Too many miles?

[Jack Klarich]

I would like to know how the bike was rode, daily by an adult ans show me all service records and receipts first, there are alot of high mileage well maintained bikes out there, the market is soft right now and cash is KING

 

[Dswartz]

Yeah but you get the guys that do only 1 or 2 thousand and that brings the overall average down. Example, look at our mileage poll.

Or better yet, my next door neighbor has a 2009 sportster 1200 with 100 miles on it! He went on a couple short rides the week he bought it and it's sat in the garage for two years now! It makes you wonder why he bought it in the first place or why he doesn't sell it.

Although something to think about is he hasn't performed any maintenance on it at all. Battery doesn't get charged, fluids have never been changed, I'm not even sure if there is stabil in the fuel. Although the bike is extremely low mileage I probably wouldn't even want it.

 

[kyhdman]

got a 01 i bought in 06 had 7800 mi on it ,got almost 20,000 on it now not the first minute of trouble out of it all ive done is change fluids and put new battery on last yr. hope everybody is as lucky as ive have been.i did know the guy who owned this bike before me.he went to a ultra

 

[Billbo]

First of all Happy New Year to everyone here.

We have all known folks that bought "used" vehicles (bikes, cars, boats or whatever) and drove them for years of trouble free miles ... AND we have known other folks that bought "used" and did not even make it home!
After all the 'checking' is done and information gathering on the 'used' vehilce, then I believe it is mostly (not always) but mostly the luck of the draw when buying used. JMO. Some get good ones - some dont. It has always been like that.

Bill

 

[Dr. Dolittle]

First of all Happy New Year to everyone here.

We have all known folks that bought "used" vehicles (bikes, cars, boats or whatever) and drove them for years of trouble free miles ... AND we have known other folks that bought "used" and did not even make it home!
After all the 'checking' is done and information gathering on the 'used' vehilce, then I believe it is mostly (not always) but mostly the luck of the draw when buying used. JMO. Some get good ones - some dont. It has always been like that.

Bill

Funny thing is, everything you say can be applied to NEW bikes, too. Some folks seem to get a bike that came off the line late on a Friday afternoon and is simply jinxed for its entire life! Others never seem to have the problems that affect people even with their same model and year. Go figure!

 

[Billbo]

Funny thing is, everything you say can be applied to NEW bikes, too. Some folks seem to get a bike that came off the line late on a Friday afternoon and is simply jinxed for its entire life! Others never seem to have the problems that affect people even with their same model and year. Go figure!

You are so right! I agree whole-heartedly. Even a NEW vehicle can be a lemon. So perhaps it is the "luck of the draw" no matter what we buy - new or used. I bought a used bike because I could not afford a new one - only reason. It looked very clean and ran very good! So far, the bike has been a good one (like most I suppose). I believe one should look real close at the exterior of the bike and try to tell how it was maintained - after all the outside is what you can see - usually, but not always, a well kept bike was taken care of inside and out. BUT if the outside appears to not even been washed in years - things are rusty and bent and broken - then, the inside was probably not maintained very well either. JMO - use as a "go by" only.

Bill

Bill

 

[whacko]

Or better yet, my next door neighbor has a 2009 sportster 1200 with 100 miles on it! He went on a couple short rides the week he bought it and it's sat in the garage for two years now! It makes you wonder why he bought it in the first place or why he doesn't sell it.

Although something to think about is he hasn't performed any maintenance on it at all. Battery doesn't get charged, fluids have never been changed, I'm not even sure if there is stabil in the fuel. Although the bike is extremely low mileage I probably wouldn't even want it.

You guys are right on every level......mileage is not the only factor. A budy of mine has had his sportster for 3 years......only 3,000 miles on that bike......but when he rides it he thrashes that thing coming out of every stop light! I would NEVER buy that bike from him and he will of course try to sell it based on "low mileage" when he is ready to get rid of it!!!!

 

[Slapp]

I look at things different than a lot of other people (somewhat synical) cause I want the mosty for my money. Records and service manuals can be false. Speedos can be switched out and lets face it people lie. With that said lets look at buying a bike. the first and last thing is that no matter how much or little you pay for a bike the only one who needs to be happy about it is you. You will always encounter those who "CLAIM" they could have gotten you a better deal. If that was true then where were they when you were making the deal?
When looking at a high milage anything do the math first, how many miles per year does it average out to? What is the riding season like for the area, if it is Florida then it might be all year, if it is New York then it is seasonal (unless the seller is really hard core and loves the cold). If it is Florida then milage is spread out, could be a lot of stop and go type traffic in hot weather (more wear). If it is New York it could be a lot of distance riding getting put on in a short time.
Look for blatent signs of wear, the seat the grips, floorboards and around the ignition key switch. Look for wear marks on the lower area of the tank from were most people squeeze the tank with there legs and a key spot, the lower front forks! Do they look sand blasted, pitted and worn? These are all good indications of how well the bike was taken care of.
Do your research as well. As others have said some people just think there stuff is worth more than others. I live in Jacksonville, Fl and I see it on Craigslist everyday, someone will have a Harley of some type on thier with aftermarket grips, pegs and seat and all of a sudden it is a CUSTOM Harley and they want 3 grand more than you can buy a new one for. Also don't get chrome eyes (my brother has them), Chrome looks great but has no standing on how the bike will perform. On trade ins chrome is only worth 10% of the original price...ie; $3000 in chrome = $300. my point is don't be fooled by it. Look at the real bike, is the oil clean? Is the brake fluid cloudy or clean, what do the brakes look like, any dry rot on the tires, what kind of tires and rims are they billet, cast or spoked (I hate spokes, look nice, hard to clean even more of a pain when they start coming loose). If the are spoked do the tune test, run a thin screwdriver handle around the spokes and make them sing. They should all tink nicely any thuds and odds are the spokes are loose. Lift the seat and check out the battery, is it clean or coroded, how old is it.
The point of all this is look the bike over well, if you are unsure of how to do it take someone with you. Find out what dealer the seller takes it to then take it to a diffrent dealer (he has friends at his dealer who may lie for him. Remember I am synical and want the most for my money).
Either way be cautious spend your money carefully and there is nothing wrong with high milage rides as long as they where taken care of.
Good Luck and whatever you decided remember only you need to be happy with the deal.