How many miles can a Katana do?

[solidfish]

About how many total miles can a Katana run in its lifetime?

Being a first bike owner, Im not sure how to read bike miles. Would having 50K miles on a bike be like having 100K miles on a car?

[Anonymous]

nope a motor is a motor there one kr person round here hes got over 100k on his kat

[zique]

I couldn't answer for these kind of bikes. But for a MX engine or any of the small one cylinder, high out-put engines, you are constantly rebuilding them. The motors last a long time, but you are doing a lot of work to keep them going.

From what I have gathered, these are basically just small car engines and last very similar. It all depends on your maintenance and care of the motor.

[VifferJim]

About how many total miles can a Katana run in its lifetime?

It all depends on your maintenance and care of the motor.

+1

Do your regular maintenance; ride the Kat like you live there (not some cheap motel you rent out and trash the place); when something's broke, fix it (don't let something go till it gets worse); and keep her in a controlled environment during the off season. I think you'll find that your Kat will last as long as you want.

The motor is simple and tough - someone on here calls it bulletproof.

[The CyberPoet]

Re: How many miles can a Katana do?

About how many total miles can a Katana run in its lifetime?

As noted above, it's highly based on maintenance, riding times and abuse levels.
Almost everyone gets 30k miles out of a Kat unless they wreck it or ruin 2nd gear.
Most will be able to get 50-60k miles out of a Kat unless they are seriously negligent on maint and or really slam it all the time.
A few will get over 100k miles out of a Kat by riding it like a commuter rather than a race bike most of the time and doing all the maint on-time or ahead of time with high grade oils. Oil choice is one of the primary considerations on lifespan, more critical than virtually any other parameter.

We have one rider who did over 100k in about 4 years, and his is still in good shape (not perfect, but he should get another 20-30k out of it). We have another rider who got over 120k out of his (in almost 15 years), but I suspect he was the exception rather than the rule... British dispatch riders commonly get 90 to 120k miles out of theirs before replacement.

Who doesn't get to old age:
Bikes which sit too much or don't get ridden very far. The engine likes to come up to temp all the way, regularly, to boil off any condensation and lube all the metal parts, plus to consume the fuel in the tank so it doesn't get old.
Bikes left parked for extended periods of time with less-than-full fuel tanks (leaves space for condensation, and the subsequent water leads to tank rust and subsequent problems). Alcohol content in fuels increases this problem because alcohol is hygroscopic (draws humidity out of the air).
Bikes not maintained when they should be or maintained improperly. As noted above, the most critical issue is oil quality, quantity and change interval. Kats can be more abusive on oil than most other bikes if permitted to overheat, and since it's both oil-cooled and oil-lubed, oil is really the lifeblood of this engine. Skimping on maint also tends to snowball, where a minor thing ignored causes secondary problems that are far more expensive and complex to repair.
Finally, modifications. Those who tend to see the longest lifespans are the ones who tend to keep their bikes very close (mechanically) to the original design. The OEM air and oil filters are higher quality (better trapping) than any of the aftermarket filters I've seen, and the difference can literally make a significant difference in lifespan, especially if it prevents fine sand particles from making it into the engine via the air filter.

Good Luck!
=-= The CyberPoet

[solidfish]

Re: How many miles can a Katana do?

About how many total miles can a Katana run in its lifetime?

That was very usefull thank you. So I guess it would be the common goal for us to at least get 50K miles from these bikes.

Thanks

[Guiness]

I've only had my bike a short time, but it's got 60K km ('bout 40K miles) on it. It was well maintained by the PO and there are no issues at all.

I've got an '87 RZ350. Odometer broke 5-6 years ago with about that much mileage on it - and it's fine. Believe me, that a LOT of miles for that bike.

As mentioned above - keep your oil cleaned, fix the little things as they go wrong, proper offseason storage and you'll be fine.

BTW I see you're in Denver - cold winters. I don't know how much room you've got for indoor storage, but if you've got a couple of friends with bikes, in the past I've shared a heated storage area with a couple of others. You can fit 6-9 bikes in one of those easily. That way it won't cost you much. One problem though is that everyone has to agree not to go in there all winter. If someone did, and knocked them all over...

[solidfish]

thanks for the advice. I do have a garage and i hope to ride at least once every couple of weeks throughout the winter. Although denver does get cold, the snow rarely stays on the ground for more than a few days. (pretty dry).

[Ravelife]

I have known plenty of dudes who put 100k or more on their bikes. The bikes were all Japanese or BMW. I don't know anyone who put 50k on a Harley..but I don't know many people who ride dilapidated shit boxes either.

[rschlegel]

I live just south of Denver and we are pretty lucky. As long as you can stay warm we can ride all year. There are some great roads that get a lot of sun and our humidity levels are extremely low in the winter. I did start using a fuel additive from Honda made by stabil every fill up to help keep the fuel good just in case it has to sit a while but on average through the winter I get a ride in at least every two weeks.