High mileage??

[Mike101]

I have a slightly different view on this.

A car with high mileage can be say 100k miles...at this stage thing start going wrong such as exhausts, clutch etc.

For a bike it's a lot less in some cases.

Some bikes like my 1150RT are so over built that they will go on for at least 100K without much needing doing apart from servicing.

But I've seen bikes with 15k on them that need wheel bearings doing or the down pipe has rotted.

It all depends upon what you want to ride and how. 100K on one type of bike can be like 20K on another as they are used for different things.

Also after about 15k bikes start to show signs if use as in scratches on the tank and any shinny bits turning dull. The engine will still be fine but people want nice looking things these days.

Mike

[robson]

As I worked in the motor industry I can tell you outright, under the conditions in which I had to test components under safety critical category you will never get your vehicle to that level. it would be a hundred year old bike under normal conditions. The stresses achieved are so high its unbelievable. some 3-5 x top spec safety factors built in.

I would never in my life worry about a chassis unless it has been worked on. Im more worried about fuel pumps etc...

so how you explain quite a few episodes like these in relatively new bikes?

[Road2Manchester]

The size of our island doesn't help, but the golden age of British car and bike manufacturing was blighted by low mileage capable, poor quality built union dictated vehicles that were made & expected to be wrecks by 60k miles... and many were.

My old Toyota van just run in at 265,000 miles,
Ian Coates Africa Twin 300,000 miles. Just passed MOT test.

Mind set of generations with the thought that anything over 80k must be knackered...

[robson]

Mind set of generations with the thought that anything over 80k must be knackered...

not at all, it is based on reality as modern vehicles are not built any longer to last decades.
Get a new toyota today and we'll...

[Tonibe63]

so how you explain quite a few episodes like these in relatively new bikes?

Do tell!!!

[Biker_Mike]

As I worked in the motor industry I can tell you outright, under the conditions in which I had to test components under safety critical category you will never get your vehicle to that level. it would be a hundred year old bike under normal conditions. The stresses achieved are so high its unbelievable. some 3-5 x top spec safety factors built in.

I would never in my life worry about a chassis unless it has been worked on. Im more worried about fuel pumps etc...

so how you explain quite a few episodes like these in relatively new bikes?

The same way I would explain a random misprint on a packaging packet of a cookie manufacturer. You cant have 30 examples out of 20 million units sold and use that as a decision making reference point.

We dont know the events leading to the bmw's breakage nor the front suspension breakage. However it is evident though that the front suspension has a clean break and not a fatigue break. Designs are made to have progressive integrity loss and not to cleaar passed the ultimate structure limit point. That could be due to incorrect tempering during manufacturing processes (once again I have no metallurgy sample). In those kinds of cases that bike was doomed from the start, it had nothing to do with age. i.e. This is a specific problem to that metal only its not the design expectation or the product norm.

Manufacturing processes for safety critical components are controlled down to the tee, however there is always human elements involved. When processing manufacturing claims you look at the frequency of defects on a particular batch of parts and make calls based on them. If its one or two randoms its ignored, but as soon as you get to a point where there is multiple from the same time and same model or even heat numbers from a steel batch from source, thats when you get recalls happening. In most cases you wont even know of the recall. However if it has caused a serious injury or death it is your legal and civil duty as a manufacturer to inform all distributors to actively call the owners and advertise on public media houses.

This is what happened to mini regarding its safety belt hooks a couple of years ago. The honda Jazz window switches were the same a few years back. I can 99.99% guarantee you that you only need to worry if you hear something from a public news site. The pub chitter is just that, it can be taken with a pinch of salt.

I remember the original 1150GSA brackets for the panniers was in everybodies mouths at the time about shoddy workmanship etc... when in fact most cases the weight placed in the panniers was too much and the design of the brackets caved in and then broke. You might remember this on Charley and Ewans bikes on the long way down/round (the first one) In that case the design flaw didnt compensate for extreme use for for lateral movement but only downward force. Was it a problem? No, it was not a safety critical part. Did it piss off the owners of the bikes who broke? Yes of course.

On my 2008 GS800 the radiator hose lip was manufactured too shallow, a design flaw. It wasnt even known or publicised. Not safety critical. The front axle and bearing assembly? yes I was informed of it as it was a safety critical part.

Ill once again say, no safety critical part will fatigue in 5 years of general use unless there is a process flaw, of which that will be an extremely unheard of and rare occasion. And you would be notified of such based on relative statistics.

Our engineers signed disclaimers of personal liability with these parts. They would not allow even so much as a 5% deviation. So for me who has worked in the industry, I am 100% confident in buying bikes second hand without even worrying about structural integrity because in my experience with claims in the industry 100% of process related problems rear their head out within the first 2 years. So Im cool with a 2008, 50000km GS (an accident bike is obviously a different story)

On a side note, What a shit place to break down I wonder how he got home.

BM

[-Ralph-]

It is a good think that there are people like me out here , that maintain bikes regardless of cost , do 1000 miles per year and then sell it to some lucky bugger :laugh:

Mileage its way overrated

I would like to take you up on this

Im that lucky bugger that is looking for a bike.. hehe :laugh:

:laugh:
I have done 0 miles on this one so far, give me few years that i can run it in for ya :silly:

I should be buying in May. hurry up and put those miles on.

Buy now if you can, May is the start of the UK biking season, bikes will be in demand, and all the prices will take a hike upwards.

[-Ralph-]

I have a slightly different view on this.

A car with high mileage can be say 100k miles...at this stage thing start going wrong such as exhausts, clutch etc.

For a bike it's a lot less in some cases.

Some bikes like my 1150RT are so over built that they will go on for at least 100K without much needing doing apart from servicing.

But I've seen bikes with 15k on them that need wheel bearings doing or the down pipe has rotted.

It all depends upon what you want to ride and how. 100K on one type of bike can be like 20K on another as they are used for different things.

Also after about 15k bikes start to show signs if use as in scratches on the tank and any shinny bits turning dull. The engine will still be fine but people want nice looking things these days.

Mike

The flip side to that the components of a bike are visible so they actually get maintained better. Go find a used car with a clean polished exhaust, shiny brake calipers and shiny shock absorbers. The worst corroded type of motorbike are the big tourers with fully enclosed fairings and the water and salt still gets in there but never gets cleaned off.

[-Ralph-]

Mind set of generations with the thought that anything over 80k must be knackered...

not at all, it is based on reality as modern vehicles are not built any longer to last decades.
Get a new toyota today and we'll...

£106k on my 6 year old Toyota Avensis, still drives like new, never broken down and never needed a penny spent on it except servicing and consumables like brakes and tyres. It had a 5 year warranty but didn't need it as I've never made a claim. Every time I take it in for a service and the garage asks if there's any issues I'd like them to look at, I have a think and reply "nope, everything is working perfect, just service it".

I think 10,000 mile service intervals and normal semi synthetic oil has a lot to do with that though. I think more regular oil changes is better than more expensive long life oil.

I have no doubts that the car will do the same again with no problems, just like the hundreds of them that are running around as minicabs, 10 years old with 300,000 on the clock.

Now start talking about the lifespan of something like a Vauxhall, and that's an entirely different conversation, they are built to be consumable and thrown away before they hit 150,000 miles.

Toyota still makes a good car.

[petecam]

Now start talking about the lifespan of something like a Vauxhall, and that's an entirely different conversation, they are built to be consumable and thrown away before they hit 150,000 miles.

I have a SAAB 93, which to all intent is a Vauxhall Vectra in a dinner jacket. The diesel engine is the joint Fiat/GM effort.

Its done 165K and is still going great although the clutch is a bit rattly on it.

Knowing what Vectra's are like Im gobsmacked its still going hmy:

(It will blow up now wont it ? )