Current millage on older bikes?

[Tonyvdb]

So the last number of months Ive seen a few members state that they purchased a Voyager XII with somewhere around 25,000 -40,000 Miles on the OD. Now my math is not great but even up here in Canada where we have a short 5 month riding season I only ride the odd weekend and every few days I take it to work and I average about 3000 miles a year. How does an owner of a bike thats almost 30 years old only have that low a millage? Something tells me that the OD on many of these bikes has gone around once in that time frame meaning its actually 125,000mi particularly in the southern US where the riding season is far longer.

I know these bikes can run will past 200,000mi without ever needing a major service.

Thoughts?

[wsm 1]

Well in my case all I can go buy is what the owner and the OD say.I have a 2002 voyager xii 25,700 miles,i guess you have to trust.

[Me Again]

It's not that hard to imagine .
I bought my first 1300 in 92' .Wife and I took a ride almost every weekend to about 8000 to 12000 miles a year.She hurt her back in the late 90's and was unable to ride with me and my mileage dropped to 3000 to 5000 some years even less .Always had a running bike around but seldom found an opportunity to put on many miles .
After my wife passed away in 2014 I started riding again ,but after I retired in 2015 I found I was again riding less .
My first AVA rally since Lacrosse (many years ago) has me back in the saddle and looking forward to every ride no matter how short it is .
You want to see low mileage . Try this
http://eauclaire.craigslist.org/mcy/5590761581.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[trikebldr]

Tony, I've often pondered that same question! I bought my current '84 1300 with just 23,000 miles on it and it looked almost factory fresh. But, I got the chance to talk to the original owner and he said they didn't ever ride very far, and only a couple of times per month for a few years. It was kept in a basement with a door wide enough to drive it through, so it was well protected. My '85 only has about 45,000 miles on it, but it shows it's less-than-perfect storage conditions with flaking clearcoat on the paint. Otherwise, a fine bike.
My first Voyager 1300 was a brand-spanking-new '83!! It had everything on it! After becoming a single guy again, I spent most of my waking, non-working hours on it. At about 212,000 miles on it after about six years, I was t-boned and it destroyed pretty much all of the plastics. Fortunately the crash bars did their job and protected the engine and my leg. But, it still ran like a top and I drove it home from the accident. Another local had an '84 1300 with a blown engine so he bought mine to make one good bike. I went without a bike for over 20 years after that one. I'm sure if the accident had not happened, I would still have that bike with more than 1/2million miles on it. loved it! That's why I now have two more!
But, I do understand your question about how can any bike that is 30+ years old not have at least 100k miles. I think a lot of folks kinda get bored with riding alone and just park them most of the time. That's where forums like this one are a big boost to riding. It hooks people up for riding together and socializing. I think Me Again summed it up pretty well with his personal experience.
Then there are the Don Medinas in this world! Now, THERE'S a rider! There are iron-butts, and there is Don's diamond-butt!

[Tonyvdb]

It's not that hard to imagine .
I bought my first 1300 in 92' .Wife and I took a ride almost every weekend to about 8000 to 12000 miles a year.She hurt her back in the late 90's and was unable to ride with me and my mileage dropped to 3000 to 5000 some years even less .Always had a running bike around but seldom found an opportunity to put on many miles .
After my wife passed away in 2014 I started riding again ,but after I retired in 2015 I found I was again riding less .

First sorry for your loss,

So if you do even 3000mi a year now over just 25 years your already at 75,000mi and you said that before when you first got the bike you would do even more. I just think that many of the "low millage" bikes may not be that low.

[voyager55]

simply unscrew the speedo cable to ride miles free, use a gps instead & you'll have a low mileage bike

[Tonyvdb]

LOL

[misft]

Well, you could try riding without the speedometer, but at 100k there is a lot of wear that shows. If you look you see the metal gets tarnished and rusty, paint get nicks and fades. You find road grime underneath. It would take a considerable amount of cleaning and polishing to hide that many miles of use even under the best of riding conditions.

[wsm 1]

Just speaking for myself I had to work a lot and cut into riding time plus kids and myself playing ball in the summer.My job has lots of overtime in it,work for local power system.

[cushman eagle]

I bought my first bike a GS450 in 1983,at 3 years old with 4300 miles on it.I was a dairy farmer at the time working 84 hours a week and simply did not have time to ride,rarely getting 1000 miles a year .Not until 1996 when we sold the cows did I get to ride enough to make use of a bike.

[sheiserman]

So the last number of months Ive seen a few members state that they purchased a Voyager XII with somewhere around 25,000 -40,000 Miles on the OD. Now my math is not great but even up here in Canada where we have a short 5 month riding season I only ride the odd weekend and every few days I take it to work and I average about 3000 miles a year. How does an owner of a bike thats almost 30 years old only have that low a millage? Something tells me that the OD on many of these bikes has gone around once in that time frame meaning its actually 125,000mi particularly in the southern US where the riding season is far longer.

I know these bikes can run will past 200,000mi without ever needing a major service.

Thoughts?

I asked this same question once and was reminded that I am very fortunate to be able to ride as much as I do. It's only a matter of time before that all changes.

I bought an '89 in 2013 for $2500 with 51k on the odometer. I wrecked it at 87k just last June. Put in a different dash that read 76K. Now that dash is saying 96K. I doubled the miles on a now 27 year old motorcycle in 4 years, and July has just begun. A 150 mile round trip commute helps rack up cheap and dirty miles. (All these numbers are from the odometer. I know the speedo is off and have never checked or been concerned with accuracy of the odometer. I change the oil when it says 3k miles have gone by, and it's working for me.)

These things (Voyagers) are amazing in my opinion, but I have been and continue to be very fortunate to be able to ride as much as I do. I'm also fortunate that I chose an XII over a Goldwing. Ain't no way they are this good and cheap to own.

[krasmu]

I don't know if there is any real way on knowing for sure. I was told that my 90 sat for many years covered in a garage. The paint and leather on the seat look OEM fresh. The chrome sparkels and I got many compliments this year at the Rally on how clean it is for the age. I did have to have the carbs rebuild as well as new rubber on cooling and fuel systems do to dry rot. I bought it in September of 2014 with 27K on the dial. I ride it nearly every day weather permitting. I now have 37k on the dial. when I test drove it, there was another voyager there that showed 89k and it looked it. That bike was rough and the seat was in bad shape.

[Me Again]

The difference between 25K and 125 K is usually pretty apparent .
If you should find a bike with 125K that still looks new ,that probably means the owner has taken super good care of it and it is probably just as good as the bike with 25K on it .

[Mr Jensee]

My bike has low mileage on it @32,000 miles because I can no longer ride it on trips. My last trip out of state was in 2014. I can only ride it locally now and now due to excessive right knee pain of which I am awaiting a doctor appointment, I can no longer even do that. I looks like before the end of year I just may have to put it up for sale. Motorcycling was about the last thing I really had my heart in. I have been riding since 1966, but every time I think I have over come another complication I get a new one. Getting old is bad enough but getting progressively sicker is much worse.

[trikebldr]

My bike has low mileage on it @32,000 miles because I can no longer ride it on trips. My last trip out of state was in 2014. I can only ride it locally now and now due to excessive right knee pain of which I am awaiting a doctor appointment, I can no longer even do that. I looks like before the end of year I just may have to put it up for sale. Motorcycling was about the last thing I really had my heart in. I have been riding since 1966, but every time I think I have over come another complication I get a new one. Getting old is bad enough but getting progressively sicker is much worse.

I hear this all the time, and there IS a solution to this! I'm a prime example of the problem of not being able to hold a heavier bike up reliably anymore. The solution is a SIDECAR, or trike conversion!
My first sidecar was due to my wife's back issues, but I sure enjoyed the hack myself back when I was just 33 years old and could lift a 1300 Voyager off the ground BY MYSELF! I can barely hold one up today at 66, so I have gone back to running a sidecar! I never have to put my feet down. The hardest things my feet have to do is shift or rear brake.
I've had two friends who kept riding into their 90s with a sidecar. So, there's no reason to have to give up cycling from failure of body strength.

[vxiirider]

Michael, I am 80 and had our Voyager triked in 2010 so we can keep on riding. Mary Jane cannot handle the heat any more, since she was overcome by the heat at the rally in Utah, so we trailer to the rallies and ride when we get there during the cooler hours of the day. I decided that it would be safer for both of us to have three wheels under us and it has worked out well.

[Mr Jensee]

I appreciate the suggestions but with all the current mounting medical expenses doing something like triking the Voyager or getting a sidecar is just out of the question. Besides I would still just be riding the same old roads I have done a hundred plus times. No I think it is about time to hang up my helmet. As they say the thrill is gone.

[krasmu]

I appreciate the suggestions but with all the current mounting medical expenses doing something like triking the Voyager or getting a sidecar is just out of the question. Besides I would still just be riding the same old roads I have done a hundred plus times. No I think it is about time to hang up my helmet. As they say the thrill is gone.

I get it. There. Comes a time for everyone and everything when you just know it's time to walk away. When the passion is gone and it is physically taxing, it just isn't fun anymore. I shot semi-pro target archery for nearly 30 years. It defines who I was. I went so far as to train with the Olympic team coach one year. Then I got so full of arthritis that it just hurt to do every day tasks. I knew in my heart it was time. Do I miss the sport. No, not really. But I do miss the people I met along the way. Fortunately for me. I found my voyager and got back into riding after 28 years away from it. Now I have a new group of people I enjoy in this club. I hope you find another passion that you can enjoy.

[Mr Jensee]

Can you keep a secret? I have been pestering liberals on Media Matters website now for the past couple of weeks. I love doing it. It makes them so mad. Especially when I get on Hillary Clinton's case. Will it turn into a passion, probably not but it has been something to do waiting for my knee to get better. Went to the doctor this morning and got a cortisone injection in the knee and it does feel better. I even rode the Kawasaki there and back. Heck on the bike I only had to use the right leg to brake and then not that often.

[SgtSlag]

In 2006, I purchased a 1979 Honda 750 with 9,600 actual miles on it. I know it was the real mileage because the bike was near-pristine. I rode it until 2011, with the odometer reading 21,000, when I sold it. I only put 11,000 miles on it, over a 5-year period. I even toured on it, two up, on a 1,935 mile trip around Lake Superior. The majority of its years were spent sitting in someone's garage. It happens, more often than you imagine. It is actually quite common for motorcycles. Messing with the odometer is rare, and why bother? There are many barn finds to be had. Cheers!