Hello everyone,

Being new to Harley's and motorcycles in general, I have a simple question that I am sure you all will have an answer to .

How long do motorcycles, particulary a HD Road King Custom, last? You hear about cars and trucks going 200,000 + miles without any major repairs, do motorcycles last like that?

I drive around 30,000 miles per year for work, and I am hoping to put about 2/3 of that on my bike. So, after 3 years and 50,000 + miles, will my bike still be going strong, or will I have a used up ride with 2 more years left to pay on it?

Thanks for your replies.
Mike.

 

i dont know the answer to your question besides i know people that still ride harleys from the 80's and 90's. welcome to the harley forums!

 

You cant compare a liquid cooled car or truck to a air cooled motorcycle when it comes to how long of a useful life you will get out of the engine. The inconsistency of operating temps is hard on the HD's engine....but if the bike gets its correct amount of maintenance, and when you do hear/feel/smell/see something out of place, you have it taken care of ASAP or sooner, I see no reason you cant get well over 50K miles before you need to have any top end work done. As for the bottom end.....well if you dont beat on it, and keep the bike mostly stock, there is no telling how long it could last.
Naturally this is just my opinion.....I am quite sure other people will have their say.

 

Alot of it depends on how well you maintain the bike.

 

Just keep up with it,pay attention with whats goin on here on the forum.I,ve learned a lot here just payin attention,if its weak someone here will break it,and everyone helps fix it.Some ace mechs here.No reason it wont go as far as you wish,a few here ride farther per yr than that.

 

not meant to be a cop out answer but, how well you maintain your ride and your driving habits will affect the life of your machine. After your break-in period period (1000-1500 miles) I would put in a good synthetic oil in the engine and tranny, asking what kind will open a can of worms, do some self study. welcome to the fold and ride safe.

 

If you change the oil regularly and take care to do a decent job of the preventive maintains there is no reason you shouldn't get well over 100,000 miles with no problems.

 

My '75 FLH has 143000 on it, BUT.... This is with 3 top ends, 1 bottom, and the usual chains, sprockets etc. And 1 re-bore.

 

Ridin my 84 EVO which has just over the 50M mark. Original engine, 1 new clutch. heads have never been off. Gets religous regular service. Runs like a timex watch. Knock on wood, she's never let me down....................

 

I plan on giving my bike the best possible maintenance, and hoping it lasts a long time. I was just curious, because I do not recall reading to much about bike with over 20 or 30K miles on them, which made me wonder if they were even made to last that long.