How many miles is too many miles?

I don't think that there is really a hard number for this. There are some people who buy a sportbike, ride the #$%& out of it right away and junk the thing. Others may break it in right, put a lot of miles on it but it will be in much better shape than the first guy's. Knowing the bike's history is probably the best info you can have on a used bike. Dunno if this helps much, but maybe some?

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"We don't got any beers. We got tequila, it's like beer."

I'll second that- condition, wear and tear, and history are much more important than mileage. Low mileage bikes might have had the speedometer rigged, been ridden to hell and back, never had the oil changed. High mileage bikes might've been garaged, regular maintenace, owned by a little old lady who only tore it up on the weekends for 10 years.
A friend had a '89 Honda CB-1 400 that had 50,000m on it. Ran like a champ all day, every day.

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j.--
"get on the good foot-heh, good god"

I read somewhere that pre-'89 models are generally on the downhill slide after 20,000-30,000 miles, and post-'89 models are good for 50,000. Of course this varies greatly based on how it was treated. Generally if the bike looks good, it was treated good. Be leary of repainted bikes, and aftermarket parts.

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Colin
FloridaSportbikers
My Home Page

I have never bought used,all the bikes I`ve ever owned have all been bought new.

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Good advice so far. My .02 worth - I wondered the same question, but I rationalized that most Japanese / German bikes are like thier automobile counterparts. They have bullet-proof engineering that can't be compared to some American-made stuff. I've got a '79 Honda with over 47K on the odometer and it still runs great. Starts great, never gives me a problem. I pamper this bike, and it rarely sees the redline. Like everyone else stated, its probably a lot more important to know the history of the bike vs. mileage showing. Good luck.
PS - I hope I haven't offended any proponents of American manufacturing. These are just my opinions based on my experience.


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I will sell mine when it gets around 20,000-25,000 miles. So I guess I wouldn't buy one with anymore than that.

But I will only buy new (thats the only real way to be sure). It's more $$ but worth it to me.

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Dan F4 Red/Black