How long should a Maxi last?

[Drago]

How long would you expect a Maxi Scooter to last before it becomes unviable to repair if a major
part fails? When I look up vehicle life times all I can find is engine lifetimes. I'm not just talking the engine,
I mean the actual chasis & other components - radiators, pumps, electrics etc.

My SYM GTS250i cost me £2999 in 2008 and come June it'll be five years old. It's got 23000km on the clock,
so around 13000 miles. I don't do massive mileage on it but I do use it frequently for shorter 15miles journeys
typically 4/5days a week come any weather (except snow/ice). It's kept outside under a cover. So far apart from
normal consumables the only part I had fail was a £20 switch for the underseat light a few months ago. Also as I use
the scoot all winter and it's kept outside the exhaust rotted through after 3years, costing £380 to replace (inc labour).

Now the replacement exhaust is rusted over, the centre stand is rusty and the front wheel is badly pitted. There's
spots of rust on pretty much every metal part. Many exposed screws/bolts are rusted. When I had a new tyre fitted
recently it took longer for a bolt had corroded so badly it had to be drilled out. I've also never used ACF50 or changed
the bolts/screws to alloy ones. I also don't get to clean it often, it's often dark when i'm home though I do try to clean the salt off in winter as often as possible.

I've looked up 2nd hand SYM GTS prices and the most they fetch for similiar mileage/age but better cosmetic condition is £1899 this is from a dealer. So my GTS is probably only worth £1200-1300 if i was to sell it. In all honesty I will keep it
until it goes wrong and will cost more than £400 to fix. It's still all working perfectly fine at the moment, no problems
apart from some corrosion on the starter relay, cost £12 to fix a few months ago.

To be honest I reckon I've got my monies worth out of it. £1800 loss in five years ain't to bad. I suppose if I'd looked after it better and kept it garaged it'll be in much better condition. I suppose how a vehicles looked after and used can have a large effect on it's life.

So what are your thought on this?

How long would you expect your Maxi to last before giving up or costing to much to fix?

[pikey]

Keep it and get off your arse and rust proof it is my advice

[gn2]

Pointless worrying about the cosmetics, it was built to be ridden so ride it.
If you take care of the functional bits with normal servicing it should easily last you another ten or twenty years.
A bloke rode past me on a Vincent Rapide the other day, given the state of the roads just now I reckon he wasn't giving much of a toss about the cosmetics.

[pikey]

Exactly all you will do is buy another shinny one and it will go the same both my 2 Helix are 22 years old total cost is £900 for the 2 and have 2 of everything so hoping for another 20 years out of one of them

Or till give up riding at least just remembered Im 58 this year so cant see me being alive or riding in 20 years time

[KEEFYBEE]

In terms of milage...erm you're just breaking it in. I'm on an 08 Xevo 125, so our wheels are of a similar age , as of getting home from work tonight 36180 miles ( around 58000 km). As Gm2 says look after the motor and oil side , mine gets serviced avery 2-3000 miles at my local dealer, who funnily enough has just switched over from selling Piaggio to SYM. Mine after four and a half years is in average condition, but it does get used 4 days a week covering around 160 miles. Mechanically its still sound, although Ive had the odd obligatory electrical issues ( immobilser aerial x4, re-wire from battery to alternator, 12v socket fusing ), the majority were carried out under warranty, so not really a problem, just inconvenient when they happened. Theres plenty of life left in yours yet.

[halfabusa]

You're doing the best thing already, which is riding it frequently. It doesn't matter if it's outside or in a garage, as long as you do the servicing properly and change the usual consumables it should last you a long time. Noone looks around to park their cars in a garage, why should bikes be any different. They are vehicles meant to be exposed to the elements. I wouldn't worry much about little rusty bolts, etc. Both my K3 burgman and MK1 tmax were constantly outside with no rust protection applied at all, ridden through all year and they were both fine. Wash it weekly through winter months to clear away the grit and you'll be fine.

Oh and both the old burgman and tmax were higher mileage than what yours currently have when i bought them.

[masterchop]

My sportcity has done over 40k. It's starting to get a bit worn. I hope it lasts another 20k.

I was quite obsessed with cleaning and making sure nothing rusted but I have to remind myself that my bikes have Ben knocked over by cars whilst parked 5 times.

As long as its sound and not too shabby then just enjoy it. Having a pristine bike is just a recipe for disaster.

Unless you hardly ride it and its garaged.

[TmaX9]

I wouldn't put a time frame on the longevity, more a simple cost effectiveness between keeping it and repairing or selling and replacing.
When you factor in the cost between what you get either as trade in or selling and what you have to spend on the new bike, plus change of insurance cost, loss of outstanding road tax, and any extras you need or want to fit to the new bike that the old one had but you couldn't transfer, against the repair or renovation cost on the old bike and unless the old bike needs a lot of work and parts, it's nearly always cheaper to keep what you have.
If you are trading in because the faults are too noticeable to make a private sale, you always have the risk that what you are buying also has hidden problems and was traded in for the same reasons by it's previous owner. The dealer may have patched up the obvious ones, but have they done all of them, or even found most of them?

If you want a time frame based answer, then based on my bikes, I would say a minimum of 10 years of all weather all year round usage, or in mileage terms 80-100,000 miles for a larger bike and 40-60,000 for a 125 before maintenance time and cost starts to outstrip the enjoyment factor.

[mightbesane]

I don't have much to add to what's already been said. I bought my 2004 Burgman with 12,000 miles on the clock 18 months ago, doubled that since, and would expect it to last more than another 24,000 miles without major worries because I ride it frequently, service it regularly, and fix what breaks. Rust? When I see it I deal with it. For instance, when I found rust on the center stand, I used a wire brush on the tip of my electric drill to brighten it up, then painted it over.

[maxine500]

Good topic. Have wondered bout this myself as I happily scoot about on my Mk1 Tmax. Done approx. 30 thous miles in uk talk. We live on an island a wee bit smaller than Ireland, this keeps the milage down a bit but will hopefully attempt a ride up the east coast of Oz at the end of the year. I intend to take the old Tmax so it had better be up to it!