just bought a 95 ex500 w/ 27000 (yeah you read it right) miles, but super cheap and in awesome shape. Only one dent the size of a dime on the tank in the front where you cant even hardly seen it. what do you think?

 

I'm the 4th owner of a '97 ex500 with 38k on it. From what I've heard the engines are pretty tough, so a lot of miles isn't necessarily a bad thing, it just the bike was actually used, not just garaged.

 

well the bike was owned by twosheriff deputys from the same dept., the first a female, the original owner, the second a male whom i am buying it from. Ive seen a vid of him riding for a few miles and it sounds good. He never raced or anything to my knowledge. Also he did some maintenance and it looks good. i was just wondering what a 95 500 what get before it died (as far as miles). i am open to any comments.

 

I just sold my 2000 R1 with 43109 on her, yea 43,109!

She will be missed

 

how many miles can these engines go? what is considered a lot? i am not familiar with street bikes, more dirt and cruisers.

 

alot? depends on how it was used, and what you expect? Did a 53000 mile on a GS, abit loose but still good. Performance wise, I would have wanted it tightend up. But still good. Mileage? still depends on what you expect and the useage.

 

apparently the bike was mainatained well w/ reg oil changes and all that.

 

If the previous owner doesn't have a bunch of facial piercings 27,000 miles is not bad at all. Bonus points if they have kids.
The number of miles is not really an indicator of a used bike's value at this point. When a bike gets this old, little things like the rubber seals, gaskets and hoses start to corrode/decay.
For example the rubber in the fuel line may start to decay and little rubber bits can get in your carb float bowl and mess things up. (It's an easy fix, but there are several little items like this. Another one is the rubber intake boots between the intake tracts and the carburetors--they are exposed to a lot of heat and that rubber will age and crack, resulting in small air-leaks that will give you a lean condition.
But don't be discouraged by this, we take chances when we buy a new bike too. Heck, we take chances every time we ride in traffic!
This engine is based on Kawasaki's bulletproof Concours--same bore, stroke, valvegear and many other shared components, just half as many cylinders. I really fell in love with my Pa's '98 Concours engine while doing his valve adjustments and other maintenance, but I don't need or want a bike that big. That's why I love this 500 so well.
My Pa's last Concours made it to 93,000 miles (and still wasn't appreciably burning oil) when he gave it to his friend. Because we 500's have to rev a little higher than those big 1000's (and we lack the I-4's supreme state of balance), ours probably won't last that long. I totalled my last bike at only 21,000 miles, so I didn't get a chance to find out. Maybe this bike...
Good luck!
-CCinC

 

I think you are ok. 27k is not too bad. Does the previous owner have any maintence records?

Give all the hoses and fuel lines a good looking at. Make sure nothing is cracked or dry looking.

Kawi makes pretty much a bullet proof motor. My '01 ZRX has 57k and hasn't missed a beat.

 

Good one, LOL

It is a shame the stigma that bikes have, 18,000 miles and she is done. It really hurts reasale value, I think it is promoted by the manufactures anmd there dealers. Biaotches!