By dennismary.slave@gmail.com 
What is considered high mileage for a motorcycle?
If you are in the market for a used motorcycle this is important to know and a lot depends on the type of motorcycle you are interested in. We discuss it this week on MCrider and some more tips to help you find a good used motorcycle.
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EVO. Carb. Over 100,000 miles, no worries for the next 100k.
I bought a GS with 80,000 miles. Its been to Nova Scotia and South America. Not worried one bit
I bought a 2021 Harley Davidson. It is now 2024 and I have 30,000 miles on it never a problem be safe.
Honda Goldwings are giant scooters with 6 cylinder car engines.
All new riders need one word to learn….Gixxah.!!
This is good Motorcycle advice pay attention Thanks 🙏🏼 I’ve given up riding but have enjoyed near to 50 years of riding strokes brain injury & fog slow reaction reflex Other dibilitations Miss it but camping is nice too Happy Trails
Bought my first bike 5yrs ago for my 66th birthday. A 2004 Harley Heritage with 54k mi. on it for $4900. I learned to ride it and do most of the work on it myself. I have today parked it for the winter with 122k mi. on it. Just looked in the cylinder heads and still have cross hatching so I'm not opening that up. I have rebuilt the carb, replaced clutch plates, cam and primary chain tensioners. I install new tires every season along with wheel bearings. Still use conventional oil every 3k mi.. Guess I'm getting my monies worth.
It often surprises me how few miles on an odo Americans regard as “high…” until I remember how terrifying they are to drive/ride around and it all makes sense.
Honda and Yamaha sport bikes will literally last forever. i have 42k on an Fz09, and it runs like new, like can still pull wheelies in the first 3 gears.
but ive also used Amsoil in it since it was brand new.
Honda Goldwing 200,000+, KTM, if it has more than 3 miles on it, don’t buy it…
Robert DeNiro ?
Engines are engines. They wear primarily based on load. This is on an exponential scale with operating temperature. Once warm, RPM itself is fairly negligible to wear given good oil, cooling, timing. OEM's actually have data available on the subject. Really let's you feel a lot less weary of properly using an engine to its potential.
I got my 2019 Honda CBR 650R in 2022 with 2378 miles on it. Bought it from a reputable Dealer.
He has a lazy eye or is reading a prompter.
I only buy new. I want to put the miles on myself, plus i want the warranty. Thats just me.
Absolutely fantastic video!
No such thing as high milage as long as it seems to be taken care of maintenance-wise.
Miles means it has been a good workhorse and deserves respect.
I have a 2010 dr650 with 22,000 miles, and a 2006 fatboy with 58,000 miles. Both run and operate good as new aside from asthetics like sun faded cable sheaths and the typical paint eat up around the master cylinder’s on the harley from brake fluid around the caps. My dad has a 2010 ultraclassic with just shy of 200,000 miles. It has had a few small issues over those miles,warped front brake rotors, fuel pump went out around 150,000, other than that it has not had to be worked on other than basic maintenance. Results may vary wildly from owner to owner tho. It just amazes me do many people think a bike with 8,000 miles on it is just absolutely wore slap out just because many people quit riding them after the novelty and brand newness wears off.
Thanks for the video. A small motorcycle dealership near me is selling a 2014 Kawasaki Vulcan 900 classic with 13,384 miles for 3,999. Is this a good value or too good to be true? Thank you!
For my last 2 purchases I've had such great deals on "New Old Stock" or Demos. So good that I couldn't justify a used equivalent.
Had a 96 Virago that I rode in LA traffic, daily for 22 years.
Maintained it well.
165k, when a cage squid killed her….fortunately, not me though.
Great bike!!! Super reliable.
Wait until electric models really become popular. It will be interesting to do a start up test on one of these!
My 1st bike was a 1980 shovelhead. I got it with 85k miles on it. I rode the wheels off of it for 24 years. The speedo broke at ~385k miles. I have no idea how many miles were on it when I sold it to a buddy for $2000.
All I ever had to do to it was replace everything one weekend at a time for 24 years. It didn't seem like much effort at the time, but looking back, it occurred to me that I pretty much sold my buddy a completely different bike in the frame and cases I bought 24 year earlier.
My 2010 CBR600 was bought brand new from the dealership. It had 9 miles on it when I bought it, and 7 of those were my test ride. Still have it 14 years later with nearly 550k miles on it. Still purrs like a kitten. Still ride it almost every day to commute 45mi to work.
here in PA high mileage bikes (over 20k) is rare other than some harleys or touring bikes. I just got a 1998 sportster with 11,000 miles on it. bike is like new other than chrome needs a good polishing.
Used sport bikes are scary bad usually…worked in a bike dealership fr 12 years, don't think we ever accepted one on trade…worn chain/sprockets, banged up plastic, etc
I just got a Suzuki gs500 2009 just hit 20k miles would you say that’s high?
My used motorcycle has been blowing headlights. Come to find out it's a sign of a failing voltage regulator.
I would look for a well maintained Honda. 100,000 miles on a Honda 500 twin is no big deal if it's had the oil changed regular. Those bikes are purposely detuned to meet the 47 HP A2 new rider standard in Europe. They are monumentally overbuilt and under stressed. My plan 'B' would be a Suzuki V-Strom, especially the 1000. It's not uncommon to see those bikes with hundreds of thousands of miles. One thing that would put me off are riders who have 'improved' their bikes with a high flow K&N filter. If frequently cleaned and maintained they can be ok, but a dry ignored K&N does nothing. Most folks ignore them. Even if it seems ok, that motor will have sucked in needless crap.
just buy a new harley and ride for 5 years and then sell it and get a new one harley davidson doesn’t lose value you get big chunk back and then get a new one every 5 years or 8 if you don’t have the money yet just save you won’t regret it and if you don’t like harley davidsons then this doesn’t apply to you
Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki will go forever. Even the sport bikes will go 40000 miles if serviced properly. Currently have a GSX-R1100 -86 and a Thundercat 600 -96. Kawasaki is ok German and Italian bikes I would stay away from quality wise. American motorcycles I have no knowledge about.
110,000 on a KLR. Never winterized it ( old gas in spring!)….Starts every year and I can fix it with a hammer .
Have an 85 Honda vf750f interceptor….60000km with no hesitation it will make 100000km with simple maintenance.
With a good honest mechanic high kilometers doesnt real mean nothing.high garage door rates is why people end up buying new and not fixing slightly worn bikes and cars
2000 Roadking with 60k last friday…. tell you if it explodes by next friday
their are so many low miles bikes out their its crazy to get anything more than 10k
Im amazed by the number of 20,000 dollar motorcycles, 10-20 years old with less than 5K miles on the odometer
Any bike will do 100k miles if properly maintained. I know of several 75k+ mile superbikes including a Ducati on 120k miles on the original motor.
I have also met a rider on an early 80's Goldwing which had done 400k miles with mo more than just maintenance and a carb rebuild
Forgot to mention. I have a full and complete maintenance record for it.
Have a 2004 Yamaha VMax. It has 56k miles on it. I have babied this bike and loved it. I have owned it for approx. 10 years. I have kept it clean and maintained it. The tires are in great shape. It has never been laid down. I have a small scrape on one of the pipes. It has the usual wear that a bike has that has been ridden. I ride it about once to twice a week to keep the fluids current. With the miles that I mentioned it has on it, what would a good selling price be??
How many miles is too many for a sport bike – it depends how that bike is ridden – if it's a big bore sports, and has had any easy life, well, it can still be a young motor
High mileage is subjective.
I personally own a 2007 R1 with 63,000 miles on the clock on the same engine. Let’s divide up the yearly miles…….2007 = 17 years at 12,000. ( considered average per year) would be 204,000 miles…..
5,000 times 17 = 85,000……..
The biggest thing with miles is service, how many service visits has it had? How many valve adjustments? Mods, were they done by the owner or by a real professional. Ultralight low miles is also a bad thing. A 2005 bike with only 10 k on the clock is going to have issues also.
It is subjective. There are signs of a bad bike, lots of stickers, oil sheen or actual drips, worn tires, soft brakes, pitted forks, rust, electrical add ons like under glow lights, tight chains,loose chains( applies to belts also) clicking shaft drive, exhaust smoke that does not go away as it gets warm, coolant stains, polished frames, really bright and new looking chrome……..all of these and more are signs to look deeper and ask more questions. If it is a GSX-R……..90% are absolute garbage and have been severely abused…..ridden hard and put away wet……..don’t bring a friend who “knows bikes”. Bring someone who actually works on them (not the “I do it myself in the garage” guy)
Nearly all bikes have been or will be crashed at some point. Look for things like, broken tabs,screws,repainted frame,missing vin decal, painted over vin, JB welded parts, use a magnet on the metal filler will show up as no or light magnetic response. How many owners?
Also, do a vin check…..LOTS of stolen bikes are out there. Do not buy without a title UNLESS you have run it through the DMV…..
A test ride refusal is not a deal breaker, if I were to sell mine there would be no test rides….that is how stuff gets stolen or crashed. Trust but verify, then verify again
Im looking at buying a 2000 heritage with 51k miles,,lady driven,,looks new,,garage kept entire life,,is 51k miles too much
I didn't hear displacement mentioned as a factor (unless I missed it). A 250 with 10k miles isn't the same as a 1200 with 10k miles.
Thanks!
Thank you.
I just bought a Kawasaki ninja 250 with 200,000 mile, I didn't even realize that until I reached home😢😢.
I don't even know what to do now
O8 Kawasaki ninja 250 110,000 miles and still moving