How many km is too many km for a second-hand bike? [Archive]

Spyke

19th January 2007, 22:27

Ixion

19th January 2007, 22:40

I've never owned a bike woth less than 40000 km on it. That's only 25000 miles.

If you do 30000 km per year, that would be a less than two year old bike. I should jolly well expect motorcycles to last more than 2 years!

There are plenty of examples of bikes with hundreds of thousands of km clocked up, going fine.

Having said that, it does depend on how they've been treated. And unfortunately, it must be said that an awful lot of 250s, especially the "racey" ones, are not treated very well. Thrashed, and crashed, mileage doesn't really count for much. I go by condition, not a number on the dial.

James Deuce

19th January 2007, 22:43

As Ixion says, Ks don't matter, condition does.

Spyke

20th January 2007, 07:40

that has opened up my thoughts to more bikes.

thanks ixion and jim2

Crasherfromwayback

20th January 2007, 07:43

40,000km's is tougher on a 250 than it is on a big engine.......

Drum

20th January 2007, 07:47

My 250 Kawasaki had 65k on it when I sold it and it was in great condition. Didn't use any oil and had no mechanical faults. It had been well maintained.

Don't expect a high mileage (or any other) bike to be maintenance free though!

Grahameeboy

20th January 2007, 08:18

Done 22,000 k's on my 2005 SV.......engine will be fine just things like brakes, suspension will tire over time

Joni

20th January 2007, 08:38

I agree that its a matter of condition on the bike.

However I know some people feel differently. When I was bike shopping in Auckland, I found a bike I liked... my old friend Zed, said no... the mileage was too high (was just under 30K)... to him mileage is as important as condition.... so everyone has an opinion on this (like everything else I suppose)

I landed up buying a bike that had way over 30K on the clock... and never had a days problems.

My question would be, are you good mechanically?... becasue you will need to maintain it. Look at total cost of ownership.

Crasherfromwayback

20th January 2007, 09:02

I agree that its a matter of condition on the bike.

However I know some people feel differently. When I was bike shopping in Auckland, I found a bike I liked... my old friend Zed, said no... the mileage was too high (was just under 30K)... to him mileage is as important as condition.... so everyone has an opinion on this (like everything else I suppose)

I landed up buying a bike that has way over 30K on the clock... and never had a days problems.

My question would be, are you good mechanically?... becasue you will need to maintain it. Look at total cost of ownership.

Which reminds me......'bout time you purchased another bike innit?

I know this salesman......

Spyke

20th January 2007, 09:13

havn't done any work on a bike before, but i have the intention of knowing how my bike runs and i like to tinker with things, so hopefully when i get abit of experience i will be able to look after a bike resonably well, plus my dad has had 7 bikes (a while back) so he would be able to help.

thanks

cowboyz

20th January 2007, 09:29

mines done 105000 and still going strong. Ignore the ks all together and look at if it uses oil/leaks rides

scumdog

20th January 2007, 10:09

NighthawkNZ

20th January 2007, 12:47

My Sporty has 30,000km on it, it's appearance is such that if I told you it had 10,000km on you would not know the difference without checking the speedo.

A tidy good-all-round condition bike with 40,000km is better than a scruffy uncared-for oil stained bike with only 10,000km....

My VTR has just under 30,000kz on the clock and still ging doesn't use any oil and the engine should get to 80,000 if maintained before something major needs doing... On saying that my XJ had 139,000 on the clock and only need minor work to keep it going. :innocent:

If you keep it maintained the number of ks shouldn't be a problem. Regular oil changes (more as the ks get even higher) but as the ks get up there just keep an eye on the running parts, shocks, chain and sprocks, etc... all the normal stuff

Spyke

20th January 2007, 20:58

hopefully i can find myself a nice little bike that has been looked after well, and isnt over $2k

Roj

30th January 2007, 10:13

hopefully i can find myself a nice little bike that has been looked after well, and isnt over $2k

With the lower price bracket, you are likely to end up buying a bike with higher k's, the next thing to look at is what condition is the rest of the bike in?, mine is in the mid 50's and is still going well, but I have seen other bikes with half the k's that aren't worth touching.

As with any vehicle it is dependant on how well it has been looked after and how hard it has been riden, since you are interested in learning about maintaining a bike you can always get something that needs a little work and start learning, or spend a little more and keep it in good condition (personally I would get the best condition possible)

If at all possible, when you find a bike you like ask someone else to look at it for you or pay for a pre-purchase check, might cost $100 but can be money well spent if it finds a problem first:scooter:

avgas

30th January 2007, 10:23

i have found 150,000ks is a good mark to stick by as too much.
But once again - depends on the bike, owner and price.
Ive pulled apart completely f'ed bikes with only 20,000k's on the clock cos the owner left it outside to die.

Spyke

2nd February 2007, 00:03

With the lower price bracket, you are likely to end up buying a bike with higher k's, the next thing to look at is what condition is the rest of the bike in?, mine is in the mid 50's and is still going well, but I have seen other bikes with half the k's that aren't worth touching.

As with any vehicle it is dependant on how well it has been looked after and how hard it has been riden, since you are interested in learning about maintaining a bike you can always get something that needs a little work and start learning, or spend a little more and keep it in good condition (personally I would get the best condition possible)

If at all possible, when you find a bike you like ask someone else to look at it for you or pay for a pre-purchase check, might cost $100 but can be money well spent if it finds a problem first:scooter:
Yeah i hope that i can find a reasonable bike for the price (i hope more like 3k depends how long i can wait!), or i will have to learn quik how to fix it.

i hope to get a weekend job in a motorbike shop repairing bikes, but doubt it, who's going to want a fifteen year old helping out.

JimO

2nd February 2007, 06:14

my old kwaka 750 has 75000 ks still going no worries

Roj

2nd February 2007, 11:19

i hope to get a weekend job in a motorbike shop repairing bikes, but doubt it, who's going to want a fifteen year old helping out.

Just ask any how, even if all you do to start is clean the floors and bikes, you are in the right place to get help.. do the dirty jobs and the guys in the shop will be happy to help you out down the track, and by talking to them you will probably be able to find that cheap bike you are looking for:scooter:

Spyke

2nd February 2007, 12:07

i will ask around and see if i can get a job at one.

thanks roj

RiderInBlack

2nd February 2007, 12:17

So many variables on this one.
Take normal RPM for different motors for instant. My GSXR250 did 10,000RPM @ 100KPM, the VFR750 did 5,000RPM @ the same speed and "Roxanne" the CBR1000FL does less than 4,000RPM. Therefore the GSXR250's engine rotated twice as much to do the same distance as the VFR750 and around three times as much as the CBR1000FL.
I had to do a re-motoring of the GSXR250 @ 50,000Km.
The VFR, as far as I know, is still going well past the 100,000Km mark but would be careful of buying one over that amount without checking it for engine wear.
"Roxanne" the CBR1000FL is now @ the 80,000mile (12,8748km) mark and, apart from the alternator chain noise, is still running sweet. @ 50,000miles (80,000km) I had stripped the motor to replace the Cam-chain. Being a fussy bugger, I got the valves reset, put new rings in and got the bores honed (so the new rings could re-seat). The Engineers that honed the bores said that the original machining marks were still visible in the bores. Therefore there was little sign of engine wear @ 50,000miles. In saying this I would still hesitate buying a bike like the CBR1000FL if it had done more than 60,000miles (100,000Km) without getting it checked thoroughly.

James Deuce

2nd February 2007, 12:36

Less rotational mass in the GSXR250 though and less strain on conrods and things. Mass makes a significant difference to the amount of force a conrod and crank has to bear, as does stroke length which affects terminal piston speed and the amount of Gs stuff suffers at the point of stroke reversal.

ResidentAngel

8th February 2007, 16:27

I am still riding a 22 year old VF1000FE on a daily basis that has done about 200,000 km. You can buy occassional VF's with 80,000km for about $1500 - $3000. The newer big VFours are supposed to be even more reliable. It all depends on how the bike has been ridden, and how its been looked after.

BUNGY

8th February 2007, 22:22

got my cbr with 47000 on the clock but its a 18yr old bike so you have to expect it to reasonably high. Its really tidy condition though and runs sweet

pevs

14th February 2007, 16:45

I bought a Honda VT500E with 50,000miles (80,000kms) on the clock.. it was about 6 years old then.. dispatched it for 3 years.. eventually sold it for 500quid with 207,000 miles on it.. (333,000kms). I was fairly honest when i sold it.. told him it'd been round the clock.. just didn't tell him how many times! Some of the cycle parts were still in good nick too.. you just can't beat Honda quality I reckon. BTW it was still on it's original engine. I think the secret was using a product called "slick 50".. friction reducing stuff like "motor-up"... anybody tried it??

The Pastor

14th February 2007, 16:52

with old bikes / high km bikes always check the coolant (if it has any)........

Biff

17th February 2007, 21:40

Hondas live longer.

slinky

17th February 2007, 21:54

Hi to all kb members/guests

I have been thinking of getting a 2nd hand bike to start my journey into the world of biking, and i have been thinking about some bikes on trademe. if the bike has been looked after, does it matter if they have over 40,000kms on the clock?

i just bought my bike before xmas(cbr900rr), it now has 65,000 ks on it. (it had 60,ooo)
it seems fine so far. am only assuming it was very well looked after.
my dads bike has about 130,000-140,000 on it. hes perdantic and looks after it thoroughly, it still goes fine, his is a bandit 1200.

so i guess in some cases. ignore the K's and just pay attention to the condition of the engine/gearbox ... etc

yod

5th March 2007, 15:45

I started on a 2 stroke NS250R which had 8000kms on it, I added about 5k and it actually got faster as I ran it in! (I think the guy i bought it off was a bit scared of the power band).
Then I had a GPz900, got it with about 57k on it and added about 20k - never had any probs - just had to do a wheel bearing if i remember rightly (loved that GPz!).
Now Im on a VFR400R NC21,it's got 58k on it (I've only added about 2k) and runs very well (although not perfectly).
My opinion (and I am by no means an expert, just been around for a few decades) is I tend to look for 2-strokes with less than 20-25kms, small fours with less then 60-70 and big fours with less than 90-100km. This is of course dependant on price - the VFR i got was very cheap but it isn't mint by any means!!
Overall condition will tell you alot tho - if the outside is well looked after then the inside probably is too - it comes down to what kind of people the previous owners were....