Let's Be Realistic

[acf1073]

you all know what i do for a living with my bike. most of my miles are highway miles and realistically how many miles will my 750 kat last before it dies?

I change the oil and filter every 2500-3000 miles with good filters and top quality synthetic oil and i will do valve adjustments as scheduled and will never "abuse" the bike......can i expect 100k out of it or will it start becoming a mechanical nightmare before then?

the reason i ask is because i love this bike but at the 1k miles per week or more that im running it leads me to feel that i will be forced to replace it early to middle of next year. my next bike will most likely be a vstrom 1000 since the kat is no longer made....what can i realistically expect from this bike with good maintenance practices and everyday riding at a normal pace?

[tdrcomm]

100K is a reasonable expectation but at that mileage I'd start doing the oil changes every 2k after about 50K. But that's just me.

[Steveb]

2K on synthetic oil?
Why?

[tdrcomm]

2K on synthetic oil?
Why?

Didn't see the synthetic. My bad. :P

[reconstyle]

Dude, I'd say WELL over 100k on this motor. As long as you take care of it, it will take care of you.

[Alley_Kat]

I am going to be upset if I can not get at least 50k out of the bike. My youngest son has already claimed it when he is 16 so I guess I have it for another 4 years.

[steves]

Be religious about the service... and there's no reason it shouldn't mechanically last until 100k or more.

[Mojoe]

shit....I abused the crap outta my 1127, and often went 7-8k miles before oil changes in the end......and I did around 120k with mine. so something is wrong if you can't hit 100k by taking care of it.

[blkpitbull]

there is a guy on my cbr forum (i know different bike but still pertains) that bought a 04 F4i new and religously did mantainance, and has 98,000 miles and says it still runs like a new one!!! So yeah you can easily get 100k on er with good mantainance!

[KatanaSoldier]

Another 98+ KR member flipped his at 100K last year and it was still going strong! His odometer froze though.
Does anyone recall who that was? I can't.

[acf1073]

i guess maybe i should ask how long will it run "reliably"......im sure it will last over 100k miles if its well maintained and not abused but at that point or before the 100k mark will the bike become "unreliable".....you guys know what i mean....i dont want to be riding everyday on a bike thats on its last leg....what is a reasonable expectation of "good reliable miles"

[The CyberPoet]

If they do not salt the roads in your area in the winter, you should be able to get between 110 and 130k miles out of it before parts simply start wearing out at too fast a rate to justify repairing them all. If you do a hone & ring-job (plus possibly new journals/main bearings) at 85k, plus replace all the other bearings (wheel, swingarm, shock-mount, headstock) it'll probably last to 140 - 150k. If you don't stress the engine regularly, the distances may go far further than that given high daily use (time often deteriorates engines more than regular use can).

The real signs that it's going down-hill fast will be oil consumption climbing steadily upwards; I'd recommend doing the hone & ring job when it hits 1 liter of oil consumed every 2k miles.

You might also want to look at what the Brit motorcycle couriers are choosing as their platform of preference before you buy your next bike; the market for couriers over there is very hot and purchasing decisions are made very intelligently in terms of reliability.

Sidenote: It's a shame that BMW doesn't make the R75/R80 series any more -- with their very low compression ratios on those engines (8:1 to 8.5:1), 2 valves-per-cylinder and the perfect primary/secondary balance given by the perfectly opposed cylinders, plus shaft-drive, they commonly didn't need an engine rebuild until 200k - 250k miles, and often ran to 350k-500k before they really were ready for a permanent grave.

PS - one word of warning: the odometer will stop counting miles at 99,999. The only fix I've found is to replace it.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[acf1073]

thanks for all the info

[Race]

i've got well over 100k on my 92 just ruotine maintanance and replacing parts,plugs,chain filters as needed. and i don't stunt but i drive it like i stole it.

[suzuki4life]

Everything breaks sooner or later..just depends on how eager you are to do things like engine rebuilds. Kat/GSXR are like chevy's. So many made the parts will be available for a LONG LONG time.