Help a beginner! What is considered 'high mileage' on a used motorcycle?

Question

Hi! I am hopefully buying my first big bike soon but admit I know next to nothing about motorcycles.

I am looking at something around the 400-600cc mark, a sensible, beginner-friendly bike like the Honda CB or other equivalents. Most in my price range of £1500-2500 seem to be registered in the mid-nineties.

What would be low, average and high mileage for bikes of this sort, and at this general age?

Thanks!

Answer 1

high mileage low mileage it's all relevant.

I do about 30k miles a year on a bike. I used to do 50k a year

A small engine is just as capable as a big engine to do high mileages, the critical factors is ''has it been serviced regularly''.

There is no reason why a modern engine regularly serviced and not abused is capable of 150/200,000miles.

Buying second hand from a dealer is safer than a private sale unless you know the seller.

In your situation I would go to a dealer and aks for a warranty with what ever you buy.

Good luck and enjoy.

Answer 2

a couple of things you will need to be careful about. When looking at 400cc and 600cc CBs, XJRs, hornets bandits etc is these are choice bikes for couriers. So anything over 35K should be a no no just because of this risk.

I would be looking for anything under 3K per year at the least. So a 1998 30K and below. Be just as thoughtful that if a 1995-1999 bike has only done 8K. Might be a bad reason for this.

You should have no probs finding a late 90's bike with 20K on the clock.

We just sold a 1997 GSXR 750 SRAD with 29K on the clock for £1200 so for your price range you are laughing.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?V...

Also having good service history although obviously a big plus, doesnt mean the bike and engine isnt knackered out.

Just look at the servicing, oil changes, plugs etc these tend to be the services older bikes get due to their current net worth. Not many people spend £1000 for a major serice on a £1500 bike. So although there is comp service history that doesnt mean the head gasket, valve clearances, cam chain / tensioners, rings, pistons, con rods. and very likely Big and small end bearings arent going to fail or atleast need a few quid thrown at it.

My advice if buying a used bike especially over 5 years old go to a dealer. Here in UK you are covered by fit for purpose rights and dealers now have to give 3 months warranty at the least. Dont be tempted by the 2K bike in the local paper for £1250. There is almost certainly always a reason why its priced so cheap.

Also price up consumables, if a bike needs front and rear tyres thats £200+, pads £30-50, disks £100 each (£200 for wavy) it soon mounts up. Sometimes its better to increase the budget a little and go a little newer.

Good luck

Answer 3

Mileage on a motorcycle depends on where it to primarily used.

A motorcycle used in a colder climate will have less miles on it than a motorcycle used in a warm climate.  This is because of the differences in the length of the riding season.

I live in Northern Wisconsin.  Here, you don't even think of bringing your bike out of winter storage until early to mid May.  You don't start to get consistent good riding days until June.  The good riding days only last until early to mid September.  You can ride some until mid October, but the good riding days are fewer.  By late October, it is time to prep the bike for winter storage. So here, there are only about 4 months of good riding weather.

In a warmer climate, you may be able to ride year round.

So where I live, you may average only 3,000 - 5,000 miles per year.  In a warmer climate, you could average from 15,000 to 20,000 miles per year.

Answer 4

I don't know where you live but IRON HORSE Motorcycles in Midsomer Norton have got good cheap bikes for sale.

Answer 5

generally stay away from anything 10 years old or anything with 30k miles UNLESS they can show you service records to show it has been serviced fairly regularly and all repairs have been made when needed (generally you can tell by the repair records themselves... if there's a few diffrent unrelated things being taken care of at once, it's a good bet repairs had been put off rather then being taken care of when they needed to be done)

this doesn't mean any bike you buy that is older then 10 years or has 30k or more miles on it will definately be a lemon.. but when you're throwing around that much money, better safe then sorry.