Maintenance Issued with Older Motorcycles?

Question

Is the money you save buying a 10 year old motorcycles with around 10,000 to 15,000 miles on it worth it? A similar 2 year old bike with less than 5,000 miles costs at least twice as much in my area. Will the cost of maintenance on a 10 year old motorcycle (Yamaha, Kawasaki, Honda, or Suzuki) outweigh the reduced purchase price? I'm just looking for an average - obviously bikes in that age range vary widely in condition and maintenance history.

Answer 1

buying an older bike is a learning experience , you have more money to modify the bike and you learn how to repair and coustomise

Answer 2

I think MJ laid this out pretty well. It all depends on how well you choose. You can do well or you can go home rubbing your bxxt. It is a matter of good business.

Answer 3

The main consideration with a 10 year or older bike is are You capable and willing to do your own Mechanical work and maintenance. Most dealerships do not support older machines so You have to be able to do it Yourself or Luck up on a good independant shop. My advice to anyone considering such a purchase is if You don't enjoy wrenching, look newer.

Answer 4

Go with Older. Newer bike are computerized electronic - virtually unserviceable by the average rider. The Honda 750 SOHC & DOHC are rider friendly economical and can be maintained by an average mechanic.

Answer 5

older bikes just like older cars are relitively easy to work on.all the new stuff requres computer diagnostics and nothing gets fixed it gets replaced.the thing is knowing what bikes were better. the old s.o.h.c. 750 Honda is  safe bike to get,as is the Kawasaki KZ 750, yamaha 650 vertical twin,susuki water buffalo,are all bikes that come to mind. of cours condition when you come across these machines as well as how they were ridden and taken care of matters.back in 91 I picked up a 750 Virago and I put over 100,000 miles on it no sweat and it was running great when I sold it.and say what you will about H.D. there are a LOT of knuckles,panheads, and even shovelheads STILL ON THE ROAD....stay away from the iron sportster unless you like wrenching all the time.

Answer 6

My bike is about 14 years old.  I was lucky, the previous owner took very good care of it.  So far, nothing unusual except for routine maintenance, which I do myself.  

One of the first things I got for my bike was a shop manual.  Cost me about $25 on EBAY.  The best investment I made so far on my ride.  A shop manual will pay for itself the first time you use it.  The shop manual will also let you know if you are getting in over your head.  Even if you do not do the maintenance yourself, if you read the manual, you will understand exactly what the motorcycle shop is doing.

As far as the routine maintenance goes, I did a little research on the Internet for my parts.  I was able to cross reference my oil filter to a Wix filter.  These are just about the best oil filters on the market.  If you have ever seen the store display with a cutaway of a Wix filter and a conventional filter, you will understand why.  You can get these from any major auto parts store that sells Wix filters.  They may need to special order one.  They even cost less than the cheap made in China filter you will get at your motorcycle dealer.

I was also able to cross reference my spark plugs to some Iridium plugs that I special ordered from my favorite automotive parts store.  Again, the Iridium plugs from the automotive parts store were less than the conventional plugs from the motorcycle dealer.

I also found a very good website for motorcycle parts.  They can get you parts for some surprisingly old bikes.  See the link below.  However, keep in mind that motorcycle parts can be expensive.  This applies to both old and new bikes.