‘Save cash by ignoring the odometer...’
A fella come into our showroom looking to part-ex his Triumph Speed Triple for something newer. ‘Nothing wrong with it, but it’s done 45,000 miles so it’s time for a new one.’ I asked him how many miles his car had done. ‘120,000, but it’s different,’ he said. ‘It’s a car.’ For some reason we bikers are terrified of a machine that’s actually been used. Yet any bike engine from the last 20 years or so will have been tested to extreme distances during development – people raise eyebrows at a VFR1200 that’s done a fault-free 80,000, but they shouldn’t be surprised as it’s only done what it was designed to do. Engines don’t like being hammered endlessly and don’t appreciate being laboured, but if a motor has been serviced and used ‘normally’ there’s no reason why it shouldn’t just keep going. Which is great for us used buyers. Go for the well-used but much-loved example of a bike, and you’ll get one far more modern than you ever realised your budget would allow – and as it’ll already have suffered its major depreciation, you’ll lose less in the long run. Win win.