Hey gents,

Looking at a used 1997 XL1200. Owner says he got it from "a guy who buys bikes at auction and flips them." The speedo was taken off and the current owner has no idea of the mileage. Says he's had it for about two years and put about 2k miles on it, been reliable without issue.

Haven't seen bike in person yet (going tomorrow) but it looks relatively clean/well cared for in the photos. He's done some custom work to make it look a little more cafe-style (2-1 pipe, A/C, bars, fender, etc), but says the engine is stock, the carb "has been cleaned and re-jetted", and has new fluids. He also said he had the tranny and compression checked...skeptical on these last two points but I'll ask him who did it and what he means by having the tranny checked.

This will be my second sporty and my umpteenth bike, but I'm a little nervous having zero idea of the mileage. Is there any way to estimate the mileage? I'm worried about getting a 50k+ bike.

What should I check for? Sounds to be aware of?

Bonus: How should the unknown mileage affect my offer?

Any advice appreciated. Thanks dudes!!!

 

The title should have the last known mileage on it. You can guesstimate from there.

 

Good point! I will ask to see that.