Suggested Miles on Used bike

[Blitanicle99]

Looking at getting a 02ish and up GSXR 600, or CBR 600RR.

I am pretty sure the CBR is too small heightwise. I am 6'3'', I was told many times that the CBRs are made for shorter guys. The gsxrs and the ninjas are better for taller people right?

What kind of miles should I be worried about on these two bikes?

I continualy see good deals on GSXRs or CBRs but they have like 15k on them. I really don't like that. I just want to buy a bike, maybe put a few asthetic things to it and just ride the **** out of it. I dont want something else to work on.

So in YOUR opinion, what would you buy a bike at mileage wise? 5k? 3k?

Discuss.

[Blitanicle99]

** Oh and no this isnt my first bike. My first bike was a zx750, but I am actually dropping down to a 600. Ill be the first to admit the 750 was wayyy too much bike for me. The new 600s are plenty fast in my opinion.

[BLK JDM]

I'd also look into the R6. Yamaha sets their rearsets very low so they generally fit taller riders better. When I was looking to purchase my bike I looked into all of that and that's why I bought my R1. I like the CBRs also but they do have you sitting very cramped. The rearsets are very high. I tore my ACL in highschool so my knee would kill me when I rode my friend's CBR. I think for an 02 10-15K miles is about right. You'll be hard pressed to find one here in the South w/ low miles. If you expand your search up north you'll find some w/ low miles. I'd get the bike checked out thoroughly by a reputable shop.

When looking for my bike I wanted either a 2006 GSXR 1k or a 2006 Yamaha R1 w/ under 5k miles and I found a couple. I bought my bike February 5th w/ 1216 miles and I already have 4600 miles on it so far that's just showing how many miles you can rack up in such a short time. Hope this helps.

[Blitanicle99]

I think Yahama makes a damn good anything. However their motors rev up to 18,000 RPMs. Any 4 cylinder motor that revs up that high, doesnt last.

Thats my only beef with an R6.

Whats the most reliable? R6, CBR, GSXR?

[DieselNuts]

** Oh and no this isnt my first bike. My first bike was a zx750, but I am actually dropping down to a 600. Ill be the first to admit the 750 was wayyy too much bike for me. The new 600s are plenty fast in my opinion.
a new 600 will eat that zx7 up. The ZX7 was a dinosaur even when it was new. I love the bike, but the technology wasnt there after somewhere around 97.

[DieselNuts]

I think Yahama makes a damn good anything. However their motors rev up to 18,000 RPMs. Any 4 cylinder motor that revs up that high, doesnt last.

Thats my only beef with an R6.

Whats the most reliable? R6, CBR, GSXR?
They dont rev that high. they redline @ 16K

[Blitanicle99]

a new 600 will eat that zx7 up. The ZX7 was a dinosaur even when it was new. I love the bike, but the technology wasnt there after somewhere around 97.

Very aware, my buddy has a K8 GSXR 600 and WOW. Much much more power. Thus why I am getting a 600.

[Blitanicle99]

They dont rev that high. they redline @ 16K

Are they reliable? I keep hearing bad things about them.

[1SLWPOS]

I have an 06 CBR 600 RR ;) 14k miles on it bought it new selling it for 3.5k haha

[BLK JDM]

I know for a fact that the R6s are reliable but if you want the truth I've always seen people on Hondas w/ some extremely high miles. I had a F4I I bought from a friend that had 29K and I sold it w/ 33K and it rode like a champ!!

I think it's all preference when it comes to the big name Jap bikes. I'd go R6 then 600RR then GSXR 600. I don't think I'd ever go 636, that bike doesn't do it for me at all!! Even when I rode GSXRs I liked the R6!! They run HARD!! I think the 600RR is an all around good bike that will never die however hard you beat on it!!

[DieselNuts]

I remember reading an artical about a guy that put over 100,000 miles on his 98 (i think) R1. There are also a couple people on some forums w/RC51s that have over 100K.

[Tarzanman]

** Oh and no this isnt my first bike. My first bike was a zx750, but I am actually dropping down to a 600. Ill be the first to admit the 750 was wayyy too much bike for me. The new 600s are plenty fast in my opinion.


Very aware, my buddy has a K8 GSXR 600 and WOW. Much much more power. Thus why I am getting a 600

Those two statements are contradictory. Whether this is your first bike (or not) is just as important as whether you have been riding long enough to know what you're doing.

Seeing as how you are a new rider (which is probably a good guess, based on your posts), then there is no difference that you would notice between any of the Japanese 600cc inline-4 bikes. Don't get any of them. Get a 500 until you become skilled/informed enough to make your own decision.

Any Japanese bike from the big four will outlast your desire to ride it (provided you maintain it properly). There are just as many old school Kawi ZX6/ Zuki GSXR600 bikes as Honda CBR600's around.

The only one I see less of is the Yami FZR600, but 10 years from now, you will still see a ton of Yami R6's around. It has more to do with numbers sold than the idiosyncracies of a Honda motor vs a Suzuki motor, etc

[Blitanicle99]

What I was pointing as was the fact that I was very impressed with the power on the new 600s. I don't really want any more power than that. So thus, a 600 is fine. I have ridden many GSXR 750s, a few older ones, not brand new.

After looking at designs, I am leading in the diretion of the R6 now. I did my research and I used to hate R6s, but now I quite like them.

[BLK JDM]

What I was pointing as was the fact that I was very impressed with the power on the new 600s. I don't really want any more power than that. So thus, a 600 is fine. I have ridden many GSXR 750s, a few older ones, not brand new.

After looking at designs, I am leading in the diretion of the R6 now. I did my research and I used to hate R6s, but now I quite like them.


Awesome choice-you won't be disappointed!!!

[Blitanicle99]

I keep seeing these high mileage bikes tho. Ahh. It drives me insane. I just don't want to have to work on it other than changing the oil and such.

[civic95]

A lot of misinformation in this thread. As someone else said any bike from the big 4 will last 100,000 miles maintained properly. I would not have a problem buying a bike with 20K miles that was taken care of, vs a bike with 2K that's been stunted or wrecked a couple times. There's a guy on www.georgiasportbike.com (http://www.georgiasportbike.com) with a CBR that has over 100K on it, and he hasn't had to do anything but change the oil, tires, air filter, and chain. It still looks better than a lot of bikes that are 2 yrs old. Because he takes care of it. Inline 4 motorcycle engines are not far from a 4cyl car engine. Just smaller in displacement.

Most bikes don't make it that far because they get wrecked first, and with frames that are so vulnerable, all it takes is 1 scratch on the frame to total a bike. Even if you ride defensively, odds are someone else in a car will take you out before you ever reach 100K miles. It's pretty hard to reach that mileage unless you ride every day, and have a long commute. The guy I mentioned above rode it over 100 miles a day. When it was raining, and when it was 20 degrees. And then he rides on the weekends.

[Blitanicle99]

Well damn. Thats a lot of miles.

But reason I am concerned is, a buddy of bought a sbike TODAY. Its got decent miles on it like 9-10ishk. So hes learning to ride, we take him to a parking lot and he needs to really learn the bike and what not. Not even riding 3 miles after he bought it (used yes) the damn bracket that the brake bar pivots on snaps. Just snaps, and its decent sized aluminum too.

Thats why I want low mileage, I just dont want to have to fix things. I am shooting towards under 5k miles. Price to me is not a huge concern, Im not gonna get ripped but I don't mind paying a few more bucks for something I can trust more.

[David88vert]

Thats why I want low mileage, I just dont want to have to fix things. I am shooting towards under 5k miles. Price to me is not a huge concern, Im not gonna get ripped but I don't mind paying a few more bucks for something I can trust more.

Then buy brand new with a warranty. Case solved.

[BLK JDM]

Believe me when I say you may have problems w/ even new bikes. A friend of mine bought a left over 07 CBR100RR and his clutch started slipping w/ in a week. He takes to back to Mountain Adventures, they replace the clutch-it starts doing it again w/ in a couple days. He searches the forums and finds out some 1000RR have problems w/ the hydraulic clutch line getting hot and boiling the fluid. He replaces the line w/ a steel-braided line and within a week it slips. He's furious and takes the bike back to Mountain and they void his warranty b/c of the stainless line!! It's got 480 miles. Now he's about to replace the Master Cylinder and lever. We'll see

Another friend just bought a brand new Ducati 848 from Ducati of Atlanta-it overheated on him 4 times in a month. Everytime he takes it back they say it's got an air pocket in the cooling system-they bleed the system and give him back the bike-it overheats again. He called the regional sales rep for Ducati and they say if it happens again they'll buy it back full price or replace it w/ another one. Well it overheated the next day(last Saturday) he's deciding if he wants to come back to the Japanese inline bikes or get another one.

The Kawasaki ZX-14s have frame recalls going on as I type.

Me-I'm in the middle-I don't want a new bike but I don't want a bike w/ a lot of miles no matter how it's been ridden. I won't buy a used bike if I haven't met or talked to the owner. I'll only buy a bike from the original owner and they bike has to be under 5K miles w/ minimal if any modifications. I'm in a financial position now in life where I can be picky but not obsurd(that's why I can't afford or don't want to make payments on a new bike). When I bought my F4I w/ 29K miles I wanted a bike and I didn't have that much $$ so I got what I could afford and took my chances. I still met w/ the only and saw what type of guy and rider he was. I asked specific questions about the the bike and what type of riding and who he rides w/. Then you can go on to see if they took care of the bike or just rode it hard and stunted on it.

[David88vert]

Mileage is not a big deal if the bike has been taken car of. My R1 has 16K miles on it, and is completely dependable. I have a 03 954rr here with 22K miles, and it is extremely dependable also. I've seen some bikes that were pretty much shot with less than 10K on them also. It really depends on how the bike was treated.

[Blitanicle99]

Yeah I understand. I usually check out the used dealerships around, WOW and Triad Motorsports. They had some R6s, but there isnt a way to tell how the previous rider rode it.

Ahh, so irrittating some days lol

[David88vert]

I wouldn't buy a high mileage bike from a dealership. Get it from an individual. It's worth it.

[Cool Cat Racing]

If you're buying used its always best to buy from an individual, first owner if possible. Then you know how it was maintained and ridden. I have 19K on my 04 SV650S and it rides the same as the day I bought it with 7K on it last october. I change the oil and am quite anal about the maintenance since small slipups can get me hurt. I track the bike several times a year and it still runs great. Focus more on the condition than the mileage. As far as brackets breaking, that can happen the day you pick up a new one or 10 years later. I've seen several bikes over 20K that ride better than nearly new ones. Some bikes have lower mileage increments for maintenance than cars, especially valve adjustments, and many people don't keep up with it. If the early services weren't done you can get a bike with 5K on it that clatters worse than one with 50K.

[DecoyOctopus]

umm i dont have a bike but im trying to get one soon. what do you mean by valve adjustments, like timing? how often do you have to get it adjusted? can you do a compression check on a bike to determine how much life is left in it?

[Smittie61984]

Any of the Jap 4 bikes will be dependable.

I have a 1996 CBR600 F3 with 37,000 miles on it and it still runs strong and was heavily abused (And wrecked) before I got it. I know another guy with a 2004 CBR600 F4i with 130,000 miles on it. Now he takes great care of that bike.

Honda's are known to last a little longer than your other brands but they are all still good. The only thing to watch out for on the GSXRs is well their "Squidly" reputation. Not saying you are a squid if you ride one but every dumbass who just has to have a sportbike wants a "Gixxer". Plus Suzuki is easiest to get financed with so a lot of 18/19/20 year olds who take no care of their crap get those bikes and muck a lot of them up. Good news though is repairs are easy if you do junkyard repairs. Lot's of crashed GSXRs out there.

15,000 on a jap bike isn't bad if it was taken care of. Just look the bike over and make sure you can't see anything wrong with it.

[Tarzanman]

Lol. Honda owners like to *think* that their bikes last longer than other bikes, but their bikes have just as many issues as the other japanese bikes (my roommate only buys honda bikes and my friend has owned 4 of them).

15k is nothing. I would put that much mileage on a bike in a year and a half.

You ask for advice, but you aren't taking any of it. Might as well go make up your own mind, and don't cry/whine to us when you drop your 600cc sport bike which is way too much bike for a noob rider like you. (Make no mistake, you WILL drop it. I guarantee it).

As an aside, even a 40hp Suzuki GS500 will beat a corvette off the line. That is PLENTY of power for a new rider. All a 600cc sportbike will do is hold you back because it will take you 3 times as long to learn to ride it properly (and you will still suck worse than someone who started small).

However, I am quite sure that I am wasting my breath on you.

[Smittie61984]

Well the only issue I ever had with my 12 year old bike was the R/R going bad. Considering other brands have had issues with frames cracking, motor troubles, etc I think I have done pretty well.

Honda is known for building bikes that are slightly more dependable (Or anything for that matter). Often times it's because they are built more conservative than other bikes. Which doesn't often put them on the top.

Yet any Japanese motorcycle is going to be fairly dependable as long as you maintain it and don't get a fluke.

As for him getting a 600cc bike. He has owned a motorcycle in the past so I don't see any issues with it.

[Tarzanman]

Honda owners like to *think* that their bikes last longer than other bikes, but their bikes have just as many issues as the other japanese bikes


Honda is known for building bikes that are slightly more dependable (Or anything for that matter). Often times it's because they are built more conservative than other bikes.

Thanks for proving my point.... and no they aren't (despite what you think).

How long did the OP have a motorcycle for, a week? He doesn't seem very knowledgeable at all about motorcycles. No offense to him, but I'd bet money that he doesn't know how to ride all that well either, based on what he said and what he asked. An SV-650 or Ninja 650 or something would probably be a better match for him.

[Smittie61984]

I had that opinion about Honda before I even owned a motorcycle. That was with their cars, bikes, and robots. And the only Honda I have ever owned was my bike and I was open to any company including Buell and Kawasaki when I was looking into bikes so it's not a prejudice.

Anyways good point about how much time on a motorcycle. However he may have just been out of the loop for some years since he hasn't ridden in a while (If that is the reason). I don't know not enough info.