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How Realistic Are Airhead Mileage Postings

srq.fl

New member
As a newbie it never dawned on me that odometers on airheads only go to 5 digits. It came to my attention when a poster quoted mileage of111,000 and included a pic that showed 11,000 miles. I assume the odometer simply rolls over to zero after 100,000 miles?

It that's true, how realistic is it that the airheads often see for sale report low figures. Couldn't these actually be bikes with over 100,000 miles that have simply rolled over?

Any other way to trust mileage history?

Thanks

Randy in Florida
 
The liars dilemma: A guy walks into the room you are sitting in and says 'everything I say is a lie' and leaves. A few minutes latter he comes into the room and says, 'what I just told you is a lie'. What do you believe?

While many (myself included) are not above a tall tale or two the reports of 100K or many more miles on an airhead around here are more likely to be well documented and true than not.
 
The liars dilemma: A guy walks into the room you are sitting in and says 'everything I say is a lie' and leaves. A few minutes latter he comes into the room and says, 'what I just told you is a lie'. What do you believe?

While many (myself included) are not above a tall tale or two the reports of 100K or many more miles on an airhead around here are more likely to be well documented and true than not.

I knew in asking the question that responses were likely to be enjoyable and yours was Mika.

Seriously, tho, what I hear you seriously saying is that documentation is the key. Low mileage without documentation should be as much a concern as high mileage without documentation?
 
Lately I've been seeing comments about bikes for sale with broken speedos but for how long they don't know. One has to look at other things to get a better sense of true miles. Like the footpeg rubbers as well as the condition of the rear foot brake lever pad. If the pad has severely worn "points", that would mean lots of miles...or could be lots of stop-n-go driving. My 100K /7 has a fairly pristine foot lever but then most of my miles are touring where the rear brake is not used but once in a while.
 
Dear Diogenes

If you are looking at a bike to buy you have three possible liars: the seller, the documentation and the bike. Each tells a story by what is said/there and what is not. If you are trying to buy a bike rationally all three should tell a story that reasonably supports each other.

High miles v low miles is another question all together. For my money I am less concerned with a bike that has high miles but shows care, has reasonable documentation and the seller can reasonably explain any questions the other two don't answer, than a bike with low miles. My concern with the low mileage bike is how long was it stored for any one time and was it properly put up during those times. The damage from poor storage may be hidden internally.

All mileage is not equal even if the numbers are.

Years ago there was an article in one of the motorcycle rags that asked 'who is the safer rider?'. It posed a hypothetical of two Gold Wing riders who average 10K miles per year. One did the bulk of their miles in a two week vacation with very few rides in the rest of the year. The second rider did 10K but the rides were spread out over the year.

Looking at a bike the question is the same; when and how were they put on and what are the possible implications of that?

Good luck.
 
Reminds me of a sign my father had on his fishing boat years ago. "All fishermen are liars except you and me, and I'm not so sure about you."
 
I sold a '77 R100S a year ago that had approximately 128K on it. It had a 100,000 sticker under the odometer, similar to what Daryl has. It had over a 100K on it when I bought it, and came with documentation of many repairs, engine and body redos over the years. It's kind of fun to sort through the history. It was a great motorcycle.

My '77 R100RS came with the aforementioned broken odometer. Based on what the previous owner told me, I took a shot at the mileage when I repaired the speedo/tripmeter. I'm guessing it's probably within a few thousand miles, but frankly, I have no way of knowing for sure. Right now, it shows around 66K. At this point in its life, I do know how it runs and it's current state as far as mainentance is concerned. That's really all that matters.
 
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