longevity

[Gene genie]

providing that your sv has been maintained to a reasonable standard, at what mileage do you decide enough is enough.
mines creeping towards 25,000 now and still looks good and responsive.

[yorkie_chris]

If this engine lasts till 60k I will put it on eBay and fit a newer one.

[thefallenangel]

I'd say 60k is enough to break. Which includes 5-6 C+S sets, 12 rears, 8 fronts, 15 oil + filter changes, 14 spark plugs, and lots of fuel.

[Lissa]

We sold our first one with 50,000 on the clock two years ago, and it's still going strong:D

[Gene genie]

If this engine lasts till 60k I will put it on eBay and fit a newer one.
explain chris, not sure if your being sarchastic?:D
would you expect this one to last 60,000, but they normaly go bang before then?

[jambo]

More than a couple of SVs have made it to 100,000 miles. Others have blown up at less than 20,000. The ones that have lasted have been well cared for, the ones that have not lasted have generally been wheelied lots, and had their oil checked infrequently.

Of course if it hits a car all bets are off.

The simple fact is most SVs aren't kept long enough to do 100,000 miles, even the oldest ones are now 10 years old and most people don't keep a bike that long and average 10,000 miles a year.

Jambo

[thefallenangel]

More than a couple of SVs have made it to 100,000 miles. Others have blown up at less than 20,000. The ones that have lasted have been well cared for, the ones that have not lasted have generally been wheelied lots, and had their oil checked infrequently.

Of course if it hits a car all bets are off.

The simple fact is most SVs aren't kept long enough to do 100,000 miles, even the oldest ones are now 10 years old and most people don't keep a bike that long and average 10,000 miles a year.

Jambo

I remember someone posting something about an SV making 120k and then blowing up but the guy only oil + filter changed every 5k so it lost out on 5 services. And generally the loom falls apart first.

[dizzyblonde]

Suzys first engine broke a bit at 22000, and rather than let it completely go bang, I replaced it with Pete n Lissa 27000 one, it hasn't run in a few months, but thats electrical, and I expect now that I look after things better and have learnt a lesson, that this one will hopefully live a very long time.
My other Sv has 33000 on it, and its tickety boo. Runs fine, has done since 28000 when i bought it, and i suspect that should live for long time too

[yorkie_chris]

explain chris, not sure if your being sarchastic?:D
would you expect this one to last 60,000, but they normaly go bang before then?

Depends. Depends on everything. I would like to think I use the engine properly when on a decent ride out, dunno whether anyone who was on the ecosse run wants to comment on that, but I don't think I am too much of a poofter with it.

Mine's downgeared, and not standard. So cruising rpm is like 7000, not the best thing for it. Really blows stuffing out of exhausts quickly too...

But I run it on an ester synthetic oil, and it gets serviced well. So I reckon the 2 will balance out, and give me 60k, unless it goes pop for some other reason before that.

So yeah, 60k and I find a lower mileage bottom end and build that up for it. Maybe keep the old one as a spare or flog it. Dunno.

[yorkie_chris]

More than a couple of SVs have made it to 100,000 miles. Others have blown up at less than 20,000. The ones that have lasted have been well cared for, the ones that have not lasted have generally been wheelied lots, and had their oil checked infrequently.

Some of the 99 ones also spun their big end bearings even when properly fed with oil :-(

Something to do with the pumping effect through a port down through cases into the sump pickup area. No idea what kind of riding causes this though.

[Ceri JC]

Mine has about 46K on the clock now, 4.5 years old. No engine troubles yet (touch wood) and no funny noises/reason to believe I will have any time soon. I'm 2/3rds of the way through the biggest load of maintenance it has had in its life. I sort of view it as its midlife service; a lot of the stuff I'm doing now I don't envisage needing doing again. Even if the engine goes bang, I'll just put a new one in.

[ogden]

Suzys first engine broke a bit at 22000

Jesus, I got to 20000 on a two stroke before the engine went pop. If that's all people are getting from a four stroke I'd be asking for a refund.

[yorkie_chris]

Problem is still unknown so it could be something very minor.

[hob]

Problem with V-engines is gravity is eating the piston ring(s) :(

IL4 FTW.

[yorkie_chris]

That's a new one.

[daveb]

I'd say 60k is enough to break. Which includes 5-6 C+S sets, 12 rears, 8 fronts, 15 oil + filter changes, 14 spark plugs, and lots of fuel.
That's quick math...:eek:

[hob]

That's a new one.

Not afaik :)

Few car manufacturers (think VW) changed from 12deg to 8deg cylinder angles.

Still not as bad as flat engines which get the full force rather than a fraction of gravity.

[yorkie_chris]

Hmmm. Considering the sideways load on the piston at full chat from the inertia of the conrod (not dependant on angle of inclination)? The pressure developed across 180deg of piston ring by the weight of the piston. (slight!)

I'd be surprised if the difference was not negligible.

[hob]

Hmmm. Considering the sideways load on the piston at full chat from the inertia of the conrod (not dependant on angle of inclination)? The pressure developed across 180deg of piston ring by the weight of the piston. (slight!)

I'd be surprised if the difference was not negligible.

I think the wear due to the high rpm nature of a motorbike engine will be the over riding factor, for a car engine though I would say it would be more important.

[MattCollins]

Blimey! I would expect to get at least 125,000mi out of the thing if treated well. That would probably mean at least one clutch, one or two sets of cam chains and guides, plus any internal plastic bits if it has any. If it were to go bang at 60,000mi it will still be under warranty - 2 years unlimited - but that would be no consolation.

Matthew

[speedplay]

If it were to go bang at 60,000mi it will still be under warranty - 2 years unlimited - but that would be no consolation.




You do 30,000 miles a year on your bike in the uk?! you need a car my friend ;)

[Viney]

Mines happy at 8 years old and a tad under 60000miles. It gets its oil changed at 5k and has done all its life. Other than needing a new rear tyre its fine.

[jambo]

Not afaik :)

Few car manufacturers (think VW) changed from 12deg to 8deg cylinder angles.

Still not as bad as flat engines which get the full force rather than a fraction of gravity.
I think most manufacturers have done this to get more compact engines, VW I believe managed to make a V6 that used a single head, as they got the V tight enough. I don't think gravity wear on the pistons is all that important otherwise all Ducati L-twins would wear the front cylinder out much faster than the rear, and I'm not sure that's what happens.

But this is a bit of a diversion from the original post, let's not get massivly side-tracked.

Jambo

[MattCollins]

You do 30,000 miles a year on your bike in the uk?! you need a car my friend ;)

Hell NO! I couldn't imagine cranking up that sort of mileage in the UK and I would imagine that the only people to get close to that over there are couriers. I am in the NT, Australia where everything is at least 300mi away. That is an easy sub 4 hour squirt down the road at the 80mph speed limit. It is very easy to rack up some serious mileage (70k annually on two bikes) with little effort when there is nothing to get in the way.

Car?!... You call yourself a friend and throw such an insult!:)

Cheers

[Baph]

Hell NO! I couldn't imagine cranking up that sort of mileage in the UK and I would imagine that the only people to get close to that over there are couriers.

I'm no courier, and over two years (and a bit - K6 bike), I've managed 37k.

Normal maintainance, if lovingly given by myself rather than a garage, and she's still going strong.

[arcdef]

so apart from regular oil + filter change what are the most important things bits of maintenance to be done?? Or is it just a case of do what the service manual says?

[hob]

I don't think gravity wear on the pistons is all that important otherwise all Ducati L-twins would wear the front cylinder out much faster than the rear, and I'm not sure that's what happens.

I would be highly interested to see how Ducati lubricate the front cylinder are Ducati engines reliable?

[Baph]

so apart from regular oil + filter change what are the most important things bits of maintenance to be done?? Or is it just a case of do what the service manual says?

Do what the manual says. Though I tend to do it before the manual says it needs doing most of the time. That's mostly due to me thinking ahead about time I have available to work on the bike though, rather than any inclination to help the engine survive longer.

Could still blow up on me tomorrow though.

[Sid Squid]

I know a few high mileage SVs, one has more than 100,000 and is still going well. Other than routine servicing and crash repairs it's fairly original and not much has been done.

[arcdef]

Guess i best book it in to get the valve clearance checked/adjusted then!

[northwind]

Mine is in its mid 40s, midlife crisis time ;) And the engine's never so much as missed a beat, other bits have had issues but not the engine. Barely run in really... It's been making about 80bhp for 25000 of those but it doesn't seem to notice.

[Biker Biggles]

They are good for 100000 miles plus if looked after.