Assuming average maintanance was done and no major overhauls, how many miles can one expect to get out of that (or any other) HD engine before major work?

Would you buy a bike with 60k if it was clean, garage kept and priced well?

 

Read a lot of threads . You will notice what is the cheapest , Never let a dealer touch the bike. Only an Indy touches mine.
I have put well over 60K on a 103 and a TC96. However I would never buy a used one. Unless I knew the owner and the bike very well.
The miles are not nearly the problem the current owner is.

 

You will find proud owners of 103's that have over 100K on them. Maintenance, as stated above is very important and so it how you ride. If you ride like me, I will be very happy to see 100K some day.

 

Recently I asked a senior mechanic at my dealer about the new M8 engines. He said "I am still waiting and watching that platform. Not sure yet of what we have there, only time and miles will tell. But for sure, the 103 is a proven engine to me. We see them all the time with over 100,000 miles on them with no major problems. Run a good synthetic and keep it changed regularly, and they last and last and last".
I agree the one operating it has a lot to do with it.
I used to work with a guy that owned a tool rental store. He was often upset with the condition His equipment was returned in. Ditch diggers, stump grinders, chain saws, bob cat loaders, you name it. Often He would say "You or I could run any of these 10 years and any one of them would be in better shape than many that have only been rented out 2 or 3 times".
Some folks don't give a chit about how they operate things. The previous owner's actions would play a big part in my decision. Come to think of it, that's probably why I tend to buy new stuff, LOL.

 

Maintenance is one thing, the operator is the other. I managed the Maintenance for a large fleet of vehicles, we often purchased large lots of new equipment, maintained them all the same. It was amazing to see the difference in overall condition of the vehicles after the miles added up. Operator is key.

In my life of motorcycling that spans over 40 years, Most issues I have seen were caused by the owner.

 

The twin cams are pretty reliable. You hear of problems here and there but people tend to go online with their problems. The people that aren't remain relatively silent. I had 50k on it with the original compensator despite having cams in it from day one. Not one mechanical problem with that bike.

 

If it is "well priced" as you say, I wouldn't have a problem buying it. If the buyer would let you, take it to an indy and have then inspect it. The only thing I would be concerned about was crank run out. Any other repair is not going to be crazy money. Also, ask an indy how much to freshen it up. If the bike is a good deal, then paying to have the top end of the engine done is not outrageous. New pistons, heads redone, new lifters, upgraded oil pump, cams and you'd have a bike good for an easy 100,000 miles.

I put 112,000 miles on my 08 that had a TC96. It was still running when I took it in and my indy told me the cylinders looked good. My valve guides were starting to wear and leak and the lifters were clattering. I could have had the heads done and new lifters for cheap and got many more miles out of it but had the money in the bank so I went all in for a full rebuild with all the upgrades.

 

I just sold my 96" out of my 06 FLHTC with 92000 miles to somebody up north, it worked fine and the compression was still normal.

 

Seems to me the 103 is fairly solid. But, if you read these forums you could be afraid to even leave home on one. After reading many, many posts I have come to this conclusion. Crank run out problems on the 103's is fairly rare. Probably not even worth mentioning. That doesn't, however, make the ones who have had a problem feel any better. It was more of a problem with the 96's and HD seems to have figured something out. That being said you have to know enough to know how to treat the engine. Lifters seem to be the weak link once HD went with the C lifters. Problems might be exaggerated. Especially with stock cams. The lifter "frosting" issue seems to be common but many people, including HD, say it is just cosmetic. Others say that is complete BS. I did read a post by a owner who took his out at 30K when he replaced his cam tensioner shoes. His were frosted. He just put them back in. When he checked them again at 70K he said they looked the same as they did at 30K. That is just one example but it might mean that the frosting is indeed cosmetic. Especially considering other brands of lifters frost too. That being said, if I were changing cams I would put a better lifter in it. And when it came time to check and replace the cam tensioner shoes I would replace them while I was at it. Some people have become so worried about lifters that they change theirs all the time with the favored brand of the month. Not sure that is necessary.

 

If I can chime in. I'm no where as experienced as a lot of you guys and I have a lot of respect for guys who have been seriously riding and maintaining their bikes for years.
From what I see, a lot of guys take to much advice from what they read online. They over modify their bike putting to many aftermarket parts on. Not all aftermarket parts will work well with each other and over time will cause problems. That and not taking care of the bike well.


Before buying my Streetglide, I owned a Yamaha Roadstar. That bike road like a dream, then I started putting all of these cheap aftermarket parts and having different mechanics work on it. The bike then had electrical issues; ran like crap and left me stranded a couple of times. I learned my lesson from that.


So, how do you know what was done to the bike during the 60K period? How well was it maintained? What parts may be on it or where on it and removed. That's to much of a risk. For this expensive hobby, I prefer new or certified used.