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How many miles is too many?

GuitarWarrior

GuitarWarrior

New member
Joined
Nov 4, 2011
Location
North Bay
Moto(s)
Yes please.
Name
Annie
When it comes down to purchasing used motorcycles, how many miles is considered too many? Looking for things I should take into consideration for my first bike. :ride
 
things to take into consideration for your first bike:

-1 is it maneagable for you?
-2 have a mechanic friend look at it for u, or have the dealership show u its service intervals
-3 do u have all the gear?
-4 can u test ride it?
-5 will u want one with or w/o abs?

Folks who own beemers will have up to 50K miles in 1 year of use, so those bikes tend to have high mileage (mine is at 25K in 1 year)... so it's tough for me to gauge used bikes on miles. To me, all bikes will have some issues, it's just doing the research and finding out what those issues are, and if those issues have been replaced or recalled from manufacturer/user.

-others will chime in with more added detail fo-sho'!
 
I mean I wouldn't be too worried with anything from 20-50k really depending on the bike and even more depending on the model. The only thing I would want to make sure is to double check for any known issue(bad transmission, etc) and make sure that this hasn't become a problem. Let an expert has a looksee and if it all checks out and the previous owner seems competent ride on!

Its funny how bikes work. Some will have a million problems without ever breaking 30k miles and then others won't even hiccup through 150k.
 
Your profile says you are looking for an 08+ Ninja 250?

Based on everything I have seen lately, you wont really find one that has "too many miles"... provided it has been maintained. In other words, based on that year (and newer models) you probably wont see many with over 8K miles.

The obvious things to consider on buying a used bike:

- Clean Title?
- Ever down or dropped (may not be a deal breaker for you based on your budget but it would be good to know)?
- Current Registration (or are there back fees)?
- Maintenance (and records)?
- Tire conditions?

This is just a start but it should get you thinking in the right direction.

In any case, this place is a great resource... When I bought my bike I met someone through here (thanks again OaklandLion!) who helped check the bike out for me and even transported it to my house from the Bay Area for a very fair price. It was my first bike so it was great to have someone with experience there to test ride and look it over as well as transport it home for me (which was about 100 miles). I was pretty fresh having recently completed the MSF course and M1 license. It was my first time for a sport bike and having that extra experience around really helped me make the purchasing decision (on a used bike especially).
 
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since you are looking for a bike to start off with, i suggest you ask some one , even from teh barf, to help you look the bike over before purchase...

even from dealerships like a mission motorcycles, i've seen used bikes with very low miles, but in the most terrible condition that it shouldn't be sold the way it is or at the prices...
 
GuitarWarrior said:
When it comes down to purchasing used motorcycles, how many miles is considered too many? Looking for things I should take into consideration for my first bike. :ride
Click to expand...
Hi, Annie.

Welcome to BARF. What's a guitar warrior? You're in a band?

Regarding miles on a first bike, that would be down in my list of priorities. First I'd focus on safety and mechanics, like breaks, chain, shifter, clutch, throttle, speedometer, etc. Make sure the ABC's are working at least until you make to your local shop. Then comfort, like seat height, rear sets, handle bar and weight. You want to gel when riding, especially when learning to ride. Then things relatively easy to fix and replace, like tyres, battery, fluids, filters, etc. Having a semi fix-it-upper as first bike will give you valuable lessons on basic mechanics, which will safe your life one day.

Then cosmetics and mileage. Who cares? It's your first bike. In a year's or so time, you'll dump it for something nicer.

For sure, here's the common mistakes we all did when started riding: gear and insurance. Buy outstanding awesome gear. Wear multiple layers of gear. Good leather on the outside, good impact layers on the inside. Never ever leave the house without it. ATGATT. And buy gold-plated auto and health insurance. (I had an accident in June that the medical bill was over $30K for 3-4 hours in the ER. I have health insurance and awesome protective gear.)

That's all for now.

Cheers,

Marc.
 
InNoHurry said:
For sure, here's the common mistakes we all did when started riding: gear and insurance. Buy outstanding awesome gear. Wear multiple layers of gear. Good leather on the outside, good impact layers on the inside. Never ever leave the house without it. ATGATT. And buy gold-plated auto and health insurance. (I had an accident in June that the medical bill was over $30K for 3-4 hours in the ER. I have health insurance and awesome protective gear.)

That's all for now.

Cheers,

Marc.
Click to expand...

Agreed :thumbup
I had full gear but didn't think I'd need it on my first ride out. First ride out, I managed to dump my R6 2 blocks from home. Big surprise there :laughing

I have a scar on my leg where the ground impacted me through my jeans that's a simple reminder for me to wear my gear nowadays. On the occasional time I'm in jeans, I get funny looks from some of my friends :ride
 
Is anyone actually going to answer her question? Fine, I will. If you a looking at an '08 or newer ninja 250, I wouldn't get one with more than 15 to 20 thousand miles. There are many reasons for this.

1. There are many low mileage 250s out there (like way less than 10k miles). Ninjas are beginner bikes, and many don't get ridden evey day. They are also not commonly used for touring, the other way to put high miles on your bike. You will have more trouble finding a bike with 25 thousand miles than you would one with 5000 miles.

2. Ninjas are so cheap to begin with that the price between a high mileage and low mileage ninja is very small.

3. The ninja 250 has a small, high reving motor. In general, bikes like that have to work harder per mile than larger displaement bikes.

4. The ninja is a reliable bike, but since it is cheap and mainly used by beginners, many examples are poorly maintained. Nothing wrong with a higher mileage, well maintained bike, but if you're not sure, low mileage is better.

What is your budget? Have you considered the old style ninja? The price difference is 1000 dollars or more cheaper. My wife bought an 07 ninja with 13k miles for 1800 for her first bike and is loving it.
 
ThermalStone said:
Have you considered the old style ninja? The price difference is 1000 dollars or more cheaper. My wife bought an 07 ninja with 13k miles for 1800 for her first bike and is loving it.
Click to expand...
Perfect first bike! Even older with more miles would not have bothered me.
 
ThermalStone said:
Is anyone actually going to answer her question? Fine, I will. If you a looking at an '08 or newer ninja 250, I wouldn't get one with more than 15 to 20 thousand miles. There are many reasons for this.

1. There are many low mileage 250s out there (like way less than 10k miles). Ninjas are beginner bikes, and many don't get ridden evey day. They are also not commonly used for touring, the other way to put high miles on your bike. You will have more trouble finding a bike with 25 thousand miles than you would one with 5000 miles.

2. Ninjas are so cheap to begin with that the price between a high mileage and low mileage ninja is very small.

3. The ninja 250 has a small, high reving motor. In general, bikes like that have to work harder per mile than larger displaement bikes.

4. The ninja is a reliable bike, but since it is cheap and mainly used by beginners, many examples are poorly maintained. Nothing wrong with a higher mileage, well maintained bike, but if you're not sure, low mileage is better.

What is your budget? Have you considered the old style ninja? The price difference is 1000 dollars or more cheaper. My wife bought an 07 ninja with 13k miles for 1800 for her first bike and is loving it.
Click to expand...

Nice answer to the initial question :thumbup:thumbup
 
The exact same thread, from 2 months ago.


And I'm sticking with my answer:



2011_06_12_100K_cropped.jpg






:teeth
 
unless it is a classic bike in absolutely immaculate condition with new tires, service records and all? and you are getting it for kbb or less?

well for me it would have to have 50k or less miles, but that's just me.


modern day non classic japanese bikes?.....it's all relative
 
Miles aren't the worry - its how the bike was treated.

Buy GaryJ's Ninja 250 that's three years old with 50,000 miles on it and you'll get a great bike.

Buy some bozo's Ninja 250 with 2,000 stunta miles on it and you'll get a basket case.

Anything under 80,000 miles for a 4 year old bike should be just fine.

Its just like any other motorized vehicle - its all in how you take care of it!
 
if i were to buy my first bike again, i'd check the following:

chain - rusty? too loose?
sprocket - rust? teeth are straight?
brake pads/master cylinder - rust? worn out?
tire - treads, manufacturing date, profile will tell you what they use the bike for
mileage - is it past a major service interval? if yes, ask for service record.
scratches/damages - crash type vs dropping in garage.
decals/fairings - original or aftermarket? if it's aftermarket fairings or repainted, the bike might have been crashed.
missing nuts and bolts - there are a lot of bikes with missing fairing bolts, not a big deal, but they kind of annoy me.
lights - do they work properly?
idle - ~2k warmed up with choke off i think?
then you test ride it if you can :D

mileage v price is a good way to negotiate and ball park a bike, but buying a dropped/scratched up bike (that's been taken care of mechanically) for a cheap price is a good way to buy a first bike imo.
 
For general reference...

It's not just miles, it's vintage as well.

In '08 I looked at an '87 Eliminator 600 for a hella cheap price.

However, upon inspection, it turned out that the cooling system had big rust flecks (needed a new radiator, $300+), the coolant hoses were cracked, the front brake line was super-stiff, the battery was trashed, and the tires were questionable at best.

Okay moto, overall, but it would have cost me at least $1k-plus to make it roadworthy.

Newer motos tend to be more worth the price, but only if their service records are available...
 
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