As per my Cat C thread, I’m trying to sell my Baby Vara in order to find my first “big bike”. Money’s a bit tight at the moment thanks to a recent house move and impending little one arriving on the scene, so my sights are set firmly on the second hand market. But from a mileage and age perspective, at what point to I draw the line? I understand that engines actually have reasonable longevity so is a bike with 20-25,000 on the clock still a viable option, or should I keep my search below about 15,000? Also on age, it’s reasonable to consider that a newer bike will be better than an older model because of advances in design and technology, but is it still reasonable to consider a bike 10 years old?
For what it’s worth, I’m looking for something that I won’t get precious about as I’ll be commuting on it every day (so ~8k a year) but something that I can have a proper blat on at the weekends if I feel the desire. Which I probably will!
You seem to be able to get hold of one for around £1800 in reasonable condition, not sure if you can get a more reliable/fast/fun bike for your money as that.
However! check costs, you might be better off paying more for something like a versys and getting the cheaper insurance and fuel mileage.
the naked 600’s are cheap 2nd hand, fast enough but arent great on fuel due to the peaky revs. insurance COULD be half as much as a sport/faired bike. A 650 might be a b etter option if you’re commuting alot
I just bought a pan from 1996. Now you got to consider that is a 16 year old bike. Pretty sure it has ABS. Technology hasn’t necessarily moved forward much, it is just become more prevalent, there are some improvements such as having traction control on bikes now, but in reality that is still high end bikes that cost a lot, in 10 years they will be on all bikes I expect. So the age is not really that relevant, materials, design, have not really changed that much in the core of the vehicles, you just have a trickle down effect that a cheap bike today might have some of the design features that were reserved for expensive bikes 5-10 years ago.
Since you buying second hand, you should be getting those 10 year old bikes at a relatively cheap price now, so you should be able to get relatively the same kit for the same amount of money in terms of technology.
Of course styling might have changed somewhat, for instance I don’t like anything pre-SRAD (pre-2000 Suzuki GSXR) entirely a personal opinion, I think they look like they all have massive arses or massive faces, and therefore I wouldn’t buy one, but the K1+ I quite like, right up to the latest 2012 version. So you may find the further back you go, the less you like the styling, or you might find the complete opposite (there are loads of people that love the pre-2000 GSXR) in that you like the older styling, that is personal choice and not much I can give advice on.
I think 20k-25k is really quite a low mileage for a bike, obviously not if it is a 2011 model, but if you looking at bikes 5 years or older, then that is just 5k a year which is nothing, or 10 years, that is 2.5k a year. Yes you have to bear in mind that by about 40-50k miles you will likely have to do work on that engine, but if you talking 8k a year as your standard, you have to consider that in 3 years you might have to some take action.
And that will just be a major service that will require a few quid or a lot of knowledge, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the engine will be shagged.
Just a quick thought on quality of components. Whilst the more expensive bikes generally do have the more expensive components it is not always true that those ‘trickle down’ to the next generation of cheaper bikes. It seems to have more to do with the type of bike a particular marque is concentrating on and the amount of R&D they have put into it. Sometimes a brand new model is over-engineered to make an impact and then neglected and downgraded over following years ‘upgrades’, (seemingly dependent largely on the state of the economy). On the other hand sometimes an older model is consistently improved and upgraded each year so the last of the line becomes the most desirable. Do your research and I’m sure you will be able to find a ten year old bike that is nearly as good as new. There are a surprising number of people who buy a bike and cosset it but never ride it…or, just as good those who buy it ride it and look after it properly. On mileage most engines improve with age so you won’t go far wrong with a well maintained bike even if it has a decent number of miles behind it, as long as the consumables have been changed regularly.
Do your homework. No point saving £500 to buy a 23k miles bike rather than say a 20k miles bike if it’s 1,000 miles from needing the valve clearances done…
Most engines and gearboxes are good for 100K+ miles these days so if a bike has a (believable) service history don’t worry too much about the miles.
If it looks good, it might well be good. Well cleaned and looked after bikes tend to be well serviced, though you will find a lot of exceptions out there.
