everlasting bike?

[denBen]

Maybe a bit of an ambitious title, but it reflects the general idea.

My 1100 GS failed on me (broken gear box, don't want to go into it) and I 'm looking for a new bike.
She was fantastic and I enjoyed every minute I rode... but not so much the times she didn't ride.
It wasn't thàt often, but I 'm still quite afraid to make the final balance for that bike (My guess isn't very optimistic)
Anyway, she stopped at 250 000 km (that's 155 342 mile, google tells me) a bit less on the display though
(I took it the last 150k km in three years)

Now I 'm looking for something new, something that might last me a bit longer.

I am hoping to find a bike that will go for 300 000 km, with fairly limited technical interventions.
Don't get me wrong, I don't expect a sorrow free ride, but I don't want to strand up every half a year either.
And not needing to spend the same amount on repairs every two years as the bike costs itself.

Does it still exist, are manufacturers still making machines that simply work?

So if you would happen to know a bike (any model, any make) that fits the description (or at least the 300 000 km part) and would care to list the costs made to keep it on the road...



I'll start, although at the moment i'm only listing the things I experianced...

R 1100 GS '94
small stuff during use: let's estimate that at 500 euro
120k km: clutch pushrod stuck; 800 Euro
190k km: clutch started to slip; 250 Euro
220k km: driveshaft broken; 650 Euro
240k km: gearbox broken; 300 euro's trying to find a cheap replacement and gave up
(for a guaranteed replacement: 1500 euro)

while searching for a gearbox solution, I overheard that the previous owner had some serious repairwork on the same items not long before he sold.

that would mean that about every 110k km I'd be looking at the above total.
that's not really something I appreciate in a bike so I'm hoping to find an alternative.
(i'm not including regular maintenance because that's the same for every bike)

Who would like to write a testimony about a bike that was is everlasting?

[AliBaba]

Originally Posted by denBen

Maybe a bit of an ambitious title, but it reflects the general idea.


Now I 'm looking for something new, something that might last me a bit longer.

I am hoping to find a bike that will go for 300 000 km, with fairly limited technical interventions.


I'll start, although at the moment i'm only listing the things I experianced...

R 1100 GS '94
small stuff during use: let's estimate that at 500 euro
120k km: clutch pushrod stuck; 800 Euro
190k km: clutch started to slip; 250 Euro
220k km: driveshaft broken; 650 Euro
240k km: gearbox broken; 300 euro's trying to find a cheap replacement and gave up
(for a guaranteed replacement: 1500 euro)

I hate to bring the bad news but no bike is everlasting…

You will have hard time finding anything that’s better than what you have. Maybe a R80 G/S with a rebuild gearbox will do it, but I don’t think you will find a modern dual-sport that lasts longer.


I find the price for fixing your gearbox a bit high. If it gets overhauled before it stops to work it should be around less then half that price.
Some people overhaul there gearbox every 100kkm,.

[Threewheelbonnie]

I think you did well with the R1100R.

There are a few bikes out there that will match it and fail in different ways and so might be easier to repair (eg. R100's, Triumph Bonneville), but honestly I don't think there is such a thing as a 100,000 mile bike never mind one that does better.

I don't know why this is as I drive a Skoda for work that's done 115,000 miles with nothing except oil changes 10% past the recomended limits. Bikes I'm afraid are designed for weekend warriors who'll decide they are unfashionable long before they wear out, even when made out of toffee/cheese/wet cardboard etc.

The alternative is to repair what you have. This means either learning the skills and getting the tools to fix that BMW gearbox yourself, or going for something like an Enfield that you are going to learn about repairing very easily but very quickly.

Andy

[Magnon]

Hate to think how long it would take to cover 250,000 km on an Enfield!

The only bikes that I would think stand any chance of covering that sort of mileage without anything more than oil changes are other BMWs such as the K100/1100 or R1150s.

[gsworkshop]

It sounds like you are wanting an HPN, but instead of using an old donor bike you should start with new parts which will then be modified and improved by HPN. This sort of bike can last a life time and when you think it is at the end of one life time you strip it apart and rebuild it from scratch to start its next lifetime.

hpn

[Samy]

Originally Posted by gsworkshop

It sounds like you are wanting an HPN, but instead of using an old donor bike you should start with new parts which will then be modified and improved by HPN. This sort of bike can last a life time and when you think it is at the end of one life time you strip it apart and rebuild it from scratch to start its next lifetime.

hpn

Does it mean that a Hpn modified bike will never have a problem or not will fall down? driveshaft for instance?

I really wonder that.

Sami

[denBen]

Originally Posted by AliBaba

I find the price for fixing your gearbox a bit high. If it gets overhauled before it stops to work it should be around less then half that price.
Some people overhaul there gearbox every 100kkm,.

This might indeed be true, it 's very probable that my bike won't break down when doing enough precautionary repairs.
It's very difficult to get a correct maintenance scheme for this.

Anyway, it might just be me, but i don't have much trust in models that require that kind of maintenance.
(to an extend obviously, i'm not going to wait for breakdown before maintaining my bike)

Originally Posted by Threewheelbonnie

Bikes I'm afraid are designed for weekend warriors who'll decide they are unfashionable long before they wear out, even when made out of toffee/cheese/wet cardboard etc.

I am starting to realise that.
I 'm just hoping there is still one model out there that defies this design.

Originally Posted by Threewheelbonnie

The alternative is to repair what you have. This means either learning the skills and getting the tools to fix that BMW gearbox yourself, or going for something like an Enfield that you are going to learn about repairing very easily but very quickly.

I did most of my repairs myself (else those prices would be a tiny bit higher)

Repairing a gearbox is beyond my capabilities, but that 's not relevant as it was completely smashed (repairing what was broken would take about 3000 euro)

Originally Posted by Magnon

Hate to think how long it would take to cover 250,000 km on an Enfield!

It would probably take me just as long as on any other bike...


Would someone know a place I could find maintenance costs for large distance motorcycles?

[olebiker]

Any of the big Japanese touring bikes will run mostly problem free for many many miles. I think you can do better with most Japanese stuff.

[pecha72]

I had an Africa Twin (1991 model) from 20.000kms onwards to 105.000kms. The only mechanical glitch during that time was the countershaft bearing behind the sprocket, which very nearly lead to a big catastrophe at almost exactly 100.000, but luckily the fault was found & fixed, otherwise it probably would´ve blown up the engine. Even this was a freak occurrence, and could have been the result of having the chain adjusted too tight somewhere along the way. I didnt sell it because of this.

If I´d have to try to get real big mileage out of a bike, I´d probably still go for the Africa Twin, or possibly a DL1000 (or how about a 1200 or 1250 Bandit?)........ the km´s mentioned are huge, however, so your personal riding habits, choice of routes, and how good you are in maintaining the bike will probably have a huge impact on the outcome.

[pottsy]

Bikes in the "developed" world are generally used as a secondary vehicle to a car, say. And they're not designed/expected to rack up huge (100k+ miles) mileages without major overhauls, here in the UK a bike is "high mileage" if it does more than about 3k miles/year... If you want a machine that'll seem to cover high miles reliably look towards, say, a Fireblade in any of its incarnations, or that old faithful the Cub (seriously!).

[trophymick]

Originally Posted by Threewheelbonnie

I think you did well with the R1100R.

There are a few bikes out there that will match it and fail in different ways and so might be easier to repair (eg. R100's, Triumph Bonneville), but honestly I don't think there is such a thing as a 100,000 mile bike never mind one that does better.
Andy

I'm not convinced of this Plenty of bikes do over the 100,000 mile mark, check out the mileage of some courier bikes. Also there is a guy on the Triumph Trophy Group, that has 225,000 miles on his Trophy, never had the head off


Trophymick

[denBen]

I guess it's true that most engines will do over 100 000 km and a lot of them will quite easily do 200 000 km.
But a bike isn't just engine, now is it?

And that's about the same story with Monique, her engine is still in marvelous shape, but I 'm getting a bit afraid about all the other costs.


And that is why I 'm hoping to find a bike where all those parts are equally unbreakable.

Might be an impossible mission I suppose...

[pecha72]

Exactly. I also think there are many bikes, which (if properly taken care of, and maybe repaired just something minor along the way) would still have their engines run just fine after 100,200, or even 300 thousand kms.... they arent so far apart from car engines these days, and even if they rev higher, especially the 1000 and bigger powerplants have substantially less load to drag around.

But after that much riding, and many, many years of use, the wear will be everywhere. I think that is the real problem. For example: springs in the suspension will die, swingarm bearings (among others) will have developed just a little slack that wasnt there when new, rear hub shock absorbing rubbers have worn, brake discs surfaces have wear, and their thickess is close to renew limit, brake callipers need at least new seal sets, possibly brake pistons, too, the headlights have dimmed a lot, and many parts in the electric system are also starting to show their age, too. Etc, etc...

Even though none of them would be serious, or very expensive problems on their own, combined they will mean there´s always something to be done with the bike... and you´ll probably need good mechanical skills to be able to maintain it yourself, or be prepared to pay someone to do it for you.

A major overhaul of almost every component of the bike would probably cost so much it would make no sense (if one compares to the market prices of the same model), and still it wouldnt make it 100% new in every way.

[Caminando]

Originally Posted by Threewheelbonnie

I don't think there is such a thing as a 100,000 mile bike never mind one that does better.



Andy

I have two Africa Twins - one at 100,000 miles and the other at 70,000 miles; No major problems. Lots more miles to come.

I'm not saying buy an @, as they're old tech now. Though you could do much worse. And you won't get skinned alive for repair costs. But there's your "100K bike".

[Threewheelbonnie]

Originally Posted by Caminando

I have two Africa Twins - one at 100,000 miles and the other at 70,000 miles; No major problems. Lots more miles to come.

I'm not saying buy an @, as they're old tech now. Though you could do much worse. And you won't get skinned alive for repair costs. But there's your "100K bike".

Give us some history please? What do you call a major problem? I consider any ride on the recovery truck or not getting where I want the same day to be major, but it's a hard one to define.

I have my own theory, but it's going to take a while to prove as I am now a bit of a weekend warrior and don't get to put the miles in as much as I'd like. The theory is:

1. Buy a new bike and run it in yourself by simply riding in a gentle-normal way (or get one with a history you know).
2. Get one whose technology you understand.
3. Never let a "workshop technician" near it, use a well trusted mechanic (if you can find one) or DIY. Stuff the warrenty it's worthless compared to a well sorted bike five years down the road.
4. Get a design that has been in production for over three years in roughly the same form.
5. Get something other people are saying is tough.
6. Do the service work religeously, but don't go OTT.
7. Don't be afraid to change what's not tough enough.
8. Get something other people are using, so parts are easier to get.

The Bonneville is only on 14000 miles, but out of all the bikes I've ever owned is showing least signs of any problems. I've had the recovery truck to it twice, but not since I re-wired the battery/fuse area and replaced the coil with one that I sealed. This compares very favourably to other bikes I sold before this milage due to bigger issues, but on which I didn't follow the points above due to inexperience/lack of skill/believing advertising.

Can we beat the manufacturers by careful use?

An interesting, possibly point. In 2006, Triumph sent me a new service book changing the oil change intervals from 4000 miles to 6000. Could it be they were getting more hassle from their grease monkeys stripping drain plugs and their dealerships not stocking oil filters than they made from selling the oil? Maybe BMW/Harley/Ducati were selling more bikes because of the down time difference? I'm certain Triumph service had no concern for how many weeks a year I get to ride my bike.

Andy