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[hard10]

With Ernie's new acquisition he stated that he was putting on too many miles on his Cherry. This leads me to my question: How many miles are too much? I know some will say you can never ride your bike enough. Others will say to ride as often as you can. Kelly Blue Book has a formula (which I don't know) to estimate how many miles the average driver will put on a motorcycle for trade in purposes. But let's get real. What is too much? I've owned my SEUC² since December 1, 2006. In that 6 months I've racked up 8300 miles. Call it buyers excitement that I put so many miles on it in the first few months and that may change. I know these motorcycles are special. As a limited production vehicle should the mileage also be limited? Is the high mileage any different on the CVO than a standard HD? On that same note, what is the highest mileage of a CVO that we know of?

Thanks in advance,

AJ

[WFP]

I picked up my current CVO Ultra late December 2005...I am 19 miles short of 30K right now.  I will be going to Nelson, riding both ways putting on 9.5-10K more by the end of July taking me over 40K.  Will still be under the original 2 year warrantee and if the 2008 has something I want in a CVO, I will be parting ways.  I parted with my 2004 SEEG at 22K miles.

My 2003 SED has about 7400 miles on it so far...and will be at about 8500 by the end of the year.

/Bill

[iski]

http://www.kbb.com/KBB/OtherVehicles/MileageAndCondition.aspx

AJ-link gives info on annual miles.

From casual conversation with a variety of HD dealers, on more recent models - say around 5 years or less old - the average miles per year is around 6k.  The KBB suggests 5300 as an average for over 750 cc, but is not brand specific.  If you look at the KBB web page, it gives info on SE bikes and resale values.

I ride lots more than that and so do the folks I ride with.

[Twolanerider]

I'm not terribly concerned about miles.  But that's a too each his own kind of thing. 

I like this bike.  A lot.  Don't plan on getting rid of it any time soon.  Miles just aren't a consideration.  It will get maintained as necessary.

[VaEagle]

Hi hard10,
 I remember a story several years ago about a man who had a little over 500,000 miles on his Electraglide and I think the engine had only been rebuilt once and that was over 100,000 miles before the rebuild. That man was very meticulous about doing maintenance on a regular basis and said he also would allow the bike to warm up before he took off riding each time to allow all metal surfaces to expand and mate properly before being put under a load.
The MOCO was so impressed that they traded him a brand new bike so the could study his and learn from it.
I would say if you bought the bike as an investment they the fewer miles the better to keep a higher resale value but if you bought the bike to enjoy the don't worry about the mileage.
As a buyer I would be concerned about things like type of bike and mods done to it more than the exact mileage. I would not like to buy a used sport bike or one that was highly modified for speed and owned by a "youthful & spirited" owner who ran it ragged. But that is just me.
I would think a touring bike that was well maintained and not ragged out would show that it was used as intended for long travels.

[nidan]

When I got my WG3 as owner #3 it only had 4400 miles on it and was 2 years old. I've put 19K on it since then. While it has more miles than any WG2 or 3 I've seen for sale, I'm not going to stop riding it just to preserve someone's percieved value formula.

I bought it to ride, parts wear out , they get replaced ..

[erniezap]

Like Twolane, I like my bike way too much to worry about getting rid of it.  Since I've had the bike for 20 months and have put 37K miles on it, I felt that I'd be better off splitting the miles with a second bike.  My first thought was to get a stock Electraglide Classic or similar, but I know that I just wouldn't like it.  The pumpkin fills my needs, and I don't have to go bikeless if I lay one up to get some work done on it...

 

[Fired00d]

Ride it like you want to. Maintain it like you should. Don't worry about mileage you put on it more then likely you'll have just as many smiles as miles to go along w/those miles.

 
Ride Safe,
Fired00d
 

[Hoist!]

If you love the bike and want to keep it, never worry about too many miles. These bikes are completetly rebuildable. You can usually make them better than new anyway. That seems like a given with these new 110's! But if all you care about is trade-in value or resale, then you'll never enjoy the bike for what it was intended for. If you love it, ride the chit out of it and don't worry about ROI! Enjoy your CVO's people! Hoist!

[TCinVA]

AJ,
When I was trying to sell my '99 Ultra at 3 years old and over 50K on the clock, most everyone that contacted me were "amazed" at the miles on it.  I simply asked if they knew what a touring bike was for .  I love this bike.  I told my wife this would be my last (silly girl ).  I plan to ride it to my heart's content and not worry about miles.  I think Gary's got it right, when all is said and done - you'll have as many smiles as miles!
Be safe,
Tony

[electraglideclyde]

 I agree that it's all what you want in the end.  If you are trying to maintain the resale value, park it the garage and keep it polished.  The average "biker" only puts between 3K - 5K a year on a bike.  You can find many a bike 3 to 5 years old in Cycle Trader with less than 10K on the clock, and think how many RUB's have shiny Harleys sitting in their basements that never get ridden.  These bikes set the market because there is so many out there for sale.  So if you want to maintain the resale, just don't ride it.  It's still pretty to look at !  But if you bought it to ride and enjoy, like most of us, don't worry about the mileage. You'll get your money's worth in the enjoyment.  People ask me why I don't keep my bike claener? My answer is : If it's nice enough weather to wash a bike, it's nice enough to ride and I didn't buy this Bit.. to wax it, I bought to ride.  You have to have your priorities straight.

[Twolanerider]

Like Twolane, I like my bike way too much to worry about getting rid of it.  Since I've had the bike for 20 months and have put 37K miles on it, I felt that I'd be better off splitting the miles with a second bike.  My first thought was to get a stock Electraglide Classic or similar, but I know that I just wouldn't like it.  The pumpkin fills my needs, and I don't have to go bikeless if I lay one up to get some work done on it...

 

That was something I'd wondered about when you spoke of looking for a more stock bike as the second or commuter bike Ernie.  We just get so used to what our bikes do that the step back down to "normal" feels terrible in comparison. Had worried a bit that a stock commuter bike might end up costing as much or more in the long run because it'd be hard not to jack it up to what now feels comfortable.  With what you ended up selecting you've got the better base package to start with.  And for probably the same money that it might have cost overall in the long run you've got the better looks too.  Really seems like a win/win.  Congrats on finding something that did it all for you.

[hard10]

Thank you all for your replies. For me miles = smiles so I will keep accumulating them!

[Twolanerider]

Thank you all for your replies. For me miles = smiles so I will keep accumulating them!

That seems the best overall equation AJ.  My odometer is showing 25k and change and the bike has almost 8k more than that because the speedo got replaced when the bike was fairly young.  36k isn't a ton of miles for a 2 1/2 year old bike.  But it's a lot of smiles.

[nixobilly]

I got my bike 9/1/07, It now has 12.5K miles on it and I'll add another 8-10k this summer going to nelson.  I don't worry 'bout the miles only the smiles.  I probably will add a BMW 1200LT to the shed just so I can mix up my touring on a different type of scoot.  (hell no, I wouldn't ride a wing!)

Mark