Gunslinger wrote:
I doubt that statement very much. Can anyone out there show me a bike from ANY manufacturer with the original engine with that kind of mileage on it? That may be Honda's ultimate goal but I don't think they are quite there yet.
From Steve Saunders Goldwing Forum wrote:
I still ride a 1990 PC. I've put well over 200,000 miles on it since June 2005. Only engine parts replaced were spark plugs and filters. I weigh 240lbs and it gets me up to speed quite quickly. Faster than most cars but nowhere near as fast as my GL1200 or KZ-1100. Still on the original clutch and never had it slip even while racing and beating a friends Harley Road King. About 125mph top speed. Very cramped riding position and seat height is NOT for legs shorter than 32 inch inseam. Still a GREAT short trip/commuter bike. The trunk will hold most anything you would want to take to work and keep it dry.Will hold 6 bags of groceries with ease. Best $3000 I've ever spent on any vehicle. On vehicle price per mile it works out to about 1 penney a mile and getting cheaper every mile . I'm new to Wings and can only hope they are half as dependable and care free as the Pacific Coast has been.
My point is that bikes with anywhere close to 200K miles on them are more the exception than the rule. Good to know that there are still bikes out there that are like the Energizer bunny. They just keep going and going...
Gunslinger wrote:My point is that bikes with anywhere close to 200K miles on them are more the exception than the rule. Good to know that there are still bikes out there that are like the Energizer bunny. They just keep going and going...
I don't have any numbers but the amount of bikes I know of that are totalled due to accidents are much, much higher than bikes whose motors get plum wore out.
[url=http://www.motoblag.com/blag/]Practicing the dark and forgotten art of using turn signals since '98.[/url]
Gunslinger wrote:My point is that bikes with anywhere close to 200K miles on them are more the exception than the rule. Good to know that there are still bikes out there that are like the Energizer bunny. They just keep going and going...
The fact is that many bikes will rot before the engines are worn out. If more people maintained their bikes properly and actually rode them more often you would see far more examples of high mileage machines.
I put 6 mo and 6k miles on my first bike a CB400T and traded it on a CB750K that I put 80k miles on.
Bought my next bike a CM400A with 2k on it and it had 98k when I gave it to a friend. Last time I saw it there was over 100k miles on it.
I bought a CB650SC next with 10k miles and ran it up to 60k when it started smoking badly so I traded it in on my 1st GS500.
I put 80k miles on that 97 GS500 and after I got another GS my son ran the 97 up to 88k and then put a used engine in it. Oil consumption was getting too high for his freeway commuting. Bike has over 100k on it now.
My current 02 GS500 has over 66k miles on it now and runs as good as ever.
I expect to get 80-100k miles from an air cooled japanese bike, more from a water cooled one. All mine have been air cooled so far and the vertical twins have held up better than the inline fours.
407,211 miles in 30.1 years for 13,528 miles/year average. Started 7/21/84, updated 8/26/14
I think Paul's post is right on the money. Most bikes get retired to the back of the garage before they've had a chance to rack up significant numbers. Even if it's resurrected later on, the years of improper storage will tend to shorten the overall lifespan of the engine.
On the other hand, bikes that are ridden constantly seem to have the longest lives. Personally, I had an '80 Kaw 750 twin that was still going strong when I sold it at 87K miles. It was ridden regularly since new and I never had to open up the engine. Ditto with my '82 750 twin. 66K miles and never a hiccup from the engine. One of my Arizona riding buddies has a '92 Nighthawk that has topped 150K miles. He rides it nearly every day and has never done any engine work on it.
BTW- I have noticed that the same rule applies to aircraft engines. Those that let them sit without flying for long periods are almost guaranteed to have engine troubles down the road. Those that fly regularly are likely to take the engine to it's overhaul time without any major problems.
Can anyone out there show me a bike from ANY manufacturer with the original engine with that kind of mileage on it? That may be Honda's ultimate goal but I don't think they are quite there yet.
