Hidden high mileage

[entonox]

Hi all, I'm the most paranoid bike owner going

I have just go an 08 FJR1300 from Triumph Birmingham. At face value the bike is spotless absolutely immaculate.

Rides well and seems "tight" if that makes any sense.

MOT and mileage tally and has some history mainly self documented service reports.

The bike has 10500 miles on the clock apparently, and looks and rides exceptionally well.

So why the paranoia ? the gear lever rubber seem abnormally worn in respect of the rest of the bike. Is it a clocked high mile bike?

I know FJR;s are good for a chunk of miles.......................but still the state of the gear lever rubber is nagging me.

Has anyone had any ware issues with the rubber suggesting the rubber wares easy.......if that males sense.

Thanks

TERRY

 

[Niehart]

Terry, it all depends on the position of the riders boot on the shift lever.

Escapefjrtist's shift rubber still looks new with lots of miles.

Mine, on the other hand, not so much. My excuse is a ankle that was remodeled by a drunk driver years ago.

 

[Ignacio]

the gear lever rubber seem abnormally worn in respect of the rest of the bike. Is it a clocked high mile bike?I know FJR;s are good for a chunk of miles.......................but still the state of the gear lever rubber is nagging me.

Has anyone had any ware issues with the rubber suggesting the rubber wares easy.......if that males sense.

I've got 8000 miles on my '14 and the rubber is significantly worn. The one data point doesn't concern me in the least or make me think it might be high mileage.

I went through about 3 rubbers including flipping them on my '05 that had 168K before I semi-retired it.

 

[BkerChuck]

I agree with Niehart on this. My shift rubber looks terrible at less than 38k miles. I think my boots that I've been wearing must just be more abrasive or the shift rubber softer than I'm used to.

 

[ahchiu]

As others have said wear depends on the riders boot, I wear mine sooner and stock up on spares.

 

[Top_Speed1]

If it's in that good a shape, runs and rides as well as you say.... who cares what the digits say and what the shifter boot looks like.

Ride it and have a ball!

 

[harpo]

I bought my 05 in Febuary with 16000 easy miles and very well mantained, it still has the new smell ! I to noticed the shifter rubber is worn. It has to be just soft rubber and nothing more.

 

[Bugnatr]

10,500 miles? It's almost broke in-buy it!

 

[entonox]

Thanks for the encouragement fellas.

I know condition and not just mileage is more important.............................just like to know where I stand.

Fill it with petrol ride it service it and use the bugger.......

 

[John d]

My '08 shift rubber didn't last long either. I replaced it with a piece of clear vinyl tubing.

No need to worry about it being a high miler because of that.

 

[art miller]

In years past, I've worn out rubbers but never on the shifter lever. After extensive imagination on this matter I conclude wear is determined by rider's sliding his boot on a off the shifter. After over 30K on past FJR's the shifter rubber showed very little wear. I do not slide my foot over the shifter and I do not rest my foot on the shifter. I suspect tension on the shifter when not shifting gears may damage the transmission. That may not be correct but I think I read that somewhere.

 

[mcatrophy]

I've almost never used the foot lever to change gear on my AS's, yet the foot rubber wears significantly on the upper surface where the sole of my foot touches.

You have no issue.

 

[CA G-Man]

Soft rubber. Mine was noticeably worn, top and bottom (but more on the bottom) at 13,000 km.

 

[Walter]

Certian models had a issue with the milege report on tje dash and the whole dash was replaced as the fix. Once done it could result with a co.pleate reset of the milage reported on the bike. My recent purchase was a very low miles 06 and i was wary. So I tool the vin to my local yammy shop and had it run. It dosent show everything lile BMW,s network but it will show if warentee or recall work was done. Mine came back good so i took the plunge. Best of luck I dont blame you for trying to make sure your money is as wisely spent as possable.

 

[ionbeam]

As Walter says, the only way to alter the mileage is to change the entire meter assembly (the gauges and circuit board). This is neither very easy or cheap, I can't imagine someone being motivated enough to change the meter assembly, then put 10.5k miles on the bike. You are just looking at the condition it's in as it sits. 10.5k miles is just broken in and not yet half way to the first valve check.

 

[RossKean]

Its funny with wear on the shifter. I haven't replaced mine yet at almost 125,000 miles and although it is a bit worn, it is not in need of immediate replacement. As Ionbeam mentioned, it is unlikely that someone bothered to replace the instrument cluster to make an old bike appear new. If they were going to the expense and trouble, why not replace the shifter rubber at the same time?

If the bike is truly high-mileage, there are other signs to look for that are harder to cover up. High mileage bikes have the inevitable "patina" owing to many miles of riding. In particular, the lower forward fairing panels end out somewhat grit-blasted; even if the bike isn't run on gravel roads. The triangular "chin" panel gets particularly eroded. Look for rub marks on the sides of the tank - Yamaha isn't known for diamond-hard clear coat and the tank sides will be hazy. Scratches and haze on the windscreen as well? Riding conditions and the rider's choice of gear may hasten the onset of such evidence but nobody can completely avoid it.

Scratches and dings are more a function of the rider than the mileage so that may not be a useful guide. The absence of such blemishes, however, would suggest that someone took very good care of the bike.

You could check to see if the headlight bulbs are OEM unless the previous owner "upgraded". Originals are probably not good for more than 75,000 miles - likely less. Look for dirt and dust under the seat (and/or tank). Its hard to completely clean all the nooks and crannies. Look for evidence of wear on main fasteners and even check the condition of the ignition keys for wear - Yamaha OEM keys are pretty soft brass and a key with 50,000 miles on it is noticeably worn compared to a 10,000 mile key. At that mileage, the sparkplugs could be original, a valve check hasn't been performed and the oil was probably changed once per year (or less).

Even if the bike has five times the displayed mileage, it still has a lot of life left in it; especially if it has been well cared for!

 

[Walter]

oh as a side note where i work i get alot of different oils and nasty stuff on my shoes. many of us that ride have foot peg and shifter rubbers expire early from it(on coworkers diavel's pegs look bad with only 8k miles). Just saying as you dont know what they were exposed to, the previous owner might of worked in a machine shop or car shop perhaps and so peg rubber suffered.

 

[escapefjrtist]

I wouldn't use the shift lever rubber as the sole barometer of mileage. As many have mentioned, much depends on how the PO moved his boot around on the pegs / shifter and their particular boot brand. Look for other indicators and assess the condition of the complete bike...

Good luck!

--G

 

[BikerGeek99]

Ride more.

Worry less.

If ya wanna see a 100K+-mile example of an FJR with "patina," come across the pond this weekend to Tech Day X in Owosso, Michigan, and check out my nasty-ass '04.