What would be the highest amount of mileage/km you would purchase a motorcycle at?

[NighthawkNZ:Me]

f it starts to rattle call it a ducati...

had an old XJ 650 I put 130,000 kms on when I sold it... still going strong just needs oil and replace cam chain every now and then...

All depends on bike, maintenance it has had, etc

[Banditbandit]

Depends on the bike really. I recently bought an 1981 SR500 that has done 92,000km.

It's had a full repaint, chrome bits rechromed, and had an engine freshen up with new top end bits and some other goodies.
It runs really well and I'm not too concerned about age related problems as it's such a stupidly simple bike to work on, it's just a big single in a frame with a few rudimentary 'lectricky bits and a kickstarter.

Ooooooh . I want one ,.. I want to cafe racer it ...

But mileage is only part of the issue - high mileage/low price versus low mileage/higher price ..

[ducatilover]

This thread has been very interesting so far. I always thought the more mileage and engine had on it (or so I was told), the less you'll get out of it. But clearly that's not the case. It depends on the condition of the engine itself and how well its been maintained. So, does that mean a good quality engine could last you life time (and beyond)?

Genrally higher km bikes (at similar ages to another lower km bike) will have had less cold starts and been used on the open road more. I'd rather have a 20 year old bike with higher kms than a low km 20 year old bike with perished seals, bearings, fucked bores etc from cold riding and lack of use.

We have a Corolla that has done near 490,000km and it has never missed a beat, goes from Eke to Wellington 5 days a week. Whereas my own one with less open road driving and muppets owning it previously had run out of valve stem seals at 294,000km.

[flyingcrocodile46]

That would depend on whether I had wheels to get to it.

A. If I had to walk I probably wouldn't make it more than a few K's.

B. If I had a car or bike to drive/ride it would depend on whether I had a friend who was able to drive/ride the car/bike back. If I had any friends I'd probably travel four or five hundred K's. If not, see A above.

C. If I had plane fare one way and was riding back, I'd go a few thousand K's.

[Corse1]

Talked to a guy who raced his ST2 in the bears at Taupo about a year ago. Owned since new. Uses as everyday ride and bears racing (just takes the fairings off). He pulled the top end apart to give it a refresh at a little over 100,000 kms. Still had the hone marks in the bores so very little was needed which surprised him. He had spent almost nothing on the motor that wasnt just regular maintenance. He ended up replacing the rings just because he had it apart.

Anyhow most big bikes are not run in until they reach 15 - 20,000 kms

Agree with previous poster, better to buy a bike that has been used rather than not. Internal seals etc dry out.

[SNF]

Got mine at 36,900-ish km, its at 38,4xx now. Reckon they wind the speedo's back like what they used to do with cars? Its not running too bad now although it does have an exhaust leak (fixing). I would go condition over km's when I get another bike.

[Dodgy]

I recently purchased my 94,000km 2000 VFR800. It esentialy rides like a new bike and it is amazing how quiet and tight the engine is.

Recently I pulled out the rear suspension linakge to check for wear. None. So I cleaned it, greased it and put it back. Just pulled the forks apart to check. The bushes were definitely worn and the oil was off, but nothing needed to be replaced (I replaced the bushes regardless).

Honda make a pretty reliable bike when they choose to

[FROSTY:Me]

The thing is that as technology improves so does the milage a motor is capable of. Ive seen 1300cc cars with close to a million Km on them -and lets face it theres less stress on a big bike motor than a revvy 1300cc car

[Corse1]

The thing is that as technology improves so does the milage a motor is capable of. Ive seen 1300cc cars with close to a million Km on them -and lets face it theres less stress on a big bike motor than a revvy 1300cc car

Something about an abilty to rev double the rpm of a normal car means a comparison between normal cars and motorcycles (Harleys excluded!) is not really truly valid.

[CRM]

Bought my ST1100 with 160,000km on it - best bike I've ever owned, and the cheapest! I've done 6000km in the last 5 weeks and absolutely no issues.

As people say depends on the life use and maintenance. An old bike that has sat around for a few years - even with low mileage - is likely to give more problems than a bike thats been ridden every day since it was new and been reasonably maintained.

My daughter has an SV650 that was used for a daily commute by the first owner for 8 years and maintained by the book - it's done 110,000km and no issues whatsoever. So high mileage bikes (depending on history) can be a great buy. Carjam is a good way of checking for use over the life of a bike.

If you are buying a lower mileage or newer bike its a great habit to get into to keep a logbook of what you have done to it and when - copies of invoices for parts etc if you get really into it. Its a good reminder of service intervals but also worth its weight in gold when you come to sell the bike that you can pass that on. My ST had 75,000km of logged history and an owner that obviously loved it - he almost cried when I rode it away. That's a good indicator of a well cared for bike.