Selecting your first motorcycle, part 1: reasonable mileage for a used motorcycle
By Maverick - Nov 17, 2005

Response: There is an average but you would have to collect a lot of data to figure that out.  More about this later. 

Let's identify and consider some of the factors that influence the number of miles a motorcycle owner rides each year to establish a frame of reference to think about annual miles.   

There are many bikers who go out for a ride on the weekend. It is often within 50 miles from home, because the ride involves meeting up with some friends and having brunch, coffee or some other beverage (although anything with alcohol is not advised).  If a motorcycle owner does this 26 times a year.  That is a total of 1300 miles per year.  In fact, the author of this article owned a Honda Valkrie in the mid nineties, did what seemed to be a lot of riding, and logged 7000 in three years. Average miles per year: 2,333. 

A lot of bikers ride less than 5000 miles a year.  That's 96 miles a week.  For two wage earner families, there are always other things to do on weekends.  So, let’s say on twenty-six weekends out of a year, you have other things to do like going to children’s or grandchildren’s activities, grocery shopping, weddings, holiday celebrations, church functions, birthday parties, cleaning the house and taking care of the yard, etc.  Or maybe weather is a factor and you have some anxiety about whether you or your motorcycle is waterproof.  You now have 192 miles to ride during the remaining twenty-six weekends.  At a minimum, it will take four hours of riding at an average of 48 MPH (a good average in many circumstances) to cover 192 miles.  If you add in a stop or two for fuel, lunch, a soda and/or to stretch your legs; suddenly you've got 8 hours tied up.  Many people don't have that kind of leisure time. 

So, more often than not, people buy a bike and ride it 2000 to 4000 miles per year.  Usually, this includes several weekend rides and errands to make up the total annual miles.

In a recent survey of 250 riders, of a motorcycle club, only six percent of the total membership, rode their motorcycles more than 5000 miles during the past year.  Most of these motorcyclists had invested between $16,000 and $22,000 in their motorcycles. The survey was done with a group that lives in an area that has more that 300 days of sunshine per year.  

The point is, people do not put a lot of miles on their motorcycles if it is not their primary mode of transportation.
 
When it comes to a used motorcycle, keep in mind that low mileage may not be a good thing, because it could mean that it has not been maintained properly. 
 
I have a friend that has ridden 66,000 miles over the last 6 years and his motorcycle runs perfectly.  The reason: the bike is in great shape because of regular care and maintenance.