What mileage is reasonable in a potential track bike?

[warregl]

I realize that this may be too broad of a question to ask as there are many variables but I’ll ask anyway and count on your generous nature to forgive the request for advice on such a generality.

If you were shopping for a first track bike what mileage range would you consider a good target? What is generally considered to be “long in the tooth” (read: potentially maintenance and/or repair intensive) for a sportbike. I’m looking at 600s from the big 4 and trying to judge the optimum cost-benifit curve between age and price. As I said, I know there are probably too many factors to accurately answer this question but I was hoping for some general ideas. If I can find the right bike I want to take the plunge this off season (my street bike is not exactly the best option for the track).

Many thanks!

 

[zenpixel@yahoo.com]

your mileage may vary

I think it's more about maintenance than miles.
most bikes can go for a very long time if they're kept up properly.
I'd buy a bike w/many miles on it if it came from a person known to maintain his bikes.

conversely, a bike w/only a few thou could be ragged to death but spruced up for the sale only to reveal problems after you've
got it home.

that said,
I feel more confident buying a bike from this, STT or WERA forums than CL or ebay.
AND, you can often find something that's not only received attentive care, but may have plenty of goodies already
installed, i.e., TRACK READY.

at the outset, I'd decide if a title is necessary. if not, you can save some serious bucks, and i've found that reselling an untitled track-only bike is not that difficult.

GL.
get safety gear first.

 

[some guy #2]

Maintenance records are worth more than low miles.

 

[rk97]

I know people who have had 2nd gear go on their '06 636 with under 10,000 miles, and people who have F4's from 1999 with over 100,000 miles that serve track duty.

If the bike's in good mechanical condition, don't be too afraid of it. Even with "high" mileage, most of use aren't lucky enough to rack up that many track miles. 150 miles is a lot to get in on most track days.

 

[dlockhart5x]

rk97;225882 wrote: I know people who have had 2nd gear go on their '06 636 with under 10,000 miles, and people who have F4's from 1999 with over 100,000 miles that serve track duty.

If the bike's in good mechanical condition, don't be too afraid of it. Even with "high" mileage, most of use aren't lucky enough to rack up that many track miles. 150 miles is a lot to get in on most track days.

The 1-2 shift is what hammers most street ridden bikes. If you think about it it makes sense. All the stop and goes, plus you can wind out first and hit second, but after that most modern sport bikes are quickly heading into the "take me to jail zone" so the 2-3 is often easy.

 

[Gorecki]

I would fall in line with the last couple of posts. I think it's true to the old proverb Don't sweat the small stuff because what ever it is that will get you, you won't see coming!.

My old bike was advertised as 'track ready'. It wasn't. It had a relatively long track life but low miles (under 10K). The deeper I dug in, the more I would find. Fork seals and oil were original as well as plugs, air filter...list goes on and on. I just look at it as I do with dirt bikes, it's a high maintenance activity and there's a chance if you spend more time riding it than working on it, you're doing it wrong. Not absolute, but possible.

Some of the best advice I've had was to work on your own machines. Learn and understand them because when it all comes down, YOU are going to care more about what condition it's in than anyone else. So if you want to have the comfort and confidence you're front wheel axle isn't going to pop out at high speed, make sure it's torqued correctly.

 

[j_fuggin_t]

maintenance & care is more important than miles, these bikes will last IF you maintain them, if you ignore valve intervals, don't change the oil & just don't take care of it, it won't last.

for the record the 05/06 636 were notorious for 2nd gear going out, some had the problem & some didn't, more in the 05's than the 06 but it happened to both

 

[warregl]

Thanks guys. I can't argue with he value of quality maintenance. Now if I can just find one that I can tell has been taken care of .

And thanks for the tip on the 05/06 ZX6R, I'll have to keep an eye out for that as I'm looking at several in those year models.

Gorecki;225887 wrote: .... I just look at it as I do with dirt bikes, it's a high maintenance activity and there's a chance if you spend more time riding it than working on it, you're doing it wrong.

Great post G! Thanks for the laugh.

 

[barry38]

Depending on how much you're looking to spend, you should easily be able to find a 2-4 year old bike with less than 5k on the clock. I bought my last two R6's a year old with less than 800 miles on them, at really good prices.

For longevity, I don't think you can beat a Honda. My first track bike was an 03 600RR, and it was still running strong with 14k on it. And just look at Mike Miller's 900RR, I think it's a '96, and that beast has well over 30k on it!!!