Miasma

Long story short, I really miss riding but don't want to spend a lot on a bike which limits my options (trying to keep it under $3,000). I don't mind getting something older with high miles since that's essentially going to be all that I can afford with the budget I have in mind. My question is should I even consider something 10 or so years old with a lot of miles? Is it still going to be reliable enough for me to enjoy? It will be a nice weather/weekend toy so if there is ever downtime then I'm not going to miss work/school, but I also don't want it to turn into a money pit. I'm mainly looking for a 600 either Suzuki/Honda/Kawasaki/Yamaha. Are there any specific years or models that do or don't age well? I found one that I might check out when I hear back from the seller, but I also like to hear a second opinion.

This is the bike I mentioned: http://tampa.craigslist.org/psc/mcy/4822618291.html I know it's nearly 12 years old with 38k miles but it still seems really cheap to me.

Conedodger

If it was well cared for, I wouldn't worry about mileage. My '04 Interceptor has more than 30K miles on it and I feel like it is barely broken in. I daily commute with it during the summer, and would not think twice about riding long distance. The problem with a 600 sports bike is determining if it has been abused or not.

Saki GT

There are plenty of good used bikes with almost no miles on them - I think you should easily be able to find a bike with a few thousand miles on it that's in your budget.

Bikes are simple machines, you just need to make sure you get a solid engine and frame. My fist bike was a 20 year old $1,200 Honda Magna with 22k mi on it - it ran like a top while I had it. Second bike was a 3 year old Honda 919 I bought for $4k with 3k mi on it, and also ran perfectly until I sold it.

shift957

if the owner maintained the bike regularly, i wouldn't sweat age or mileage too much. i know a guy who has over 60k miles on a ninja 250 and still loves it. i sold an 03 r6 with 28k miles on it and it was in great shape, and those miles were track and hard riding. better to get something ridden and maintained regularly than an older bike that sat for a really long time unattended. my current track bike is a 04 r6 with 10k on it, 6k have all been high rpm track miles. i dog the crap out of it and it still runs like a champ.

tominboise

YOu should be able to find a Suzuki SV650 for your budget. They are stone ax reliable and a hoot to ride. Lots of power. Naked and sport versions available. I still regret selling my 06.

vader1

This. There are always cheap used bikes to be had if you lay in the weeds and pounce on a good deal. Lots of people buy a new bike and hardly ride it for ten years and get rid of it. High miles bikes are OK but only if you get it for a steal.

But still, yes a good well maintained bike can go a long way. My friend is the original owner of a Harley VRod with 68,000 of pretty trouble free miles on it, and I don't think Harley is known for rock solid reliability like some of the Japanese brands. It helps to be familiar with how to maintain carbs on an older bike though. That is the most fickle part.

s2000Junky

Yeah I was just thinking the same thing. Suzuki SV650.

Japanese twin like the SV is going to probably be your best bet for your budget on a bike that hasn't been abused and a engine platform that needs the least maintenance to run right and live long aside from a single. That's not to say that the inline 4 600cc couldn't be, but I think its more risky. You will have to rely more on your sense and general knowledge of what to look for. People that generally own 600cc run them hard, and you kind of have to, to get anything out of them. So a lot of very high rpm miles. Regular valve checks/adjust. Also there is 4 cylinders instead of two so cost of repair goes up when something goes wrong, and for maint a fairing that has to be removed to access plugs and everything else is cumbersome, so if owner is lazy the bikes can be easily neglected vs a naked twin etc.

ISADE

My 1992 VFR750 had 56k miles on it when I sold it, still going strong

s2000Junky

V4 FTW