TOPIC:

Is there any reason to fear the redline ?

The fear should be directed toward exceeding the redline. There was a guy on another forum who said he regularly ran his KZ650 up to 11,000 rpm. It caught up with him when the engine crashed. He didn't clarify if the valves and pistons clashed or if the rods stretched a little or what, but the failure was catastrophic to the engine's internals.

On a stock engine it makes no sense to rev it beyond the redline because there is precious little power present at those high rpm. As an example, my KZ650 horsepower tops out at 64 @8,500 rpm. The redline is 9,000 rpm, but at that engine speed the horsepower has already started dropping and it drops very quickly beyond the redline. So shifting at redline or just before it produces the fastest acceleration. Ed

only if you want to destroy your engine

& If you're into the redline area & your transmission doesn't engage in the gear you're shifting in, your motor will rev well beyond the redline limit, & KABOOM, something's gonna give,
Pete

Kwaker2000 wrote: only if you want to destroy your engine

...but doesn't the owner's manual recommend to not exceed 3000 rpms before shifting

pete greek1 wrote: & If you're into the redline area & your transmission doesn't engage in the gear you're shifting in, your motor will rev well beyond the redline limit, & KABOOM, something's gonna give,
Pete

The Dynatek 2000 has an adjustable rev limiter in 500 rpm increments starting at 8500, which is redline on my tach...and my engine has no problem going there. Should I set it to 9000-9500 for the extra breathing room?

If Kawasaki didn't want me to hit 9000RPM, they should have given me a 6th gear...

jackleberry wrote: If Kawasaki didn't want me to hit 9000RPM, they should have given me a 6th gear...

Sixth gear sure would be nice...

To give a little more anecdotal information: In the past I've had a few missed shifts on my stock P16, revving up to 10k with no damage. I've also recently run it at 9k for periods of 10 minutes straight (was trying to free a stuck ring [it worked!]). Again, no damage. There's not much power above 9k though. These KZ1000J motors really seem to want to run at 6 to 8k--I'm talking cruising RPM. Anything under 4k is lacking in torque and anything between 4k and 5k buzzes like crazy.

There is a black top we use for our 1/4 mile, 1/3 mile and 1/2 runs and I've ran them at least a dozen times a year for 35 years hitting 9,200 to 9,300 before power shifting with no Ill effects......... hit 9,500 more a few times in 5th at the 1/3rd and 1/2 mile with a little tale wind and on a cool day with a 9,000 red line.......... with the 750 cams and APE springs it wants to pull hard to 9,500 or a little over now ........ have only done it a few times since it only had 900 miles on it with the the 700cc pistons....... next year I plan on getting the 29mm smooth bores dialed in and back on and see what it'll really do.

I'd set the limiter to at least 9,000 shame it could'nt go to 9,200 ......... 9,500 might be a little high but see what others think ...... you don't want it cutting out right when the fun starts.

jackleberry wrote: To give a little more anecdotal information: In the past I've had a few missed shifts on my stock P16, revving up to 10k with no damage. I've also recently run it at 9k for periods of 10 minutes straight (was trying to free a stuck ring [it worked!]). Again, no damage. There's not much power above 9k though. These KZ1000J motors really seem to want to run at 6 to 8k--I'm talking cruising RPM. Anything under 4k is lacking in torque and anything between 4k and 5k buzzes like crazy.

Amazing, when fine tuned.

KZB2 650 wrote: There is a black top we use for our 1/4 mile, 1/3 mile and 1/2 runs and I've ran them at least a dozen times a year for 35 years hitting 9,200 to 9,300 before power shifting with no Ill effects......... hit 9,500 more a few times in 5th at the 1/3rd and 1/2 mile with a little tale wind and on a cool day with a 9,000 red line.......... with the 750 cams and APE springs it wants to pull hard to 9,500 or a little over now ........ have only done it a few times since it only had 900 miles on it with the the 700cc pistons....... next year I plan on getting the 29mm smooth bores dialed in and back on and see what it'll really do.

Ye-ha!