Failure vs Use of M50 - Motorcycle-Journal Forums

dispatchbob · 08-07-2009, 08:26 AM

I am a bit curious of the failure rate and how it coincides with how you use your M50. I am a bit touchy being somewhat mechanically inclined as to getting the longevity out of mine. I always start mine up and allow it to run for several minutes (dependent on air temp), sometimes longer/sometimes shorter times. I don't take off at full throttle - probably never had it over 1/2 throttle since I got it. I do live in northern Michigan with light traffic which helps in that respect. Seems any engine being run hard the majority of the time is bound to fail much eariler than one driven/maintained normally. Obviously hard take-offs, running lots of high speed, etc will affect the longevity of it. The stress put on the engine/drivetrain under these conditions greatly increase the probability of failure - not just on the M50's. Reminds me of my Dad's Ford F250 with the 351M engine. Many complaints of the engines being known for short life spans. Dad was a mechanic/machinist and pulled it down at 100,000 miles. Bore was within specs, crankshaft at factory specs and bearings nearly perfect - well within specs. The engine had oil changes done religiously, he pulled camper trailer around the country with it, etc. Many of these engines that failed had it occur mainly due to driver input, lack of proper maintainence, etc. Personally, if I were to have a cycle that I wanted to run at 80-90 mph and do hard take-offs the majority of the time, I wouldn't buy the M50. I don't believe it was designed for this type of use as a regular diet. Just my thoughts - feel free to comment with yours