When is old, too old?

As the topic says, I'm starting to wonder when old is too old.

I have an 06 Bandit with 106,000km on it now.

I bought it a couple of years ago at 82,000km for a decent price... I couldn't afford newer anyway, and I've since put the remaining 24,000km on it.

I've replaced battery, tyres, chain and sprockets, oil, filters etc etc as usual, as well as the headlight bulbs.

Only mechanical problems have been the clutch lever piston wearing out, that recent oil leak turned busted cam cap and well that's been it.

However I'm starting to wonder if more things will break soon. Major concern is the suspension being old and saggy. 

In about 2-3000km I'm probably due to replace the tyres.

So... my question is..... should I sell it on (for not much, yeah I know!) and stop spending money on it now; or keep it and do something about the suspension?

Thoughts?

Thanks

Depends on your budget I suppose ,the motor will last if it has been serviced regularly ,& the suspension won't cost you an arm and a leg if you want to keep the bike for a while ..................but damn , a new bike is always a nice feeling .

That awful question Stu. Some of it depends on your personal circumstances obviously, ie ability to declare it worthless and trade it in as such.  You'll get FA for it as a trade in and probably not much for it as a private sale as people will see it as having "too many kms", which bandit owners know is just rubbish. I'd expect the engine to last for many more 10's of k's before needing any more attention, but then, I'm not personally familiar with the bike.  My 2010 injected has 73,300 on it and I'm not expecting to have to get concerned with it for many more k's to come, having replaced the (dodgy) fuel pump 30,000kms ago. My thinking is that it is worth nothing and that I'd be grateful to get what I could.  But I don't plan to sell it because I have faith in its simplicity, forever young, and low servicing costs.  You (and I) could spend more $$$ than you'd get for your bike by paying the servicing costs for a more exotic replacement.

Not sure if that helped but it is my thoughts.

Although with a much newer bike i was faced with a similar internal question almost a year ago. 

I decided to trade in and up mainly because the B1250 wasn't giving me the thrill it once did and was starting  (had started) to show its cheap build traits in just about every area except for engine internals. 

So my advice is to ask yourself if the bike itself is still doing it for you? If it is you have the answer and it doesn't matter how much you spend on it to keep it going.

How old is to old............

I think that's a matter of interpretation!

Are you sick of the bike?
Does it still do what you want it to do?

I rebuilt mine at 170 000km`s, but it didn`t need doing. I pulled it apart to experiment and play with.
When it was pulled apart, and inspected, the -"bore", "valves", "cams", "lifters", and all "bearing" surfaces, were hardly worn, and was expected to get another 80 000km`s easily. I changed the oil every 3000km`s from knew, and I consider that to play a big part in lack of wear on vital surfaces, and constantly cleaning the air filter.

5th gear did start to get a bit of a whine.  I`m still running the original clutch after the rebuild, as it showed hardly any wear as well. I only put an extra diaphragm spring in it, to give a bit more bite. The bike in total now has 185 000km`s on it, and everything runs like it should.

I did change the wheel bearings at 120 000km`s, not because they needed doing, just because.
I regrease the headset and swing arm bearings every year.
Bleed the brakes and clutch every year.
Suspension on every bike should be over hauled every 30-40 000km`s, but not too many people do that.

So "IF" it has been "WELL" maintained from new, there is no reason that it wont go on for a long time yet.

I have always been very anal with maintenance on everything I have ever owned, car and bike.

My 1250 has the same history as the 1200's - 115,000k.  Valve adjustment (one step only) on three valves at 100k with very minor wear on internals evident.

I changed the steering head bearing at 50,000k but only cos it was dodgy from new, all other bearings are showing no signs of play/tightness yet.

As has been said, despite being often ignored, suspension is a serviceable item. The oil sacks out exactly the same as engine oil sacks out. Forks oil is easily changed so I do it at 24000. Because the rear has to serviced by a suspension service (to regas it after oil change) then 48,000 seems acceptable.

These things are as bullet proof as they come.

Thanks for the replies and the ideas....

Reckon in the short term I'll have someone look at the suspension and see about servicing / slightly upgrading it. Hope that improves the handling enough for now.

Longer term, sad to say I <need> more horsepower..... when I bought it, it felt quick... then I added that Dale Walker stage 2 mods, and that made a HUGE difference.. now it feels slow again.... 


(I do like to travel long distance once in a while... what to replace / supplement it with... looked at GTR1400 but looks a bit upright; Ninja 1000?)

stu wrote:Thanks for the replies and the ideas....

Reckon in the short term I'll have someone look at the suspension and see about servicing / slightly upgrading it. Hope that improves the handling enough for now.

Longer term, sad to say I <need> more horsepower..... when I bought it, it felt quick... then I added that Dale Walker stage 2 mods, and that made a HUGE difference.. now it feels slow again.... 


(I do like to travel long distance once in a while... what to replace / supplement it with... looked at GTR1400 but looks a bit upright; Ninja 1000?)

Some suspension mods will go a long way, especially at the front.

The horsepower thing is easy, and difficult, to address.  The GTR1400 is not so much of a sports tourer as a full blown tourer.  It's quite heavy and has a detuned ZX14 motor. It's probably fantastic if you want to circumnavigate the continent though. The FJR1300 and the Goldwing will also do.

There are a lot of bikes putting out high HP (and torque) figures these days, with electronic packages to make them rideable for the average jock. All of the 1000cc sports bikes put out so much HP that the grin will only disappear from your face when your body says "this thing was comfortable when I got on but now I'm hurting like hell"!  Hence the whole range of detuned sports bikes, with various amounts of fairing, eg FZ1, Z1000, GSXR-S1000.  BMW has one as well.  Also questionable whether they are good for 500+ kms days. I'm suspecting not, so then the manufacturers decided on things like the Ninja1000 (not just a Z1000 with a fairing), and the new GSX-S1000F.  This class is relatively light and still with lots of power. They might be a good compromise if the body can fit on them (I sat on a Ninja1000 and thought I'd probably find it uncomfortable on a long day's ride - I'm 6' 2" tall).  But it would be worth a test ride. It was upgraded in 2014 and has better mid-range torque as a result of a raft of engine enhancements and remote preload on the rear shock.

Of course, Honda makes the VFR1200, and 2WA will tell that it is a ripper (more modern suspension and the whole package means better handling than a Bandit for sure), with integrated pannier system that unclips without leaving an ugly rack system.  Shaft drive too. Not everyone's cup of tea in the looks department.  If it hasn't got the horses you're after, try the ZX14 or the Busa, both up in the 200hp category. The ZX14 has been updated more recently than the Busa and so has more modern electronic aids and adjustments.  It will rip your arms from the shoulders if wound on hard!

Then there are the BMW R1200GS and K1300 series.  Even go the 1600.  But all of these place heavy demands on your wallet, as will more exotic European stuff.

God knows what I've forgotten to mention!

Confused?   Well don't insert the adventure-tourers into the mix or you certainly will be.

Ewok1958 wrote:

stu wrote:Thanks for the replies and the ideas....

Reckon in the short term I'll have someone look at the suspension and see about servicing / slightly upgrading it. Hope that improves the handling enough for now.

Longer term, sad to say I <need> more horsepower..... when I bought it, it felt quick... then I added that Dale Walker stage 2 mods, and that made a HUGE difference.. now it feels slow again.... 


(I do like to travel long distance once in a while... what to replace / supplement it with... looked at GTR1400 but looks a bit upright; Ninja 1000?)

Some suspension mods will go a long way, especially at the front.

The horsepower thing is easy, and difficult, to address.  The GTR1400 is not so much of a sports tourer as a full blown tourer.  It's quite heavy and has a detuned ZX14 motor. It's probably fantastic if you want to circumnavigate the continent though. The FJR1300 and the Goldwing will also do.

There are a lot of bikes putting out high HP (and torque) figures these days, with electronic packages to make them rideable for the average jock. All of the 1000cc sports bikes put out so much HP that the grin will only disappear from your face when your body says "this thing was comfortable when I got on but now I'm hurting like hell"!  Hence the whole range of detuned sports bikes, with various amounts of fairing, eg FZ1, Z1000, GSXR-S1000.  BMW has one as well.  Also questionable whether they are good for 500+ kms days. I'm suspecting not, so then the manufacturers decided on things like the Ninja1000 (not just a Z1000 with a fairing), and the new GSX-S1000F.  This class is relatively light and still with lots of power. They might be a good compromise if the body can fit on them (I sat on a Ninja1000 and thought I'd probably find it uncomfortable on a long day's ride - I'm 6' 2" tall).  But it would be worth a test ride. It was upgraded in 2014 and has better mid-range torque as a result of a raft of engine enhancements and remote preload on the rear shock.

Of course, Honda makes the VFR1200, and 2WA will tell that it is a ripper (more modern suspension and the whole package means better handling than a Bandit for sure), with integrated pannier system that unclips without leaving an ugly rack system.  Shaft drive too. Not everyone's cup of tea in the looks department.  If it hasn't got the horses you're after, try the ZX14 or the Busa, both up in the 200hp category. The ZX14 has been updated more recently than the Busa and so has more modern electronic aids and adjustments.  It will rip your arms from the shoulders if wound on hard!

Then there are the BMW R1200GS and K1300 series.  Even go the 1600.  But all of these place heavy demands on your wallet, as will more exotic European stuff.

God knows what I've forgotten to mention!

Confused?   Well don't insert the adventure-tourers into the mix or you certainly will be.

Thanks for that. Quite a list!! (I've got a budget adventure bike already....)

I narrowed it down to the Ninja 1000... looked like a great bike for my needs, but I've decided to hold onto the cash for another year or two....

So I decided to get work done on the suspension instead.... valves, springs etc.... Just the front to start and see how we go with. Suspension dude reckons it will make it feel like a new bike....

And I KNOW it goes fast and holds loads, so a win all around. I've done 25,000km myself on this bike... reckon another 20,000 wouldn't hurt before I consider an upgrade.... (Besides it's resale value isn't worth it)

As a general philosophical, but also practical consideration, Stu, do it NOW or ditch the bike.  Do your self a favour and just do one thing or the other 

Too many of us wait until a bike's suspension is getting really tatty, live with all manner of dodginess and as a result, do not enjoy the bike, get the best out of it for any length of time remaining in the ownership period, or realise anything like what it might be worth if we sell it. 

At any rate, almost any of us that have forestalled the improvement because "its just not worth it" on a bike which is basically sound, then kept the bike for another couple of years is not doing themselves any favours.  It's much better to sort it, and appreciate the improvement that has been made, after all you've paid for it.  

If you are going to sell it, and it sounds like you are ready to move on real soon, I doubt I'd bother.  Too much like spending money that you will not be obtaining any benefit from.

jstava wrote:As a general philosophical, but also practical consideration, Stu, do it NOW or ditch the bike.  Do your self a favour and just do one thing or the other 

Too many of us wait until a bike's suspension is getting really tatty, live with all manner of dodginess and as a result, do not enjoy the bike, get the best out of it for any length of time remaining in the ownership period, or realise anything like what it might be worth if we sell it. 

At any rate, almost any of us that have forestalled the improvement because "its just not worth it" on a bike which is basically sound, then kept the bike for another couple of years is not doing themselves any favours.  It's much better to sort it, and appreciate the improvement that has been made, after all you've paid for it.  

If you are going to sell it, and it sounds like you are ready to move on real soon, I doubt I'd bother.  Too much like spending money that you will not be obtaining any benefit from.

Yep... completely agree.... so I've booked it in for suspension work next week
Suspension guy reckons it'll make it "feel like a new bike".

Probably hasn't been done before, or for a long time at the very least.

Got new tyres on the weekend. 

It is still license-losingly fast enough for me when overtaking.......