Bike Mileage. Does it matter?

[LawnmowerRG]

So I wanted to start a discussion topic about bike mileage.

The catalyst for this is the fact my BMW crossed 75k recently. My Ducati is almost 25k. This got me thinking about the difference in brands. How they are looked at, And the Myths vs truth surrounding different brands, models, etc.

Consider I ride 2 Starbucks bikes.
Show some funny videos about the myths.

So what do you ride?

What are the myths surrounding your bike or any other?

What is the reality?

What are more questions?

[klaviator]

I owned a KLR650 for 0ver 14 years.  There is a myth that KLR owners are cheapskates.......



Well I guess that's not just a myth :D

[klaviator]

More seriously.  I put a 87,000 miles on a R1100GS.  Mileage did matter as I had several expensive repairs after 50,000 miles.  It was however still running strong at 87,000 miles.  An encounter with Bambi put an end to my quest to put 100,000 miles on it.

[norton73]

My 1992 R100GS

Showing 18,929 today.

Had a rough life,

[LawnmowerRG]

So how big a role does mileage play when you're purchasing a bike?

[klaviator]

So how big a role does mileage play when you're purchasing a bike?

All but one of the bikes I have bought were new or fairly low mileage.  I did buy a Suzuki GS550E with 35,000 miles on it but I didn't pay much for it. 

[LawnmowerRG]

So my BMW has been very dependable. 75,000 miles and only one major problem. That was the ABS pump going out. It's not horrible to get to. It cost about $350 to have rebuilt. It has had one heated grip replaced and the other is out now.
Other than that its been service and tires.

The Ducati has "well" been an early 2000s Ducati. It's had several problem most resulting in it not running. Though none have actually been major problems. I haven't figured out the current problem. Actually I haven't looked for it. It is due a valve adjustment which is a major undertaking.

As for purchasing a bike mileage is a factor, but not a major one.

[Sweeper]

Highest mileage bike I ever owner was a K75 that had north of 75k on it. I sold it rather than spending nearly half it's value for a driveshaft service.
My VFR800 has 26k now and will most likely be my last big bike. They are know to last several hundred thousand miles so I'm not worried.


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[LawnmowerRG]

@Sweeper you are not the only person that has experienced that problem. The 1500 gold wing is another example of that. They come cheap but a rear tire and the install would total it by insurance standards. The BMW boxers are the same if a clutch is required. Then look at putting a drive belt on a Harley. Rear tire on a Vstar 650/1100 as well as changing the oil filter. Ducati Valve adjustment. KTM 990 adventure oil change.

Many bikes have engineering that requires lots of work for what should be easy to do common or required maintenance.  In the long run will those bikesbe valuable because there will be few nice examples that have been maintained?

[kylepeterson]

i stopped looking at speedometers about 8 years ago (when mine broke). milage means nothing, change the oil when it's black, clean the air filter when it's dirty, forks when they leak, bearings the second they have any play at all... blah blah blah


miles don't scare me off at all, it just drops the asking price


the "look how many miles i rode this year!" are meh. it's fine if other people want to keep up with a bunch of numbers, just not for me. :-)

[Sweeper]

The mileage that matters is how few miles I can get out of a set of tires.


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