how long does it last

[Y2K]

Very cool story. But just to be clear, i read from an article that the motor has been overhauled 9 times. Makes sense.

Well yeah but at least it can be,never seen a million mile motor without an overhaul.

[Motorcycle Forum]

[Manuel]

I agree with you. I only clarified because the Toyota's i posted about were 600,000 km (375,000 miles) without an overhaul. But car/truck motors go further in general.

[DrBob]

I have seen lots of motors go over a million without a major overhaul. None were on bikes, of course, and none were in cars either. But it is not uncommon for a big diesel in a semi to hit 1,000,000 miles or even more.


All is irrelevant, of course. Unless you want to stick a Detroit Diesel Series 60 into a Suzuki frame...


That S50 will last if you take care of it. I have seen them blow up at 25,000 miles when abused or run short of oil, and I have personally hit 135,000 on a well cared for one.

As Y2K said, a Harley motor CAN be easily and economically rebuilt. Most Japanese bikes, especially water cooled ones, can not be realistically rebuilt, as the cost of an overhaul usually exceeds the value of the entire bike by a wide margin once the bike is a few years old. most shops will not even attempt it on a Japanese bike that is more than 10 years old, because they usually get stuck when the owner is unable to unwilling to pay a $3500 repair bill on a $1500 bike. Air cooled Harleys are easy to rebuild- I have done the top end of my shovelhead 5 times in 250,000 miles, and it never took more than a day or cost more than a good set of tires. The bottom end got it once at 150K, another one day, $300 project.

[Y2K]

I have seen lots of motors go over a million without a major overhaul. None were on bikes, of course, and none were in cars either. But it is not uncommon for a big diesel in a semi to hit 1,000,000 miles or even more.

All is irrelevant, of course. Unless you want to stick a Detroit Diesel Series 60 into a Suzuki frame

Yeah I should have said never seen a million mile motor in a bike or car without an overhaul.
I drive an '06 Freightliner everday with a Detroit 60 in it,in fact I'm in the sleeper right now lol.
402,000 miles and runs like a champ.

[rapta619]

Hogwash! (Pardon pun),it all depends on the rider,and how the bike is treated and maintained and also what mods and who done 'em.
I've put over 100K on several Harleys and they've been reliable as all get out.
My current bike is 12 years old and nearing 170,000 miles,never even once has it made me walk.
I doubt you'll ever see an M with that many miles on it

well y2k, hate to inform you, but the intruder 800 and m50 share the same ( relatively) engine. beside fuel injection or carb, and gearing, its the same damn engine,same frame. and by the looms of it dr bob has nearly that many miles on his ( im unsure if it was an 800 or bigger) but these jap engines run forever. and trust me, im an american kinda guy, sad they don't make em like they used too.

but all in all, as long as you take care of it, it will last.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

[DrBob]

No, actually, the S50 and M50 motors are completely different, and share nothing other than a few irrelivant nuts and bolts. They are both 805cc displacement, but that is for marketing reasons and nothing else. The M50 motor is very similar to the C50 motor, but even they have design differences pre-2010. The M50 and C50 share a frame; the S50 frame is completely, 100% different, being a narrow traditional swingarm frame with exposed shocks rather than the softtail copy frame on the C and M.

[Camp21178]

Well that's about 186,411 miles,I'm not far from there with 167,000 on my 2000 Electra.

Then there's Dave Zien's '91 Harley FXRT,over 1,000,000 one owner miles!
Harley-Davidson Million Mile Motorcycle - Motorcycle USA




Great pictures of Dave you have there. I have talked to him many times over the years, even worked out with him a few times. I haven't seen him since last year at a car show. I urged him to shave. It's too bad he was in a bad accident earlier this year and lost a leg. I miss voting for him.

[Y2K]

well y2k, hate to inform you, but the intruder 800 and m50 share the same ( relatively) engine. beside fuel injection or carb, and gearing, its the same damn engine,same frame. and by the looms of it dr bob has nearly that many miles on his ( im unsure if it was an 800 or bigger) but these jap engines run forever. and trust me, im an american kinda guy, sad they don't make em like they used too.

but all in all, as long as you take care of it, it will last.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

Forever I doubt,haven't heard of one to match my mileage yet but that's not the point.
The Good Dr's is as close as I've seen but it's not there yet and even he will tell ya that when it does give up it's for good where as the H-D will just need a simple overhaul.

As Y2K said, a Harley motor CAN be easily and economically rebuilt. Most Japanese bikes, especially water cooled ones, can not be realistically rebuilt, as the cost of an overhaul usually exceeds the value of the entire bike by a wide margin once the bike is a few years old. most shops will not even attempt it on a Japanese bike that is more than 10 years old, because they usually get stuck when the owner is unable to unwilling to pay a $3500 repair bill on a $1500 bike. Air cooled Harleys are easy to rebuild- I have done the top end of my shovelhead 5 times in 250,000 miles, and it never took more than a day or cost more than a good set of tires. The bottom end got it once at 150K, another one day, $300 project.