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can realistically get atleast 50K Miles out of this boulevard? that's what I cant find is how many miles I can get out of it.
Up to you.
Probably not. The bike will do it easily, it's just a question of whether or not you will. Most people don't ride that much. I only ride about 3-5k miles a year. I don't have time. Couple shorter rides a week, maybe one or two longer weekend trips a year. And that's living in California with a 12-month riding season. Split between two bikes, mine will need to be 20 years old before they see that kind of mileage. It won't happen. I'll get rid of one or both before then.
Or look at the miles on the bike you picked up. It's done about 1,000 miles a year. Will it last 30-50 years? It could. Bikes are pretty simple things. I picked my Ninja 250 from a garage under a nice layer of dust. Five years old with 600 miles. Change the oil, drained the tank, cleaned the gunk out of the carbs, fired right up. I've put about 10k on it since then. Most bikes will never see anywhere close to 50k.
Congrats on your first motorcycle purchase. What you'll likely learn is that the max number of miles you can get out of a motorcycle engine is irrelevant unless you're purchasing a high mileage motorcycle, and even still the issue is normally related more to resale value than longevity. I've purchased one "higher mileage" motorcycle, which had 34,000 miles on it. I sold that bike with 45,000 miles, and it still seemed to have plenty of miles left in her. There were several riders who took that bike (96' Honda VF750) to well over a 100k miles, the highest was in the 200k mile range.
Honestly, you'll probably grow bored with the bike over time and be looking for something new...hence the reason motorcycles in my stable tend to only stay there for 1-2 years max...the longest being 3 years which was my first bike...it racked up 16,000 miles during my years of ownership (partially at the end of college) with half of those miles occurring in the first year.
A very long time ago and far, far away I bough a BMW R75/5 with over 100k on the clock. The first trip was AZ to San Francisco and the second was from SF to NYC. The thing did not miss a beat on either trip. I kept the bike for 20 years.
A very long time ago and far, far away I bough a BMW R75/5 with over 100k on the clock. The first trip was AZ to San Francisco and the second was from SF to NYC. The thing did not miss a beat on either trip. I kept the bike for 20 years.
There is a guy mere miles from my home (NW WA State) with a CL ad: 1987 BMW K75S, high miles, aggressively priced. Claims it is a good runner, and on general principles I'd believe him. Tossing around the idea of buying it, as a lark, but it looks from the pictures like his DD/commuter and I'd have to throw a couple grand at it to create a bike to be shown plenty and rode seldom. Almost sacrilegious, in a sense, to do that to a long-term runner.
Most K and R-Series from that era, up to recently, are over-engineered and under-stressed engine-wise. These are not bad things, necessarily. There are countless R-series from the 1980s-90s running around my area with 80K and more on the clock, and few-to-no problems I've ever heard or read about (in the engines: drivelines are another matter, for another thread).
Circling back to the OP's rather-peculiar question: though certainly not for everyone, I wouldn't hesitate too long to recommend a c. '70s - current R-series for longevity. Not "guaranteed" but "a good bet there is huge community support for keeping them running" to 100K or much, much higher mileages. I've only run two bikes to 50K+ miles, both were JPN, the first was about done-in by that time and the second only really just getting started. Answer, as always, is: "it depends!"
There is a guy mere miles from my home (NW WA State) with a CL ad: 1987 BMW K75S, high miles, aggressively priced. Claims it is a good runner, and on general principles I'd believe him. Tossing around the idea of buying it, as a lark, but it looks from the pictures like his DD/commuter and I'd have to throw a couple grand at it to create a bike to be shown plenty and rode seldom. Almost sacrilegious, in a sense, to do that to a long-term runner.
Most K and R-Series from that era, up to recently, are over-engineered and under-stressed engine-wise. These are not bad things, necessarily. There are countless R-series from the 1980s-90s running around my area with 80K and more on the clock, and few-to-no problems I've ever heard or read about (in the engines: drivelines are another matter, for another thread).
Circling back to the OP's rather-peculiar question: though certainly not for everyone, I wouldn't hesitate too long to recommend a c. '70s - current R-series for longevity. Not "guaranteed" but "a good bet there is huge community support for keeping them running" to 100K or much, much higher mileages. I've only run two bikes to 50K+ miles, both were JPN, the first was about done-in by that time and the second only really just getting started. Answer, as always, is: "it depends!"
Not to pick on the OP, but he's posted in the economics forums that buying the bike was a huge mistake and he's now going to sell it. The bike, like most bikes, will never see 20,000. BMWs probably get run more miles than most bikes and I doubt even most BMWs ever see 20,000. It's not the bikes; it's the owners. A buddy of mine commutes on his Monster S4. Occasionally we go to Ducati events. Most of the bikes have less than 10,000 miles on them. They're beautiful machines and meticulously cared for but they just are not ridden. On the opposite spectrum, I saw an absolutely beautiful ST4 up in WA last time I rode up to Seattle which was a few years ago. That bike had seen some miles. Dents, bangs, rust, faded paint. Nothing horrible, just your normal cosmetic wear on a bike that spent some serious years on the road. I didn't run into the owner unfortunately. Aside from the STs and older Multistradas which were so ugly they were only bought for how they road, Ducatis are garage queens. They're out there and they'll easily do the miles. I've seen some Supersports on the Internet that have gone 50k+ miles. They're pretty maintenance intensive but easily capable of it.
Not to pick on the OP, but he's posted in the economics forums that buying the bike was a huge mistake and he's now going to sell it. The bike, like most bikes, will never see 20,000. BMWs probably get run more miles than most bikes and I doubt even most BMWs ever see 20,000. It's not the bikes; it's the owners. A buddy of mine commutes on his Monster S4. Occasionally we go to Ducati events. Most of the bikes have less than 10,000 miles on them. They're beautiful machines and meticulously cared for but they just are not ridden. On the opposite spectrum, I saw an absolutely beautiful ST4 up in WA last time I rode up to Seattle which was a few years ago. That bike had seen some miles. Dents, bangs, rust, faded paint. Nothing horrible, just your normal cosmetic wear on a bike that spent some serious years on the road. I didn't run into the owner unfortunately. Aside from the STs and older Multistradas which were so ugly they were only bought for how they road, Ducatis are garage queens. They're out there and they'll easily do the miles. I've seen some Supersports on the Internet that have gone 50k+ miles. They're pretty maintenance intensive but easily capable of it.
Well, indeed, the line of questioning didn't make much sense to begin with, though now I see why. Meh. Made the mistake of following the breadcrumbs, and now the whole thing seems like a troll.
I've seldom if-ever "rationalized" the decision to buy any motorcycle, since for me they are the opposite of making much economic sense. However: one, it's a free country; two, IME buying bikes is exploratory, and OP should cut himself a little slack for making a mistake. Who gives a hoot, it's a couple grand write-off at-most.
There is a lady in Seattle area (or used to be) legendary for beaucoup miles on Ducatis, you raise a great point. I mean, she'd put 80 or a hundred K miles on these things, various smaller air cooled models, in a few years before trading them in on newer versions. She reported they never gave her much trouble; she (also as you say) just did the maintenance on-schedule. Ducks won't stand for neglect too long, in my experience between two of them, past-and-current models.
I've only put 14K miles on my '10 Multi since new, times change I guess. Bit of a shame, it does like long distances and just wants to lope along (1198 Testastretta) at 100mph (cough, allegedly) all day. Yah, it's more in the garage than out, last few years especially. Can't see why anyone would take, say, a 1199 Panigale for more than a "few miles" around the nearest racetrack. Few bikes are pushed past 20K miles that I've ever seen w/o "BMW", "GoldWing," or "Valkyrie" in the title.
The older Multis fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch en route down. The newer ones, well: an acquired look, we might say Not nearly as pretty as my old Honda Blackbird, sadly.
can realistically get atleast 50K Miles out of this boulevard? that's what I cant find is how many miles I can get out of it.
Twins dont last as long as inline fours but yes, you should be able to get at least 50k miles out of the motor. I have several friends that ride SV650s and they claim those motors last until about 75k miles even with a few trackdays thrown in here and there. Congrats on your first bike!!!
It is a solid bike, big enough for a big guy without being too overwhelming. As others mentioned, who cares what anyone thinks about what you paid but since you asked, to me, it sounded like a decent deal.
You got the engine crash bar, that is good especially for a beginner rider because there is a good possibility you may drop the bike one day.
Windshield and saddlebags are optional and each rider has their own taste so in a way, I prefer the bike to not come with either one so I can install the make/model windshield and saddlebags that I want, if at all.
So why pay more for something you may not even want/like? More stock, the better, imho.
I am also on the big side, but I agree, smaller bikes are typically more fun, especially around town!
800cc cruiser will be similar to a 400-500cc sports bike in HP but with more torque. I suspect you can get at least 100K miles if you don't abuse the bike and do timely maintenance on it.
Enjoy and keep the rubber side down (the most important thing in motorcycling)!
Sounds like he got a good bike at a decent price but is disappointed that he had to pay anything.
I put about 3,500 miles on my Burgman 650 last year and expect, as I now have more time, to double that this year. I do not expect, unless I win a bunch of money, to buy another motorcycle.
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Not nearly as pretty as my old Honda Blackbird, sadly.
