New bike help! What constitutes high mileage? Query about se

[EliteAlex]

Hi, I'm looking for a GSXR750.

There is a k8 fairly local to me in blue, with 13700 miles and about 6 stamps in the book. Asking £5k. Looks like it's been looked after.

There is a different K8 about 200 miles away in black with 9700 miles on it, with 4 stamps, however one of the services was in 2013 at 3700 miles. The next was a 8400 miles in 2017. Asking price is £5,150. Is this gap in service history something to worry about?

I read online, get rid of a bike at 25000 miles as it's past it, others say don't worry about it, keep it serviced etc and it will last forever (almost).

Many thanks for the opinions/advice in advance. I basically want to know whether i should discount the blue one as i don't know whether it is high mileage? I do just over 2k miles a year, fair weather (yes i'm one of those!) AM I WORRIED ABOUT NOTHING!?!?

Which would you go to look at?

[Evil Hans]

[arry]

Links to adverts, or else one gets the hose again.

[Rogerborg]

Why wouldn't you have a look at the local one first?

[EliteAlex]

[stevo as b4]

If it's a popular modern bike like the model you mentioned, I'd not travel past what I consider local regardless, as another one will turn up sooner or later and be as good as the mythical bike 100's of miles away. I'd only travel up to the top of Scotland for example for something I really wanted that I hadn't seen for sale very often like a rare classic, or a bike that I was fully prepared to take a gamble on after such a long expensive trip.

I'd want to buy my would be modern sports bike locally if it's a popular std model, as what makes travelling for a generic bike worthwhile?

Condition is all as banged on about all the time, but my preference is to buy from longer term owners instead of buying a bike that's done naff all miles and been 6 people's summer plaything before being sold on for their next must have. Mileage doesn't bother me, but bikes that are traded several times in a couple of years does, and that's the sort that will sell a bike because a big bill or expensive service or even because it'll want new tyres for next year, and they are looking for any reason to get rid and try something else.

[rhys99]

[arry]

[P.]

Given my lowest cc bike had 77,000 miles... I'd ignore that tripe. Just look at overall condition and see what you like more.

[B0ndy]

13k is nothing for those bikes.

Keep up the oil changes and filter changes (change mine every 3k) + routine maintenance and it should go on for many miles.

My gsxr thou is on 32k, no problems so far.

Also bought my ZX6 at 32k, two years later it was sitting on 60k miles and it was still going. Honestly 13k is nothing on a bike.
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CBF 125 -> CB400SF -> GSX600F -> ZX6R (G1) -> GSXR1000 K4 -> ZX6R (B1H Stunt bike) -> VFR800 -> R1 5PW -> Sprint 1050 -> Fireblade 929 -> ZX10R C2H

[Ste]

We require links to the adverts.

I wouldn't travel 200 miles for a GSXR though as there's plenty of similar or better ones closer than that.

[Enduro Numpty]

My FJR has done 56k and is as good as it's ever been. Just regular home servicing and it's been 100% reliable in the 7 years I've owned it.
25k is nothing on a bike that's been looked after.

[ThatDippyTwat]

[Ste]

My ZX6R needed the engine replacing at about 20k.

[arry]

[Ste]

Previous owner broke it.

[Teflon-Mike]

Thirty odd years ago, annual average car miles were 12,ooo a year. There were around 7 cars for every 10 households, they tended to do everything from take Dad to work every day, do the shopping twice a week (cos no freezers) and everything in and around. Average bike miles were around 8,ooo miles... cos you cant get a lot of shopping on one! But was otherwise used much as every day all round transport.

Curiously, annual average miles of a car over the last 25 years has actually fallen, despite the fact that engineering wise they are now capable of probably double the life-time miles, and not need half a dozen rebores and an annual de-coke in it! As car ownership has increased and there are now almost two cars per household, sharing duties.

The UK bike, in the 1970's almost had an extinction event in the 1970's as far as the numbers went; though numbers almost doubled in the 90's and more than doubled in the naughties; BUT stats show that motorcycles, on mass, still average barely 1% of annual private road miles in the UK.

Most significant factors in this is the tax-the-motorist poilicies of government over recent years, and high fuel prices and high insurance plus congetion charges etc making them more atractive as a bus-fare beating commuter. Most every-day bikes though are 125 learner-legals that account for over half the bikes in the country and probably more than 2/3 all bike miles. Big-Bikes tend to most often be week-end leisure implements, and do few miles twixt MOT's and drag the average down an awful lot.

UK annual average bike miles are now only around 3ooo miles a year.

The every day commuter can easily do double or tripple that or more. A garage queens may do that in one trans-euro tour in a week, but tend to be few, and there are far more than used only on sunny evenings and week-ends are lucky to clock 1ooo miles a year.

So it's very much dependent on the bike, and what type of use its had how many miles may be considered 'big'.

And CONDITION IS ALL!!!

A Pan-Euro or Gold-Wing has basically a car-engine, that can crank up very big miles without eating itself; but... but lack of use is often as easy a killer as over-use; and left dormant for the best part of a year between mamoth excursions, or even a few years; rubber perishes, seals go hard, piston rings rust into piston grooves etc, they can deteriorate as easily without doing miles as with. ZX6R's or GSXR's, sat in a garage for a few weeks between sunny spells, likely don't suffer so much dereliction decay, but make up for it when in that window of sunshine they probably get the knackers thrashed off them, from cold, in the excitement of sun! CG125, ridden every day, may not get left to rot, or thrashed to death, but 'y' cant go wrong with a See-Gee' legend likely sees they never have their tappets checked.

Interesting about the 25K mile remark though; whey-back-when, that was about how long you could expect a Honda Cam-Chain tensioner to last...... and probably wasn't far from true for something like a Honda CB125 or CBX550... but lap of the gods job there any-how!

So Mileage means little to bludger all... its 'car' thinking, where there are so many more of them, so much more closely used in a similar way, by people with similar outlooks and expectations, generalities can more often hold true... Bikes? Such a small sample pool of them to start with, so much greater diversity of uses and expectations, generalities, are screwed by the number of exceptions to prove the rule.

Condition is ALL.

You only need one numpty owner and they can wreck the thing in one mile! That wont show on the odometer... you may spot it in skuffed decals, gaffer taped fairings, or chewed up sump-plug, etc etc etc.... but

Easy enough to swap clocks or turn back miles on an oddo, or 'fake' service receipts, rather harder to fix or hide tell-tale signs of abuse in the actual metal... CONDITION IS ALL look at the actual bike, as hard as the advert and paperwork, and look a lot further than the oddo and frame plate.
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My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[supZ]

Had my blade for 9+ years and I'll probably hit 50k miles by next year.

Serviced every year, parts changed as required.. still sweet as a nut

Never understood this whole low mileage thing with bikes.. people quibbling about 10+ year old bikes with over 10k on them, thinking they're past it..

What a load of old bollocks.
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CBR954RR - Daily toy
CBR600RR - Trackbike

[chris-red]

My TDM has about 100k on it
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[Rogerborg]

[suburban myth]

I'd argue condition and history are more important than mileage. As an example, my Smart car (sorry, although the engine is a modified bike design) is at 62k, just over 3k a year but is a complete bag of shit. There are plenty of much cleaner, better running, better serviced 100k+ examples available. one fella I know is at about 180k with no engine rebuild Have a look at the closer one, and see if you get a 'feel' for it. Its probably almost literally the most popular bike ever so anther one will come up nearby for comparison.

[temeluchus]

I sold my FJ1200 to someone with 130k on it. Present owner has it over 150k now.

Stuff needed replacing, but the engine sounded like it was new, no noises at all.
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Some shite cruiser. Now with guns and FREEDOM!

[kramdra]

My CBR6 had its most reliable third of its life 60-90k miles. Chain and rear brake disk.

Previous owners did a lot in the first 30k.. brake discs, two chain sets...

30-60k I had exhaust, reg, battery, head/wheel bearings

The next 30k looks like brake discs, exhaust, fork tubes and could be expensive.. undecided to keep.