Bike Miles

I'm thinking of buying an SV650S, used, around the 3k mark.

What I want to find out is how much mileage is reasonable per year. I've
done 7,000 miles in the 7 months I've had my CB500 and gone through 2 rear
BT45. I change the oil religiously every 3500 miles using castrol
semi-synth. With this sort of care I think 10,000 miles a year is reasonable
for a bike.

Would you agree?

Also how many miles are today's modern motorbike engines good for with
regular oil changes?

Is there anything which is known to be a bit dodgy on the SV650S that I
should look out for?

Finally, how much is my bike worth now, trade and private -

2001 (51 plate) black CB500.
17,000 miles
slight scratches to the end can and brownish downpipes which I am
considering painting.
1 off which was fully repaired by Honda Chiswick.
FSH upto the end of the 2y guarantee period (16,000 miles service)

I'm thinking of asking £1995 private.

 

Blimey, my bike is a 96 and it's just clocked 10K... having said that I
bought it a month ago and I have done 1K of them and I have only been
pottering around with the odd run now and them.

So maybe 10k per annum is about right, but you don't see many 5 year old
bikes around with 50K on them do you...... completely lost the point I was
making now!

D

 

David Thomas said:

Most bikes are just toys for overpaid impotent halfwits. 3K a year
seems to be the high end of average for most of them.

Anybike with more than 3K per anumm on the clock is worth the best part
of **** all, as the punters know they can get one with delivery miles
only for the same money.

My arguement is that a high mileage bike is more likely to have been run
in correctly as the owner wants it to last. The weekend only brigade
will thrash it from new as they know they wont still own it beyond 3000
miles.

 

Yes, except that many, many people do less. How many 100,000-mile
10-year old bikes do you see?

Oh yes, absolutely

Not really. Very sounds bike.

I'd say you were underpricing it slightly. If it's the naked CB500, I'd
ask 2195.

 

Sorry did you want me

D

 

curium was seen penning the following ode to ... whatever:

Should be. You might want to invest some time in the cosmetic upkeep
as well, though, but from a mechanical point of view that kind of
mileage shouldn't[1] be a problem.

That Pan in my .sig will celebrate it's fifth birthday in
January. So far it's done 70k.

 

As my bike's 3 years old and about 30k up, yes.

See how soggy the front suspension is - it's my only gripe with the bike
that I've been bothered sufficiently to do anything about. My advice is
to put at least 10w oil in the forks (5w is standard).

 

Muffed this question first time around.

I've seen Jap fours do 100,000 or even 200,000 miles. I've also seen
engines shagged out at 20k or less.

Regular and frequent oil changes are the one single maintenance task
that will keep bike engines running and running and running.

Even relatively highly tuned bikes like sports 600s and Blades will run
to 100k quite happily, if this is done.

 

So how often would you recommend doing an oil change and would you recommend
an oil filter change everytime the oil is changed?

D

 

David Thomas came forth with the following in uk.rec.motorcycles

I change the oil on the ZX12 every 2K (Kawasaki recomend 4K) and oil filter
at every 4K service.

As the sump is only 2.5 litres and at 19 quid for a 4 litre bottle of semi,
it is worth the effort to me

--

Mark
ZX12R-B1 (Blue)
CG125 (hers)
BOTSWCAW#3

 

Depends on the size of the engine and the amount of oil. I change the
oil on the 400 Four every 1500 miles. On the Ducati every 3000
(recommended 6000), and on the Triumph 4000 (recommended 6000).

For something like a 125, every 1000 miles.

I usually change the filter at the same time. Hell, it's only a fiver.

"Engines are expensive and oil is cheap".

 

David Thomas wrote

The general recommendation for super long engine life has always been to
change the oil twice a regularly as it says in the book and the filter
as per schedule.

Given how good modern oils are I doubt this is actually necessary any
more but if you like your bike enough to want to keep it a few years
then the extra cost is not an issue really. There must be a good reason
why racing teams change the oil every time the engine stops.

 

I did 15000 on my SV in 10 months. I've done 13000 on the GSX-R in a year
and a bit - I was offered a trade-in of £3500 on the GSX-R because
"of the mileage".

Ride the bike to enjoy it - if you're seriously seriously worried about the
resale, don't buy a motorcycle.

Nope, they're lovely bikes - as Chris says you might find the front
suspension soggy, but coming from a CB500 I doubt it unless you
mentally fool yourself into noticing it.

<warms up the next IMANASS number>

 

David Thomas was seen penning the following ode to ... whatever:

I'd stick to the manufacturer's interval under normal riding
conditions, use a top-quality synthetic oil and change the oil filter
every time I change the oil. Not changing the oil filter after you're
just poured about 15-20 quids' worth of oil into the engine sounds
very much like false economy - keep in mind that fresh oil still has
the full-strength detergents in there, so the first thing that happens
is that the oil filter gets hit with all the crud that the old,
slightly tired oil didn't remove. And all that for the sake of a
fiver.

Actually I might be tempted to change the Pan's oil at every service,
not at every second service as I'm riding through town so much...

 

The Older Gentleman was seen penning the following ode to ... whatever:

Oil filters are even cheaper than the oil...

 

What would you suggest on the ZRX12?

 

It appears this only applies to the trade in, when they sell it it'll be
priced £100 lower than one with next to no mileage. Bike shops are like
that.

I think I'm taking the Blaney approach in that it makes more sense to
keep bikes and add something different to the stable every 3 or 4
years, only getting rid if I need the space.

I'm already harbouring ideas of my next purchase being the (as yet not
officially announced) Aprillia RSV 450 in a year or two.

 

It does make sense. Bikes are cheap.

 

I've had this discussion about cars but not really bikes.

I've ran a diesel engine to 200k using the cheapest oil money can buy
for the last 120k of its life. What killed it was the suspension.

Of course a diesel engine and a high revving bike engine are two
different propositions.

I don't change the oil on my commuters any more frequently than
recommended but given my commute is 60 miles each way with 45 of those
being motorway I'm guessing that it's pretty low stress for the bike.

Still, I wouldn't suggest that one stretched the interval between
services.

 

To inspect it for bits of gearbox...