Pikes Peak Question

[frankd]

Enjoy yourself, it's a great ride. The bike will loose more power the higher you go, but so what. When you finish your visit at the top and start the engine to come down, it cranks real fast because of the lower compression pressure caused by the thin air. At this altitude (14,000 ft.), the atmosphere is only 2/3 as dense as it is at sea level. It was about 50 degrees in Colorado Springs the day we went up, and 28 degrees and very windy at the top. On the way up, the cooling fan on my 89 ran quite a bit (the bike was heavily loaded and 2 up), but our friends new Wing go so hot that we had to stop twice on the way up. I don't think your 2nd Gen has a heat gauge, so be careful. Both our friends on the Wing and us on our Venture came down in 2nd and 3rd gear depending on the grade. On the way up, both bikes used 1st. gear on some of the real tight corners with steep grades, mostly because we were behind slow traffic and pulling big grades. The next morning I woke up grinning because I was thinking how great this trip was. We'd been up there 3 times prior to this, but with 4 wheels.

 

Frank D.

[Ben Rollins]

Join me front row Yammer, should be interesting

[Guest tx2sturgis]

If I owned a motorcycle that could be damaged by engine braking downhill I would either sell it for scrap or sue the manufacturer for defective design.

 

If the manufacturers ever included a warning in the manual that engine braking could damage the vehicle I'm fairly certain that the DOT/NHTSA would force a massive recall, based on safety concerns.

 

The only downsides to engine braking are:

 

• Possibly over-revving the engine, but that is operator error, and not defective design.
  
• Drivers behind you may not know you are slowing since your brakelights wont be on. But they will probably be doing the same thing.
  

I did a bit of googling on the net and it seems the mis-information about engine braking is out there on the net, mostly on forums where people are asking will it damage their vehicle.

 

 

I have found NOTHING that indicates anyone, anywhere, has had trouble with a vehicle by normal, routine engine braking down long grades.

 

 

Coasting...now THATS a different matter and gets confused with engine braking sometimes.

 

 

On a car, with automatic, the '1' and '2' slots on the selector are specifically FOR engine braking, especially when towing a trailer.

 

 

Hard to believe that all motorcycles (and not cars) ever built in the USA and Japan and all other countries are all designed so that they cannot be slowed using the engine.

 

Amazing statements, to be sure.

 

 

But respecting anothers opinions is one of my beliefs, so I will simply end my post here by saying...

 

 

Dude...whatever works for you.

 

 

Edited July 15, 2014 by tx2sturgis

[Peder_y2k]

This will be my last and final comment on engine braking.

 

While engine braking isn't "harmful" to the engine, it will cause additional wear and tear on the engine. During engine braking, engine vacuum becomes very high. This causes more oil to be drawn past the rings and through the valve guides . This additional oil flow can lift accumulated piston carbon that can scratch the cylinder walls. The rings are designed to seat under pressure, a vacuum causes them to lift off the walls causing a different contact patch resulting in more rapid wear. The load on the piston (reverse of the load when firing) becomes high. This isn't harmful in the general sense, as this occurs to a degree when simply letting off the throttle. However, under high rpm, the forces in the motor are in a different direction and higher then usual. Also, the piston is more likely to slap the cylinder walls .

 

This is not to say don't use engine braking. I do it with full knowledge of the circumstances. However, an engine used for braking will wear (or wear out) faster than one not used for braking. Engine braking is used in motorcycle racing, but engine life past the end of the race is not as important to the racer as winning. Brake pads are cheaper to replace than rings and valve guides.

 

Heavy engine breaking is more detrimental to engines, clutches, transmissions, and drivelines than light engine braking, and I recommend using a combination of both regular brakes and engine braking where practical and done with due consideration.

 

-Pete, in Tacoma WA USA

[Iceman]

I've had 3 bikes out there, all 3 ran different out there. Leave your bike in the parking lot an ride the cog up.

[eusa1]

:icon_lurker: Amen.

[Wade 2000]

I'm planning a trip to the top of Pikes Peak in September. Just wondering if I may have trouble with the carb system on my 06 RSV? Any tips from anyone that has done this? Thanks

 

Sorry we high jacked your thread. I too will be there at Pikes Peak in Sept. Probably around the 8th-10th sometime. If your dates match up PM me and maybe we cam meet up between here and there:thumbsup2:

[BigD]

Thanks Wade 2000, sounds good to me. No problem on the thread, lots of good information to think about.