GS average life expectancy

[frijoles-and-beans]

Oh, and another thing. This thing is like my truck. It's so easy to work on and very reliable. I have an 84' GMC Sierra that I like for the same reasons.

Maintenance is very easy, for those that are wondering if you have what it takes to work on your bike yourself. Then you can have your bike for a long time, like these guys have.

 

[Steve]

I did use your spreadsheet, but I actually copied it down on a paper. I didn't print it; but you're right, it does make it easier.

At least get those shim sizes and clearances entered into the sheet so you will have them referenced for "Service 2"

Nothing says you have to print it, but I do print out a blank sheet to take to the garage to enter what I find while checking the clearances.

Saves a bit of oil and dirt on the laptop keys.

.

 

[frijoles-and-beans]

At least get those shim sizes and clearances entered into the sheet so you will have them referenced for "Service 2"

Nothing says you have to print it, but I do print out a blank sheet to take to the garage to enter what I find while checking the clearances.

Saves a bit of oil and dirt on the laptop keys.

.

Oh yeah, I did. I just hardly ever have this laptop hooked up to my printer, so I end up transcribing information most of the time from the laptop. I usually use the small spiral notebooks that I was talking earlier. When I write my information, I usually save it in Word, then take it down onto the notebook later. Now I use the spreadsheet that you gave me for the valve adjustment numbers.

I'm getting pretty organized as far as the motorcycle is concerned. I hope that I can make it last a good long while.

 

[1948man]

Aren't frijoles and beans the same thing? I last studied Spanish in 1965 so I could be wrong. Kind of like maize and corn. Heck, I like 'em all.

 

[1_v8_merc]

Yeah there's still a myth that 30k is high.

Maybe for the garbage plastic bikes they make today.....

But back then they ALL did 100k no problem.....as long as you keep those valves loose!

Bikes were built like ****in TANKS from the 80's and back!
(well some 90's bikes too)

My 650g was beaten and left for dead at 30k.
I put a few bucks into it, and she still roars hard!

 

[frijoles-and-beans]

Aren't frijoles and beans the same thing? I last studied Spanish in 1965 so I could be wrong. Kind of like maize and corn. Heck, I like 'em all.

They are. it's kind of a joke. I make a lot of food for the family in which beans are the main component. It's a really inexpensive food, and very nutritious too.

 

[tkent02]

Good for gas, too.

 

[frijoles-and-beans]

You've heard of corn-fed, well, my kids are bean-fed. Beans, rice and tortillas are a prominent staple at our house. Oh, and when they get tired of beans, like they tend to do once in a while. I start feeding them caldo. It is a stew that I make out of ground beef and all the vegetables I can find in the fridge. Usually it's potatoes, carrots, broccoli, rice and sometimes even beans. We eat other stuff too, but beans and caldo are what we eat the most of.

I just ate a bean sandwich for dinner. I slapped some beans from the pot that I keep full of beans into a couple slices of wheat bread. It is a perpetual pot of beans that I keep refrigerated even if there is no bean specific dish to eat. Just a pot of beans with a little asadero cheese, garlic, onions, salt and pepper. I put that in a sandwich, and presto, instant dinner.

I'm really off the subject, but I think it was covered with efficiency already.

 

[Tourmaster]

Well, I trust you guys are right about high mileage thing. My GS1100EX has about 58K miles on her. Was found in very sad cosmetic shape and had numerous external engine oil leaks and stored, un-rideable, in an farm implement shed.

Compression check looked good though (125 - 130 psi across), and after a quick carb cleaning last fall, rode it around a bit. No oil smoking evident and the engine and tranny all sounded solid and worked fine. Valves were actually close to proper clearance ... so just cleaned 'er up and replaced all the leaky external seals and gaskets, etc. ... nothing major. Shall see how she behaves this summer.

 

[fastpakr]

Yeah there's still a myth that 30k is high.

Maybe for the garbage plastic bikes they make today.....

But back then they ALL did 100k no problem.....as long as you keep those valves loose!

Bikes were built like ****in TANKS from the 80's and back!
(well some 90's bikes too)

My 650g was beaten and left for dead at 30k.
I put a few bucks into it, and she still roars hard!

Plenty of the modern bikes are running flawlessly above 100k too. Not knocking the GS, as they are great bikes. Just pointing out that the new ones aren't as bad as people make them out to be.

 

[frijoles-and-beans]

Plenty of the modern bikes are running flawlessly above 100k too. Not knocking the GS, as they are great bikes. Just pointing out that the new ones aren't as bad as people make them out to be.

I've heard this over and over; that the older (70's and 80's) bikes are great for longevity, but the new ones aren't. Not that I have enough to even buy one of the new ones, but it makes me wonder. Are they really that poorly made nowadays?

I refer to my old truck (1984) when I'm thinking about this subject. I keep hearing the GS's are bullet-proof; well, my truck is bullet-proof. Some of these newer vehicles seem so delicate these days. Is it just perception? I had a 1997 Plymouth Neon that had 123,000 miles when I sold it. It didn't give me many problems at all.

Oh, and 1997 apparently is considered new to me.

 

[DanTheMan]

I've heard this over and over; that the older (70's and 80's) bikes are great for longevity, but the new ones aren't. Not that I have enough to even buy one of the new ones, but it makes me wonder. Are they really that poorly made nowadays?

I refer to my old truck (1984) when I'm thinking about this subject. I keep hearing the GS's are bullet-proof; well, my truck is bullet-proof. Some of these newer vehicles seem so delicate these days. Is it just perception? I had a 1997 Plymouth Neon that had 123,000 miles when I sold it. It didn't give me many problems at all.

Oh, and 1997 apparently is considered new to me.

Newer than anything I have in my yard. My newest vehicle is the '95 Suburban diesel with 252k on it.

 

[Guest]

I think alot of bikes just don't get the opportunity to see how many miles they can go. Allot are lost to accidents, parted out, neglected, and now we have ethanol gas to deal with, and maybe soon ethanol gas with increasing amounts of ethanol.
I have about 25K on my GS1000, I had 15K on the GS1100, but now it only has 6K because I just changed out the gauges! :lol:
And when I got rid of my Skunk I had over 24K.

If I kept a log book for everything I did and bought and had done to these bikes, it would be too heavy to carry. I do however keep my receipts for each bike in a yellow manilla envelope.

 

[frijoles-and-beans]

I think alot of bikes just don't get the opportunity to see how many miles they can go. Allot are lost to accidents, parted out, neglected, and now we have ethanol gas to deal with, and maybe soon ethanol gas with increasing amounts of ethanol.
I have about 25K on my GS1000, I had 15K on the GS1100, but now it only has 6K because I just changed out the gauges! :lol:
And when I got rid of my Skunk I had over 24K.

If I kept a log book for everything I did and bought and had done to these bikes, it would be too heavy to carry. I do however keep my receipts for each bike in a yellow manilla envelope.

If I had the cash I would buy one of the newer bikes. I'd buy one of those crotch-rockets and see how fast they really are. GSX probably, but that's just dreaming anyway.

My log-books stay a pretty reasonable size. I carry one in each vehicle. I've put a lot of miles on them, and I've logged a lot of entries. It still stays pretty manageable.

Edit: You know, I was just thinking about it, and motorcycles have busier maintenance cycles than other vehicles. You might be right about there not being enough room. I still have yet to put that many miles on my bike, but I already have a good start on the log-book so I suspect that it really will fill in a lot quicker than the other vehicles log-books.

 

[Jethro]

I've heard this over and over; that the older (70's and 80's) bikes are great for longevity, but the new ones aren't. Not that I have enough to even buy one of the new ones, but it makes me wonder. Are they really that poorly made nowadays?

I spend a fair amount of time on the FZ1 forum for obvious reasons and there is a guy with an '06 like mine that he just rolled 100k miles on. My buddy has a '99 (I believe) ZRX that has easily over 60k miles on. I think it all comes down to care and feeding. Treat 'em right and they will go the distance.

 

[fastpakr]

Exactly. I've seen similar numbers when skimming through the FZ6 forums. On the Vulcan 500 forums we have one owner with 128k on his '97 (which he just used for a SaddleSore 1000 a couple of days ago). When we're comparing 30 year old motorcycles to ones made in the past few years, there's an extra 25+ years in there for accumulated mileage. Obviously the average miles will make them look exponentially more reliable.

 

[Crazy_Russian]

i got my with 27k on it... and it sat outside for who knows how many years.... head to do a grate amount of work to it over the last 3 years, but now she purrs like a kitten :-\\\

 

[1_v8_merc]

The only way to see if the bikes today are reliable...is to beat one up, drop it in a barn, and come back in 20 years.

 

[Crazy_Russian]

lol, i bet it would take allot more to get the new ones going then ours did... but who knows

 

[the_zander]

I dont necessarily agree with the "they dont make 'em like they used to" school of thought. Comparing plain-bearing motors from the 80s with current models there are numerous technological advancements that have greatly increased the expected longevity of modern motors. Electro-plated cylinder bores, alloy steel ring packs, better forging alloys and thats just acounting for the improvments in modern bottom ends. I do however believe, and i think this is a widely supported by empirical evidence, that in low to medium power output applications roller bearings outlast plain bearings hands down.

Back on topic my '78 GS750's odometer reads 90,000Kms, but it stopped functioning years ago so i would estimate 120-130,000KMs and she still purrs reliabily with 120psi compression and less than 5% leakdown.

-Zander