What to expect?

[bbelk]

In a different post, I asked how long my brushes would last and that made me think of this. I am sure there is a list somewhere, and if there isn't, then you are just the right people to create that list. That list being; How long do parts last. For some parts I suppose the life would be measured in years rather than miles.

Assume moderate street use, average to below average maintainece - no drag raceing (on an airhead?) - no wheelies and no stopies.

Transmission:
Clutch:
Brake pads:
Brake Shoes:
Odometer (never mind that it didn't work new):
wheel barrings:
throw out barrings:
rotor
brushes
stator

and on and on and on..

[bbelk]

Pushrod seals:
oil pan seal;
valves (pre un-leaded);
crank shaft parts
Rings
rear main seal
drive hub seals
wheel splines
Oil Pumps

and on and on and on...

[Major Softie]

How long is "how long?" Because of the age of these bikes, many of these parts, (for instance: seals, coils, electrical insulation) last a lot more miles on a bike ridden a lot, than a bike that has sat aging in a garage. Things that age over time, but with it accelerated by heat, will have their lifetimes determined by a complex relationship between miles and time. So, they are much more difficult to give a specific mileage OR time expectancy.

[Ken in Oklahoma]

. . . How long do parts last. For some parts I suppose the life would be measured in years rather than miles. . .

I tried to come up with some answers, at least on some of the items listed. But I couldn't come up with anything that even I would find meaningful.

I would seemingly have something to say given my 25+ years experience with a handful of my own airheads, and the fact that I'm trying to keep 5 of them tagged, insured, and nearly ready to go. (A task which I don't do well). Does my experience really mean anything other than a smattering of anecdotal information? Simply, my experience doesn't really give me a clue as to what might be the expected reliability of a given item. For example I've had one alternator rotor failure in those 25 years and one brake rotor cracking failure in the same number of years. Does that mean that alternator rotors might be expected to fail as often as a brake disk is to crack? I seriously doubt it. For another example, I've had no transmission input spline failures and no final drive spline failures. Does that mean that they ought to be of less concern than an alternator rotor? Again, I seriously doubt it.

Going a slightly different direction, I ride my bikes far more gently than many other people do--and in a far different style. Will my experience 'weigh' as much as, say gspd's experience?

Or instead of my own experience I could regurgitate the conventional wisdom that I've picked up here on the forum. But I don't see that as being useful to your quest for, well, whatever you're questing for.

I'm not saying that I regard anectdotal evidence, like mine, as worthless. But to be really useful some failure rate mathematics would need to be applied. For that you would need somebody at least passingly conversant with statistical analysis and people like me who would really want to go to the effort to provide additional information such as how many miles have I ridden on a given bike for the failures I'm reporting. And what kind of miles were they such as WFO, sporty, leisurely with an occassional venture beyond the law, or riding like some old gray bearded fart (me not you)?

Pretty negative huh? Actually I'm very interested in the answers you will get and I see great potential for some interesting discussion. And if things really get rolling and it looks like my anecdotal experience will be of a help, I'll dust off my memory cells and give it a shot.



Ken

[richard t]

the parts on a airhead last until they break or until the owner gets worried and changes them out