10 Big-Bore Motorcycles That Hit 200,000 Miles Without Breaking
Over the past few years, we have seen planned obsolescence creeping into just about everything, including motorcycles. While it is not yet quite as prevalent as the auto industry, modern motorcycles are often equipped with certain features that can prove difficult and expensive to repair or replace down the line. This is not being done by accident, and it has not gone unnoticed.
While modern motorcycles are more mechanically reliable than ever, they are also feature-laden vehicles. Some features are genuine life-saving devices. ABS and traction control changed the industry, but slapping a big tablet on the dash only serves as a distraction and an additional failure point. The bikes on this particular list are all at least 5 years old (mostly older) and have proven to be remarkably reliable.
For a motorcycle to be considered “big-bore”, it should have a displacement of at least 1000cc. In line with this, we did not consider any bikes with a smaller displacement for this list.
10
1996 Honda CBR1100XX
Price Range: $3,000 – $5,000
The Blackbird came out right when the “Speed Wars” were really heating up back in the mid-90s. This ended Kawasaki’s seven-year reign at the top, and forced answers out of all the other manufacturers. Not only was this speed queen fast, but over the next three decades it has also proven to be tremendously reliable. With these bikes being built with the insane tolerances associated with consistently achieving speeds in excess of 150 MPH, they will happily accumulate hundreds of thousands of miles when employed for regular road use.
9
1998 Harley-Davidson Road Glide
Price Range: $4,000 – $6,000
At the other end of the speed spectrum, we have an old Road Glide. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a Road Glide, though. This only serves as a placeholder for the venerable EVO motor, which has proven more than capable of getting past the 100,000-mile mark without any significant issues. This is largely down to the mild state of tune these V-twins were in from the factory, and while certain modifications will yield significant performance gains, they will also all but ruin their famed reliability.
8
2000 Suzuki Hayabusa (1st Generation)
Price Range: $3,000 – $5,000
Initially conceived to wrestle the “fastest production motorcycle” title away from the aforementioned Blackbird, in the subsequent years the Hayabusa has proven to be more than just a fast motorcycle. Just like the Honda, its inline-four powertrain has proven to be nigh on bulletproof. It is also one of the most heavily modified platforms on the market, so finding one that has actually been properly maintained is arguably the hardest part.
7
2005 Honda Gold Wing GL1800
Price Range: $9,000 – $11,000
By the early 00s, Honda had pretty much perfected the touring motorcycle. In fact, in some respects, this was seen as being a little too good. Its wind protection was so effective that it didn’t really feel much like a conventional motorcycle, but we are pretty sure 20 years of wear and tear would have long since taken care of this “issue.” By this time, it was already equipped with the same ultra-smooth flat-six you will find in the modern bike, just with fewer failure points, ahem, modern features.
6
2010 BMW R 1200 GS Adventure
Price Range: $7,000 – $9,000
By 2010, the R 1200 GS was very much the finished article. It featured the most powerful version of the old air-cooled boxer twin, and is the stuff of legends. While several adventure bikes have entered the fray over the past few years, this is the bike that really kick-started this dual-purpose revolution. By modern standards, it is relatively light for a big-bore adventure-touring bike, and can more than hold its own off-road.
5
2013 Honda VFR1200F
Price Range: $6,000 – $8,000
Back when the VFR1200F was new, it was largely ignored thanks to how expensive it was, and the fact that it wasn’t particularly comfortable for a touring bike. With 170 horsepower on tap, it certainly is not short of speed, but without looking deeper, most people didn’t understand what an engineering masterpiece this V4 really was. It proved to be the configuration’s swansong, and it alone is worth the price of admission.
4
2016 Yamaha FJR1300
Price Range: $7,000 – $9,000
Technically, you can still buy the old FJR as a 2024 model, but it got its last significant update back in 2016. This saw the introduction of a six-speed transmission as well as a slipper clutch, a couple of things we tend to take for granted these days. At this price point, you could theoretically find a bike with electronic suspension, but it is known to fail, and it is very expensive to replace. Getting the base model is the safer bet, in our opinion.
3
2016 Kawasaki Concours 14
Price Range: $7,000 – $9,000
The equally competent Concours 14 has since gone off sale, but it will not be particularly hard to find on the used market. Based on an old speed queen platform, the Concours offers superior wind protection and comfort to the more sporty Ninja ZX-14. It is also in a more mild state of tune, and has proven more than capable of crossing the 100,000-mile threshold. Getting a good deal on a high-mileage bike is certainly not a bad way to go, but it is important to make sure it has some form of service record.
2
2018 Yamaha MT-10
Price Range: $8,000 – $10,000
Yamaha has given us a long line of tremendous inline-four superbike engines, but the CP4, in this more mild state of tune (at least when compared to the R1, there is nothing mild about the MT-10) the MT has proven to be metronomically reliable. With more usable midrange power, the MT-10 is also an outrageously fun motorcycle to ride, accompanied by a completely unique exhaust note thanks to its crossplane crank. Unfortunately, this generation of the bike is also infamously heavy on fuel, often called the “empty ten” thanks to how quickly it empties its tank.
1
2021 Honda Rebel 1100
Price Range: $6,000 – $8,000
While the 1100 Unicam engine is technically a big-bore lump, there is no denying that it functions more like a middleweight in Honda’s lineup. Over the years it has been in production, it has proven to be one of the most reliable motorcycle engines on the market. As far as modern motorcycles go, the previous-generation Rebel is relatively sparsely equipped and is almost future-proof.
Source: KBB
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