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General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> High Mileage issues
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Message started by RidgeRacer on 05/31/12 at 07:03:20

Title: High Mileage issues
Post by RidgeRacer on 05/31/12 at 07:03:20

I'm looking to buy my wife a bike and we found a '95 LS650 with 114k miles on it. Cosmetically it looks good but are there any high mileage issues with this bike I should be aware of?

Thanks

Title: Re: High Mileage issues
Post by verslagen1 on 05/31/12 at 07:13:36

I hope you misread the mileage, 114k would make it a rare bird indeed. 11,400 would be more common.

http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1295653542

Title: Re: High Mileage issues
Post by RidgeRacer on 05/31/12 at 07:56:57

Actually I did read it wrong the craigslist add actually says 119,xxx miles.

It's 17 years old so that works out to 7k a year which is on the low end of what I ride every year. I've put 6k on a bike on a single summer trip. But then I tend to get a new bike every couple of years so I never have to deal with high mileage issues.

I have a 30 year old GPz550 I keep around for nostalgic reasons but it only has 55k on it. Unfortunately it is too tall for the wife.

Most my experience is with sport bike inline 4 cyls. and I wouldn't even look at a high horsepower engine with a 15,000 rpm redline with that kind of mileage (if they even exist) But I know some goldwing guys who have 100k+ bikes. So I guess I'm just curious if you cruiser guys are used to seeing those kind of miles. On one hand you couldn't ask for a simpler engine than a air cooled single. On the other hand it still has rings and valves and a cam chain like any other motor.

Title: Re: High Mileage issues
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 05/31/12 at 08:59:31

Id want to know if its had rings & valves done, needs a leak down test either way, Id be leery of it,

YOu got any idea how many million times that piston has gone up & down in there?

I don rember th RPM vs MPH in 5th gear, but, if we just say 60 MPH = 3500 RPM & every inch it ever traveled was at 60 MPH, it never stopped or idled or ran at any speed other than 60 MPH @ 3500 RPM, then theres 210,000 revolutions per 60 miles, so, theres 210,000,000 for 60,000 miles,

I wouldnt wanna give much for it,,

Its actually pretty amazing to me that in internal combustion engine lasts more than a few thousand miles, considering all the stuff that happens in there & the hostile environment inside a cylinder,
At best, it just seems like an engine ought to use a quart of oil every few hundred miles,,Thats some kinda engineering up in there.

Title: Re: High Mileage issues
Post by sjaskow on 05/31/12 at 09:55:07

303F343C3131245D0 wrote:

Actually I did read it wrong the craigslist add actually says 119,xxx miles.

If the ad doesn't have one, I'd ask for a picture of the odometer. I'll bet the owner is assuming that the 6 digit odometer is all miles, not 5 miles + 1 tenth. Unless Suzuki changed the odometer between '95 and '06, it should only go to 99,999.9 before rolling over.

Title: Re: High Mileage issues
Post by RidgeRacer on 05/31/12 at 10:00:40

475E55475F5B43340 wrote:

[quote author=303F343C3131245D0 link=1338473000/0#2 date=1338476217]Actually I did read it wrong the craigslist add actually says 119,xxx miles.

Title: Re: High Mileage issues
Post by teabowl13 on 05/31/12 at 10:13:15

Definitely sounds like a misprint. Old Savages are a dime a dozen around here. They rarely get beaten on, mostly just neglected, but honestly it's unusual for me to see one listed with over 20,000 miles. It's just not really a long distance bike for most people; not saying it couldn't be, just that for most people they get used as beginner bikes and commuters.

If that mileage is really accurate, I'm sure you could find one with far fewer miles in the same price range.

Title: Re: High Mileage issues
Post by RidgeRacer on 05/31/12 at 11:08:10

I just talked to the owner and it is 11k and change, not 100k+ You guys were right about the tenths digit. The women who owns it says they were easy "Lady Miles" :-X

Blue Book on it is $1,160. She is selling it with lots of extras for $1,000 hopefully the stated mileage will scare off any rivals till I can get over there Sat.

http://www.bikeland.info/images/savage001.jpg
http://www.bikeland.info/images/savage002.jpg

Title: Re: High Mileage issues
Post by 2011suzukis40 on 06/01/12 at 13:33:30

thats a sweet looking bike. If it runs good its worth $1000. No problem

Title: Re: High Mileage issues
Post by ralfyguy on 06/01/12 at 17:37:47

This DOES look like a well cared for bike indeed. At least from here. Unless it has been just hosed down, the motor doesn't seem to have any leaks either.

Title: Re: High Mileage issues
Post by CaptialThumper on 06/01/12 at 17:53:28

I'd buy it for 1000$, assuming that closer inspection didn't turn up any deal breakers.

I like the flames, but what's with the tank bib? Is at just cosmetic, or is the a functional purpose?

Title: Re: High Mileage issues
Post by RidgeRacer on 06/01/12 at 18:06:02

You never know with craigslist. No way to tell how old those pictures are. For instance on the phone the owner mentioned she was missing the tool kit cover which seems to be in place in the photos. Hopefully the 45 mile drive to look at it tomorrow won't be a waste of time.

Title: Re: High Mileage issues
Post by RidgeRacer on 06/03/12 at 06:56:06

We went and looked at the bike and it was pretty much as advertized so we bought it. (I guess you all will be seeing more of me around the forum now)

Cosmetically I don't think you could expect more from a 17 year old bike. No rust or oil leaks. There are a few items that will need to be addressed. It is going to need a new tire before the summer is out. (Any recommendations?) The button is missing off the end of the choke and the left front foot peg needs to be replaced.

And it did include a gremlin bell (http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_a_gremlin_bell) which has supposedly been with the bike since the original owner. This seemed to impress my wife. I had never heard of these bells in my 30 years of riding.

Title: Re: High Mileage issues
Post by ralfyguy on 06/03/12 at 07:50:59

I never heard of that bell either, and reading the heart warming legend about it almost made me cry.. :'(

Title: Re: High Mileage issues
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 06/03/12 at 07:53:25

How many miles a year you expect to see on it is a consideration when choosing a tire, No reason to buy The Best Tire & watch it die from age with 2/3rds of the tread left on it,

Title: Re: High Mileage issues
Post by RidgeRacer on 06/03/12 at 11:55:36

312E282F32350434043C2E22695B0 wrote:

How many miles a year you expect to see on it is a consideration when choosing a tire, No reason to buy The Best Tire & watch it die from age with 2/3rds of the tread left on it,

That is a very good question.

My wife wants to ride it to work everyday but I don't know if that is realistic year round with our winters (Seattle area). But if we say 9 months a year then still only looking at 1500 miles a year plus weekends. I would say maximum 3000 a year.

I would also think the tires wet weather performance would be more important than mileage performance.