Life expectancy, in miles, for sportbikes?

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Life expectancy, in miles, for sportbikes?

Posted: 3/28/2009 9:02:57 PM EDT

I'll admit, I have NO idea how long these rockets last, in terms of miles.

Considering the owner has a good care/maintenance routine, how many miles will a sportbike go, on average? Are we talking miles as high as a well-maintained car?

I'm in talks with a guy who's selling a 2006 Kawasaki ZX-6 (636), with 17K miles on it (mostly highway, he claims). I need to know, generally, if this bike is toward the end of it's life? In the middle? Still being broke in

?

I can say, from the pics at least, it appears to be in immaculate condition.

(He's asking $6K. I offered $5,500 and am waiting to hear back)

Posted: 3/28/2009 9:07:02 PM EDT

[#1]

Im just going to toss out that I have a buddy that keeps his bike very well maintained... It Is a 03 CBR600RR he has over 100k miles, when it hit 100k it rolled back over to 00000. He rides every day and says his bike has held up amazingly well just make sure to keep it maintained.

My bike is a 05 GSXR 600 and it has about 14k miles on it, it has been great. I dont for see any problems happening in the near future... but who ever does =)

Posted: 3/28/2009 9:08:19 PM EDT

[#2]

Had 20k+ Miles on my 01 GSXR 1000 and it ran great.

Posted: 3/28/2009 9:10:46 PM EDT

[#3]

engine wise they'll last about like a car, depending on the amount of care and hell raised.... But much after 25,000-30,000 the suspension will need to be refreshed...Just check it out VERY well and if ya dont feel like you know what to look for take someone that does... Look at the tires if it was mainly used on the highway then it should have fairly wide "chicken strips" and the tire should be less than round in the middle but not squared off, the rear tire is the best indicater because they wear faster..... Look at and ask about the sprockets, if he's done any more than gone down one in the front or up two in the rear, than he's probably been riden wheelies, which will wreak havoc on the forks...

Posted: 3/28/2009 9:11:28 PM EDT

[#4]

Until they get crashed.

Posted: 3/28/2009 9:13:43 PM EDT

[#5]

Had one with 65k miles, it was 10 years old and still ran great.

Sports bike die from abuse or accidents, not miles.

Posted: 3/28/2009 9:14:08 PM EDT

[#6]

The engines are pretty bullet proof as long as they are maintained.

Many sportbikes get crashed before being retired.

Posted: 3/28/2009 9:15:33 PM EDT

[#7]

I had over 60k on my YZF600 until I had a moron do a u-turn into me. He WAS driving a mercedes s class.

A sport bike will last as long as the rider "allows" due to crashing and thrashing.

Posted: 3/28/2009 9:16:27 PM EDT

[#8]

i put 14k on my bike since last year and have had no problems with it at all. i make sure it is well taken care of, and trust me it is more than just highway miles. get the bike in question looked at by a mechanic and see if the owner has service records, if all is well then you should be good to go as long as you keep up with the service schedule.

Posted: 3/28/2009 9:17:15 PM EDT

[#9]

Quoted:
Until they get crashed.

Pretty much..

On one sport bike forum I used to frequent, there was an older fellow (annoying liberal most of the time) who was getting close to 200k on his. The only thing that stopped him from racking up more was a guard rail.

Today's bikes are so damn close in performance that it just boils down to picking which maker you like better. I'm not a big fan of the Big 4, but I can't argue against their motor build quality. They are all well sorted out bikes. Although, I've heard a few things about their frames being suspect, but I can't confirm that one as fact.

Posted: 3/28/2009 9:18:57 PM EDT

[#10]

Awesome. Glad to hear these things last a good while. Because I know damn sure, I won't be able to afford another one anytime soon

.

Posted: 3/28/2009 9:21:05 PM EDT

[#11]

It's very rare for someone to wear out a sportbike from the big 4. Not because they crash either. Every thing is overkill on them and you use half of it most of the time. how often do you use all 15krpms? Those giant powerfull brakes,the trans built to take serious damage.

Posted: 3/28/2009 9:58:47 PM EDT

[#12]

16500 on my 2006 concours, I bought it less than a year ago with 5000 on the clock. Just make sure the oil is good QUALITY oil

and keep it clean and you should have no problems.

Posted: 3/28/2009 10:12:57 PM EDT

[#13]

Quoted:
Considering the owner has a good care/maintenance routine, how many miles will a sportbike go, on average? Are we talking miles as high as a well-maintained car?

This.

Posted: 3/28/2009 10:24:06 PM EDT

[#14]

Got 26000 on my 01 r6 still running strong. as long as there maintained they are good to go

Posted: 3/28/2009 10:26:27 PM EDT

[#15]

Quoted:
Had one with 65k miles, it was 10 years old and still ran great.

Sports bike die from abuse or accidents, not miles.

pretty much if maintained they will last like a car

few are properly maintained so as a rule of thumb figure 1/2 the miles as a car

Posted: 3/28/2009 10:30:12 PM EDT

[#16]

Quoted:
. Although, I've heard a few things about their frames being suspect, but I can't confirm that one as fact.

ZX14s got recalled a few years back as they split in half at inopportune times

FZ1s are having a kinda sorta silent recall the welds crack , it appears to be quite rare and the bike does not come apart Yamaha bends over backwards to fix it

those are the only 2 I have actually seen , but you see hear stories on the internet from time to time

Posted: 3/28/2009 10:51:09 PM EDT

[#17]

My buddy has 76,xxx on his rocket. Always performed routine maintenance. Runs like new and never had a problem. It is a Honda 600RR.

The price on the bike you are looking at sounds pretty high.
Last year I bought a 2006 Honda 600RR with 1,300 miles for $5,300. Don't buy on instinct. Look around.

Posted: 3/28/2009 11:06:04 PM EDT

[#18]

Quoted:
Last year I bought a 2006 Honda 600RR with 1,300 miles for $5,300. Don't buy on instinct. Look around.

Why can't I fall into deals like that?!?!?!?

But yeah, I hear ya on the miles thing. They don't really match up with the price he's asking. We'll see what I can talk him down to.

Posted: 3/28/2009 11:12:47 PM EDT

[#19]

Was told by my insurance agent the average life of a motorcycle is 4 years. This was all categories of bikes: cruisers, crotch rockets, dual sports, etc. Found this info rather surprising. Thought it would be alot longer.

Posted: 3/28/2009 11:45:00 PM EDT

[#20]

I always sold mine when they reach 10k...I'm hard on bikes though, always have at least one wheel in the air

Posted: 3/28/2009 11:48:29 PM EDT

[#21]

As an owner of an 04 Zx-6r (636) with 17k miles I can tell you they hold up fine assuming they have been maintained. As long as the oil was changed regularly and the valve checks were done yo should be good. I am very skeptical when I run across a used mid to early 90s sportbike with 35k+ miles on them because I am almost bet it has not had its valves checked and is just a ticking time bomb ready to blow. Make sure the owner took care of it and it should last you another 17k mile sor so

Posted: 3/29/2009 12:01:10 AM EDT

[#22]

I had a 92 Honda F2 (600 sportbike) it had 28k miles on the odometer. The guy I bought it from raced it for 4 seasons. So figure maybe around 1000 miles at pretty much max rpm per year. (he had disconnected the speedo)

When I checked the valve clearance/compression/brake rotors etc, everything was in spec. I think that says something when you have a bike with 28k street miles and maybe 4000 racing miles and everything is still in spec.

YMMV

Im guessing on the race miles, figure races and practices and trackdays. Could even be more.

Posted: 3/29/2009 12:05:00 AM EDT

[#23]

Quoted:

I'll admit, I have NO idea how long these rockets last, in terms of miles.

Considering the owner has a good care/maintenance routine, how many miles will a sportbike go, on average? Are we talking miles as high as a well-maintained car?

I'm in talks with a guy who's selling a 2006 Kawasaki ZX-6 (636), with 17K miles on it (mostly highway, he claims). I need to know, generally, if this bike is toward the end of it's life? In the middle? Still being broke in

?

I can say, from the pics at least, it appears to be in immaculate condition.

(He's asking $6K. I offered $5,500 and am waiting to hear back)

You can get this bike new for about 6k.

Pass, and keep looking. Lots of squiddly-types will be selling their toys this year to fund their food-habit when unemployment runs out.

Posted: 3/29/2009 12:05:15 AM EDT

[#24]

Quoted:

Quoted:
. Although, I've heard a few things about their frames being suspect, but I can't confirm that one as fact.

ZX14s got recalled a few years back as they split in half at inopportune times

FZ1s are having a kinda sorta silent recall the welds crack , it appears to be quite rare and the bike does not come apart Yamaha bends over backwards to fix it

those are the only 2 I have actually seen , but you see hear stories on the internet from time to time

I heard something about Gold Wings, too.

The one I remember was about the new GSXR frames(I think). Everyone went crazy about it, but it turns out the frame broke after hitting the wall at a track. Just some things I've read hear and there, but never really backed up with actual facts.

Interesting to hear there were actual recalls, though. I've been out of the motorcycle loop for little while now.

Posted: 3/29/2009 12:10:42 AM EDT

[#25]

Quoted:
It's very rare for someone to wear out a sportbike from the big 4. Not because they crash either. Every thing is overkill on them and you use half of it most of the time. how often do you use all 15krpms? Those giant powerfull brakes,the trans built to take serious damage.

yep. I've seen a old hurricane with close to 200000 on the clock.

Posted: 3/29/2009 12:16:20 AM EDT

[#26]

Quoted:

Quoted:
I'll admit, I have NO idea how long these rockets last, in terms of miles.

Considering the owner has a good care/maintenance routine, how many miles will a sportbike go, on average? Are we talking miles as high as a well-maintained car?

I'm in talks with a guy who's selling a 2006 Kawasaki ZX-6 (636), with 17K miles on it (mostly highway, he claims). I need to know, generally, if this bike is toward the end of it's life? In the middle? Still being broke in

?

I can say, from the pics at least, it appears to be in immaculate condition.

(He's asking $6K. I offered $5,500 and am waiting to hear back)

You can get this bike new for about 6k.

Pass, and keep looking. Lots of squiddly-types will be selling their toys this year to fund their food-habit when unemployment runs out.

They don't have a 636 this year, so the closest thing would be a regular ZX-6R. Which has a MSRP of just under $8K. I'm sure I could talk a dealer down a little, but not $2K. Kawasaki

I've been checking Craigslist and eBay (for locals. No way in hell I'm buying a bike I can't physically see), so hopefully I can fall into a rare deal.

Posted: 3/29/2009 12:46:08 AM EDT

[#27]

100k plus. Unless it is raced. Even the largest sport bike only needs about 15 Hp to keep it moving at 70 MPH on flat road. Yes, 15 Hp. So a 150 Hp bike is only loaded to 10% of its maximum. Airplane engines which are run at 75% of their rated maximum last 2000 hours. On a bike, that would be like running a 600 cc at 140 MPH whoch for 2000 hours, that would be 280,000 miles. At 70 MPH, the engine will never wear out.

Posted: 3/29/2009 1:06:43 AM EDT

[#28]

I've heard that very few actually get paid off before being totalled.

Posted: 3/29/2009 1:16:29 AM EDT

[#29]

A friends 1987 RX600 Ninja (first aluminum framed US sportbike) has 130K on it before he traded it.
He kept up a 3500 mile maintenance schedule on it for oil and filters.

In the year before it was traded (1994) it was his track day bike.

Posted: 3/29/2009 1:31:57 AM EDT

[#30]

Motorcycles, even the more advanced ones, are really simple compared to cars. I dont think i have ever known anyone to truly "wear out" a bike. even a fairly hard ridden bike (not raced or abused, just ridden to its road capabilities) will much likely end up getting wrecked or neglected before ridden into the ground.

Even among serious riders, very few motorcyclists put over 150,000 miles on a bike.

hell look at all the old ass 1970s honda CBs still on the road.

P.S. a modern sportbike will go to shit FAST if not properly maintained.

Posted: 3/29/2009 6:23:49 AM EDT

[#31]

I used to know a guy with a 93??? VFR and hed had close to 500K on it but that was years ago,most sportbikes nerver make it to 20k because of accidents

Posted: 3/29/2009 6:35:10 AM EDT

[#32]

I had 70k on my CBR929 before I sold it. Suspensions go soft, chains need regularly replaced and tires don't last more than 5k miles but with proper maintenance the engines last as long as a car will. Just keep the oil clean, get the valves adjusted and don't ride around in first gear at 14k RPM just for the cool noise

Posted: 3/29/2009 6:39:10 AM EDT

[#33]

that bike should run like new if it was maintained well. I would be more worried about a bike with low miles for its price/age since its probably been abused or crashed and the owner is trying to dump it on someone else.

Posted: 3/29/2009 6:44:58 AM EDT

[#34]

I have a buddy that just lives on bis bikes. He had a GSXR1100 that had 55,000 miles on it when he got rid of it. I rode it a few months prior, and the fox shock he replaced the stock one with was tired-that was all I could really tell from it's age. He traded that bike in on an '03 R1, and when I saw it last year he was at 76k. It rode pretty well, had the noise coming from the EXUP valve that all R1's eventually get. He had to replace the alternator, the starter, was inside the gearbox at some point (which was when he learned the alternator was on it's way out) and was on his 4th or 5th stock shock. This guy mostly goes out into the country and dissapears all day, riding at a sane but fast pace. He's was on his 13th rear tire last year, so the bike is getting a real workout.

I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Posted: 3/29/2009 9:00:07 AM EDT

[#35]

Quoted:
Was told by my insurance agent the average life of a motorcycle is 4 years. This was all categories of bikes: cruisers, crotch rockets, dual sports, etc. Found this info rather surprising. Thought it would be alot longer.

Unless he means 4 years of full coverage insurance.
Complete and utter bullshit.Plain and simple.

And just to prove my point, the NEWEST of my seven bikes is 25 years old.

Posted: 3/29/2009 9:02:07 AM EDT

[#36]

well there are a shit ton of squids wrecking bikes every day, who knows.. maybe that number isn't too far off

Posted: 3/29/2009 9:05:01 AM EDT

[#37]

I've heard those bikes can last through 3 or 4 previous owners. It really all depends on how back logged the courts are in their vehicular manslaughter cases.

Posted: 3/29/2009 9:05:32 AM EDT

[#38]

Quoted:
Until they get crashed.

This.

Posted: 3/29/2009 9:46:25 AM EDT

[#39]

Check out the plate, if it's creased by the screws he was bending it up to avoid cops ( in other words he ran like hell).

Posted: 3/29/2009 10:06:12 AM EDT

[#40]

Quoted:
Was told by my insurance agent the average life of a motorcycle is 4 years. This was all categories of bikes: cruisers, crotch rockets, dual sports, etc. Found this info rather surprising. Thought it would be alot longer.

This makes lots of sense. The only motorcycles insured are ones ridden, the rest falls into place. The ones parked in carports since 1976 only need new set of plugs.

Posted: 3/29/2009 3:24:02 PM EDT

[#41]

Quoted:
Motorcycles, even the more advanced ones, are really simple compared to cars. I dont think i have ever known anyone to truly "wear out" a bike. even a fairly hard ridden bike (not raced or abused, just ridden to its road capabilities) will much likely end up getting wrecked or neglected before ridden into the ground.

Even among serious riders, very few motorcyclists put over 150,000 miles on a bike.

hell look at all the old ass 1970s honda CBs still on the road.

P.S. a modern sportbike will go to shit FAST if not properly maintained.

Not true, motorcycles are much more advanced than cars... modern bikes (not including Agricultural bikes like Harleys-which do have EFI) have:

EFI
3d ignition mapping
linerless cylinder block
ABS brakes
titanium valves
titanium valve springs
slipper clutch
servo controlled exhaust valve
servo controlled airbox baffle valve
user selectable power switches
magnesium head and side covers

They are real reliable, but from a fit and finish standpoint, they will look like hell if you leave them out for a few winters. The first thing I expect to go on a bike is the shock, then maybe clutch plates or brakes. Of those three, I have only ever had to replace a shock on one of my 14 bikes-and that was from abusing the shit out of it in an industrial park.

Posted: 3/29/2009 3:25:33 PM EDT

[#42]

Quoted:
Check out the plate, if it's creased by the screws he was bending it up to avoid cops ( in other words he ran like hell).

Really easy to get into trouble when bikes come with 105mph 1st gears these days... You don't have to beat on a bike to go "fast".

Posted: 3/29/2009 3:31:15 PM EDT

[#43]

Properly maintained, the modern motorcycle will last indefinitely. Abused and neglected, it might last halfway through the next corner.

Posted: 3/29/2009 3:58:43 PM EDT

[#44]

I'd say if you take care of one you can get as many miles as you want out of it. I had an 85 Suzuki GS550E I put over 35k on, I put over 48K on my 91 Suzuki GSF600F Katana, who knows how many on my 89 Yamaha FZR600 (it had no speedometer), and I have over 18k on my 98 Yamaha YZF600R - and I have run the crap out of all of them, including track time on three of them. It wouldn't be real hard to treat a bike better than I have.

Posted: 3/29/2009 5:15:55 PM EDT

[#45]

Quoted:
A friends 1987 RX600 Ninja (first aluminum framed US sportbike) has 130K on it before he traded it.
He kept up a 3500 mile maintenance schedule on it for oil and filters.

In the year before it was traded (1994) it was his track day bike.

http://www.vaq34.com/junk/1986_Kawasaki_600_Ninja_RX.jpg

I thought Suzuki's GSXR was the first aluminum-framed sport bike? I think that Kawi has a steel frame. If you look at the '85 GIXXER,the frame looks just like that. In fact,I thought they were made from aluminum too. It wasn't until '88 that the GIXXERs were made with aluminum(excluding the 1100,which was in '89).

ETA: I have an '89 GIXXER750 that I bought from somebody that was the second owner that collects bikes. It runs and looks show-room clean. I bought it with 16k on the speedo. She starts right up and runs like a champ. When I get on the highway,she just wants to GO!

So to the OP,depending on the bikes history,they'll last a long,long time with proper care and maintainance. I think that the guy is a little proud of his bike,though. Keep looking. You'll find a deal!

Posted: 3/29/2009 5:20:03 PM EDT

[#46]

Ask this of an insurance company, and they will tell you "about 6 weeks"
Ask this of an emergency room doctor and he will say "until the rider is willing to donate organs"

However, the motors are essentially bullet-proof. I have seen 1K over red line without damage (Ducati) and have well into the 30K miles over 10 years.
I know of a honda 600 that was rebuilt at 300K miles and the cylinder wally still had the cross hatch pattern of the original honing.
I can't rememberever hearing of such abuse that th emotor or trany let go. (Clutches can be another story).

These things basically last as long as you want them to, and if you don't bin it, you can sell it or keep it.
A big part of the longevity is that nobody on public roads can actually use more than a small percentage of the engine power (for more than a few seconds at a time). And the engines are built to run 100K miles at full power.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Life expectancy, in miles, for sportbikes?

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