Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Ok so I got another newbie question.

When looking for a used bike, what is average mileage to expect. I see alot with under 5k, but also alot with 15k-20k. This compared to car mileage is very low, but I don't know how it is on bikes.

At what mileage do they generally start to lose their resale value? I plan on riding my first bike to work so I'd be putting some miles on it but I don't want to value to drop too much so that when I sell it to upgrade I wont lose a lot of money.

Basically what I'm asking is there a rule of thumb to how mileage on bikes relates to mileage on cars? I know there are bikes that run with 100k on them just like theres cars with 250k but these are exceptions. What would be the expected mileage that a bike would run?

It all depends on the maintenance, how it was ridden etc. I'm pretty tired so heres basically the same question asked.
http://totalmotorcycle.com/BBS/viewtopic.php?t=20646

Honestly it really does depend on the previous riders, some people see bikes as toys, never service them properly, and thrash them.

Others are cherished and perfectly polished and maintained after every ride.

I've heard bikes sounding half dead with 7k on the clock, and heard of bikes such as Honda VFRs reaching well over 400k miles before the engine finally died irrepairably.


Check the bike over carefully before you buy, but also give the owner a look too.

Okay, but let's say we have a few bikes. All of them owned by the same person, who had done all the right things to all the bikes. All maintained properly, garage-kept, etc. In other words, all else being equal (maybe even the make and model for the sake of argument), except that the differences are in the odometer numbers only.

We all know that the odometer numbers would still affect resale value of each bike, but...

At what point does the odometer start to have an effect on resale value (please don't say "when you first sign the papers at the dealership"...this question is about odometer numbers), with all else being equal (on a bike), as opposed to a car/truck? Does the psychological effect of the odometer miles affect resale value before it starts to affect the mechanics of the bike?

On a car, you always have psychological turning points, such as when the odometer hits the 10,000 mile mark, and that new car smell suddenly disappers (in your mind). Or the 60,000 mile mark, when the car is now only found in certain used car dealerships as opposed to others despite the condition of the vehicle. You get the picture.

Are the psychological turning points different on a bike, as opposed to a car/truck?

See the thing is, that's your personal opinion on the odomoeter. Mine is different, so you cannot just say, "at 15000 miles everyone thinks the bike is done." Because that isn't true, it varies from person to person, from bike to bike within the same design, and between different bikes.

Don't forget that bikes are basically toys to most people, so if it looks shiney it will hold more resale, if it looks cool it will hold more resale. And if you've got proper documented maintenance into the bike it will hold its resale.

There are no magic numbers.

I use the mileage on a bike to gauge whether or not the previous owner(s) actually rode it regularly. Many bikes have low miles because they were abandoned in the back of the garage when the owner lost interest. That is not good for bikes. Frankly, unusually low miles on a bike is something that will diminish my interest.

Bike A : 10 yrs. old with 25K miles

Bike B : 10 yrs old with 2.5K miles

I'll take bike A over bike B.

flynrider wrote:I use the mileage on a bike to gauge whether or not the previous owner(s) actually rode it regularly. Many bikes have low miles because they were abandoned in the back of the garage when the owner lost interest. That is not good for bikes. Frankly, unusually low miles on a bike is something that will diminish my interest.

Bike A : 10 yrs. old with 25K miles

Bike B : 10 yrs old with 2.5K miles

I'll take bike A over bike B.

This is a very good point.

I agree with the others. There is a whole assortment of factors, including personal preferences of both the buyer and the seller.

Then there are manufacturer differences. 80K miles on a used BMW R1100RS is going to be different than 80K on a Kawasaki Ninja 500.

P