Mileage vs age
 

Good evening, this is my first post in a while after having been without a motorcycle for far too long.

I am looking to spend around £3000 on my next bike; I will be doing longer journeys as well as a daily commute from London SW to the City. I have narrowed it down to these two options:

Suzuki V-strom 650 ABS 2013, with approx. 50,000 miles done
Honda Transalp XL700VA ABS 2008,, with approx. 15,000 miles done

I like these bikes equally. They are similarly set up and both have full service histories.

So the choice is between a newish 2 years old "high mileage" bike, or a 7 years old lower mileage bike. I do need to take into consideration the general perception of buyers when it comes to age and mileage, as I may need to sell this bike on within 2 years, pending a likely move to Australia.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

I'm a fan of the Vstrom, but I know it's not much appreciated in the UK .. faulted mainly because of "looks". :rofl:
But, IMHO the Wee is the better bike in many ways.

If you have not ridden both motorcycles ... I would do this FIRST!
in the end, your opinion is the ONLY one that really matters. :thumbup1:

Maybe better to wait it out, try to find a LOW-er mileage Vstrom and stretch your budget a bit?

I know dealers in UK are stand offish about buying "high mileage" bikes ... I went to 6 BIG dealers in the London and Oxford areas, NONE would even consider my mint condition 3 year old Triumph Tiger with 30K miles showing. None would even make an offer!

I ended up doing a private sale and did not get much for the bike.

Me thinks folk are seriously into winding back Odometers in the UK! :oops2: Over and over, I saw really Crap bikes showing ridiculously LOW miles on them. I was born at night ... but not LAST night! doh That practice is highly illegal in USA and we keep track of it!

If you must sell your bike on in two years then I'd start advertising it well ahead of departure ... or consign it to an honest dealer (:innocent:) and collect your money once it sells.

Good luck! You really can't go too wrong with either bike. Both solid, reliable and comfortable machines.

It depends very much on how somebody used the bike in question. You can kill the bike after 15k miles and on the other hand bike after 50k miles doing just daily, easy commute will be almost like new.

How about a 650 Transalp.

Low mileage and great condition. With lots of touring goodies and luggage.

Maybe for sale in the Wirral area.

Sub £2000.

I'd get the transalp as long as the mileage can be verified.
50k miles is a lot for any bike, even the bullet-proof ones....
In N America, they often sit on highways for 800 miles a day; in the UK, the miles are much harder....this is like a 100,000 mile bike in the US.

Mollydog - I do love the v-strom and rode the older model from Melbourne to Brisbane and back; what a great bike. Yes. there is a bit of a stigma about anything above 30K mileage I think among dealersl

Very true!

I'd be interested if it had ABS. I consider myself a beginner rider and find ABS reassuring.

Good point.

I think as it stands now I am considering spending a bit more on a bike, getting a newer and low mileage model; the thought being that I will take approximately the same hit (loss) when selling it on, regardless of it having cost £5000 or £2500.

You are right to want ABS IMHO.
You'll take more of a hit on an expensive bike as they are usually trashed after a big trip.....again IMHO & experience.
Dealers don't like bikes with over 30k miles for a reason - customers don't want to buy them - again, for a reason....

It's not that chalk and cheese. I've had loads of what people would call high milage bikes. 60,70, 80,000 miles. All much better than some really low mileage bikes I've had.. It's all about how its been looked after and serviced. The lottery with older, high mileage bikes is that they've had more time to be neglected.

Agreed, but at that kind of mileage even on the most 'reliable' bikes some internal components are gonna be pretty much done; camchains spring to mind, rings, seals, valve guides; none of it very cheap (well, maybe the brake seals).....

If you looking for resale value then bmw 650 abs very reliable bit boring,
Have you looked at the 660 tenere good resale, built for roads and trails loads of bolt on bits for touring there's ones on eBay 2010 £2900 only 11000miles,

I would class top end components of most bikes as a service Item.. And minor engine rebuilds as just prudent maintenance.