This article is aimed mostly at motorcyclists/ bikers, (choose your own epithet).   Bottom line; we do not use our bikes.   OK, so there are exceptions to every rule, and there are undoubtedly people out there who clock up vast mileages on bikes every year, but just look at the evidence. Gumtree (https://www.gumtree.com/) is probably the most commonly used for sale site for bikes in the UK.   There are problems with crunching data taken from it, like sellers who record their mileage as 18 rather than 18,000 miles, or the occasional want ads with completely duff data, but I think we can still get some sort of idea about what we do with our bikes from looking at what is for sale on Gumtree.   The following comments are based on bikes for sale on Gumtree on Wednesday 18 th April 2019.   The table below gives the basics. Tot bikes for sale Over 80,000 miles Over 10 years Over 10 years and under 15,000 miles Nor...

This series of articles was originally published at: http://www.realclassic.co.uk/ Part 1 can be found here:  https://oldandireland.blogspot.com/2018/11/paddock-days-part-1-getting-mobile-on.html Part 2 can be found here:  https://oldandireland.blogspot.com/2018/11/paddock-days-part-2-practical-jokes-and.html In my early days knocking around the Paddock there were still a few of the more occasional residents that I knew only vaguely.   Their bikes however were well known and a constant source of interest.     And it wasn’t just me, with meticulous nightly inspections being carried out by wandering groups or interested individuals either with or without the owners’ presence.   Walking the line of parked bikes was always something of a ritual.   Amongst a row of fairly standard and well known bikes the exceptions stood out.   A yet to be repaired scuff from meeting the tarmac, often told of recent events long before the owner had a chan...