in general, do liquid cooled engines....
 

...last significantly longer than air cooled engines?
...
also, whose got the harley with the highest milage here?
...
thx,
goo

i know a guy with a liquid cooled bike that has 275k on it. that has never had more than the oil changed and new spark plugs. never seen or herd of a haley lasting that long that didnt have to have at least one gasket fixed or someting.

My harley has 23,000 miles on it and I've never had to rebuild it. Now go eat your Trix.

As a general rule.......yes.

any one know of a harley with over 200k on it?

i work at a yamaha shop so that is all i see. my father in law put over 100k on his water cooled bike in the first 3 years.

yes they do.

I think it depends on the overall design and quality of the engine.

I have heard of many BMW air cooled engines with over 250k without a rebuild, and one of the guys I ride with regularly has 170k on his 05 R1200RT and the engine has never been opened, even for a clutch. Runs like a watch and doesn't use any oil.

There are a numerous Harley's with over 100k but seems a top end rebuild is recommended at about that time.

In 1919, Ryan became Harley's first service manager. In the 1930s, he helped the company license its technology to Japan, where Harley was credited with starting the Japanese motorcycle industry.

Ryan put more than 1 million miles on his Harley and a sidecar.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/29473659.html

http://www.bikernet.com/bikebarn/Pag...sp?PageID=2633

I remember reading that he went through about 9 rebuilds. I'll try to find the details.

I disagree at least when a liquid cooled bike is compared to a Harley.

My reasoning? There allot more old (high mileage) Harleys on the road than there are old (high mileage) rice burners. Is there more maintenance on a HD? Sure! Are they more likely to develop leaks? Sure!

Are there exceptions? Sure! There's always "some guy" who babied his Yamaha since it was new, changed the oil like it was a religion, and got allot of miles out of it.

On average though (average bike, average rider, average maintenance) not much will out last a HD.

When compared side by side there are only a couple bikes out there that will last as long as a HD and nothing I can think of will last longer.