Originally Posted by Team Kamikaze
Things that we have to consider on an event of an engine failure:
Clutch adjustment might be too tight or slipping causing engine to over rev.
How many times it overheated before?
properly maintained after racing, inspect the components
Did it got broken in properly?
If it is a defect or poorly constructed motor, then it should have occurred in less than a gallon.
I have one that have 3 1/2 gallons thru it, and everytime I open it up and inspect it, I am always surprise to see that the internals are still like new. and never knew what temperature it runs on, all I did is look for a good puff of smoke whenever it comes out of a corner with WOT.
Although it looks like Picco have made huge improvements on their conrods, my past experience with Picco .12 engines would never let me run a conrod for more than a Gallon after break in.
I changed mine after break in plus one race and will keep an eye on it in the future.