wondering about mileage

[Bhilldw0111]

Has anyone ever noticed how many Boss Bikes and trikes are advertised for sale with almost no miles. When I bought my 02 in Oct of 2014 it showed 1600 miles on the odometer and I was told that it was correct mileage. I see this a lot. Why don't you see this on Other bikes. I don't understand why you would buy a bike (especially a Boss Hoss) and not ride it. If you bought it and realized it might be to much for you to feel comfortable with why hang on to it for so long before selling it ? I wonder if some of these are being turned back and cleaned up. I could understand low mileage of 1 or 2 thousand per year of the bikes life but 1600 or less on a 12 year old bike. Maybe I'm Just too skeptical and should just trust what folks say but this is hard for me to swallow. My 98 had 48000 and still looked really clean and ran perfect, so how would I have known if it showed 4800 if it was correct or not?

[Bhilldw0111]

You might be better off buying something with one owner , realistic miles, and a set of really good maintenance records for the whole life of the bike/trike, just a thought.....Bob H

[SQ4MN]

I bought my bike back in 2008 but the bike was a 2003. I was amazed and skeptical because the owner said the bike had only 523 miles on it. Turned out his brother in law was a dealer and the bike did not sell for over two years so he bought it from him. He told me his wife hated it and she was convinced he would die on it so he only rode it a few times and then it sat in his garage because it wasn't worth the flak he got from his family whenever he rode it. He lived in Iowa or Kansas, I can't remember which but my friend and I drove there in an old station wagon and bought it. It was actually brand new and was flawless. He told me I could ride it home but we trailered it. When I got home it was August here in Las Vegas and was about 110 degrees every day. The bike vapor locked every time I rode it and it had the stock vacuum choke on it. That type of choke requires the bike to start and get vacuum to get the choke to open. The little AIRTEX fuel pump was mounted on the bell housing which would get red hot and cause problems. The bike was a pain in the ass but when it was running it was fun. I replaced the fuel pump with a Holley Red and mounted it behind a side cover and sanitized the wiring and fuse block. In those days there was much tech info on the other site with how to improve all the problems the stock bikes had. Adrian posted almost daily about fixes him and Tommy Chadwell had devised. I no longer have a low mileage bike and I've grown to trust it to take me anywhere. I think guys with low mileage bikes are crazy not to ride the hell out of them, thats what the fun is all about.

[Carl La Fong]

My speedo cable broke a few years ago, so I don't know how many miles I have. Too lazy/cheap to fix it

[Puff]

Mine has 81,000+ miles on it.
Taking it to La Crosse later this week.

[SQ4MN]

Mine has 81,000+ miles on it.
Taking it to La Crosse later this week.

81000 is impressive. Original trans? Small block or big block? I notice the hitch, do you pull a trailer? Mine has just over 30000 miles on it, I hope it lasts as long as yours. I have a few bikes but since I can only ride one at a time and being 74 years old my BH might never get 81000 miles on it.

[Orlando606VetteTrike]

Purchased my 2000 BB bike with 3000 miles on it. In 8 months I've put on 4100 miles and there was point in there where I didn't ride for a month due to my performance upgrades. I'm new to the V8 family and I can't wait till the weekends to get on that beast and ride. And do a few burnouts too. lol

[Hoss97]

I bought my 97 last may, put 3500 miles on it till september. Been tweaking some things this year , new fuse box, new front and rear fender, changed the clutch to a 1 speed auto, painted it black due to a problem last year with the gas leaking and ruining my tank. Still waiting on some parts for my rear caliper, but in the meantime have put 500 miles or so since i got it somewhat sorted.

Bike supposedly only had 3200 miles on it when i bought it. Seemed possible, front tire was cracking but tire tread like new, same with the 230 rear, but no cracking.

Steve

[Puff]

Small Block.
3rd tranny.
First 2 were replaced under warranty.
First one at 5,800 miles.....
Second one at 15,800 miles.
I never power shifted either one of them.
Mine is the "A" tranny with "B" revisions.
I plan to tow a VERY LIGHT trailer soon,
to transport American Flags to use during
Patriot Guard missions.
I will now see how it tows.
I won't tow far, and will only tow
in first gear when I do.
Just serviced my tranny today.
No shavings. Fluid looked good.
Riding it in the morning to go
make a blood donation.
Just a 90-mile round trip.
It's all good !

[SQ4MN]

Small Block.
3rd tranny.
First 2 were replaced under warranty.
First one at 5,800 miles.....
Second one at 15,800 miles.
I never power shifted either one of them.
Mine is the "A" tranny with "B" revisions.
I plan to tow a VERY LIGHT trailer soon,
to transport American Flags to use during
Patriot Guard missions.
I will now see how it tows.
I won't tow far, and will only tow
in first gear when I do.
Just serviced my tranny today.
No shavings. Fluid looked good.
Riding it in the morning to go
make a blood donation.
Just a 90-mile round trip.
It's all good !

What year is your bike? I don't think you will have any trouble towing as long as its in first. Some transmissions didn't last long at all and some got huge mileage with no problems.

[hogv8]

I've got 80,000 + on my 2000 which I bought new in 2000 with the original A trans . I have done a few minor upgrades to the trans over the years but nothing major . I change the trans oil once a year and it has always been clean as a whistle . I don't abuse it but I have done my share burnouts . All I've always done was to keep it clean , cool , no power shifts and don't stress reverse .

[knockdolian]

Bought my trike in October last year with 17000 miles on the clock all genuine as it was imported from new and I have all the MOT's with it. Just dont get why people would pay so much money for such a big machine to commute ?
Its comforting to see the high milages some have done and being a trike hopefully no tranny issues

[CanuckHoss]

It is what it is..there are some low mileage Boss Hoss bikes out there and some higher...not a whole lot different really from what we see come into our shop with the hundreds of Yamahsa...Harleys Hondas etc...

Boss Hoss may be a bit different from the norm but not a lot...the bike is hugely different from the normin itself and what buyers might expect and maybe that explains it...not what they expected when they ride a bit.

I can say that as far as trikes go I firmly believe that owners and some dealers have no damn idea how to set the suspension for them to ride like a Cadillac..I do..I have bought trikes from the US and I believe they are selling totally because of the shitty ride due to poor adjustment and the owners don't ride much because it is NOT comfortable. I get them here...adjust or get rid of Legends air ride and voila...one of the best trike rides out there.

Even the new Munroe Airride if not set properly is like a wagon...I have had 2 that I had to set when I got them and they already had miles on them. My take on the Munroe is that it is NO better when set right than properly adjusted stock coil overs.

The bikes also could benefit HUGELY from the Arnott air ride system...unbelieveable difference.

[TXscooterguy]

I firmly believe that owners and some dealers have no damn idea how to set the suspension for them to ride like a Cadillac..I do..

Barry, I have a 2015 Coupe with stock suspension. Any suggestions? Thanks, Dennis.

[CanuckHoss]

I firmly believe that owners and some dealers have no damn idea how to set the suspension for them to ride like a Cadillac..I do..

Barry, I have a 2015 Coupe with stock suspension. Any suggestions? Thanks, Dennis.

You should be able to press on the side of the body / fender and get some downward motion when it is just sitting there. What are your shocks set on as far as threads showing below the adjustment ring...? You can take a picture of the shock and count easier than trying to crawl underhand count...

When I am two up with Gwen...one the very worst bump we might bottom a bit...not solid but enough to know we bottomed.

If you are never bottoming out then it is probably set too firm.

From my experience buying these used there has never been one that was set soft enough...they always set too firm and road rough.

Keep in mind weight of riders and passengers comes into play also.

It is quite easy to loosen the shocks a turn at a time. ..jack the trike and put supports under the frame and then let it down on the supports....no weight on the shocks and you can turn the adjuster one turn softer and then go for a ride...even 1/2 turn makes a difference when you get to the fine tuning. IF you are not bottoming now then I would go one turn at a time softer.

These trikes are really capable of riding like Cadillacs.

Another thing I do is drop the air pressure in the older 15 inch stock rear trike tires from the suggested 28 down 15 to 18 lbs...makes a huge difference too. BUT if you like to get over 85 to 90 a lot with the trike then those low pressures might be an issue for you in stability...I rarely go over 80 and have no issues. IF you drop the pressures below recommended then you are on your own as far as liability...

I just changed my trike rims and tires Thursday...dumped the low proflie 20's and bought the same in 18s...lowered the air to 15 pounds and the trike is a different machine form the 20's. Our roads are really bad here and I have a bad back so I want this trike to be 10% as good as it gets...it is there now!! Same as my 32 Coupe in Florida...it actually could be softened in the rear suspension but the roads there are so damn good there that I don't notice.

A few years ago I believed that you had to change the shocks to a standing upright position to get a great ride...I found that is not true...laying down adjusted PROPERLY will be 100%

[SQ4MN]

I put ARNOTT air suspension on my bike 8 years ago and have always said it was like night and day from the coil sucks it had. Never has leaked and the onboard compressor has been great. When I pack my wife I add some air but the little switch that adds or subtracts air always lets me find the sweet spot and its quick and easy.