Average yearly miles for motorcyclists

[the Ferret]

according to Kelly Blue Book

What is the average yearly mileage for a motorcycle?

Obviously mileage will vary from year to year and model to model. A simple guide could be to consider the type of bike you are looking at: If the bike is a sportbike 600 c.c. to 999 c.c., and since these bikes are traditionally weekend only bikes, you can expect to see lower miles, about 3,000 miles per year. Tourers or Sport Tourers usually see a lot of miles, but these are generally freeway miles, between 5,000 to 6,000 miles per year.

this site claims just over 1900 miles on average

http://www.ridetowork.org/files/docs/Trans_Facts.html

 

[LiveToRide_imp]

When I lived in San Diego I put 10 to 12k a year on my bikes. Now that I'm in northern California its about half that.

 

[the Ferret]

The guy that lives across the street from me bought a new bike in either 06 or 08, can't remember which, but I think it was 06. Ran into him the other day on my way out for a ride. He asked how many miles were on the bike now, and I said 17,000 and something. He says I don't know how you do it, mine just turned over 1671 miles. ONE THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED SEVENTY ONE. My dealer bought a bike from a customer he sold the bike to 4 years previous and it had 40 miles on it..FORTY!

I just find things like that incredible.

 

[EGAlvarez_imp]

People buy bikes for many reasons. Some to relive their youth, or they want that "bad boy" image a new Harley offers, others the mystique of being that lone rider on the country road or wanting to be part a group. Unfortunately, much of the thrill bikes offer can quickly wane if the buyer was not really into the bike, but more into the reasons I listed.
My next door neighbor has a Vulcan cruiser that is about 3 years old. He uses it to ride to work a handful of days per year and to ride to Hooters or Buffalo Wild Wings to watch football games. I've never, not once, have seen him go on a on day, weekend or week long road trip. I think his bike has around 1600 miles on it now.
You should have seen his face back in June when I told him that I had just returned from a 9 day 3,484 mile trip to Nova Scotia; he thought I was nuts!

 

[ChipBeck_imp]

Gentlemen,

I bought my H-D Road King brand new in 1998. So it's now 17 years old and it has 9200 miles on it (541 miles a year). My Yamaha TW200 bought new in 2010, now 5 years old and it has 867 miles on it (a whopping 173 miles a year). My CB1100 is now 2 1/2 years old with 4200 miles (1680 miles per year). This does not reflect how much I enjoy my bikes however as I like working on/modifying them as much as riding. Cheers.

Chip

 

[Ghost_diver_imp]

I put 10000 km on my CB during its first year. To that I added some 8000 km to my little pcx125 over the same time frame. Usually the CB only comes out on the weekends while the pcx is my daily commuter...

 

[EGAlvarez_imp]

Gentlemen,

I bought my H-D Road King brand new in 1998. So it's now 17 years old and it has 9200 miles on it (541 miles a year). My Yamaha TW200 bought new in 2010, now 5 years old and it has 867 miles on it (a whopping 173 miles a year). My CB1100 is now 2 1/2 years old with 4200 miles (1680 miles per year). This does not reflect how much I enjoy my bikes however as I like working on/modifying them as much as riding. Cheers.

Chip

Agreed, sometimes going out to the garage to do simple maintenance, reorganize a bit or even just dust and polish the bikes with a cold Sam Adams in one hand is a pleasurable and relaxing as a 50 mile ride.

 

[LARIDER_imp]

When I lived in San Diego I put 10 to 12k a year on my bikes. Now that I'm in northern California its about half that.

I do around the same in SoCal.
Definitely over 10K per year. Probably closer to 12K. I've put almost 5000 on the CB since mid-July. And that's at least 90% city miles for me.

 

[flynrider]

I average 6K miles per year on the CB11 and about 5K miles per year on the CB750. These days my truck is lucky to go 3K per year.

I know a lot of people that own motorcycles that hardly ever ride them. Actually, I'd say the majority of them ride less than 1,000 mile per year. Folks like that tend to bring the overall average down.

Back in my more industrious days, some friends and I used to restore garage queens. It wasn't unusual to find 20+ yr. old bikes with just a few thousand miles on the clock.

 

[kmoney_imp]

I do 12-15kms a year on my bike. Almost entirely pleasure riding with an average of around 700kms per trip. I find it's easier to put big miles on the bike because it's actually fun to just ride to nowhere, something I'd never really do in my car. Getting ~54 MPG also always puts a huge smile on my face, as compared to my car (10 mpg city, 12 highway) it feels almost like it's free.

I never get the guys who put no miles on their bikes. I always talk to guys with Ducatis (not meaning to stereotype at all, it just stands out), or see them for sale, with like 3500kms on a 4 year old bike -- never understood that.

 

[flynrider]

I do 12-15kms a year on my bike. Almost entirely pleasure riding with an average of around 700kms per trip. I find it's easier to put big miles on the bike because it's actually fun to just ride to nowhere, something I'd never really do in my car. Getting ~54 MPG also always puts a huge smile on my face, as compared to my car (10 mpg city, 12 highway) it feels almost like it's free.

I never get the guys who put no miles on their bikes. I always talk to guys with Ducatis (not meaning to stereotype at all, it just stands out), or see them for sale, with like 3500kms on a 4 year old bike -- never understood that.

Ouch! You must be driving a big car.

 

[kmoney_imp]

I do 12-15kms a year on my bike. Almost entirely pleasure riding with an average of around 700kms per trip. I find it's easier to put big miles on the bike because it's actually fun to just ride to nowhere, something I'd never really do in my car. Getting ~54 MPG also always puts a huge smile on my face, as compared to my car (10 mpg city, 12 highway) it feels almost like it's free.

I never get the guys who put no miles on their bikes. I always talk to guys with Ducatis (not meaning to stereotype at all, it just stands out), or see them for sale, with like 3500kms on a 4 year old bike -- never understood that.

Ouch! You must be driving a big car.

Ouch! You must be driving a big car.


Lol. It's actually an SUV, an LX570. I think it's official rating is 14 combined, but it never comes close to that. Full-time 4wd, deep gearing, and the always thirsty Toyota 5.7.

 

[rboe]

Never looked it up. Per year. When I lived in Minnesota and had a POS Pinto wagon, doing 12-15 thousand miles a year was duck soup. Now, with a wife, dogs, house and a pickup I actually like to drive - and three bikes - the miles just don't pile up.

The 2008 650L has under 2500. (bought new in 2010, spent at least a year on the blocks while I decided what to do about its' burnt up engine).

2013 CB has roughly 4400 miles (1K just recently put on when I took her to Death Valley), mostly a town bike.

2012 Griso has just over 10K miles but I've been able to take her on some road trips and to rally's. Typically it's my go to bike for road tripping. She is on the blocks waiting for the roller tappet conversion (flat tappets on the 8V motor are prone to failure so Guzzi has kits out to upgrade it).

Depending upon the year, I seem to average around 3K for all the bikes. I thought it was 4, math says otherwise. sigh..... Which logically means I spend way too much money on them for as little as I use them.

 

[Wisedrum]

Never looked it up. Per year. When I lived in Minnesota and had a POS Pinto wagon, doing 12-15 thousand miles a year was duck soup. Now, with a wife, dogs, house and a pickup I actually like to drive - and three bikes - the miles just don't pile up.

The 2008 650L has under 2500. (bought new in 2010, spent at least a year on the blocks while I decided what to do about its' burnt up engine).

2013 CB has roughly 4400 miles (1K just recently put on when I took her to Death Valley), mostly a town bike.

2012 Griso has just over 10K miles but I've been able to take her on some road trips and to rally's. Typically it's my go to bike for road tripping. She is on the blocks waiting for the roller tappet conversion (flat tappets on the 8V motor are prone to failure so Guzzi has kits out to upgrade it).

Depending upon the year, I seem to average around 3K for all the bikes. I thought it was 4, math says otherwise. sigh..... Which logically means I spend way too much money on them for as little as I use them.

That's why I call it a hobby, if you don't count the money you spend on it
while you afford it. Still another hobby of the heart.

From May 2014 to November 2015 I drove 24.00km with the Honda, let's call it a well used hobby.
In addition to these kilometers I rode round about 10.000km
with the W800 in the same time. Only this less 'cause the CB was pretty new and
I really liked to get known to it. That meant, drive it, drive it and again...

I'll see, what the next long season, if the weather is fine I drive the whole year through,
is going to be like and which bike gets the more kilometers on its speedometer.

Wisedrum

 

[the Ferret]

I know there are people who buy bikes just to own them, and not really ride them. My neighbor I mentioned is one of them. He loves owning a Harley. He freely admits he loves owning it more than riding it. He polishes it, he starts it once in awhile because I can hear it when he does (life saving pipes and all) and I understand that passion for him. His wife doesn't like him riding it, but she doesn't mind him owning it. For him the cost (cost of bike plus insurance) is justifiable.

The people I don't understand are the ones that buy with the intention of riding, but never do, Then they keep it for 4 or 5 years and turn around and take a bath on what is basically a brand new motorcycle. One would think they would know if they like to ride or not after a few months and sell while it still has most of it's value, not years later when it has lost most of it's value. For these people the cost (cost of bike plus insurance) is NOT justifiable.

I've often said motorcycles are not killed (worn out), they are more often neglected to death.

 

[Southpaw50_imp]

I'm a fair weather rider. Not too hot, not too cold. Fortunately I live in Southern Utah with mild winters. I typically ride 40 to 50 miles four or five times a week. I'm retired so I can. My 2013 CB11 that I purchased in March of 2014 has 11,800 miles on it. So I guess I'm averaging about 7,000 to 8,000 miles per year as a casual rider. Right now it's 3:00 PM and it's about 60 degrees out. Think I'll take a ride through Snow Canyon and back.

 

[capttwb136_imp]

My story is I rode a bike year round for 3 years because I couldn't afford car insurance. So when I could afford car insurance and bought a car the bike sat for months. Why would I ride in the cold or rain when I did not have to. Cloudy days still depress me.

However I could not get the bike bug out of my system, so I always had to get the latest fastest bike. Then I got into touring bikes. Had to get the latest touring bike. Then they would improve the Goldwing or the Beemer so you got the latest one. Now you have a wife and kids so touring trips are few and far between. While you have the big tourers you gotta have a mid weight fun bike. I doubt if I've had a bike that went through two sets of tires. Now remember you need a pickup for chores and stuff, you need a commuter car for work. You always wanted a little two seater sports car, so you get one when the wife gets tired of climbing on and off the big tourer. It's the same thing you tell her. You love driving the two seater. The bikes sit. If I put 3,000 a year on a bike I'm doing good. I usually sell a bike by the time it needs tires and get the latest great break through bike that comes out. However I think the CB will stay around until I no longer can ride. The wife wants me to make the BMW into a trike. I'm resisting that, can't see the point. Now I have put 375,000 on a Toyota Corolla that was my commuter car, I kept it for 22 years. Best car I ever had.

 

[rboe]

Topic drift, if she wants a trike, there are better choices than conversions. Some are kinda like bikes, some are more like cars (so why not just get a car!!?).

I used to be hot to get the latest and greatest computer; but that soured years ago. Mostly due to shock, but frankly, the "upgrade" came to diminished returns. Bikes are are a lot like that too. Major improvements occur over years, no yearly (typically). The CB brings improvements from the 1980-90's while giving you a very good bike to get off the merrigoround of constant upgrades. Few bikes offer that.

 

[JustPassinThru_imp]

I know there are people who buy bikes just to own them, and not really ride them. My neighbor I mentioned is one of them. He loves owning a Harley. He freely admits he loves owning it more than riding it. He polishes it, he starts it once in awhile because I can hear it when he does (life saving pipes and all) and I understand that passion for him. His wife doesn't like him riding it, but she doesn't mind him owning it. For him the cost (cost of bike plus insurance) is justifiable.

The people I don't understand are the ones that buy with the intention of riding, but never do, Then they keep it for 4 or 5 years and turn around and take a bath on what is basically a brand new motorcycle. One would think they would know if they like to ride or not after a few months and sell while it still has most of it's value, not years later when it has lost most of it's value. For these people the cost (cost of bike plus insurance) is NOT justifiable.

I've often said motorcycles are not killed (worn out), they are more often neglected to death.

That's actually sad. So much superior engineering...and so many bikes are bought and abandoned. Left in the driveway. Not ridden. Damp barns, or under tarps...not even broken in.

The top-tier Japanese manufacturers have products that rival Toyota cars and trucks for durability...if they only would just give them basic maintenance. Long time ago, when I had a BMW...while working in eastern South Dakota, and having business at the company offices in St. Paul...I had the GS to one of the Minneapolis BMW stores for periodic service.

While waiting, I was pacing outside...you can only sit still and read a cheap novel so long when the sun is shining, high summer and you have a day off. On the back dock was what was probably a trade-in...I forget what brand (not a Kawasaki) but it was a 125, a 1982 IIRC...1100 miles on the speedo.

Paint was sharp but there was rust. Including the exhaust, which had several big holes. All I could think of, was, what a waste.

Now, you all know I'm selling my CB. NOT from any dissatisfaction with the machine. And, Lord knows, not because I don't ride. I'm probably taking the Second Prize of the Mileage competition this year, with 12,800. Put all my layoff time to good use.

I'd love to keep it, but even riding as much as I do, I doubt I'd have it enough to really make it worth eating the depreciation; worth having to fight the elements and keep it sharp. I tell myself, perhaps if I'm better off in a few years, I might get another...but the reason I'm selling is, it's becoming a tad too heavy for me. And that precludes my continuing in my present work, too...income will take a dive as well.

But...whatever graces my carport...I ride. :biker:

 

[kmoney_imp]

I know there are people who buy bikes just to own them, and not really ride them. My neighbor I mentioned is one of them. He loves owning a Harley. He freely admits he loves owning it more than riding it. He polishes it, he starts it once in awhile because I can hear it when he does (life saving pipes and all) and I understand that passion for him. His wife doesn't like him riding it, but she doesn't mind him owning it. For him the cost (cost of bike plus insurance) is justifiable.

The people I don't understand are the ones that buy with the intention of riding, but never do, Then they keep it for 4 or 5 years and turn around and take a bath on what is basically a brand new motorcycle. One would think they would know if they like to ride or not after a few months and sell while it still has most of it's value, not years later when it has lost most of it's value. For these people the cost (cost of bike plus insurance) is NOT justifiable.

I've often said motorcycles are not killed (worn out), they are more often neglected to death.

Yup. Some of these just make you scratch your head. I was at a car dealership the other day to look at a bike they had taken in on trade:

2013 Ducati 1199 Tricolore, 1100 kms, 5 year factory extended warranty (this is like $3500 in Canada), probably $1500 in rearsets, carbon fibre, etc... Being sold for $19k, so the dealer probably gave him/her 12-15 tops, on a bike that would have stickered out at ~$35k after taxes and was basically never used. Just blows my mind to waste money like that.

I guess these people are awesome in some ways though as they're a great source of sweet bikes at massively reduced cost.