Life span of a sports bike

[kiwithor]

Just wondering what kind of life span you can get from a sports bike (or any bike for that matter). Looking at getting an older bike to work on as a project and have seen some high ish km ones for sale, just interested to know how long they can go for.

[Drew]

You'll die before a Gixxer thou does.

[Gremlin]

Just wondering what kind of life span you can get from a sports bike (or any bike for that matter). Looking at getting an older bike to work on as a project and have seen some high ish km ones for sale, just interested to know how long they can go for.
Depends on it's history. No maintenance and you could be in for a big bill with minimal km. Lots of maintenance and high km can be fine.

[WristTwister]

Some specifics might help, like the ages, kms and brands you're looking at working on. Someone here might have had experience with the same bike and give you a better answer than "Well it depends...".

[Madness]

If you're in Auckland you'll probably get taken out by a Taxi or summin before anything on a Jap bike packs up on you.

[jellywrestler]

my gs850 aircooled shaftie has 375000 k'm on it and i'll be riding next weekend again

[sidecar bob]

my gs850 aircooled shaftie has 375000 k'm on it and i'll be riding next weekend again

Your Henderson is even older than that & still going too.:msn-wink:

[mossy1200]

My F4 has 2,800 kms and has been to the doctors 4 times plus a service so far.

[jellywrestler]

Your Henderson is even older than that & still going too.:msn-wink:

yeah but that's been rebuilt and have replaced the speedo so not sure,, my thomas is 114 years old and still goes, but i'm not sure what was a sports bike back in 1902....

[kiwithor]

Some specifics might help, like the ages, kms and brands you're looking at working on. Someone here might have had experience with the same bike and give you a better answer than "Well it depends...".

Cheers lads.

I've seen some cbr250s between 87-95 with anywhere between 30-60k.

Also saw a cbr600 f3 with 120k or so.

Been offered an 2001 r6 with 80k on the clock.

[Katman]

You'll die before a Gixxer thou does.

It's often a team effort.

[mossy1200]

but i'm not sure what was a sports bike back in 1902....

Anything that could outrun a pony.

[sidecar bob]

yeah but that's been rebuilt and have replaced the speedo so not sure,, my thomas is 114 years old and still goes, but i'm not sure what was a sports bike back in 1902....

Well I'd say a litre four would definitely be a shoe in for the description, even if it is mounted longitudinally.

[FJRider]

It's often a team effort.

Well at least there is a fair risk ... the bike and rider will die at the same time .... :shifty:


How long was that piece of string ... ??? :laugh:

[nzspokes]

To give you an idea, my K6 thou Suzuki has 40kms on it now.Always ridden like a gentleman. :msn-wink:
Just tyres,brake pads and a battery in that time.
Apart from just this morning, when I put the front end back on with new seals and oil.

Pretty good I reckon.

How is 40,000ks old? my last bike was 115,000ks and still going very strong.

[jellywrestler]

It's often a team effort.

yes and your pet bike the Katana is named after a sword, when they came out people said those who lived by the sword also died by the sword.

[pritch]

Aprilia only tested their bikes to 50,000ks because they figured that was all most owners would do. They wondered how the opposition was performing so they hooked a Fireblade engine up to their test bed, that engine just would not die.
(I can't use quote marks because I read that years ago.)

Big Jap bikes these days could run forever. I suspect most expire from sudden contact with solid objects rather than engine wear.

[tigertim20]

how long does a sportsbike last?
shit, how long is a peice of string. theres a 2000 CBR600 F4i in the USA thats had its entire life documented online. currently sits a little over 300k miles, so just under 500,000km and still going strong.

Ive seen bikes with 20k on them, and theyre half fucked.

If youre looking at a 250, worth remembering that high redlines means the engines done more work than a bigger capacity motor for the same kms. and 250's are more likely to have had a list of noob owners that dont understand the importance of, or process of, performing basic, regular maintenance.

[AllanB]

Interesting.

Oil oil oil oil - frequent changes are the secret to engine life.

If you think about normal use on public roads you really have to be a mad bastard to be constantly thrashing a engine due to the truly nutty speeds obtained at the top end - speed limit anyone - well that's first gear ......


I had 115,000 kms on a 1982 Kawasaki 750 twin - basic stuff engine wise, did the cam-chain and associated parts at 100 just for security's sake and popped in a fresh pair of rings just because. Then sold it shortly after :weird:


Appears that the big bore Honda's, Suzukis and Kawasakis if given fresh oil frequently live a long life.

[Blackbird]

Appears that the big bore Honda's, Suzukis and Kawasakis if given fresh oil frequently live a long life.

Quite a few owners on the UK Honda Blackbird forum have done over 200,000 Miles with nothing more than changing oil regularly and replacing the cam chain tensioner at 40,000 mile intervals

[onearmedbandit]

I've got two first generation GSXR thous, 01 and 02 models, 100,000+km and 72,000km respectively, and both still going strong.

[actungbaby]

Just wondering what kind of life span you can get from a sports bike (or any bike for that matter). Looking at getting an older bike to work on as a project and have seen some high ish km ones for sale, just interested to know how long they can go for.

well sure if you change the oil and filter spark plugs i brought a 1990 vfr 750 and it done 50,000 miles and thought ohh shit.

runs swwet as engine is strong as a bull revs and smooth as . from what ive read its not un common

bikes in 80,s seemed need engine work by then nake them last long time know , things like cam chains can stretch .

And of course your tires and chains are going wear out , cant stop tires wearing but good maintence on oring chains last along time also

it used be said the short stroke under sqaure engines high revving whould wear quicker , but with new materials doesint seem be case

these days . some sports bike s are nearly over sqaure bore stroke some gsx 100oors i belive

Am guesing the power these bikes can produce and at highish gearing you be hard pressed to trash them on nz roads

and keep your licence or not have you wall paper lined with tickets . ;-)

Mind you even small capicity 250cc sportsbikes have 20 year plus runs these days use good motro oil look after your bike

[TheDemonLord]

My 08 Busa is about to hit 70,000 Km and is purring along like a Kitten.

[Kornholio]

I got my 2000 750 at 37k on the clock. That was in 2005, 11 and a bit years later it has nearly cracked the 100k mark... Had a compression test done last year and they were all fine. I can't speak for the last owner but I have thrashed the piss out of this bike and its still going strong(as soon as I replace the fuel rail o-rings which have gonna bit square due to me putting farm fuel in it and having to pull out injectors a couple of times to clean them out).

[release_the_bees]

Bikes nowadays seem to have pretty good life spans as long as they are looked after. Touch wood, but the only bike engine I've managed to destroy was a KR150, which was my first bike and had basically no maintenance and got red lined pretty much every gear change - I still got 60,000 Km out of it though.

My other high Kilometer bikes that I can remember offhand were a VT250 (80k), SV1000 (120k) and the GS500 (140k).

Funnily enough, the bike I had the most issues with was a low km GT650. It only had 7000km on the clock when I bought it, but all sorts of things went wrong in the 2 years (and 30000km) that I owned it.

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[rambaldi]

By the sounds of it engines are usually not a thing to worry about, if the oil has been changed regularly etc.

The other thing to consider is how it has been stored, if the bike is a little older. I got the news the other day, when getting the fork seals done, that my forks weren't looking flash hot. I put the pitting down to how the bike was stored two owners ago (who didn't ride it much at all).

[R1madness]

My GSXR1000 K4 is an ex Andrew stroud championship winning bike. It now has 80,000 km on the clock and still goes like a missile. Don't be too stressed about the mileage if the bike looks like it's been well looked after and the owner is happy to start it from stone cold. If you go to look at one and the headers are warm... even slightly... it shows the owner is nervous about it starting from cold.

[mossy1200]

My GSXR1000 K4 is an ex Andrew stroud championship winning bike. It now has 80,000 km on the clock and still goes like a missile. Don't be too stressed about the mileage if the bike looks like it's been well looked after and the owner is happy to start it from stone cold. If you go to look at one and the headers are warm... even slightly... it shows the owner is nervous about it starting from cold.

Or they ride it daily to work and got home 2 hrs before you turn up to look at it.

[Grumph]

For what it's worth, I've turned quite a few bikes into racebikes now.
Pre 63 - replace everything. Take nothing on trust as it'll be cracked or worn out.
Pre72 - in most cases (japanese) the main bits will be reusable. Probably needs bearings, pistons and seals.
Pre82 - again most bits probably reusable. Kawa and Suzuki roller cranks will usually be good. Better pistons and camchain needed, possibly valves too.
Pre 89 - maybe shells but I've found quite a few still good. Rings and seals needed. Forged pistons needed.

Everything later that i've opened up has been surprisingly good - even sidecar motors which usually need the gearbox looking at.

Progress has been made.