Only if the exhaust system has been replaced

Andy

I'm not convinced of this Plenty of bikes do over the 100,000 mile mark, check out the mileage of some courier bikes. Also there is a guy on the Triumph Trophy Group, that has 225,000 miles on his Trophy, never had the head off


Trophymick

I guess it's true that most engines will do over 100 000 km and a lot of them will quite easily do 200 000 km.
But a bike isn't just engine, now is it?

And that's about the same story with Monique, her engine is still in marvelous shape, but I 'm getting a bit afraid about all the other costs.


And that is why I 'm hoping to find a bike where all those parts are equally unbreakable.

Might be an impossible mission I suppose...

Exactly. I also think there are many bikes, which (if properly taken care of, and maybe repaired just something minor along the way) would still have their engines run just fine after 100,200, or even 300 thousand kms.... they arent so far apart from car engines these days, and even if they rev higher, especially the 1000 and bigger powerplants have substantially less load to drag around.

But after that much riding, and many, many years of use, the wear will be everywhere. I think that is the real problem. For example: springs in the suspension will die, swingarm bearings (among others) will have developed just a little slack that wasnt there when new, rear hub shock absorbing rubbers have worn, brake discs surfaces have wear, and their thickess is close to renew limit, brake callipers need at least new seal sets, possibly brake pistons, too, the headlights have dimmed a lot, and many parts in the electric system are also starting to show their age, too. Etc, etc...

Even though none of them would be serious, or very expensive problems on their own, combined they will mean there´s always something to be done with the bike... and you´ll probably need good mechanical skills to be able to maintain it yourself, or be prepared to pay someone to do it for you.

A major overhaul of almost every component of the bike would probably cost so much it would make no sense (if one compares to the market prices of the same model), and still it wouldnt make it 100% new in every way.

Any bike can be everlasting as long as parts are still available for it and you have the ability to fix it .
I have several bikes over 30 years old.
There is no such thing as a bike that will not need parts from time to time as things WILL wear out .
A bike is a relatively simple machine and eveything can be fixed whilst parts are available and you have the time and cash to fix it .

If you truly want an everlasting bike ,I suggest that you build it yourself based upon a model that has proven longevity .Maybe look at the XT and XS Yamahas , Airhead beemers , Harley Davidsons [ !!!] or check out what the cops are using .However it will be a labour of love and not really worthwile unless you enjoy wrenching and have an affinity for your bike.

These days it might pay to just do what the motortrade want you to do and buy a new bike every 3 years .

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Blessed are the cracked, for they let in the light. - Spike Milligan
"When you come to a fork in the road ,take it ! When you come to a spoon in the road ,take that also ."

Almost any bike can last for ever. As has been said above; as long as you can still get bits for it.

Its like Trigger's broom in Only Fools & Horses.

I was on ADV and you can few report of R1150GS or R100GS with over 300000 miles, I don't how many repair they did but its still incredible on one bike

Why not the r80 g/s?

.......................

Yes, it was to be expected that there wouldn't be a simple answer.
I guess there 's always some luck involved, but I do believe that most candidates are listed in this thread

- R 1100 GS
- K75
- Transalp
- XT 600

allthough I'm starting to wonder whether some smaller sized thumpers might be distance absorbers...

Does it mean that a Hpn modified bike will never have a problem or not will fall down? driveshaft for instance?

I really wonder that.

Sami

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"where the traveller goes, nobody knows ! "

Everlasting is a relative term, everything can break.

Guess you refer to the standard paralever driveshafts? Mine broke after more then 150 kkm.
Most HPNs are based on other swing-arm solutions then the standard airheads, they will probably not last forever but I expect the lifespan to be 10-20 times the life of a chain/ sprockets. My plan is to open mine and inspect it after 50kkm.

I guess you know that you can get serviceable driveshafts for the standard GS?

Obviously, but then again you can change the chain/sprocket in 30 minutes every 15000 km's (more or less), even carry a set with you to change in case it wears out somewhere in Ulan Bataar thus being independent of DHL in that respect, have a set of sprockets made in the middle of nowhere in Russia en route to Vladivostok etcetera and so forth. Chain and sprockets are more available than any drive shaft, so given that "everlasting" is a relative term and that everything can break, I'd go for a chain driven bike if I'd go for a really long trip through more or less desolate places - the exeption being Guzzis, of course.

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HansP
All you wanted to know
about riding in Norway

I have not met anyone carrying a spare shaft, but I have met people carrying 2 u-joints for the shaft. I would estimate that a set with u-joints is 200 gram. If you like to carry parts, the weight is as follows.


R80/R100GS shaft 1.990 kg
R80G/S shaft 1.104 kg
R1100 shaft 2.376 kh
F650GS (2*Sprocket +chain) 0.220 kg + 0.978 kg + 1.710kg=2.908kg

I don’t know how the weight of the HPN-shaft, I will guess 2.3 kgs.
The R80G/S-shaft will last almost forever.

You will have problems finding chains and sprockets in most of Africa, Asia and South America. Same goes for shafts.

If you change a set with chain and sprockets in 30 mins you work pretty fast. I have 2 bikes with chains and I always use more then 30 minutes. I also need tools hat I don’t carry on the bike. To change a paralever-shaft I will need 2 hours, all the tools are in my toolset.

When I was in Kenya a guy fabricated a front-sprocket. It looked okay, but a few weeks later I met him in Ethiopia. The sprocket had killed his chain and he had used a week to get the bike to Addis Abeba where he waited for parts.
I’m sure you can find similar examples where shafts have broken.

But everything that moves can fail, shafts just lasts a lot longer. It’s not “everlasting” but it outlasts a chain.

Really? I thought those countries in particular had a lot of chained bikes, being where most 2 wheelers are used thus having access to at least some sort of chain/sprocket? With regard to your friend: Home-made sprockets are for emergency. The Mondo Enduro guys had one made far East in Russia, and it worked pretty well IIRC. In any case, if a set of chain/sprocket gets you say 15 000 kms and you change to your spare set en route giving you a range of 30 000 kms I'd say you have plenty of options. Plus your old not-so-worn set may be kept as back-up. My point was that if the final drive fails you're probably - but not always - in deeper shit than if you have worn out your chain/sprocket. But by all accounts, I know that the Guzzi shafts too are up to serious km's given a spare u-joint of two. Besides, if you look at it costwise vs total riding lenght I'm sure you're in the same ballpark with chain/sprocket compared to shafts

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HansP
All you wanted to know
about riding in Norway