How many hours for a “used” bike

*with OCD

Seriously, look at pictures in the background of the owners garage, truck, yard. If they are clean, well kept most likely they take care of their stuff. If they have a bunch of projects around they might be a flipper and even if they have a story about the life of the bike it’s probably false. Again not always the case but highly likely 

Just seems like a cheap investment in the grand scheme. We are talking about motocross here. And when I said oil is oil, I was referring to oil brands. I know they need to be wet clutch compatible and meet viscosity requirements

100 percent, I've always bought new bikes when I was younger and was ok with making a payment every month. Now id rather buy used with cash and my last bike i bought was a 2024 300sx with 18 hrs on it from a +40 b/c rider and this thing was so clean, dude gave me so many spare air filters, probably at least $300 plus in oil and he told me was only ever track ridden, oil changed every 2 hrs and was always cleaned after every ride, so if can buy a bike from a +40 b/c racer

Used 450s are where the deals are at. Literally dozens of them on marketplace near me with under 10 hours or less. People buy them new thinking they need a 450 just to ride them a couple times and realize they can’t handle the power and sell them.

If I’m buying a used bike;

I’m looking at how the bike itself is staged.  I look at the photos and then make judgements.  Trash cans, hoses, garbage, wet driveway and soap bucket, etc., all yield an immediate no.

How is the bike described?  “Starts first kick” and “last top end change on this CR125 was 20 hours ago” yield an immediate no.

Grammar and spelling that’s from 2nd grade yields an immediate no.

It really would behoove a person to learn how to stage a bike and present it for sale.  Make the bike presentable and proofread your listing.  Make the background clean and pristine.  Yes, I know this sounds pretentious but if you’re going to ask these insane prices I expect absolute isotopic and molecular perfection on every aspect of the listing.

I always chuckle at clapped out "farm" bikes bragging that it's never been raced.  I'd much rather buy a bike from a racer that maintains his shit.

Cheap investment? Guys who change their oil every 2-3 hours are crazy. Oil ain’t that cheap, I probably spend $50-60 every oil change in my beta 350. I ride 2-3 hours each time I’m out. I’d have to change my oil after every ride. That ain’t happening. 

I buy large quantities at a time, and I buy online. As much as I like supporting local, I can’t justify the cost for a quart of oil off the shelf. I’ll buy tubes and hard parts but no oils, gear, etc.

$50-$60 for a single oil change sounds outrageous.

If you buy only the amount of oil needed for a single oil change from your local shop, then yes you’re likely wasting money. 

Also 2-3 hours of trail riding is not 2-3 hours of MX. Assuming you’re trail riding for 3 hours at time, which is understandable but no way I’m putting 3 hours on my bike after a day of MX practice. Even at 3 hours of trail riding I would be changing the oil.

Edit: 2 strokes change things a little bit in my eyes. I don’t think you need to change oil as often 

I enjoy how this turned into an oil change hr debate…….here u go…🤡

Vet racer owned bikes are often the best deals. I've got a customer who has a couple customers he builds bikes for.  One year a couple of his customers kept buying a different bike . Rode and raced 1 time  and sold. One bike literally rode it one time and decided to sell it after.   He went through 4 or 5 bikes that year . Each time he got full graphics, plastic, a  full exhaust levers and footpegs and a handful of filters.   One of the bikes he went a bit more wild and built a replica of another guys bike after liking it and then rode it one or two times and decided to sell it.  Seems like a normal thing for Vet riders that race NESC.  Just got to a race and  look for the guys not winning. The slower vet guys with the nice setups. 

 One of my customers bought an RMz  450 that my friend had raced in the  local Pro class and 30 plus class for a season. then used as a practice bike after being freshened up for another season.  He didn't practice much so total the bike had about 60 hours on it.  It looked like a well cared for bike with fresh graphics on it.  The guy that bought it was a Vet C guy who had been racing in the C class for 20+ years. So not a real speed demon. He ended up putting 250 hours on the bike before doing anything to it. I hope he did filters and fluids. But He said he put a new rear tire on each half season and that was it.  He ended up doing a top end and then sold it another 100 hours later.  He had it for a very long time I wanna say from 07 or 08 until 2018 . He sold it with the same graphics that were on it that I made my buddy back when he was racing it in the expert class. I made number plates for the guy with his name/number and colors. But the shrouds, fenders etc. all had the same stuff on them. I was shocked at how long they lasted. 

 Another vet customer of mine that is a Vet A class guy in woods racing. He has had a handful of KTM 300's. And he put 500 hours on the bottom end of his earlier one, then had one he put 250 and then 300 hours on. I do not remember how many top ends or clutches he went through. I had asked about top ends and I wanna say he said every 100 hours and that they could have gone longer , that they still looked and measure in good shape.  He changed the oil often though and was religious about filters . You would never suspect these bikes had the hours they had on them. For woods ridden bikes they were like new, and if not for the hour meter You would never know. The bikes were still tight and he sold the 500 hour one to a friend that was still riding it last I talked to him. I'll have to ask him what he's got for hours on it next time I see him.

 But if I'm buying a used bike, its from a vet racer that runs midpack. That way he's fast enough he likely maintains it well and knows how to work on a bike without making striping bolts and crossthreading stuff. But not so fast that he's worn the bike out. And fast enough that he buys a new bike every year just because.  That's kinda the way to buy anything really. Most of those  guys treat their trucks and cars the same way. 

$50-$60 is outrageous. My beta 350 RE runs 750 cc’s in both the engine and transmission. So 1500 cc’s, or roughly 1.58 quarts of oil. So I have to buy an oil filter ($10-12), and 2 quarts of oil (around $20 each) I’m at $50-60. Beta has kits which include the filter, oil, crush washers, o-rings and they cost around $70. 

I do a mix of harescrambles (vet A level), motocross (vet B level), and hard enduros with buddies sometimes. 10 hours is my magic number unless it’s after a very muddy race or a very rough day of abusing the clutch. 

I don't get it, a picture of the best air filter oil?  What's the punchline?