i recently broke down and took my 1977 honda xr75 to dc cycle (a bike shop) to get a bunch of stuff done to it to get it running better, so do you think i should tell them to go ahead and put in new rings, bearings, ect? it runs fine and it doesnt burn oil, but its 30 years old! please let me know what you think
The cost of repairs will likely exceed the cost of buying a newer motorcycle.
How much do you love this bike?
What, you want to “…get it running better…” yet “it runs fine…”
It does not burn oil, yet you want to replace rings. Is the compression bad. You are not making a lot of sense.
It runs fine and burns no oil, so save your money for when the time does come.
no, i mean it runs fine now that i took it to the bike shop
yeah, but im 13 and i saved up to $500 and this is probably the last time ill have enough money to do this
Fixing something that isn’t broke isn’t a wise move. If that $500 is too hot to hang onto, have a parent to put it into a savings account until the bike really breaks.
I agree. Have your parents put that money into an interest bearing account and forget about it.
As Rockefeller used to say; “There’s nothing greater than compound interest”.
Maintain the bike well (oil changes, plugs, filters) and pay for that knick knack stuff with a part time job (mowing, newspapers, etc), don’t abuse the bike, and it will last a long time.
One of my bikes is 58 years old, the other is 63 years old, and they’re still kicking in their old age. 
There is no benefit that comes with unnecessary work being done either by you or for you. Money in the bank taught me how to have money in the bank. I saved $6,000 five times before I figured out that I spent $30,000 on nothing. I also managed to get rid of the $360 that was left from working as a janitor at my school for two and a half school years. I did enjoy having a life after quitting in my junior year. $1.25 per hour was the minimum wage in 1971. You could have bought a new Hemi car for $2,500 back then. And…
Hey, rock on fellow Honda thumper owner. I have an '83 XL250R, larger cousin to your XR. As everyone has been saying, there’s no need to overhaul something that is running well.
Here’s an idea though, hit up ebay or your local cycle shop and get a service manual for the bike. If you’re looking for routine maintenance ideas, keep the air filter clean and oiled, keep the greaseable joints (if there are any on this bike) lubed, change the oil at recommended intervals, and never put 'er away wet.
“rings, bearings, ect” do not wear out based on age, but rather miles an poor care. You don’t do that kind of stuff before it needs it. I just had my bike worked on, but I never even considered doing those and it is an 1981 model.
I suggest that you put that money away in an education fund. 10 tears from now you will be happy you did.
i know it doesnt neeed rings, but how do i know about anything else?
dont worry i always make sure that is taken care of, i never let my oil or air filter get dirty or anything else but what do you mean never put er away wet though?
that money is in my account right now, but it drives me crazy to know its just sitting there doing nothing, all summer ive been mowing lawns, mowing cemeteries, shingling roofs, working at a motel as maintaience, and wood chipping.
if your bike runs fine, and has the normal maintanece stuff done, then you are fine.
think how many hours you ride this bike a year.
how many?? 25, 50, 75? that’s not many hours to keep up with maintaining it.
and your type of bike would make sense that it probably doesn’t have alot of hours on it.
the only way the bike would need repairs is if a previous owner abused the bike. BUT you would see the evidence of that, poor performance, hard starting, lack of acceleration, or other issues.
you are confusing normal maintenence items:
plug, wire, ignition, air filter, oil change, brakes and grease are all normal things which must be done to ALL vehicles from time to time.
the rings, bearings and rebuilding stuff is only necessary when you have a problem.