Service records, do I expect to much?

Ive been searching for a clean ready to go commuter. Could be a early RT, GS, a 955 Tiger withing my affordability range. There are out there, miles seem to be in the 40K to 60K range ,look clean and prices reflect "needs nothing ready to ride". When I ask about things like a paper work for service history, Valves, main shaft or D/S spline maint on BMW' s it always, I have no idea or no paperwork. I assume making a purchase from a BMW dealer on a trade in bike with no known history and over 50K miles, doesn't necessarily mean they performed this type of work to prevent a meltdown. Should one move on to the next bike or deal with the "as is" sale.

Why shop for bikes with more than 5,000 miles on them? There is no shortage of near new examples. At 50,000 anything can go wrong and it shouldn't be a shock.

And yeah, most don't keep a running log book, and the dealer would likely bin it if it came in on trade anyway.

Funds are a significant factor as well as dealer location for parts support. Id love to swing a new Norge, but I need to curb my spending habits on pricy bikes and the like. Just hoping to find a solid DD'er for under $5K

If funds are an issue and you want a DD, I would suggest a Japanese bike would be the way to go. Everyone has their own priorities, but I would guess that you'd have a bigger potential for an expensive service need with one of the bikes you're looking at compared to used Japanese bikes at a similar price point.

I've purchased several bikes with 20k+ miles and after a quick test ride you should be able to tell if anything feels "off". (vibes, excessive play in controls/final drive, silent valves or overly loud valves, etc) I've yet to have a negative experience but I also do all of my own maintenance and check the bikes out thoroughly after purchase.

Check the final drive, all fluids, valves, and lube the spine when you get home. More often than not the used bikes I've bought were all "good to go" from the point I bought them but taking a look inside always made me feel better.

I'll second the notion that it sounds like you need something Japanese.

-Jake

I personally wouldn't buy a bike with that many miles on it and no service log nor receipts. Too many people abuse & neglect their bikes, with the plan of dumping it on some hapless schlub in the near future.
Valve adjustments are fairly expensive, so it's stupid to simply throw away the receipt from that. Or if you do them yourself, you're already recording the shim thicknesses & clearance, so there's no point it throwing those away either.
If they can't cough up a maintenance log with receipts, I'd offer significantly less than the asking price. You'll be needing that money very soon.

A bike with 60K miles has been taken care of, or it wouldn't have lasted that long. Look for a $4K bike and bank a grand for unexpected expenses. A 98 / 99 oil head is going to be a solid bike even with a lot of miles.

I would move on. You'll know when you find the right bike. When my new 2005 R1200GS decided to shed the piston rings on the right cylinder, I went shopping for an oilhead RT to have as a back up. (When I was young "backup" bikes were mostly for HD owners.) At any rate, in time I found a nice R1100RT about 90 minutes away. The guy had done all the maintenance himself, and had a very detailed Excel spreadsheet tracking it all. Sure - he could have just made it up. But his garage was beyond meticulous, and into the "anal retentive" stage. There was no doubt in my mind he had done all the maintenance he claimed. The bike was flawless for the few years I ownd it. I sold it to a guy at work, and it has remained flawless for him as well.

Trust your gut. You'll find your bike.

Thats what Im thinking especially with the potential spline issues and this comes based off two GS'es i owned. If it made it this far its either been replaced or taken care of. Ive have one or two or every bike made pretty much, some 50K plus isn't an issue, some I wouldn't consider @ 20K miles. I shall keep pluggin away till I fine what Im lookin for then.

My brother best the living shit out of a ZX6r that he traded in at 75,000 miles. He cared for it, but also replaced the frame from wheelies!

Go buy a CBR300f for $3999 brand new.

If it's a BMW or other European bike I would expect and want service. Those owners should be more fastidious after spending so much.

If it's only a commuter buy a Japanese bike though.

Not sure where you're located, but here are 2 GSs local to me in your price range, both supposedly serviced by my local BMW dealer, Ironhorse, in Tucson, who would have records, and I've had great experiences with them over multiple bikes. I don't know the owner, but would be happy to check them out for you if you're interested, just PM me.

http://seatrider.org/for sale/for sale.htm

I bought my 2001 ST1100 with 41k last year with spotty maintenance records against my better judgment (based on reputation of Honda and the ST1100). I changed all the fluids and did all the routine maintenance when I first got it. Not long after that, I was on my way home from work and a coolant hose under the carbs blew spraying coolant everywhere. It had been neglected, but not severely. I ended up doing a major cooling system overhaul, and the bike was off the road most of the first five months I owned it. I’m glad I kept my other bike or I would have lost half of the riding season. The bike is running great now, but if I had it to do over, I would insist on thorough maintenance records for a bike that old with that many miles.

Actually, this has become a pet peeve of mine - when you hear guys say "just change the oil and tires and ride...". It's so not true, especially on liquid cooled bikes.

I keep detailed maintenance log books for every bike, but I think I might be a bit of an OCD weirdo. I can't think of but a very few used bikes I bought that came with a maintenance record. I always relied on a careful inspection and short ride to make the judgement of what condition it's in.

It's not too much to ask but just don't expect it. When it comes to used bikes you have to just your experience or someone else's good experience. A lot of the time it can be obvious if a bike has been well maintained or abused or neglected or if in the worst case repaired and maintained by someone who hasn't a clue what they're doing . Check battery connections, chain, tires , overall condition, etc.
Also have to trust your gut. If you sense something is not good chances are it isn't.

I do a majority of my own maintenance (thanks JVB!) but I really don't record shit, easier that way I have a good enough memory if something seems akimbo and will keep an eye on it. My first GSA, a 2008 I put 123K miles in 28 months, I checked the valves at 60K, they were fine so I moved on, changed oil about every 8K with Mobil 1 (this is not an oil threat! LOL) and a Purolator filter unless I did a lot of desert riding, then it got changed every 3K. At the end of every year it got a new air filter and final drive fluid changed, kept my ears and eyes open for other issues but there were none, traded it and it has over 200K on it now with no issues.

I know that paperwork is important to people and I usually put all of my receipts in a folder, but I wouldn't get to bent out of shape without a shoebox full of receipts, my expectation is I expect my $20K plus bike to run every time I crank it over without spending myself into oblivion on unnecessary maintenance.

Research the models you want to buy, if there is a particular failure common to the type and year you are interested in, put down the worry beads and move on to something else.

I agree with others that you would be best served by maybe a nice used Vee or Wee Strom, damn nice bike in their own right.

The last time I seen this many varying opinions it was in an oil thread...

To answer your question, yes, you do expect too much. I do all my own maintenance, and keep receipts for stuff I do during the maintenance interval (like oil and filter), but if I change the air filter or check the steering stem bearings, how the hell is the next buyer going to know I did this?

FOR THAT MATTER, if you pay some schmuck at the dealership to do the "5000 mile maintenance" which is usually a huge grocery list of shit, how can you prove the same thing? Is it because it's a dealership and people are suckers? My point is you can't prove either one did the work. If you look at some of those maintenance lists it would take Joe Sixpack a whole weekend to properly check everything. The dealership does it in, what, 2 hours??? Yea, right...

I stopped taking my bikes (all vehicles for that matter) to dealerships for maintenance when I got one back with a "tensioned belt". The FSM specifically stated 30mm of deflection at 10 lbs. I have the Motion Pro gauge, I adjusted it, and I centered it best I could. It was perfect, and the dealership tightened it so much you could tune a banjo with it. Another time I brought a rim to them with a tire for swap. After I got home I noticed that dipshit put the tire on rotationally backwards! Then, another time I bought a car that got a 1,348,498 point inspection that had a shitload of peanut shells in the airbox and a dirty filter. Explain this??? Fuck dealerships and their bottom-feeding mechanics. I'll keep my money and do the job correctly!

Of course, I've never been part of the BMW crowd, those owners are different.

Service records are nice, but I don't require them
When I buy a used bike, I look the bike over very carefully. all why asking the seller questions to see what kind of rider they are.

I want to see a bike that has been well cared for and is good shape.
I have no issues buying a high mileage bike if it's in good shape. I bought an Airhead with 50,000 miles on it.
And it's been the best airhead I've owned.

I've seen bikes with 7,000 miles that are toast and I've seen bikes with 300,000 miles that are in surprisingly good shape.

Just today I check out a bike with 7,500 miles and between the damage and lack of care along with the bodged fasteners it could easily have had 40,000 miles on it.
Even the foot pegs, brake and levers showed lots of wear. if it wasn't for the digital odometer I would have thought it to have rolled over.


The main thing I use records is to figure out the bikes true mileage.

When it comes to a daily driver, I look at the Japanese bikes,
My DL650 I've put 15,000 miles on it and it's needed nothing save for one full tire swap and a couple of oil changes.

I usually keep my bikes for about 10 years, and do everything except internal engine stuff myself. I've kept a log book on my last two, where I record everything I've done, but I don't keep any other proof. I do keep records for any shop work, though. My current bike has 62K miles on it, so it'll scare off most buyers when it comes time to sell it, even with my log book. Too bad, 'cuz I'm a chronic over-maintainer and this bike is ready to ride anywhere, performs better than new due to upgrades, and remains as reliable as your basic rock. So, yeah, a higher-mileage bike can be a good buy...or an anchor of course, depending upon the owner. So I think looking the owner in the eye and sizing him/her up would be vital.