I don't think you are going to get many responses from people who have put over 100,000 miles on their C50s- there are only a few owners on this site with that many miles on their bikes, and they have all replaced their entire engines at least one time, sometimes multiple times.
You are going to get a lot of responses with cam chain problems in the 40,000-50,000 mile range. Myself included- cam chains starting to have problems with 45,200 on my meticulously maintained 2006.
The C50 is an inexpensive bike, with a very small engine for a bike as physically large as it is, and steeply geared to make it work- my C50 is actually slightly longer than my Electra Glide, but the Harley has an engine more than twice as large. So it stands to reason that the bike with the 800cc engine that cost $6,699 brand new is simply not going to last as long as the $18,999 bike with the 1700cc engine and six speed overdrive transmission. Cars are the same way- no one would expect a $11,000 Chevy Aveo to last as long as a $35,000 Acura RDX.
A C50 should give you 40,000-50,000 good miles. As the average owner of a small Japanese cruiser only puts 3,000-5,000 miles a year on their bike, this is considered to be a more than acceptable life span, and is about what you would get out of similarly priced and sized models. If you want a bike that will last 100,000 trouble-free miles, get something much larger, like a Kawasaki 1500, a Honda Goldwing, a Kawasaki Concours, anything from BMW, or anything from Harley that is not a Sportster.
You know it seems like from what ive read here on the forum that the 05,06 model years come up more for premature engine failure. What say everyone?
Doubt it. Those are the oldest model C50's at this point with the most mileage. IMHO, the individual riding characteristics and engine maintenance has the most to do with how long these engines will last.
There is no rhyme or reason as to why some bikes are dead-on reliable and others expire prematurely. I used to be in the 'it has to be a maintenance/riding style' camp. I treated my C50 like a baby. Did every maintenance item to the letter and used only top-shelf products. It didn't matter as it started burning oil and eventually self-destructed in just 4 short years. Others have nearly twice the miles I got and have never even cracked the engine to inspect their valves. It makes no sense..... So I can't tell you how your bike is going to fare long term. It all depends on what mood fate is in at the moment....
It was a 2005. It had 38,000 miles on it. The engine started using some oil ~ 20k miles. It was never a lot and I just kept it topped off. Then out of the blue, it consumed more than a quart in 500 miles. It was so bad, it was belching blue smoke out of my exhaust when I got on the throttle. I only used synthetic oil, changed at 3500 mile intervals, a new filter every other change. I even went as far as to clean out the oil sump, screen and filter every other oil change. Adjusted the valves to the middle of spec every 7500 miles. Ran a DJ drive to reduce my engine rpm and had a fuel processor installed to keep everything happy. I could not have done more to take care of the bike than what I did. I was religious about the oil and checked it EVERY time I went for a ride. It was really disappointing, because I was absolutely convinced that the cause for the early engine failure was a lack of maintenance. I was wrong.
I did not realize we owned the MC equivilant of a Chevy Cavalier? Lol... Hasn't that car been discontinued? Along with the Pinto, Vega
A motorcycle engine?!?!?!
100K miles?!?!?!
BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Thanks, needed a good laugh today...
