whats the deal with bike hours?

Tomoss
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Tomoss
when you get an engine rebuild do hours go back to zero? people say a bike has very low hours, lets say 70 and then someone else will say a dirtbike only lasts 150 hours. or people will be like i rode a my last 450f for 130 hours and everyone is like thats so reliable! 130 hours doesnt seem like a very long time to me! that only riding every weekend for 10 months. then is your bike toast? 8000 bucks is a lot of money for a years riding....
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colintrax
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colintrax 4/30/2017 1:54pm
4/30/2017 1:54pm
Sell it with the number of hours on the frame, and specify hours on top and bottom end, as well as the suspension.
Cygnus
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Cygnus 4/30/2017 1:59pm
4/30/2017 1:59pm Edited Date/Time 4/30/2017 2:01pm
Well since these are highly tuned race engines I look at it like this. If a 450 has 100 hours on it that's probaly close to 2500 miles give or take. That's enough for me to think a piston and maybe head freshing up. Some push it and go further but to me that's gamble. 250F's are higher revving so the hours for maintence go down and I would say cutni. Half.
As far as the chasssis go that's all on the rider. Some guys trash bikes and some guys don't. The maintenance there is key to keeping a bike tight or fresh.
Andy_Greenney 4/30/2017 2:06pm
4/30/2017 2:06pm
250f hours are probably more crucial than 450 hours, but even still I wouldn't put to much emphasis on what the hour meter says. I know plenty of people that have their actual hour meter and a 're-sale' meter.
racingfortheson 4/30/2017 3:45pm
4/30/2017 3:45pm
Kawasaki's book said 15 hrs on piston for 2017 250f. We run it 20, but still not long. The pistons I take out still look almost new.

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305FC250
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305FC250 4/30/2017 4:26pm
4/30/2017 4:26pm
I feel like the owners manual intervals are extremely conservative. It looks nice when you're selling it to be like "yeah my bike has been perfectly maintained at all the manufacturer specified intervals" but I think it's overkill in regards to most components. Definitely check and measure things often but I don't see a need to throw money away replacing and servicing things until theres some actual wear on the component.
Aceofspades 4/30/2017 4:27pm
4/30/2017 4:27pm
I'm assuming "rebuild at 20 hrs" means 20 hours of "race rpm's", and not "20 hours of light trail or playriding".
MxKing809
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MxKing809 4/30/2017 4:36pm
4/30/2017 4:36pm Edited Date/Time 4/30/2017 4:46pm
I back up the frame hours comment. People should report total time on the bike, and state the intervals of major maintenance.

You can put a new piston and crank in, but you're loosing tolerances on EVERYTHING as time progresses. I have rebuilt many bikes over the past 10 years, and there is something to be said for factory tolerances and fresh components from top to bottom. A rebuilt bike never feels the same as a fresh off the showroom bike.

And don't get me started on frame stretch / bearings, suspension wear, clutch components, etc.....

I usually put 2-3 years on an 8k bike, and sell it for 5k down the road. Right around 1k in rent a year IMO. I never put bottom ends in or do major top end over hauls above and beyond a piston.. and then sell the bikes with around 100 hours on them.
rmoto003
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rmoto003 4/30/2017 4:43pm
4/30/2017 4:43pm
Lol my honda manual told me to change pistons every 15 hours or some stupid shit.

I pretty much always go 50 on pistons, and its been just fine. The numbers from the manual are bullshit, theyre just concocted to prevent the manufacturer from any frivolous lawsuits when Johnny stupid-fuck doesnt change his oil for a year then blames it on the bike when it blows up.
Titan1
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Titan1 4/30/2017 7:41pm
4/30/2017 7:41pm
Aceofspades wrote:
I'm assuming "rebuild at 20 hrs" means 20 hours of "race rpm's", and not "20 hours of light trail or playriding".
Whose race rpm's? Vet beginner race rpm's...or local pro race rpm's? Those are two very different things.
Aceofspades 5/1/2017 1:12pm
5/1/2017 1:12pm
Titan1 wrote:
Whose race rpm's? Vet beginner race rpm's...or local pro race rpm's? Those are two very different things.
I would assume it's based on a professional rider's skill, full throttle.
Aceofspades 5/1/2017 1:13pm
5/1/2017 1:13pm
I can tell you from much experience that I've never seen a piston on my personal bikes that needed replaced at 20 to 50 hours lol. If I raced I'd bet it's a different story though.
Aceofspades 5/1/2017 1:14pm
5/1/2017 1:14pm
rmoto003 wrote:
Lol my honda manual told me to change pistons every 15 hours or some stupid shit. I pretty much always go 50 on pistons, and its...
Lol my honda manual told me to change pistons every 15 hours or some stupid shit.

I pretty much always go 50 on pistons, and its been just fine. The numbers from the manual are bullshit, theyre just concocted to prevent the manufacturer from any frivolous lawsuits when Johnny stupid-fuck doesnt change his oil for a year then blames it on the bike when it blows up.
Exactly. Said it better than I did.
Potts
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Potts 5/1/2017 2:26pm
5/1/2017 2:26pm
Tomoss wrote:
when you get an engine rebuild do hours go back to zero? people say a bike has very low hours, lets say 70 and then someone...
when you get an engine rebuild do hours go back to zero? people say a bike has very low hours, lets say 70 and then someone else will say a dirtbike only lasts 150 hours. or people will be like i rode a my last 450f for 130 hours and everyone is like thats so reliable! 130 hours doesnt seem like a very long time to me! that only riding every weekend for 10 months. then is your bike toast? 8000 bucks is a lot of money for a years riding....
Not sure I completely understand the question but... if by a rebuild you actually rebuilt everything then yes. You would go back to zero for the engine only. What I mean by this is every wear item was replaced and any non wear item was thoroughly inspected. Keep in mind most people use the hour meter on the engine to keep track of chassis maintenance too so you could take a position that the only way to go back to zero on the hour meter would be to put back to "as new" every wear item on the bike.

If you took the engine apart and put in a crank, piston, rings and valves then no... this is not a full rebuild so no you would not go back to zero.

Hours on an engine are just one aspect or indicator as to its condition. Do you change the oil after every ride, do you change the air cleaner after every ride. Are you a a screamer that constantly rides on the rev limiter or are you easy and smooth on the bike? All of this greatly contributes to the life of an engine/bike so a bike that is ridden easy and carefully maintained can go many more hours than one that is not.

We all know or have heard of guys that have gone two seasons on the same engine and guys who blow them up twice a season so to say a bike only lasts 150 hours is not an accurate claim.









jg393
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jg393 5/1/2017 3:00pm
5/1/2017 3:00pm
Such a grey area this one
I have friends that have run a 450 well over 100h with no maintenance aside from air filter and oil,
But there not exactly setting the world on fire out there,
On the other hand I had 450 motors on a 20h cycle,
But I was hard on motors and a little more serious than some of my buds
I would say your better with a 50h bike from a C rider than a 25h bike from a local pro
Not to mention there's plenty of people who like to bolt a hour meter on after they have done time on the bike and then try and use that as proof of what it has actually done
There's a lot of factors in how long a bike wil last, I see these as, rider ability, maintenance schedules, and general good working practice by the mechanic on the bike in question!
Depending on how these 3 work out, your 8k bike could be good for a couple seansons or at worse might give it up at a couple months



IceMan446
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IceMan446 5/1/2017 4:04pm
5/1/2017 4:04pm
Andy_Greenney wrote:
250f hours are probably more crucial than 450 hours, but even still I wouldn't put to much emphasis on what the hour meter says. I know...
250f hours are probably more crucial than 450 hours, but even still I wouldn't put to much emphasis on what the hour meter says. I know plenty of people that have their actual hour meter and a 're-sale' meter.
If you buy a yamaha used, get the GYTR tuner and it will give you the actual hours so that kind of thing can't happen.
TbonesPop
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TbonesPop 5/1/2017 6:21pm
5/1/2017 6:21pm
I don't bang the rev limiter on my 450 but I ride it to the best of my ability - on tracks I'm a vet C rider. I'm better/faster in the desert, but I don't ride there as much as I used to and I've started taking it easy as I get a little older (responsibilities). I religiously change my oil and oil filter every 5-6 hours of ride time and swap out a clean air filter in the process. I always use full synthetic oil. I check my valves every 40 hours, change out a top end every 100 hours, and a bottom end at 300 hours. The last 2 piston swaps on my RMZ450, the mechanic I always have do my engine work said "the top end looked brand new - he didn't believe the hour meter". Valves have never been out of spec.

These new 4 stroke 450 engines will last a LONG time if you take good care of them and do the basics. It also helps not beating the crap out of it or wringing the piss out of the throttle. If it's ridden by someone like me (that isn't fast and hard on an engine), it will last a really long time. 250Fs get more beat up because its easier for someone of my skill level (or lack of skill LOL) to wring the piss out of. But on a 450, I'm not a fast enough rider to beat it up.

My advice - find a bone stock, non-raced, vet ridden stock 450 (no number plates) - or if you are really new to riding a 250F. Buy it, replace the top end and inspect the bottom end and head/valve train in the process. Use the expensive oil, change oil AND the oil filter it every ~5 hours, keep a clean Air filter, and you will be good to go.
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