Hour many hours is too much?

I wouldnt say there is a number of hours that is "too much", just depends if the bike has been maintained properly during that time. I just bought a 2017 350 a month back with 50 hours on it with no engine work yet and it's running perfect, although i'll be doing a piston soon to be safe

Condition is more important. Hours mean nothing.

I think the condition and price play a big part rather than just hours. as its hard to tell how good the previous owner was at maintenance.

I bought a 2018 250 sxf with 60 hard hours at the start of the year, was a bit rough around the edges but was reflected in the price with it being almost half the price of a new one. So I can also go through the motor and get the suspension done for the same price as a low hour one with an unknown history would have cost me.

So I think you gotta weigh up the hours vs price as sometimes the low hour bikes can have too much of a premium on them.

Most important thing is how hard the bike was ridden. I would never buy an A rider‘s bike, no matter how good its condition is

GaryC1 wrote:

I wouldnt say there is a number of hours that is "too much", just depends if the bike has been maintained properly during that time. I just bought a 2017 350 a month back with 50 hours on it with no engine work yet and it's running perfect, although i'll be doing a piston soon to be safe

50 hours on a 350 SXF, is nothing,

I have a 16 350sxf with 24 hours I'm gonna list it for 6200 if your interested thats with a 800$ rekluse on it

There’s more that goes into it. I know guys that have close to 100 hours on their bike and I wouldn’t hesitate to buy t from them. On the other hand, I know guys with 15-20 hours on their bikes and I wouldn’t touch them with a 10 foot pole.

Dunno where in Canada you are but we head up to Washington pretty often, if you interested in my
bike let me know. https://humboldt.craigslist.org/mcy/d/2017-ktm-250sx/6602829157.html

Like others have said, it more about the maintance imo and the owner than the hours.

Thanks for the replies. To the people with bikes for sale, our money is worthless right now so I probably won't be shopping over the border.

I've been buying used bikes for a long time and will tell you that it is a total crap shoot. I bought a well used CR250 off a guy who I knew didn't take care of it (pro circuit pipe and chain rusted to hell) and that thing never had one issue. Not one.

Bought another bike off a mechanic who I thought took great care of it and had to rebuild the top and bottom end within 9 months.

Not scaring you off it, I never buy new. Just saying, there's no fixed rules to live by that I can tell.

Whatever you buy, just plan on rebuilding it. Insurance.

I recommend looking for the best overall "value" bike and not focus on any specific amount of hours. If a clapped out bike from an A racer is cheap enough and it has lots of extra goodies you want (high end suspension and full exhaust), just factor the cost of a full rebuild into the price. That might be your best overall value. Or look at bone stock Vet owned bikes with low hours, then think about the extra costs of adding on exhaust, suspension, etc (those items can be $$$). That may be the best overall value as well. It all just depends. When it comes to the newer 4 strokes (specifically 450s), these bikes can handle a LOT of hours. But just go ride it - if it breaks, fix it and ride it again. No need to stress about it. We've all become such a throw-away society. There used to be a day when people bought stuff and when it broke, they just fixed it and kept stuff for a long time. I've found myself reverting to that mindset now days, even if I can afford new stuff. Consumerism.....

If I was buying a 2 stroke .I'd buy as cheap as I can with a good frame and parts that looks clean .Then I'd rebuild the engine fully the sec I got it . 4 stroke I'd look for low hours . But 20 hr with bad filters no oil change s is prob worse than 80 hr kept right

So many variables to this question. About impossible to answer without knowing the history of the bike. Weather it be 2 stroke or 4 stroke.......it all depends on who owned it before , where it was ridden , who rode it, who worked on it , what it will take money wise to get it dependable. So , so many variables.

#434 wrote:

Most important thing is how hard the bike was ridden. I would never buy an A rider‘s bike, no matter how good its condition is

I would buy an A riders bike as they are usually well maintained. Having grown up in a rural/farming area and being a racer I know how well a racers bike is maintained compared to the average, and very slow farmers kids bike. Most farmers kids bikes are lucky to get an oil change annually, and they dont know where the air filter is. They are happy to hold it flat out down a headland for kilometers though. The farmers think mx bikes need services at the same intervals as a tractor.

I have also had a car mechanic tell me that if a car can go 15000klm a mx bike can go 5000, and a diesel fitter told me that if a coal mining haul truck can do 500hrs between oil changes carrying 360ton, a mx bike can go 50hrs (he had a crf450 with 20hrs that had not had an oil change from new).

If you bought a national champs old race bike it would probably be the best bike you ever threw a leg over.