Life Span of Motorcycles

 

I am looking to get into motorcycling for commuting purposes and have
been doing a lot of searching for a bike. Not being familiar with
bikes, I am wondering how many miles will the average 500-750 street
bike run without major maintenance?

I have my eye on a 1991 SUZUKI INTRUDER 750 with 16k miles but I have
discovered that most of the used bikes that are listed have less than
10k miles and only a handful over 30k (mostly higher end touring
models). Is there any resource that lists the expected life span of
500-750 engines made for the popular cruisers from Honda, Suzuki,
Kawasaki, etc?

Any info would be greatly appreciated!

Andy

 

On 2005-11-25, Andrew penned:

I really think it depends on the manufacturer.

When I expressed reservations about buying my current motorcycle,
which already had 27,000 miles on it, I was told that for a BMW, this
just barely qualified as broken in.  Most people would warn you away
from a 27,000 mile bike from the brands you list.

--
monique
newbie rider
'96 bmw r1100r

 


-cut-

Yup, right you are. ;-)
A decent K75RT'll gladly drive 300.000 to 400.000 km's, then it's time for
main engine repair/change of engine.
Then it'll gladly go another 300 to 400.000 km's again, providing that you
treat it nicely and properly, keep the service maintenance schedule, and
generally keep it in good condition. That ain't cheap, mind you. After all,
it's BMW. ;-)
You'll prolly get tired of the bike before it wears out...

The danish police has used that particular model as one of their main bikes
for many years, together with the K75LT, the K100, K1100LT, the R80, R850RT,
R1100RT, K1200RS, K1200GT, and the F650 Funduro.
Keep away from old cop bikes, though - they get a pretty bad handling, going
from standstill for hours maybe, to full throttle when needed - without
warming 'em up properly, and in all sort of terrain and weather conditions.
That way, the bikes get worn out pretty quick. (For a BMW, that's after
about 110.000 km's.)
Plus the electrical wiring might cause problems, because the police re-wires
the bikes in order to get electricity for radio, siren, lights and all - and
then re-wire the bikes back to their original state, removing the police
gear before auctioning 'em off. Or: That's at least how it works here in
Denmark. Dunno about you guy's various countries and police forces.

A buddy of mine that I use to go riding with, bought a K75RT that had gone
about 110.000 km's, he recently sold it after it had gone about 214.000
km's, it got sold in a couple of month's time. (He bought an R1150RT
instead. :-) ) It was an old police motorcycle, he had no mechanical
problems, but the wiring fu...eh, messed up now an again, like headlight
refusing to work, or side lights wouldn't work periodically - not very
practical.
Same goes with the heated handle things, and other electrical gear - if it's
an old police motorcycle, it's a weak spot. That's my experience.

If the gentleman in question goes for a K75 model, he's gotta keep an eye on
the gearbox and the drive shaft, and make sure to keep an eye on moisture
problems as well. Plus keep an ear cocked for rumbling or loose sounds from
the drive shaft thingymabob, that might indicate wear. And make sure that
the brake discs are looked after, they might wear down faster than expected.
I'd guess that that's mainly a problem for the police motorcycles/former cop
bikes, but keep an eye on them, just for safety's sake.

Sorry for my poor english, I did my best - I hope I got my message across to
you guys.

Aragorn_DK - wishing for an R65 for christmas...just tuck it underneath my
christmas tree, ready for use...you don't have to wrap it... ;-)

--
=================
      www.welles.dk
     www.bmwmc.dk
  www.furnituretiger.dk
=================

 

Aragorn Elessar wrote:

Actually, it depends on the manufacturer AND the model.  You can ride
Honda's 1100 V-twin cruisers almost forever, stopping every 8,000 miles for
minor scheduled maintenance.  The valves never even need adjustment, 'cause
they use hydraulic lifters.  Don't try that with a high-strung sportbike.
One's low powered, low compression, low revving, low tech, and easy
maintenance.  The other's high powered, high compression, high revving, and
high tech, with maintenance costs that would support an Italian mistress.

You can find similarities in Yamaha, Suzuki, and other marques.  The key to
it is to figure out what you expect from a bike.  If a 56hp 1100cc pushrod
twin that sounds like it will come apart above 3,500 rpm's is your cup of
tea, then you're lucky!  You can make one last nearly forever, and even when
the time does come that it needs a rebuild, it won't be all that expensive.

 

On 2005-11-26, Aragorn Elessar penned:

I didn't see any mistakes in your English.  In fact, if English is
your second language, I'm very impressed!

--
monique
newbie rider
'96 bmw r1100r