Hey I'm new to the forum and looking to get my first bike also.

The one I'm looking at it an 04 1200 custom and its got 20,000 miles on it. He was the first and only owner and took a few long trips. Just wondering if thats a ton of miles or if its about right for a person who knows how to ride these machines.. any info would be great.

 

Depends on the price I guess. Mine is an 06 and I've put over 26,000 miles on it without a single problem. If the bike was maintained with regular fluid changes and maintenance and is priced well you should not be afraid. That said there are lots of lower mileage bikes out there just depends on the price.

Welcome to HDF.

 

Good question. 20k miles without an oil change is a lot. I suppose that he maintained it well. Ask for any supporting documentation like reciepts for service. Do you trust him to tell you the truth about how often he chaned the oil and did preventive maintenance.

20k miles is not a lot on any motorcycle unless he rode road it hard and abused it. Usually an abused bike will show as scratches and dents and obviously been dropped a few times. Looks like it's never been cleaned and the tires and brakes are worn out. They usually look pretty rough. Mine just turned over 20,000 miles and runs like new. I'd ride it across the country tomorrow without a worry.

You mention that its 5 years old and only 20k miles. That's only 4 k per year average. That's probably about normal bordering on not ridden very much at all.

If you still can't make up your mind on the condition of the bike. Look at his other stuff. Are there cars up on blocks in the yard. Does it need mowing. General condition of the rest of his "world" can tell you a lot about how some people treat EVERYTHING! Now I will probably be flamed for that last comment and sure there are people that neglect everything but their bike. Point is if you don't feel comfortable around him, gut feelings are usually right, then walk away. There are plenty of other bikes for sale.

 

Get the bike you can afford. Lots of bikes for sale out there.

 

got 30k+ on my 04 and shes still kickin strong. like others have said, depends on the price. also, the 04's got new and "improved" valve seals from HD that they ended up haveing a recal on, ask him if his bike was one and if you got it fixed, or if it burns oil, an 04 shouldn't burn too much oil. also to repeat from above about the average miles a year, that sounds good to me, meaning it sounds like (if yr in a area with winters) the guy did some riddin in the summer and stored it up for the winter, typical and good to do.

i have seen some 04's on ebay with around 7-8k on them for 5500 bucks, not to bad, can probley find an even better deal than that

 

He wants $6,250 and its actually it pretty kick *** bike. He said he took it to the dealer to have it serviced. its got new tires all kinda of aftermarket stuff.. take a look.

 

I agree that is one kick *** bike! I like it!

 

That's not particularly high milage. ( that I know )
Price ( I'll let others comment on that...I don't know)
That's a great lookin' bike! ( That's a fact)

all the best with this

 

I'm not up on the latest used prices but in my area that seems about average for 04+ bikes but in most cases those are also bike with less miles. Maybe offer him $5500-5800. Its a good looking bike for sure but the only thing extra really is the nice paint work all the other stuff is bolt on doo dads which are worth little on resale bikes) and its essentially stock. If you like it then buy it as newer bikes and EFI models with low miles are still going to be closer to the 8k figure I would imagine. Looks to be well maintained and if dealer serviced then should be no worries.

 

here's the deal.... if that bike is worth that amount of $$ to you, than it is absolutly worth it.

like jdvorchok said, get the service records, if he had them done at a dealership then the dealership should have all the service in there records, he doesn't even need to dig them up himself.

also, are the flames pin striped above or below the clear coat? there is a big difference in a custom flame paint job and takin it to a local bike night and just havin a pinstriper paint over the clear, it will eventually come off.

ya might wanna try to talk him down a couple hundred (2-3) but be polite, people take selling their bikes very personaly, its not like selling a car. i don't think the price is unreasonable if thats a real paint job and with all the chrome.

don't forget to ask about the valve seals!!!!!!

and to repeat what everyone has said, that bike is deffinetly bad ***