Realistic Engine Life Of A 748 - Who Has The Highest Mileage?

I had a 748 back in 98 that had 52000kms on it. It went BANG when I did my first track day on it in 99.

 

I have an early engine as a spare that came out of a bike with 27,000 miles on it. The engine was swapped out for a bigger one.

 

29,343, waiting on Mr newman he's had my rockers a few weeks now, hoping to put some more miles on in july.

 

Hi i owned my 2001 748 bip for 3 years when i got it it had 48k on the clock! (i did only pay £1k for her) with loads of parts thrown in, genuine because i knew the previous owner which he purchased from new, i put another 14k on in the 3 years of having her fully serviced when needed, ran like a top sweet and crisp until i decided to put her on a track in France:Arghh: dropped the crank main bearings and conrods whoops:Arghh: when i stripped the engine down the bores were perfect clean as a whistle, had to put another lump in off flebay! then sold her for £2200 great value i think, so 62k on the clock

 

The funny thing was when my mate bought the bike new he rode it home then drained the oil and filled it up with Putoline 10/40 (i think from memory) he changed it every 3k and changed the oil filter every other fill up, i continued the oil change the same as him for the next 13.5 k , but i was finding it hard to get hold of the oil, i then decided to change to Shell Advance! possibly a big mistake, because 600 miles later the engine shit itself:Arghh: big time. Still i then purchased an 1198 then 3 years on i have just bought a 1199S (today) i pick it up in 10 days time.

 

44000 miles on mine. M reg

 

36,500 miles on my 02 748S, all original rockers, 0.5l of oil top up every 2000 miles. Used daily when not raining and 3-4k miles per year since I got it 8 years ago. Motul or Shell oil every two years with belts and filter. Do not use 10-40, 15-50 synth is best (this is not a jap IL4 and the top end needs sticky oil), if you use the wrong or a bad oil then the engine will eventually get you. If maintained correctly the engine will last for much longer, it is designed for much more torque and power than the 748 makes so is not stressed too much. Don't track it, don't fit a shifter nor continuously rev the nuts off it. Ride it hard and enjoy.

 

Pidge, change it when it needs changing but if you want to keep the bike going and if you are down south then get a full service and look over by Rich Llewellyn at Louigi Moto. Most of the issues need to be looked for by someone who knows and cares. Rocker clearances, oil and start up are important, looking for loose crank nuts, tight rockers and previous substandard maintenance is also a good idea. Look out for the usual electrical issues perhaps the most common is the regulator plug overheating and taking the regulator with it. This connection is the bikes Achilles heel and those yellow wire terminals need to be clean and very tight (mine are soldered). the regulator does not get that hot unless this connector is slightly bad and it all goes down hill from there. Get a decent battery like a Yuasa AGM and regularly charge it but you should not need to leave it permanently on a charger if the battery is good.
Lastly use the bike regularly and don't hold back

 

16 years

 

34,000 miles on my 1998 model before I put an 853 engine in. The original was still running perfectly and now kept for a spare.
Steve

 

i use 15-50 in my track 748, yeah just drain and refill dont forget to change the filter too.