[IgorPartola]

This is correct. Also consider that almost any Japanese bike can be had used for $3k or under. Electric bikes are in low five figures and the used market is basically non-existent. We have no data on how reliable they will be long term either. Plus range and availability of charging stations is a thing.

But I think the main reason we won’t see ICE motorcycles go away soon is simply because used bikes are such a huge market. You can buy a 1970s Honda and get it to run again very cheaply and it will just plugging along. You can’t do that with cars for the most part and the safety features have improved with cars with every decade while for motorcycles they have only improved substantially in 2010s with the EU mandating ABS as a requirement. So a 2005 bike is going to be essentially the same as a 1975 one, safety-wise. I would bet in 2070 people will absolutely be riding 100 year old bikes.

[peatmoss]

> while for motorcycles they have only improved substantially in 2010s with the EU mandating ABS as a requirement.

I really wish it were possible to get advanced cornering ABS on something that isn’t a bajillion cc displacement. The smallest, most reasonably sized adventure touring bike I’ve seen with cornering ABS is the new BMW F750GS, which is still >800cc. I sat on one the other day and the weight and height seemed manageable, but what I’d love is a 650cc or smaller Japanese bike where I could get advanced safety tech. I mean, these bikes are where a lot of new riders like myself start, and attract exactly the sort of rider who is likely to do something stupid and reactionary in a corner.

I have ABS on my 500cc Honda, which is honestly as big a bike as I’d have wanted to start on, and I’d have happily parted with the extra dollars for cornering ABS and traction control had they been options. I cannot for the life of me figure out why the best life-saving tech isn’t at least an option on beginner-sized bikes.

Pardon for the tangent rant :-)

[Zenbit_UX]

I'd suggest taking a look at a gentpy used Triumph Street Triple (R/S Optional). Depending on the year and mileage you're looking between $6000-9000 with stock ABS and with 675cc right in that sweet spot you're looking for. I picked one up 2 years ago, 2014 with 1400km and no regrets whatsoever.

[peatmoss]

I think cornering ABS is only available on the new 1050? I think that’s also the case with the Tiger (I’m part of the adventure-touring market segment). You can get cornering ABS on the huge 1200, but not the 800, IIRC.

Like, I want a 500cc Honda twin with cornering ABS. As it is, I have ABS, but cornering ABS looks like a solid evolution.

[gpapilion]

What makes this a reality is that bikes are driven far less as daily drivers than cars are so typically the engines aren’t abused or used outside of a recreational(long trips, weekend runs, ...) setting by most riders. A ten year old bike may only have 30k miles on it, and most of its useful life left.

This has been my experience in the US, at least.

[dharmab]

I have a bot that scrapes used motorcycle listings for sale in my part of the US [1], and I've never seen anything listed with more than 70k miles.

Furthermore, those 70k mile bikes were all meticulously maintained by older owners, and I could have bought any of them for under $4k and probably ridden coast to coast the next day without issue.

[1] https://github.com/dharmab/ksl-bike-sniper