Killing my engine with kindness?

[sAsLEX]

the old story was that ferraris that would only be driven on sundays by rich and untalented, would be taken out by their mechanics and driven nice and fast for a bit to blow out the cobwebs

[Two Smoker]

I go by KK's engine treatment (he treats engine with the upmost respect by my standards) When you start riding, let the bike warm up, this usually takes 5 minutes riding keeping it below 3-4000rpm... Then once warm take it upto at least 80% of the rev range a few times... Then you will be happy as larry... (i hear this larry chap is a happy guy) Personally my bikes spend most of their time in the upper 40% of the rev range...

[oldfart]

Those who have ridden with me know that I am a fairly conservative rider. I have never red-lined my XJR, and it rarely gets more than 3/4 of the way to the limit (9.500 rpm). At 150 kph in top gear it is doing about 6,000 rpm I think, and with plenty of torque there's rarely any reason to change down below 4th.
Someone I was talking to recently said that engines which are kept well below maximum revs all the time can develop problems if they are then taken up to the limit. Something to do with piston travel and cylinder wear I think, but I can't recall the exact details. Can any technical-type person confirm this and say what sort of problems may occur and how likely this is?

Mike, I wouldn't pay any attention. Having been riding with you a couple of times I can see your XJR is nicely used, just not thrashed. XJR's were designed for this, not being flogg ed

[FROSTY:Me]

Mike seriously dude on ya next ride run her up to redline a few times.It cant and wont do any harm.
My brains a bit fried today but as I recall the rings go a tiny bit higher at high rpm -Ie the metal flex /stretches and also the carbs gum up in the unused area.--Ill explain it better later.
The long and short of it is give it a bit of rpm stick from time to time

[MikeL]

Mike seriously dude on ya next ride run her up to redline a few times.It cant and wont do any harm.

Perhaps next time I do SH16 I should stay in 1st gear the whole way...

[pritch]

the old story was that ferraris that would only be driven on sundays by rich and untalented, would be taken out by their mechanics and driven nice and fast for a bit to blow out the cobwebs

That story isn't that old either. Friend of mine was telling me that they had a Ferrari in and couldn't get it to run right. They phoned the "experts" and were told that these things are meant to be driven at warp speed. Hubby,however, takes it to the office and Wifie takes it to the supermarket and after a few weeks they think it needs another tune up (under warranty of course).

So I was wondering about CBRs,GSXRs etc, does this sort of thing apply?
Do people living in Auckland find their sports bikes running rough after a weeks commute?

[FROSTY:Me]

Perhaps next time I do SH16 I should stay in 1st gear the whole way...

now you're taking the mickey aincha?? copying ol frosty

[pete376403]

Mike seriously dude on ya next ride run her up to redline a few times.It cant and wont do any harm.
My brains a bit fried today but as I recall the rings go a tiny bit higher at high rpm -Ie the metal flex /stretches and also the carbs gum up in the unused area.--Ill explain it better later.
The long and short of it is give it a bit of rpm stick from time to time

There was/is a theory that at low revs the rings remain at the bottom of the ring grooves in the pistons, but at high revs they will float to the top of the groove (which is a thou or two wider than the ring) at the top of the stroke. This overlooks the fact that there is pressure from the gases above the rings holding them down.
But yeah, as Frosty says, give it the berries from time to time, won't hurt and probably will help. What really kills new engines is heat, caused by making the engine lug at low revs, in too high a gear, for fear of over-revving

[Zapf]

Mike seriously dude on ya next ride run her up to redline a few times.It cant and wont do any harm.
My brains a bit fried today but as I recall the rings go a tiny bit higher at high rpm -Ie the metal flex /stretches and also the carbs gum up in the unused area.--Ill explain it better later.
The long and short of it is give it a bit of rpm stick from time to time

how do I do that on my Gixxer without breaking the legal limit and also not inavertantly doing a wheelie?

[NordieBoy]

You need to correct your gearing so it tops out at 160kph

The Nordie is at 70% at 100 so squirts up to 130kph to pass "objects" works nicely.

Oh and it means they get to 100 rather rapidly as well

[750Y]

i've driven some older cars owned by elderly gentlemen & the engines just purred & were quiet & clean whereas the same engines in cars that the boys had got their hands on were rattly,dirty & smoking. I don't think it'll hurt it to give it a wind out from time to time but don't think You've got anything to worry about either.

[sAsLEX]

Do people living in Auckland find their sports bikes running rough after a weeks commute?

my bike gets decent working in the Lanesplitting Gp every morning............

[F5 Dave]

When one builds a race engine you have to allow clearance at the top of the piston so it doesn’t strike the head. Similarly the valves. On a small engine this may be as little as 0.5mm, but on a real big engine a couple of mm may be in order. The reason for the difference is the clearances of the bearings, & heat expansion but largely the inertia of the piston etc stretching the rod. Hence the heavier the piston assembly & the faster the revs the more the issue.


Mike

If the bore was to wear heinously then the idea is the rings may go from larger area & into the tight area. Once the bore wears this much the engine is due for a recon anyway & the rings aren’t going to snap as they might have done in grandpa’s model T. Forget about it.

The reason the folklore exists is likely the plugs get a bit cleaner & some carbon may potentially get unlodged helping the valves seat better (never a real prob in tuned newish engine). Also the rings that may have been stuck from old tech gummy oil are now sealing to the bore better. If you change the oil at all & don’t use the remnants of an old drum you found next to the Model T, ignore the above.

At the end of the day; it’s a 1400, ride the torque & enjoy it. Only a dickhead is going to be revving the snot out of it like a 250/4. They’ll be buying a GSXR.

PS: No offence to Dickheads. Membership card holder .

[Ixion]

I think this folklore relates more to engine temperature than revs. It is just that a hard drive at highish reves is the best way to get the engine really hot. And it's more a cage thing I think.

Mrs Ixion's Nissan Sunny is only used by her for going to the shops and local tootling. She drives very slowly and gently. Result is that the engine never gets really hot. Water temperature will show normal but the oil, exhaust system etc are not REALLY hot.

So, she (to her annoynace) goes through far more exhaust systems, batterys etc than I do.

If I check the plugs they are usually sooty. Much time idling and running with the choke on, and they never get hot enough to burn off the crud

I take it for a fast(well, comparatively ) caning once in a while to clean it up. Always runs better after that.

Getting the engine really hot will dry out the crevices of the exhaust system where acidic moisture collects, steam off any water and low boiling point hydrocarbons from the oil, clean the plugs, dry off and burn away carbon deposits etc.

Always very noticeable on two smokers. They really need a caning every so often.

Also, it's a good excuse !.

[ManDownUnder]

sounds like you and I have similar riding styles. Heaps of torque on the RF so I don't need to thrash it - ever really... not with my commuting style.

I do like to give it a clean out from time to time though. Make sure every things gets nice and hot rather than wram, test out the engine over the full range, and put her through her paces.

As it transpires - it's fun too (who ever would have guessed that?!?)
MDU