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Originally Posted by Quimrider
The mechanic said that riding on the freeway was ok, but that I should back off the throttle every now and then to let the engine cool. He also suggested mid grade or higher gas since it resists pinging/detonation in a hot engine better.
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I'm sorry but that "mechanic" is a total putz.
You would KNOW it if your engine was knocking or pinging; if not, higher octane is a waste of money.
It is not the position of the throtle that is important but how fast the engine is turning.......so, with a 16T front, it is highly doubtful that whatever you did in 5th gear would hurt the engine any......unless you lug it or go screaming down the side of a mountain at 95 mph.
So the question then is: How did you ride it in the lower gears ?? If you were in the habit of winding it out as far as it would go, then that might be a factor. The other experiments that you tried might be factors too. Sometimes, however, heads just warp and sometimes they are not perfect when new and the gasket just finally gives out.
I think you are just wasting your time trying to pinpoint the cause and would be much happier just riding a tiny bit easier getting up to 70. You haven't done anything to the front of the bike that would cut down on the air flow across the engine, have you ??
One final thought: It is good to give the engine a short "cool down" period before shutting off. That is, don't go racing home at WOT, whip it into the driveway and shut it off; instead reduce your speed a bit for those last few miles before reaching your destination. Not working the engine as hard while still moving at a good clip will cool it down some.