Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Hey All,
New to this forum. I'm needing some guru advice. Looking at getting a new bike. Have owned a couple vintage bikes. First was an '81 xs1100, and now am on an '86 Magna. I love my Magna, everything runs perfect. Even though I adore the thing, I'm always concerned taking a 30 year old bike on long trips and am looking to get something a bit newer. I'm in no huge hurry to get one, so I'm waiting for the perfect deal on craigslist. Looking to spend between 3-4k. Most of the bike years in that area range from 2001 - 2007. A lot have lower miles (2k - 10k). So my question is how many miles are too few for a bike of that age? Yes, I realize I can't judge without riding and inspecting them in person, but when is it to the point of 'concern' when browsing?

Looking for a cruiser above 1000cc. Really like shaft driven and liquid cooled. Do 1 and 2 up riding in town and highway. Me (165 lbs) passanger (140 lbs) Any suggestions for bikes in that price range would be much appreciated. No Harleys. Really interested in a Shadow Spirit 1100. And why are the Boulevards so cheap? Thanks all.

From my point of view it's not age or mileage - it's how the thing was treated. Did it get the maintenance inspections it needs? Was it stored inside during winter with fresh motor oil and a full tank of stabilized gas? Did the owner pay attention and fix little things? Did they get the big things done? (valve clearance checks, steering head bearing tightness checks)

A new-to-me machine (car, bike, lawnmower, etc) gets a thorough going over to find problems and fix them before I will semi-trust the machine. After I've had it and used it for awhile it will have proven trustworthy (or not).

Same here. The unfortunate side is sellers (the half good ones) aren't just selling their bike, they're selling themselves. Part of this is buffing their pitch and a lot of times, straight lying. And yes, anyone that knows basic motorcycle maintenance knows what to look for in used bikes and can assess it's history to some degree. Obviously, if I found a bike 15 years old and only had a few hundred miles on it, I'd be wary about it sitting so much. I'm trying to pinpoint the proper / ideal year to mileage ratio. I think that makes sense. I think. Maybe......

I'm sure it's like used cars. Lots of short trips with low miles is a bad deal. A higher mileage one with provable maintenance would be preferred over short cold runs.

If I were selling you a bike I'd have my maintenance logbook to show you. Not some hot air BS.

(but I'm not normal

Just test rode my first Shadow 1100. It had a V&H exhaust on it. I noticed a lot of vibration. I'm not sure if this is bad or if I'm just so used to my stock Magna. Should the Shadow (2004) with V&H be significantly more 'vibratey' than an '86 Magna 700 stock?

Bikinibeans wrote:Hey All,
New to this forum. I'm needing some guru advice. Looking at getting a new bike. Have owned a couple vintage bikes. First was an '81 xs1100, and now am on an '86 Magna. I love my Magna, everything runs perfect. Even though I adore the thing, I'm always concerned taking a 30 year old bike on long trips and am looking to get something a bit newer. I'm in no huge hurry to get one, so I'm waiting for the perfect deal on craigslist. Looking to spend between 3-4k. Most of the bike years in that area range from 2001 - 2007. A lot have lower miles (2k - 10k). So my question is how many miles are too few for a bike of that age? Yes, I realize I can't judge without riding and inspecting them in person, but when is it to the point of 'concern' when browsing?

Looking for a cruiser above 1000cc. Really like shaft driven and liquid cooled. Do 1 and 2 up riding in town and highway. Me (165 lbs) passanger (140 lbs) Any suggestions for bikes in that price range would be much appreciated. No Harleys. Really interested in a Shadow Spirit 1100. And why are the Boulevards so cheap? Thanks all.

For cheap: pre-2006 Kawasaki Concours. Shavt drive, 1000cc 4 cylinder, full fairing.

You do yourself a disservice if you do not at least consider a Suxuki Burgman 650 Executive and/or a Honda Silverwing.