pushing the small block too hard?

[drlapo]

I think the BMW 70% rule was for cruising speed not a shift point
Efficiency?
Mileage?

[Arizona Wayne]

My two cents:

I think max horsepower on single TB small blocks is just past 6,000 rpm.  Maybe at 6,300 rpm or so.   Thus you don't gain more power revving past that.    The small block is probably making same horsepower at 7,000 plus as it does at high 5,000 range.  So why go there?

I recall that BMW, for the airheads, used to publish max rpm figures (i.e. redline), as well as "maximum continuous rpm" figures.   The max continuous was maybe 500 to 750 rpm below absolute redline.   So to extrapolate, maybe the Guzzi small block is ok for brief periods (red line) at 7,000 someodd, but maximum continuous rpm (on Autobahn) is maybe 6,500 rpm.   

Finally, I think a lot of this boils down to what is meant by "not hurting" the engine. We all agree that running low on oil, or running without an air filter, is "hurting" the bike. It will clearly suffer in short order. 

But high revs, working the bike hard, etc?  Well, that probably doesn't "hurt" the bike if your projected lifespan is 50,000 to 75,000 miles.   But if you are shooting for 150,000 or 200,000 miles with minimal repairs, then no, I expect you don't want to be revving it that much that often.

But, I'm not a master mechanic.  I just know what I read in the papers.

I agree, Swede, and prefer my bikes to last as long as they can while not babying them along the way.