High mile motorcycles

[pdrrock]

For years I have tried to keep my motorcycle purchases with under 10,000 miles. However it seems I am finding alot of good deals lately with older bikes that have 40 to 50k. In particular I am interested in a 1999 voyager with 41k on it and a 1997 Valkyrie with 50k. I would like to know your opinions on these high mile gems.

[manban9888]

It really depends on how well they were cared for and how much work you are able to do. If you're handy w a wrench and they were maintained well then you should have plenty of miles left w each. Inspect them thoroughly 1st and if all seems well bring one home.

[ringadingh]

Certain bikes have very few problems with high mileage, I had 90k on my Nomad.
GoldWings are good for tons of miles as well.

[Jared]

I've seen motorcycles die at 20K miles and others die at 200K miles. It all depends on the owner.

[schoeney]

Well if we think about it, some of these bikes have more powerful engines than some cars. With lighter weight and very light duty we should expect them to last a long time if maintained properly. It is not like too many people are going to take a Nomad, Voyager, Gold Wing, etc and ride motocross with them.

Sometimes low mileage is worse than high mileage. You don't want a bike just sitting. Fluids settle/breakdown, moisture builds, rubber cracks, etc. I would rather have a 2003 GW that had 50,000 miles that got ridden consistently than one that had 10,000 and sat.

We know the Nomad can go 250,000+ and I have seen Gold Wings + ST1300's w/300,000+ and I know of some guys buying these bikes w/150,000+ miles and riding them another 100,000. So no 50,000 miles is not even broken in if the previous owners maintained them well.

[Kawhead]

It's up to you, but I would,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,NOT git thissun!http://www.sherv.net/cm/emoticons/no/smiley-says-no-emoticon.gif (http://www.sherv.net/emoticons.html)

http://youtu.be/-T6xe2zfr7k

[ringadingh]

Me either!

[haygrrr]

I was more nervous buying a brand new 6 yr old Yamaha leftover than any used bike I've purchased.
One of my first cars was mustang that older woman was averaging less than 3k miles per year. Blew motor second day after I exceeded 55 mph.
Hesitate on low mileage vehicles ever since...

[schoeney]

It's up to you, but I would,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,NOT git thissun!http://www.sherv.net/cm/emoticons/no/smiley-says-no-emoticon.gif (http://www.sherv.net/emoticons.html)

http://youtu.be/-T6xe2zfr7k

Wasn't that a former member? the one that got booted off the site?

[Top Cat]

Wasn't that a former member? the one that got booted off the site?

Yup, that was Dan.
He didn't have to get booted, he refused to apologize because he didn't think he was in the wrong.
Personally I couldn't see where he did what he was accused of either. :shrug:

[cactusjack]

Yup, that was Dan.
He didn't have to get booted, he refused to apologize because he didn't think he was in the wrong.
Personally I couldn't see where he did what he was accused of either. :shrug:

I don't even remember the details. He was an odd duck, but one hell of a rider.

[Kawhead]

Wasn't that a former member? the one that got booted off the site?I wouldn't say booted exactly either. But geezz, that was one strange bird, and I'm related to a lot of 'em. He had like daggers and electricity coming out of his eyes with a calm yes I have"Chained Up Screaming Missing Persons In My Basement' look about him. http://www.sherv.net/cm/emoticons/smile/yahoo-funny-smiling-face-smiley-emoticon.gif (http://www.sherv.net/emoticons.html)

He looked like a mortician, and was an apparent high strung individual in the psychiatrist field.:yep:

I've a feeling that one day they'll be finding body parts of missing runaways in his freezer and buried in his current and former back yards. :yep:

[billmac]

My thought is on high mileage bikes is, I don't want one. There are plenty of low or reasonable mileage bikes around so that we don't have to settle for one that may or may not have been taken care of.

My experience has been that many high mileage bikes have worn parts. Warn swing arms and shocks come to mind. I don't particularly care to pay to repair for miles someone else put on the bike. I bought a 2006 Nomad in 2010 with 2,000 miles on it for $6k. It has been a great bike and has 16k miles now.

[Kawhead]

I don't even remember the details. He was an odd duck, but one hell of a rider.
You just insulted all the odd ducks. They got feelings too.:yep:

[MAS Tequila]

I bought my 03 with 9000 miles on it.

It now has over 100,000 mile on it.

Mechanically it's in better shape than most with 20000 on them.

Then again, it has been completely apart for maintenance more than once.

MT

My thought is on high mileage bikes is, I don't want one. There are plenty of low or reasonable mileage bikes around so that we don't have to settle for one that may or may not have been taken care of.

My experience has been that many high mileage bikes have worn parts. Warn swing arms and shocks come to mind. I don't particularly care to pay to repair for miles someone else put on the bike. I bought a 2006 Nomad in 2010 with 2,000 miles on it for $6k. It has been a great bike and has 16k miles now.

[cactusjack]

Here's my thoughts on high mileage bikes, well used bikes in general. A lot of guys buy these bikes new and treat them as "disposable". They ride the hell out of them, do the minimal maintenance, then dump them either when the warranty runs out or at some mileage point. Then they buy another and repeat. There are a lot of Vulcan owners out there who are not aware of forums like this and are not aware of many of the issues that we have known about for years. Things like cam chain extenders, lack of grease in the swingarm bearings and so on. I don't buy used bikes, but if I did I would want to see maintenance records and receipts showing proper and timely maintenance for the life of the bike and would buy only from the original owner.

[trosco]

I am with Schooney and a couple others, in that a 6 or 7 year old bike that appears in excellent condition with 40-50,000 miles purchased from the original owner who has excellent maint records is going to be a better purchase than a 2,000 mile 10 year old bike. That bike has 10 years of neglect even tho you can't see it because the low miles. Sometimes you get lucky but you pay for the low miles and you get little in return. 2 years later you just have an old bike and the low mills are gone. With normal maint and reasonable use virtually any current motorcycle is good for well past 100,000 miles.

But I also agree with CJ, if you are looking at a 8 year old bike with 40K on it and the guy selling it is the 3rd or 4th owner and bought it 8 months ago, that should raise red flags and send you looking at other bikes.

[trosco]

Another question, why do people call 5 year old motorcycles with 40,000 miles on them HIGH MILEAGE bikes? If a bike is a year old and has 21,000 miles or 5 years old and has 115,000 miles that is high mileage. Normal use of touring bikes even for those guys that live in the north is 6-8,000 miles a season. A 5 or 6 year old bike with 40,000 miles on it is NORMAL! Whats abnormal and should set off flags for prospective buyers is ABNORMAL MILEAGE. A five year old bike with 5,000 or 125,000 miles should worry you more than one with 45,000.
Again,unless the bike shows abuse and then you shouldn't give a dam about the miles cause you don't want that bike.

[blowndodge]

Another question, why do people call 5 year old motorcycles with 40,000 miles on them HIGH MILEAGE bikes? .

Same reason Scott in his 50's looks like a high mileage guy???:P

[usranger74]

My thought is on high mileage bikes is, I don't want one. There are plenty of low or reasonable mileage bikes around so that we don't have to settle for one that may or may not have been taken care of.

My experience has been that many high mileage bikes have worn parts. Warn swing arms and shocks come to mind. I don't particularly care to pay to repair for miles someone else put on the bike. I bought a 2006 Nomad in 2010 with 2,000 miles on it for $6k. It has been a great bike and has 16k miles now.


I am with Bill. In 2010 I bought my 07 with less than 2,000 miles for $7K.

[billmac]

To me, high mileage means a vehicle has more mileage the most vehicles of the same year. I don't care what somebody else thinks high mileage is. And it sure doesn't upset me if someone wants to buy or sell a high mileage vehicle. To each their own.

If a person is in doubt about the value of mileage, just talk to a salesperson or go shopping. Mileage and year model is what it is all about.

I have rarely found value in high mileage vehicles. Now I prefer to buy a one to three year old one owner vehicle with low mileage at a greatly reduced price from new. If that is not easily possible, I just buy new.