how low can the compression ratio get before starting becomes a problem in CBR1000's? The spec for my 1kF is 10.5:1, and the test it had averaged (fairly evenly +/- 5psi)8.5:1.

ShouldI be worried or is there plenty of life left in this old beast?

 

Thats getting down there. She'll let ya know when it's too low,(wont start).

 

It might not be that serious. There are more tests you can do to tell if the rings are going bad, etc...

 

It'll run faily well, even at half compression. Won't have loads of power, and may get hard to start, esp when cold, but what your looking for is that all the cylinders are at least close to equal. 20% is the standard I use when determining if there is good cause to rebuild. If they are w/in 20% of each other, I would say to just run it !