I"m brand new here, the proud owner of an 09 MC, and I've read a number of issue-oriented threads, including those that concern carbon fouling.

I notice that when I run my Mini on the interstate, staying in 4th gear I hold an RPM a few hundred on either side of 4000. This puts me at around 68-72 mph. The interesting thing is that according to the instant fuel mpg reading, I'm losing very little in mileage.

I don't advocate doing this all the time, but from my experience (admittedly tangential) with BMW motorcycles, carbon fouling can be much aggravated by consistently low RPM running. I can't predict whether this impacts the very different powerplant in a Mini, but it may be of some value. Perhaps a recommendation would be that if only 20% or so of your mileage is done at interstate speeds, a higher RPM cruise might do more good than harm.

 

just red-line it from time-to-time.

 

I take it you are not on the side of the fence that says to break in the engine, don't go past 4000 rpm for the first 1250 miles

 

I respected that for 2000 miles. Now I hit the gas pedal a little harder. I haven't come anywhere near the redline, though.

 

The redline's really easy to hit in first and second, you just need to hold your foot to the floor for a few seconds. It does tend to be illegal in the other gears though. If someone's being really slow (50 or less) dropping into 3rd and doing that can make for an interesting pass, you just need to pay attention, if you hit redline in 3rd it might attract unwelcome attention.

 

Also be aware that when you downshift you make some noise that some might not enjoy which may lead them to calling the cops (Has happened to people but not to me). So be careful when and where you rev hard.