at redline, the bike probably would be worn out.

To my way of thinking, you just have the motor broken in, ready for a long run...

[Penforhire]

I'll bet that is higher than average mileage for R1's.  Not saying it is worn out but I imagine 90+% of R1's (or any other hypersport model) out there do less than 3K miles per year.

[Flyer]

Maybe Bill and Ted are trials riders, and think a 50km weekend is beyond bizzare.

The way I accumulate pocket change for my bike's replacement, I'd better get 100,000km. or I'll be a-walkin'  
Just how many bags of pennies is a new SuperDuke anyhoo??

[Explorer]

I just Sold my 92 FZR 1000, that had 136k on it and it is still running strong
I have had many bikes with around 80k+ on them. If you take care of your bike it will take care of you. I do all my own Maintenance on my rides, religiously . My current ride a 02 FZ1 has 56k on it right now and I expect to get about 150-200k out of it.

[Albie]

LOL, Grady Dunham has put over 100K Miles on 2 R1's

[emillard]

A few years ago I traded in an 02 CBR 954 with 28,000 miles on it.  The service tech said that he was surprised to see a sport-bike in such good condition after so many miles.  I asked why.  He said that most sport-bikes are totalled or road-rashed heavily before they ever see that kinda mileage.  He was impressed and wasn't being a smart-ass.  I guess I have to agree with him.  It's not an engine failure that limits the life of sport-bikes....it's guard rails, curbs, and SUV's that take their toll on them.

[M.Brane]

 Over 50K on my old Ninja, and it still sounds/runs the same as it did when I got it with 16K on it.

 I don't know how long it will last, but I just keep pouring Mobil 1 in it, and keeping my fingers crossed.

[Outlaw]

While my wife and I were running errands this weekend, I decided to stop by a relatively large local dealer for some oil drain plug washers.  After telling the guy what kind of bike they were for so he could look up the part number, he asked me for the year and make of the bike a second time.  I replied "It's a 2001, Yamaha R1."  He then said (paraphrasing) "Wow, we don't see many bikes that old around here."  

I told him it's only 6 years old and has approximately 25,xxx miles on it.  I also told him that I hardly consider a 6 year old bike with only 25,xxx miles on it worn out and ready to break down at the drop of a hat.  By this time another (dealer employee) guy had wondered up to the service counter.  The first guy told him "This guy has a 2001 R1 with over 25,000 miles on it!"  (Like it was some unheard of feat.)  Both of them started asking about engine rebuilds, problems, etc.  I told him there are loads of guys on several Yamaha forums with over 50-70K on various years R1s and FZ1s, with all of them still running just fine.  Both of them immediately called BS.

By now I had my parts and had paid for them and was getting ready to walk away.  However, I just couldn't stop thinking about this.  Why on earth would someone, especially someone who is (supposedly) into bikes think that 25,000 miles is the end of life for a modern sportbike?  I highly doubt they were trying to plant the seed of thought in my head that I needed a new bike so I better talk to their trusty salesmen on my way out.  These guys weren't that bright.

1. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I honestly feel that at 25,000 miles I'm just scratching the surface of this bike (2001 - R1).  What do you think?  I maintain it to a "T" and am as particular as anyone you'll find when it comes to taking care of it.  Ask anyone I know and they'll confirm this.

2. About how many miles do you honestly expect to get out of your bike?  

3. Do you consider 25,000 to be "a lot" for a modern wrong that's been maintained properly?  Why/why not?

4. What was the mileage of the last bike that you got rid of due to mechanical reasons?  (I'm not counting getting rid of it because you were tired of it.)

5. What's the most mileage you've seen personally, either on your bike or someone else's?

My answers are backwards...

My '02 FZ1 had 25,000+ miles on it when I sold it, Beautiful looking and running like new. A friend of mine has over 112,000 on a FJ1200, I know of a Goldwing with 69000, I know of another goldwing with over 120,000 on it.
I have never gotten rid of a bike because of mechanical reasons
I personally think a bike like your R1 with low miles would be more of a problem then your current bike and mileage. Only because it does a lot of sitting and fuel gets old and seals dry out etc etc.
If I keep it for a long time then a 100,000+ miles wouldn't be out of the norm.

My nephew has a 91 s-10 with 340,000 mile on it runs great looks ugly, my son's 93 jeep cherokee has 219,000 runs fantatstic looks good inside and out.

The problem with these two kids were that like most kids they can't see a year into their future let alone see back that far either. You have to remember that if they were say 19-20 yrs old that when your R1 came out they were 13-14 yrs old & watch Transformers.  Same kind of people that think a 46 yr old guy should be riding a HD instead of an sport bike  

[gunz]

25k on a liter bike isnt squat. I remember thinking i was waering out my 600 when I hit 46k. Sold it to a friend that rode it another 20k till he wrecked it. It depends on care. My connie only has 25k on it and its a 2002. Many bigger cc bikes, as well as some smaller ones go well over 100k miles. Dont sweat the retards at the stealership. Just keep riding it.

[DogBoy]

I say good for them. Those boys at the dealership are just the kind of short-sighted, newer-is-better message-driven consumers that will keep the economy humming well into my retirement years.

[Guy]

The dealership guys are in a business where they are not used to people who retain their bikes. These guys are trying to make you panic and buy a new bike. Yay, commission

[Specter]

They were just planting the seed of doubt, hoping to grow a new sale.

Then again, maybe the quality of their service dept. shortens bike lives.

56k on my antique 88 Connie

[hig4s]

Since when do any but a rare few at a dealerships know anything about motorcycles in gereral, and do anything but push new bikes at people so that they can make more money.

Although 25k on an R1 might be unusual, I doubt it is from being worn out, more like from being crashed or severally mis-treated.

Maybe 25k with only one oil change and never checked the valves would wear one out.

[dalan]

Pfft.  They're either total dolts, or devious salesmen.  Either way, ignore them.

I agree that 25k is alot if we're talking about a thrashed squid's bike.  But otherwise, it's nothing.  My '02 ZZR just turned 31,000 miles on our trip last week and I fully expect to see 100k out of it.

[lorenzo]

I have about 27k on my '01 GSXR-600 that I bought new.  It's seen over 30 track days, several week-long trips, lots of rain and lots of miles on the crappy roads here around the NYC metro area.  I am meticulous about maintenance but I obviously don't baby it.  It's still healthy and strong, and hasn't required anything outside normal maintenance.  

[vato_loco_frisco]

My 97 Moto Guzzi Sport was just breaking in at 32K miles on the odometer when it was stolen & destroyed by human vermin.

BTW, my only cage, an 83 Alfa Romeo GTV6, has 260K miles and counting.

Regular maintenance seems to be the key here...

[Bjorn Toulouse]

 He then said (paraphrasing) "Wow, we don't see many bikes that old around here."  

Part of that could be people not bringing their bikes to them for service......I'll leave the reasons to your imagination.

Went for a twisty run in SE oHIo yesterday with a couple of my riding buds. Moon has 35K+ on his BMW RS1100, Buzz has 40K+ on his V-Strom. I was the youngster with my VFR just rolling over 9K on the trip. I have a '79 Yamaha SR500 (single cylinder) with 105K in the garage.

Sounds like the dealership is staffed by the clueless. With proper care an R1 should have little trouble racking up 100K.


Rex

[bluemax]

I attended 'Sturgis on the River' 5 years ago. As you might think, the rally was very cruiser heavy. At the time I had a 4 year old Valkyrie with 50,000 mile on it, and you you'd have thought from the reponses that it belonged in a museum. My favorite question from an HD owner was, "Is that still the original engine"? I replied "are you serious, it's barely broke in".  

One more, I met a retired New Orleans school teacher on the Monarch Pass in Colorado. He was riding a 1100cc Honda Goldwing, with over 400,000 miles on it. That's the truth.

And one more, last summer in Yellowstone I met a Biloxi, MS motorcycle cop, also riding 1100 GW. He left his HD cop bike and an older Kawi cop bike at home because he didn't have enough faith in their reliability for a trip of this length. That Wing had 225,000 miles on it.

I think with the high quality of bikes being built today, and with proper care, I'd be disappointed if I didn't get at 100,000 miles from my bikes. Of course I'l never find out because after 4 or 5 years and 50-60,000 miles some thing new and prettier come along.
I'm such a whore!

[Lawn Dart]

I'll give you $500 for that piece of crap.  Hey, I'm doing you a favor!  

Just because something is uncommon doesn't mean it won't happen.

[DNA]

My '03 Sprint bought new in May '04 is a bit over 3 years old and has 34K.  They were not easy miles and worse - I do my own maintenance   (mostly).  That alone should inspire any rider to expect 50K out of a bike.  Easy.  

I'll give you $1000 today for that POS used up R1!

[UFO]

Since when do any but a rare few at a dealerships know anything about motorcycles in gereral, and do anything but push new bikes at people so that they can make more money.

+1

I remember trading in my '02 VFR on the FJR back in 2003...back when I had more time to ride.

It had 16,000 on the clock.  I rode it in and the tech guy was giving a quick once over.  It was only a year old and looked new.  He asked how many miles were on it and I told him.

He looked at me like


I'm sure expecting me to say 2000 miles or something.  I told him I take care of my shit.  Apparently someone who worked at the dealer bought it right after I brought it in.

[Black Ice]

34,527 miles on my bike, bought new on 10/15/05.

What a bunch of tools.  Any Jap bike, taken care of, should last to 100K without a problem--unless it's one of those rare defect-prone models.  Looks like they spend more time selling bikes than riding them.

[Thundergod]

Oh no....well I guess my 47,000+ mile, '94 GTS is an walking zombie.....

[jschmidt]

We can't really know if they were trying to sell a bike or if they are complete idiots. I'd say whichever doesn't matter, really.

Water cooled bike engines are much like water cooled car engines. With maintenance, they can easily last 100K miles. Shocks and forks last a lot shorter time, say 30-50K for optimum performance.

It is probably true that they don't see so many bikes with mileage. Most bikes get wrecked before they see 20K miles.

[deaconjones]

I had my Bandit on CL recently. 2001 1200S with 34K. Guy tried to tell me it was only worth about $1500 since it was air-cooled and the cylinders would be worn.   Dips**t! It runs as good if not better than new. Pissed me off. Decided to keep it and go for 100K.

[thatguy]

My '04 Tuono has 46K on it.And this '84 Harley FLTP is pushing 300K.Might even be over 300K,I haven't talked to Bob in a while.

[county]

~35 k on my 99 Blackbird.  I bought it in August of 04 with about 3500 miles on it.

Don't use no oil.  I replaced the front springs as that was a design flaw, at least mine was.  (Horn would beep when I hit a bump...and shock would bottom out)   I also replaced the cam chain tensioner, also a design flaw (In the part).

Other than that it's tires, chain sprockets.

I plan on selling it next year.  MOstly cause I want something new.  It's a great bike.

[JoelCool]

My '05 R1 has 30,000 miles on it.  I've just recently done the first major scheduled service for cryin' out loud!

My '01 929 had 70,000 miles on it when a wayward car poked a hole in the motor and ended it's tenure in my garage prematurely.

I'd be very surprised if my R1 had any trouble reaching 100k, but what do I know?  I just ride it every day, and enjoy the heck out of it.

[Kat-Rider]

I would have spent an hour or so around the shop folowing the salesguy to the customers asking him to explain again why the bikes are worn out at 25K everytime a customer came around.
I think one reason that bikes have such a short ownership is that the technology in them advaces so fast.  I have a friend with a 2 year old R1.  He has 10k on it and he is ready for another bike.  The new ones are faster and lighter, so he thinks he needs a new one.

[Bryan]

My 02 Concours just turned 31K today on a trip to the Hill Country, I just gunned it and laughed.

 Most of the bike dealer employes are ignorant about bikes, I went in and asked to see a 1250 Bandit, the young sales guy asked who made them and I told him, he just did not have a clue.

 My bike, I expect 100K at the very least.

My last bike a 1993 Yamaha Virago 750, 40K and running great.

[phoenix]

They're just know-nothing sales floor monkeys. But, maybe the reality is that MOST bikes are bought as toys and will end up with less than 10,000 miles on them after 10 years. Most bikes have the original tires on them after 5 years and have probably just had one oil change done per year, just to keep the oil fresh. We've all seen bikes like this. My bike was one of those bikes, when I got it there were less than 350 miles on it and it was almost 2 years old. Sadly, it had been dropped once.  

[servicerifle]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I honestly feel that at 25,000 miles I'm just scratching the surface of this bike (2001 - R1).  What do you think?

Obviously they DID succeed in making you question yourself.

Why is this a question here?  The mere existance of this forum suggests that bikes are good for FAR more than 25k miles.

[MDHCO]

My 2001 has 50k and is hardly broke in, but sadly the original tires are long gone.  

Checking the rest of the posts, you would appear to be in good company.

[jerome_oneil]

The average squid on an  R1 wads it up at about 6K, so it's no wonder they thought you were on borrowed time.

[Rat]

My '86 FJ1200 (air cooled) had 108,000 miles when I finally sold it to buy a car.

We didn't own a car for 4 years.
It was used for commuting, errands, grocery and holiday shopping, laundro-mat, and everything else you'd use a car for, as well as touring Northern California every chance we got.
It basically went somewhere every day, a good proportion of it 2-up; it never got much rest.

It got regular oil & filter changes, new air filter, fuel filter, and plugs every year, and an annual checkup for valve clearances, cam chain check, and carb synch.
Went through quite a few tires (my faves for that bike were Metzeler ME-88 rear / ME-33 Laser front), 2 RK chains after the O.E. chain, and several sets of brake pads.
Nothing else really - just routine maintenance, although I am a stickler for P.M.
*Oh - 1 new battery at about 70-80,000 miles.

It was never "babied", in fact it was ridden fairly hard when out for fun stuff, but a big-bore engine with so much torque never really had to breathe hard or rev high to get the job done - downshifting to pass was completely optional, even with a passenger.
What a great engine!

[strider]

Hmmm... son #1 had a Triumph Sprint RS.  He thrashed it.  Track days, high speed runs, every stop light was a drag strip.  He was lucky to get around 5,000 km from a pair of Bridgestone 014s.  After 50,000 km (30,000 miles), the bike developed a small end knock.  He replaced the conrods, bearings etc, and decided to upgrade to a GSXR1000K6.

I don't think Triumphs are any better engineered than Japanese bikes so if the RS can get 50,000 km while being thrashed, I'm sure a well maintained and sensibly ridden bike should get at least double that before any engine work is required.

As for me, my '95 ST1100 is just about to turn over 200,000 km (around 122,000 miles) with no other engine work than routine maintenance.  It has let me down a few times with a generator problem, burnt plug, leaking fork seals and final drive seal.  

I agree with others who say they're putting doubts into your mind.  Don't listen to them.

[FJRmgm]

considering, according to insurance estimates, that the average life expectancy of a liter-class bike is three months, before its crashed, yeah, I'd say you have an "old" bike.

[MisterEd]

Folks, we have to remember that we here on ST.N are an unusual lot (well, yeah ... but in more ways that that) in that we actually RIDE our machines, we take CARE of them and we don't, by and large, abuse them.

Now, take your "average" motorcycle owner - particularly the average sport bike owner ... bike gets ridden for 40 or 50 miles maybe once a week if it's lucky.  Chain and sprockets get replaced ... "huh, you have to replace the CHAIN on these things?".  Oil gets changed maybe once a year ... maybe.  Meanwhile, the things get thrashed in all manner of ways and sometimes the front wheel has only about half the time in contact with the ground that the rear one has (unless the owner does an equal number of stoppies and wheelies...)

The alternative is the average cruiser owner - the bike is meticulously maintained, polished, washed, cared for, loved, etc... but it still only gets ridden on weekends and frequently doesn't build up more than a couple thousand miles in one owners' hands.  Hell, when I sold my V-Rod, it had over 36,000 miles on it from only a couple of years of riding and I was told that it was a "high mileage" bike!  It wasn't sold because of mechanical issues, it was sold because I wanted the money to buy my GS.

But still, these dealership guys are morans.  Even the guys at my local Ducati dealer give me one of these -   when I bring in my little ST3 with its 25,000 miles.  They do the service on it and I get zero static about being a "worn out" bike.  I fully expect at LEAST 100,000 miles out of my bikes.  I see no reason why the GS won't go that long and the Duc should be the same with proper maintenance.

[Joey Stalin]

1. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I honestly feel that at 25,000 miles I'm just scratching the surface of this bike (2001 - R1).  What do you think?  I maintain it to a "T" and am as particular as anyone you'll find when it comes to taking care of it.  Ask anyone I know and they'll confirm this.

You aren't wrong.

2. About how many miles do you honestly expect to get out of your bike?

I expect to get tired of my bike long before it "wears out." That being said, I'd expect to get 80-100k out of my bike before it flat out died.

3. Do you consider 25,000 to be "a lot" for a modern wrong that's been maintained properly?  Why/why not?

No, not at all. I sold my last sport bike at 33,000 miles, and it felt exactly the way it did when I bought it with 13,000 miles. Exactly. From observation with my bikes and those of friends, it seems that around 25-30k miles is when things start breaking or needing major maintenance (valves, chains, suspension, fluids), but after you do the maintenance the cycle starts again from 0.

4. What was the mileage of the last bike that you got rid of due to mechanical reasons?  (I'm not counting getting rid of it because you were tired of it.)

I'm getting rid of the BMW at about 76,000 miles. It has alot of mechanical problems, but I'm fixing them before I sell it.

5. What's the most mileage you've seen personally, either on your bike or someone else's?

76,000 on the BMW, but that's not a sport bike, its designed like a tractor. For sport bikes, again, myself and 2 others had or have over 30,000 miles on a sportbike. I sold mine at 33,000 just because I wanted something new. If I hadn't tired of it, I have no doubts it would've gone 3 times that mileage.

[Ant]

Of course it's worn out, what are you thinking riding a bike for so many miles and having it for that many years? Are you mad?!  

Tell ya what, I'll do you a favour... I'll give you a tenner for it, thats a good price considering what its really worth after all that punishment. You can't get fairer than that!  

[sagerat]

Hmm, my R90/6 just turned past 82,000 miles, my GS is at 22,500 miles, and the Ural is past 7,000 miles (geez, even had to do the KM>MI translation) so I guess I'm must owner a rolling boneyard.  

Next time you're in the dealer, stop by and ask them why they think 25K is a lot of miles on a bike.

[Squareman357]

I honestly don't think they are morons.  I think that's the prevailing attitude among the "less serious" riders out there.  I sold my '02 XX (bought leftover new in '04) with well over 30K on it in the two years I owned it.  I've got 17K on my ZX-14 that I bought last July, and fully expect, around this time next year, to be in the 30K range on it.  I'm continually met with surprise and awe when I go riding with the locals and pull into a spot where there are dozens of bikers and folks come around to peek at the 14.  They're curious about the various farkles (GPS mount, Radar mount, Tank Bag mount ring, Throttle Meister, PowerLet), they are curious about my ability to charge my cell phone under the seat, they are curious about my Corbin, or my windshield, but they are shocked to find out I've got over 17K on the thing already, when there are people among them with '06 14s with 2500 miles or less.  It's a different mentality.  We RIDE, long distance, short distance, commuting, all year long, we RIDE.  When they hear I've ridden my ZX-14 to Kentucky, New York, Cincinnati, Tennesee...when they hear I rode my XX to Myrtle Beach, California, Atlanta...they are shocked that anyone rides a sport bike like that.  It's just the mentality.  Call it squid if you want, but even my dad was amazed that I ride my bike the way I do, and he's an old school Harley-type rider.  He rides, and well, but just couldn't imagine traveling on it the way I do (though now he's talking about wanting to take a trip with me   ), so it's not just the squidly types.  You've got to admit, folks that ride like we do are the exception, not the rule.

[Putt]

Had close to 240,000 miles on my old CX-500 before I got rid of it... Alcohol in the gas finally ate up the floats in the carbs.....
It was a good ol' bike...


Putt...

[chornbe]

While my wife and I were running errands this weekend, I decided to stop by a relatively large local dealer for some oil drain plug washers.  After telling the guy what kind of bike they were for so he could look up the part number, he asked me for the year and make of the bike a second time.  I replied "It's a 2001, Yamaha R1."  He then said (paraphrasing) "Wow, we don't see many bikes that old around here."  

I told him it's only 6 years old and has approximately 25,xxx miles on it.  I also told him that I hardly consider a 6 year old bike with only 25,xxx miles on it worn out and ready to break down at the drop of a hat.  By this time another (dealer employee) guy had wondered up to the service counter.  The first guy told him "This guy has a 2001 R1 with over 25,000 miles on it!"  (Like it was some unheard of feat.)  Both of them started asking about engine rebuilds, problems, etc.  I told him there are loads of guys on several Yamaha forums with over 50-70K on various years R1s and FZ1s, with all of them still running just fine.  Both of them immediately called BS.


1. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I honestly feel that at 25,000 miles I'm just scratching the surface of this bike (2001 - R1).  What do you think?  I maintain it to a "T" and am as particular as anyone you'll find when it comes to taking care of it.  Ask anyone I know and they'll confirm this.

2. About how many miles do you honestly expect to get out of your bike?  

3. Do you consider 25,000 to be "a lot" for a modern wrong that's been maintained properly?  Why/why not?

4. What was the mileage of the last bike that you got rid of due to mechanical reasons?  (I'm not counting getting rid of it because you were tired of it.)

5. What's the most mileage you've seen personally, either on your bike or someone else's?

You gotta realize most of the dealers only see the squids who wreck their bikes a few times a year or blow engines from over-revving them and such.

1 - ridden sanely, these high-power engines will last a long, long time. Remember, they're *build* to be ridden hard, like a $2 hooker on freebie night. The more sanely you ride it, the longer it'll last. Simple.

2 - I'd be really disappointed if my FJR didn't go 100k miles. In fact, the CBR should easily do that with the way I ride, with regular maintenance.

3 - Hell no.

4 - My '05 Concours had ~6500 miles on it when I dumped it off on the dealer trade in. That's the only bike I really got ride of because of "problems". 99% of my other bike changes were because I had a change in riding style, performance desires, touring vs. cruising vs. sport, luggage capability, comfort, etc...

5 - My GL had 80k on it. I put 30k on my 440LTD after buying it barely used with ~800 miles on it at a year old. That was my first street bike, way back in 1984. The 1976 CB750 Auto full dresser I had for about 4 years back in the late 80s and early 90s had about 46k on when I bought it, and I put another 40-45k on it. *thumbs up*

High mileage bikes are all about maintenance, not necessarily age or generation or style.

[PhilBiker]

My bike must be hosed.  69K miles on the odometer and 12 year old

[Albie]

The average squid on an  R1 wads it up at about 6K, so it's no wonder they thought you were on borrowed time.

LOL you're giving the average squid Wayyyyyyyy to much credit.  

[Bunbun]

LOL you're giving the average squid Wayyyyyyyy to much credit.  

Yeah... that'd be at least 3 years of ownership!  j/k... I jest, I jest.  Sorta.

Bun

[bikerfish1100]

really, we're all just a buncha candy pants. Paul & Voni kind of define "long distance riding", along with clarifying what a "high mileage bike" really is.
http://www.mindspring.com/~p_vglaves/ibr.htm

[Desmo Demon]

This guy just rolled 100k on his 2004 Honda CBR600F4i...

http://www.georgiasportbike.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49066&highlight=100k


There's a guy in Florida who has over 124k on his '99 Ducati SS900 with basically only regular services done to it...

http://usdesmo.com/leanings/Leanings_2006_3_Fall.pdf

[LicketySplat]

Heck, I had 29,000 miles on my Sportster before I had to rebuild the bottom end  

[dezXrider]

That guy with the sore butt, the top dog  long haul London Courier keeps his Honda's till around 400.000 miles, even then just the rims are wore out from tire changes. My Blackbird is only 9 years old, I'll trade it at 100k, Honda should have a new one out in another 6 or 7 years. The record is held by one of my relitives set with a Fat Boy, 3 years old and still has the original tank of gas.

[et]

really, we're all just a buncha candy pants. Paul & Voni kind of define "long distance riding", along with clarifying what a "high mileage bike" really is.
http://www.mindspring.com/~p_vglaves/ibr.htm

But why did it take them more than 10 years to get that mileage ? And why on touring bikes ?

2000 GSXR-750 last fall:
http://www.trimmer.org/images/vac06/295_s.jpg

It has only just now crossed 200,000 miles because I didn't ride much during this past winter due to moving.
I moved slowly; three or four small pickup loads per week after work.

If this is "sport-touring"; where are all the sport bikes with touring mileage ??  

--et
http://www.trimmer.org

[kshown4]

Just turning 61K on my 01" Sprint ST

[bomber]

80K on my Y2K Buell MaDeuce -- just under 7 on my 07 Tiger -- and I'm a slacker, fergoodness sakes!

the guys you spoke with are, as was posted by others, chronologically impaired in that things older than 5 minutes and things 5 minutes in the future do not exist . . . . .

of course, their knees don't make noise either, so they got THAT goin for em

[desert_rider]

It doesn't sound like they have too much faith in the products that they are selling.  If I was told, and I believed, that a bike was worn out at that milage while shopping for a new bike I'd look at other brands.

[bizarro]

Huh..... 31+ year old bike..... nearly 70,000 miles.... and it's Italian.


I must be suicidal.

[mcoyote]

*chuckles -- well, here's how you might turn it to your advantage.

Don't shave for a few days, frump-up your gear, and go in and play the old-wizened-broken-down-clueless-biker thing. Do lots of off-color jokes and "help a brutha out" type stuff, maybe they'll give you free tires or something.

[GooseMan]

Yeesh! My 1991 Bandit must seem ANCIENT to them then! I bought it used (obivously...cant get a new one anymore!) with around 56,000km on it. The things been running perfeclty fine, except for a few minor hiccups here and there. All I've done to it was change the fluids, tires and done a vale check/adjust....thats it! Running the same sprockets and chain since I've got it (no idea how old they are, but them appear to be fine), and as far as I know, the engine was never rebuilt.

*shrug* I'd assume a newer, more modern bike should have no trouble getting to 100K and beyond! Hopefully my Bandit will hold out another few thousand km!  

[Wanderer]

My 03 FJR has almost 64k on it (Army deployments cut into my riding time), and aside from fluids and tires and spark plugs, it's needed a cam chain tensioner.  that's all.  Actually I lied, the battery died at like 46k. I did the valve check at 60k, yes a little late and all were well within factory spec.  Never been adjusted.  The bike as never even hiccuped.  I'd be really really disappointed if anything major went wrong before 100 thou and unless I ball it up somewhere, I bleieve I'll be in the saddle to watch the odo click 200k.  
I read a thing somewhere on the net a while back about a guy who took his old beat up ninja 600, drained the oil and coolant out, got the wheel off the ground and literally tied the throttle wide open ''until....''
He gave up and shut the bike down after 15 minutes. I read a corollary 'add-on' about 6 months later about the bike. After the stunt he refilled the fluids, and the bike has run just fine everyday since.  Modern bikes, those newer than about 25-30, years are relatively indestructable.  

[highside]

The reason sportsbikes don't last very long has a lot more to do with neglect and abuse than the potential life span of the bikes itself. Half the sport bikes I see seem to average less than 1500 miles a year, and I bet they get an oil chance once a year. That sort of life is hard on any vehicle. Now consider how many of these things get totalled well before they are worn out and it starts to become a rarity to see them crossing 25,000 miles.

The really terrible part of this is that it is REALLY hard to sell sportbikes with that kind of mileage on them. In the right hands there is a LOT of life left in that bike, but when your add is next to another add selling the same bike with 4,000 miles on it for the same price. The funny bit is that the higher mileage bike is probably a better value as it is more likely to have seen proper care and maintinence.

[keystonejenks]

Heck, I had 29,000 miles on my Sportster before I had to rebuild the bottom end  

Wouldn't have to if you'd stop taking it off of those sweet jumps.  

[keystonejenks]

Huh..... 31+ year old bike..... nearly 70,000 miles.... and it's Italian.


I must be suicidal.

Dude, you're living beyond the edge!!

[Giaka]

We have squids at work (gixxer, R1/R6, ZX riders) that ride maybe once a month that cannot believe I have almost 17,000 miles on my 2 year old CBR then I drop the bomb and tell them that's only half of the story, I also have 18,000 miles on my 2 year old concours. Seriously they think I loan my bikes out to friends because there is no way one person can ride that many miles in 2 years.   If I had more time there would be three times that many miles on BOTH bikes. One of our squids has a 2 year old Gixxer 750 with 1400 miles on it. I ask him why he doesn't ride it more and he says he doesn't want to wear it out. He has been told it will only last 25k and it will need a rebuild.  

[miles]

squids think 10K miles is an unbelievable amount of miles.
Squids also believe, that any bike more than 2 years old, is an antique, because its no longer the latest, greatest thing, therefore its undesirable
Squids are also morons *shrug*

A few years ago I traded in an 02 CBR 954 with 28,000 miles on it.  The service tech said that he was surprised to see a sport-bike in such good condition after so many miles.  I asked why.  He said that most sport-bikes are totalled or road-rashed heavily before they ever see that kinda mileage.  He was impressed and wasn't being a smart-ass.  I guess I have to agree with him.  It's not an engine failure that limits the life of sport-bikes....it's guard rails, curbs, and SUV's that take their toll on them.

There is your answer right there.  Those two think of an R1 as a squid bike (to which group they undoubtedly belong) and the idea of a bike that has survived that many years without being totalled or blown up is hard for them to fathom.



miles

[Snowbird]

You have a 2001 bike and it only has 25K miles on it? Sure it's not a Harley?  

[mxvet57]

low milage?

 i don't consider it broken in till it hits 50,000.

my truck has 265,000 on it, the SUV has 156,000 and the FJR just turned 66,000.  so as you can see i do get my moneys worth out of a vehicle