FZ-07 Advice/Life Expectancy - New Rider

[tmysl 0]

Hey, everyone!

I know there have been other conversations on the life expectancy of these bikes, but I was looking for some input on a specific scenario. I am a 24 year old new rider looking for my first bike. It's been a dream of mine since I was very young, and I've finally reached the tipping point on my wife's anti-motorcycle campaign.

My plan was to sell my old truck (1998 Ford Ranger, 155k miles) to work towards my first bike, and I now have a potential offer for a trade to happen instead. I'm potentially being offered a 2015 Yamaha FZ-07 with 39k miles in exchange for my truck. I have another daily driver (2013 Volkswagen CC) that I use to drive my daughter to school and take the brunt of the commuting, so I don't need the truck and the bike wouldn't be the daily driver. But, let's be real, I'd still be riding it a ton. I also love doing maintenance on my cars myself, and I'm super excited about learning the ins and outs of motorcycle maintenance as well.

Is this a good idea? Horrible trade? Is it likely to last me a while, or should I leave it alone with the mileage? Let me know what you guys think. Thanks!

Edited July 19 by tmysl

[Raayoni 16]

3 hours ago, tmysl said:

Is this a good idea? Horrible trade? Is it likely to last me a while, or should I leave it alone with the mileage? Let me know what you guys think. Thanks!

I just saw that @GEVO is up to 85,000 miles on his FZ, after purchasing it at 79,000 miles. You can read his thread about some of the maintenance/mods he's done to keep it going.

Edited July 19 by Raayoni

[sorkyah 1,606]

39k isn't that much

There are several bikes out there upwards of 70k 

@zombiphone put over 60k in roughly one year on hers doing a cross country then international trip through South America

 

I'm sitting about 30k on mine right now and the only thing I haven't done is the valves. 

 

If you wanna teach your daughter to be a passenger 

Wouldn't be a bad bike to start on either 

Compared to some other sportbikes the fz has a rather large pillion

[robbo10 364]

For me, the mileage is not so important. The question should be: how has it been treated/maintained so far?  

[AlbatrossCafe 557]

2015 with 30k. Checked the valves at 25k and they needed no adjustment. I have done oil changes every 3-4k. Did coolant and brake fluid at 25k. Spark plugs every 8k but TBH could probably do every 10 as every time I change them they are clean.

It's all super easy without fairings. Not that high-strung of an engine, and most of the time you ride in low-mid RPMs where the torque is. I want to keep mine till 100k

[cleverriver 7]

while the engine can certainly go high mileage, I would err on the side of caution and try to get something a little fresher. Other wear items you should consider would be things like sprockets (front/rear), chain, chain guide, gaskets, etc should all be looked at as well

[mossrider 1,538]

If you want to become familiar with the machine and look forward to putzing with it then I would have no qualms about a medium mileage machine. The regular maintenance items like brakes, tires, oil, chain and sprockets are easy to deal with and relatively cheap to purchase. I would try to figure anything it may need along those lines into the deal however.  A first bike is an opertune place to learn some basic skills both on and to the bike and a low cost FZ a perfect starting point. You're talking about a $3000ish dollar deal give or take, that leaves plenty of room for some parts and education. 

Good luck either way.