This is an engine problem, not a Riot problem. Pistons hitting a spark plug wouldn't happen unless the engine was already self destructing. It's way down in the middle of the chain of events.
I've been watching my EGT and was finally able to find a stretch of trail that allowed me to read the tiny number and go fast at the same time. To this day, I have not gotten a straight answer from anyone about what temperature range I should expect, using the stock probe location on the pipe and stock gauge (which seems laggy, but maybe I'm just impatient). I'm also not sure why no one else is comparing numbers - everyone is just running around trying to find out the build date on their sled, not understanding that the engine build date is probably more important (if it's even relevant and we don't know).
So, with that little frustration out of the way, this is what I'm seeing:
At about 3800-4200 rpms, my 800 gets really cranky. Some describe it a "stutter", but I don't know what it is. It just doesn't like that rpm at all and won't hold it. The throttle gets really touchy. EGT is low, like 600F.
Between 4000-6000 rpms, the temps rise gradually from there, and by the time I get above 6000 I'm seeing 1100F. As rpms rise, and the little number starts getting harder to see, I think it seems to hold 1153 all the way up to 7500rpm or so.
My engine hasn't turned into Cheese Wiz yet, so I would say 1150 is a "safe" number - that's about what I would expect, just based on previous experience with older carbed 2-strokes. Am I on the right track? Does anyone know what a "dangerous" number would be?
I was going to buy a few accessories for my Riot this summer, but now I'm thinking that if Cat doesn't contact me with a recall and my warranty expires in December, I may call Speedwerx and spend some money on a flash and clutching to see if I can smooth out the midrange.