[Dangerous Des]

I was looking through some old bike mags recently and found this article in Bike May 2005. I find this sort of thing interesting as a motorcycle owner so thought I'd post some highlights.

The fella in question is a courier called Stan, who was in his early 60's at the time of the article. His list of bikes is as follows, along with the mileage he put on to each:

1983 Kawasaki GT550 - 15,000 miles
1984 Kawasaki GT750 - 184,000 - "Worst bike I ever bought"
1986 Yamaha FJ1100 - 30,000
1987 Yamaha FJ1200 - 14,000 in 3 weeks - returned to the dealer due to excessive vibration
1987 Yamaha FJ1200 - 90,000
1988 Honda VFR750 FJ - 140,000
1989 Honda VFR750 FK - 149,000 - knocked over at an airport, then traded in
1990 Honda VFR750 FL - 852,000 - engine replaced at 440,000 after it blew its head gasket
1996 Kawasaki ZZR1100 C3 - 252,000
1997 Kawasaki ZZR1100 D1 - 60,000 - written off
1998 Honda Blackbird - 410,000
2001 Honda Blackbird - 205,000 - current bike at the time of the article

Some mega mileages there, just goes to show those who worry about their bikes getting to 20 or 30k miles have only just scratched the surface.

Some other info:

• Oil and filter changed every week - using Honda oil filters but 10w40 car oil - the cheap stuff (that's what he used in the 852,000 mile VFR!!)
• RK chains last far longer than any others - usually 80,000 miles
• A Scottoiler is used to keep the chain 'saturated in oil'

Some more interesting points - we've had many discussions about oil and chains on here....

 

[Twincam]

:shocked:

Now thats what you call a serious nut. 14,000 miles in three weeks?!

Nice to know I can expect a lot from my VFR

 

[Sideshow bob]

:clap:.....

I like the fact he says "Worst bike I ever bought" about the GT750 and then still puts 184,000 on it:rotfl:

 

[Twincam]

:clap:.....

I like the fact he says "Worst bike I ever bought" about the GT750 and then still puts 184,000 on it:rotfl:

It might have taken him that long before he realised it was that bad. :rotfl:

Still can't believe he has got over 400,000 from an engine.

 

[Dangerous Des]

He's in a different league from us lot, that's for sure.

With the 852,000 mile bike, apparently he did 10,000 miles with the head gasket blown - it was OK on the motorways but he noticed the engine getting a bit hot in town!

 

[Twincam]

He's in a different league from us lot, that's for sure.

With the 852,000 mile bike, apparently he did 10,000 miles with the head gasket blown - it was OK on the motorways but he noticed the engine getting a bit hot in town!

Well that shows you can expect about 400,000 from your VFR's engine (as long as you do reg servicing + oil changes)... not sure how the bike looked at the end of the 800,000 miles though.

 

[Terminex]

I call BS on the whole thing. I simply do not believe that those were MILES. I MIGHT buy that it was Kilometers, but NOT MILES.

14000 in 3 weeks, again, that is BS. that would be just shy of 700 miles a day without any rest days. 700 miles, averaging 60 miles an hour (which is a HIGH AVG) would be 11.6 hours per day. riding ANY bike for 12 hours a day for 3 weeks straight, I don't think so.............

 

[spina220]

I call BS on the whole thing. I simply do not believe that those were MILES. I MIGHT buy that it was Kilometers, but NOT MILES.

14000 in 3 weeks, again, that is BS. that would be just shy of 700 miles a day without any rest days. 700 miles, averaging 60 miles an hour (which is a HIGH AVG) would be 11.6 hours per day. riding ANY bike for 12 hours a day for 3 weeks straight, I don't think so.............

I am glad you took the time to do the math because I was too lazy, that does seem like alot of miles in three weeks, if you have the time and money and your the most obsessed motorcyclist, maybe 11.6 hours a day.... if I didn't have to do that stupid ass thing called work.......it could maybe be possible.

 

[bladeracer]

What does it cost to do 2,401,000 miles (3,866,000kms) in 22 years.
Fuel at at a rough average of 20kpl so 193,000 litres (here it's around A$1.20 and was A$0.48 back in '85 when I started buying the stuff. Use an average of A$0.85) for A$165,000.
1144 oil changes - even cheap oil and filters would have be A$20 each so A$23,000.
Chains he reckons 80,000 miles but has obviously used others that don't last as long so lets work on an average 50,000 miles for chain and sprockets at A$300 a set for about A$15,000.
That's over A$200K already.
Tyres, let's say he can get 50,000kms from a rear and 100,000kms from a front using the hardest touring tyres he can buy (and hasn't had to bin any due to damage) that's 40 fronts and 80 rears - maybe A$22,000.
Brake fluid and coolant are negligable but throw in 70+ full sets of front pads, 40 sets of front discs, clutch cables, wheel and steering head bearings and all the oil he pours through the Scottoiler - say A$20,000.
That's well over A$10,000 a year here so probably closer to 20,000 pounds sterling per year. What's the yearly income of a British motorcycle courier?
Then consider, does sombody that's averaging 2000 miles a week, every week have the time and energy to do all this servicing himself or is he paying for labour as well? And there wouldn't be too many couriers that haven't had to take holidays due to loss of licence, which pushes the average up further.
I don't even want to guess how many stators and regulators he went through
I tend to agree that it sounds like it's greatly exagerated - but not impossible.

 

[Dangerous Des]

Well that shows you can expect about 400,000 from your VFR's engine (as long as you do reg servicing + oil changes)... not sure how the bike looked at the end of the 800,000 miles though.

Apparently that VFR "fell apart under him" towards the end, he held the fairing together with red cable ties as he didn't want it to look tatty!!

I call BS on the whole thing. I simply do not believe that those were MILES. I MIGHT buy that it was Kilometers, but NOT MILES.

14000 in 3 weeks, again, that is BS. that would be just shy of 700 miles a day without any rest days. 700 miles, averaging 60 miles an hour (which is a HIGH AVG) would be 11.6 hours per day. riding ANY bike for 12 hours a day for 3 weeks straight, I don't think so.............

Well of course it is possible that it's a load of rubbish, and there is nothing to back up the claims other than a magazine article - but I prefer to give the benefit of the doubt. It's a good story if nothing else.

He did city-city courier work, so mainly motorways (high speed) and apparently at the time of the article he was covering at least 600 miles per day - on a normal day. His highest ever was 1523 miles, which took 23 hours.

Same day couriers are very expensive - I don't know if they charge by the mile or not, which is possible, but the charges obviously need to cover running costs + wages for the courier. The article does say that the motorcycle business is dying out, as most people use vans now, and of course email has removed the need for a lot of the media carried years ago.

 

[Dangerous Des]

What does it cost to do 2,401,000 miles (3,866,000kms) in 22 years.
Fuel at at a rough average of 20kpl so 193,000 litres (here it's around A$1.20 and was A$0.48 back in '85 when I started buying the stuff. Use an average of A$0.85) for A$165,000.
1144 oil changes - even cheap oil and filters would have be A$20 each so A$23,000.
Chains he reckons 80,000 miles but has obviously used others that don't last as long so lets work on an average 50,000 miles for chain and sprockets at A$300 a set for about A$15,000.
That's over A$200K already.
Tyres, let's say he can get 50,000kms from a rear and 100,000kms from a front using the hardest touring tyres he can buy (and hasn't had to bin any due to damage) that's 40 fronts and 80 rears - maybe A$22,000.
Brake fluid and coolant are negligable but throw in 70+ full sets of front pads, 40 sets of front discs, clutch cables, wheel and steering head bearings and all the oil he pours through the Scottoiler - say A$20,000.
That's well over A$10,000 a year here so probably closer to 20,000 pounds sterling per year. What's the yearly income of a British motorcycle courier?
Then consider, does sombody that's averaging 2000 miles a week, every week have the time and energy to do all this servicing himself or is he paying for labour as well? And there wouldn't be too many couriers that haven't had to take holidays due to loss of licence, which pushes the average up further.
I don't even want to guess how many stators and regulators he went through
I tend to agree that it sounds like it's greatly exagerated - but not impossible.

The exchange rate is the other way around - £1 = ~AU$1.75 - so AU$10,000 = nearer to £6000

 

[bladeracer]

The exchange rate is the other way around - £1 = ~AU$1.75 - so AU$10,000 = nearer to £6000

I wasn't working on the exchange rate
I was working on the fact that what I buy here is half the price I'd be paying in the UK

 

[Bonefish]

A friend of mine was a courier in London, He did 80 000 miles in a year. The company he worked for took care of all up-keep costs for the bike. Also changing his oil/ filters once a week

 

[Dangerous Des]

I wasn't working on the exchange rate
I was working on the fact that what I buy here is half the price I'd be paying in the UK

:lmao: fair enough - things are expensive over here, although bikes seem expensive in Oz? I hope to find out one day!

 

[bladeracer]

:lmao: fair enough - things are expensive over here, although bikes seem expensive in Oz? I hope to find out one day!

Can't really comment as I don't buy new anymore and have only bought secondhand from dealers twice. I buy privately or at auction and preferably as damaged as possible

The 1000RR9 is listed at A$19490 ride away.
Honda $1000 Cash Back - The Honda Shop - Perth's only Honda MegaStore

The 1000RR8 is listed at A$16990 ride away.
Honda Ride Away Special ACB - The Honda Shop - Perth's only Honda MegaStore

How do they compare where you are?

 

[Dangerous Des]

Can't really comment as I don't buy new anymore and have only bought secondhand from dealers twice. I buy privately or at auction and preferably as damaged as possible

The 1000RR9 is listed at A$19490 ride away.
Honda $1000 Cash Back - The Honda Shop - Perth's only Honda MegaStore

The 1000RR8 is listed at A$16990 ride away.
Honda Ride Away Special ACB - The Honda Shop - Perth's only Honda MegaStore

How do they compare where you are?

That works out at £11137 - over here the ABS 09 is £10721 On The Road (OTR)

The 08 works out at £9708 - over here £9221 OTR.

These prices are from Dobles Honda website.

A year or so ago I was looking at replacing my Blade in Oz vs importing my one - I remember the price for a similar bike over there was a lot more than used prices over here. But then the cost of shipping, + import taxes + the tests that need to be done adds up too - can't remember exactly what they were but it worked out cheaper and easier to sell my bike over here and buy again in Oz.

 

[Bonefish]

IN SA : 09(non ABS) is R125000 OTR if you shop around

exchange - A$18367
$17057
GBP- 10358

 

[bladeracer]

That works out at £11137 - over here the ABS 09 is £10721 On The Road (OTR)

The 08 works out at £9708 - over here £9221 OTR.

These prices are from Dobles Honda website.

A year or so ago I was looking at replacing my Blade in Oz vs importing my one - I remember the price for a similar bike over there was a lot more than used prices over here. But then the cost of shipping, + import taxes + the tests that need to be done adds up too - can't remember exactly what they were but it worked out cheaper and easier to sell my bike over here and buy again in Oz.

I would be very surprised if it wasn't going to always be cheaper to sell in one country and buy after you move than ship a motorcycle internationally and licence it.
As I said though, bike prices new or used are pretty much irrelevant to me -and have been for years. I prefer to let somebody else lose all that money in dealer charges and depreciation.
I often wonder when I see somebody post something like a "954 for sale with 4000 miles" on it. That's like 80 hours of riding over six or seven years. With licencing, interest, depreciation and insurance that's a very expensive way to get a couple of days riding.

 

[Dangerous Des]

I would be very surprised if it wasn't going to always be cheaper to sell in one country and buy after you move than ship a motorcycle internationally and licence it.
As I said though, bike prices new or used are pretty much irrelevant to me -and have been for years. I prefer to let somebody else lose all that money in dealer charges and depreciation.
I often wonder when I see somebody post something like a "954 for sale with 4000 miles" on it. That's like 80 hours of riding over six or seven years. With licencing, interest, depreciation and insurance that's a very expensive way to get a couple of days riding.

Yeah I agree, I was just looking at the options - also I know my bike, so none of the potential problems of buying another one. But don't think it'd be worth the hassle, unless it was a really unique collectors bike or something.

I would never buy new either, for the same reasons. My bike was one of those examples - 8700 miles on a 9 year old bike, not as bad as some admittedly, but still I had doubled the mileage within 2 years, and that is still very light use. I'm getting out a lot more on the bikes now though so maybe one day I'll be posting up pics of my 850,000 mile Blade!

 

[steingar]

You gents should keep in mind that maintenance and wear issues are very different between a bike that's ridden every day and one that sits for months or that's only ridden on the weekends.