Used Motorcycle Buyers Guide (Part 5)

Trade Secret Tip #4:

Ride to Tekala's Waterfall

Lower beats per minute, more relaxed state.

As with humans, if our heart beat too fast for too long, we could die. Same with motorcycle engines. Push the RPM into the red line one too many times and that engine's life expectancy will drop to one day it just won't want to run anymore.

As an engine runs into its high RPM range many things happen. Oil is the life blood of an engine and as it gets hotter it's viscosity brakes down quickly and doesn't do as effective of a job. The engine can overheat causing metal fatigue, internal damage and wear. Some items shrink with too much heat such as O-rings, seals and gaskets causing leaks. Scoring of the piston(s) and chamber is also a concern.

While it is safe and fun to blast away into the red zone under some conditions it is self-defeating to an engine in the long run to do it one too many times.

On the other side of the coin, you do not wish to "Lug" an engine by riding in too low of a RPM. This also places a lot of stress on an engine.

So what do you look for? Mostly the owner of the bike. A typical owner will not only maintain the bike but will also ride the bike properly. Stay away from raced bikes or bikes with lots of kilometers in the hands of timid riders. A timid rider could be the GSX-R750 owner who never takes the bike over 4,500rpm.

source TMW