Engine life, etc question for bikes

 On a recent Pawn Stars episode it was mentioned that a Yamaha 250 dirt
bike would be more desirable for sale if it had 100 or less hours on
it.

Am curious in reading posts here in regards to maintenance,  is it
just because the engines on bikes are exposed that makes for more
maintenance?
You read about car engines that offer long term drivetrain warranties,
maintenance rarely needed, etc.  Besides being exposed to the elements
as a reason, why can't motorcycle engines offer the same claims?

Thx - C

 

A typical car engine will produce maybe 80-90bhp per litre. A high
performance car will produce 100bhp per litre - very high performance
cars will produce more.

Just about any motorcycle you can name, Harleys and most cruisers
excepted, produces at least 100bhp/litre. A typical output for a 1000cc
sports bike is 170+bhp, and some do quite a bit more than this.

More performance = more maintenance. Just as a hyper-tuned car requires
careful and frequent fettling, so do bikes.



--
BMW K1100LT  Ducati 750SS  Honda CB400F  Triumph Street Triple
Suzuki TS250ERx2 GN250.  Only seven bikes now.
Try Googling before asking a damn silly question.
chateau dot murray at idnet dot com

 On 11/29/2010 10:56 AM, The Older Gentleman wrote:


 > produces at least 100bhp/litre.

My 0.865 liter Triumph Thruxton produces 70 bhp (@7000 rpm).

 > More performance = more maintenance.

Therefore, my bike with less performance should = less maintenance. (?)

And a longer motor life?

SQ

 On 29/11/2010 12:35 PM, sean_q wrote:

I'm not sure what maintenance we are talking about here. Fluid changes,
brake pads, tires, filters etc. are common with cars and bikes.  Granted
the consumables seem to last longer on my cars, but the effort and cost
of replacing them is pretty much the same. In fact I find it more
difficult to perform the routine stuff on my cars than the bike.

 
Yeah, well, the dirt bike is used under *severe* conditions and may
even be ridden in competition in which the rider doesn't care whether
he blows the engine out from under him just to gain one more position
in the finishing order.

Some 2-stroke racing engines had a service life of about 30 hours
before they would need a total overhaul.

Nope. Motorcycles need more maintenance because they are ridden harder
than a car is driven.