Exceed Redline ?

[Guest]

For several years I have ridden GS bikes (stock engines) and rarely ever exceeded the redline (and then by very little).

I have read many times here that these engines are very tough.

Is venturing past the redline with a stock engine something that will damage the engine or is it more like a suggested place to stop the revs?

[Steel Toed Tank]

I use it as a suggestion, usually (when red-lineing) I keep going as long as it's putting out power, then shift when you feel the acceleration drop off. I can't say I've looked to see what RPMs I'm at when I shift, but it's over 10,000 for sure.


Tank

[haztoys]

When the valves float shift no more power in that gear...Its not now you rev a motor its how you declerate a motor that does more harm ...

[mriddle]

When the valves float shift no more power in that gear...Its not now you rev a motor its how you declerate a motor that does more harm ...

How do you mean ?

[SqDancerLynn1]

My GS1000E that I had years ago The tack had seen 12K doing a power shift I don't know if the engine was also at 12K

[Mercaholic]

Anyone that has a GS1100 or 1000 won't survive long if spending too much time near the redline.

[sedelen]

When I had my Skunk ('78 GS1000E) I used to do all kinds of stupid stuff, like seeing how fast the bike would go in each gear regardless of what the tach was showing. I never had a problem. That was reckless abandon. I don't do that stuff anymore, surely it can't be good for the engine. Still I often exceed the redline, when accelerating under wide open throttle the tach rises up so fast that it's very easy to zoom past the redline before shifting. Still I haven't had a problem. But I don't do the wide open throttle thing too often.
I did talk to a guy who had a GS1100E after seeing mine asked me had I blown a head gasket as he replaced several on missing shifts. I guess there's more crazier people out there than me.

[Darin Jordan]

its how you declerate a motor that does more harm ...

It's interesting you should mention that because, driving a shaftie, I'm pretty conscience about how I decell...

Coming from a strong car-racing background, I'm very well versed in using the "double-clutch" style down-shifting to help smooth out the downshifts. On a motorcycle, however, there are some obvious differences in how this might be done... In my case, when I pull in the clutch to downshift, I give the throttle a solid "blip" to try to match the RPMs of the lower gear. Seems to work well. There isn't the "jarring" that would normally occur if I just crammed it down a gear.

[JimmyR]

Interesting... I have a Dyna 2000 ignition in my GS1100G and have set the cutout at 9000. I haven't hit it yet because by the time you do you're going too fast for most roads around where I live!

[razor02097]

When the valves float shift no more power in that gear...Its not now you rev a motor its how you declerate a motor that does more harm ...

The owners manual for my 300 actually addresses how to engine brake. It says 5-4 downshift at 19MPH, 4-3 at 12MPH and below 9MPH to pull in the clutch. Given that I would imagine engine braking does more harm to the transmission than the engine.

[FiremanBob]

It's very important to match engine speed to transmission speed by "blipping" when downshifting. Smooth downshifts are a hallmark of both good drivers and good riders.

[AJ]

My own experience is that most GS-series bikes have a pronounced roll-off in power as you approach redline, thus there is really no motivation for operating up there (for street use - track is a different thing).

That said, if you open the breathing up with free flowing exhaust and pod filters, properly jetted, these engines can really sing up top. My 1100 positively wants to soar past redline (a meager 9000 rpm, well below valve float). Set up this way, there is lots of power to be had and it is very easy to go past redline just winding her out.

Summarizing, with the stock setup, going past redline isn't much of a problem since the motor doesn't do anything interesting up there. Modified (even slightly) and you need to watch your tacho!

[Darin Jordan]

It's very important to match engine speed to transmission speed by "blipping" when downshifting. Smooth downshifts are a hallmark of both good drivers and good riders.

Clicking the "Like" button...

[JEEPRUSTY]

I had my 550 spike into high 12k once
Lost power abruptly and scared the hell out of me.

[Dogma]

According to the article someone posted somewhere around here, Yoshimura had to modify the GS1000 valvetrain due to a tendency to spit the shims at high revs. He basically converted it to a custom lightweight shim-under bucket. He also added extra rollers to make the cam chain behave.

My 1000G has been to 10k (and was till pulling hard) a couple times, but I'v avoided that since reading about the Yosh mods. My 850 had the misfortune of being my first bike and endured shifting the wrong direction a couple times. I once saw the needle coming down through 10.5.

(Both redline at 9k.)