Evenin' all, just a quick one. I've been offered a '97 Fireblade which i would put in a Terrapin to Hillclimb if i bought it. Only problem is it has done over 140,000 miles. Somewhat alot even for a pretty bulletproof Honda. What would you guys consider excessive mileage? Thanks...Russ.

140.000

I would think 50.000 is excessive.

Ditto, rather excessive I would say!! You seldom see an engine advertised over 20-30k let alone 140k
Personally I'd say anything still in its teens or newer would generally be fine, anything 20-30k is probably OK but over that its a bit of a lottery, they are only bulletproof if serviced properly and although this engine has obviously had some TLC to even get this far in life, doing that amount of mileage on a bike and making sure its serviced every 6k is going to be pricey so it may well have missed a few along the line.

I would like to see the bike it was pulled from

Russ,
What sort of budget do you have for an engine?
Its just that I've just bought a blade engine from AB Performance for £800.
For which you get an engine that has been fully stripped, inspected and rebuilt with new mains and bigends as a matter of course, an extra heavy duty barnett clutch, a baffled sump and new samco hoses. you'll also get a loom, CDI, carbs, reg/rectifier etc.
All replacement parts are genuine Honda.
The guy (Andy Bates) certainly knows his stuff and is a mine of information on all things to with blade engines and racing. He was a 3 times british sidecar champion.

Cheers,
Andy.

That sounds like a bargain, are you sure all his engines get that treatment before being sold (at a good price)?

I would imagine maybe they are a couple that have already been rebuilt and now they are shifting them on, I cant imagine they could do that for every engine they sell at £800.

Nonsense, bike engines are pretty tough.

A friend had a GSXR100H that he bought new and put on nearly 150 000 in three years.

It would still p over everything at the time.

So long as it's been serviced (properly and at the right time) it should be fine.
Get it running before parting with the readies, that should give you an idea on condition. Check for smoke, rattles, rumblings (bearings), responsiveness and constant operating temp. If no smoke/rattles/rumbles, it blips nicely and runs at a constant temp, I reckon it'll be ok.

It's good bargaining point.

"With that mileage - I'll give you fifty quid."

You can buy a nearly mint ZZR1100 for a grand, so an engine with 140k can't be that much

Anyway, it's your money!

ATB

Simon

quote:

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Originally posted by ChrisGamlin
That sounds like a bargain, are you sure all his engines get that treatment before being sold (at a good price)?

I would imagine maybe they are a couple that have already been rebuilt and now they are shifting them on, I cant imagine they could do that for every engine they sell at £800.

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I agree that for £50-100 or so its probably worth a punt if you don't mind taking a bit of a risk, but if they are asking much more than that and you're banking on it being a good runner Id say to save your few hundred quid and put it towards a low mileage engine. Bike engines take a fair battering in a car anyway so the last thing you want to do is start off with one thats nearing the end of its useful life.

cheers

Chris

[Edited on 4/4/05 by ChrisGamlin]

Andrew, that does sound like a rediculously good deal then, if I still had a blade I'd be knocking on his door. I just cant see how he makes a profit on them though, a gasket set for a blade is £2-300 for geniune Honda parts, a Barnett clutch (if its a full clutch) is ~£200, plus shells/bearings, Samco hoses etc and his labour time to do it all, plus obviously the engine itself which usually go for that amount to start with!

cheers

Chris

the good thing about the blade is that they only have a major service every 16000 miles,and evan then the shims hardly ever need replacing,but with 140,000 miles it might be ok for spares