just loss of tread

Buying a rear tire sooner than you should.

Possibly losing control of the bike and dropping/dumping it and of course the implications for tires. Easy to redline the engine too if you're not careful - not the best thing for it.

Never done one . I spend enough on tires . I MAY give it a shot when I buy another one , though .

pissing off the neighbors

tire boogers all up inside the rear of your bike that are a pain in the ass to clean off for some stupid reason. stupid macadam

..oh forgot to mention, the overwhelming need to repeat it over and over quite addicting me thinks

here are some things that haven't been mentioned:

it stresses the chain up until the point the tractions breaks free. repeatedly doing this will eventually scrap the chain.

It places alot of stress on the engine. that point where you give it throttle and the bike sort of "flexes" and rises up a bit.....well the engine feels it too. so you are better if you give it mucho throttle quickly to get it going as quickly as possible. doing it slow and letting the rpm drop, while the engine is working its ass of....this is not ideal. You won't damage it overnight, but with time you will have premature bearing wear. Everything involved is linked together. If someone told me that the cam chain jumped a few teeth while trying to do a burnout and the valves smacked into the pistons....I could see it being possible instead of saying "impossible".

it places strain on the steering bearings. the front tire and the forks are what holds the bike back until you get it spinning. the steering head stem bearings is the link that joins this to the rest of the bike. doing this often will keep forcing those bearings against their races....and it will eventually wear the bearings. Again...this won't happen overnight...but if you do it often...even just holding the brake and "acting" like you are going to do it is the same thing.

the chain can break. I have witnessed this. it wasn't pretty. the chain jammed up in the front sprocket and cracked the engine case. in this case, it cost the guy about $2k to fix.

It is not good for the calipers. it strains them as well. on a dual disc setup, it is not as bad, but on a single disc setup, that one caliper can take alot of stress up until the tire starts spinning. so much in fact that it is possible the caliper can break loose from the fork if there is just one little stress crack at the moountin point. if that happen, you better be hanging on cuz you are going for a ride.

these are examples that are extreme, or will only happen over time.....but it gives you an idea. it might sound far fetched to some, but anything involved in the whole process can break under "freakish" situations. I have seen enough "odd" problems through the years of being around the garage to know ANYTHING is possible.

so my advice....get that tire spinning A.S.A.P.
30 seconds is tooooooo long
15 seconds is toooo long
10 seconds is too long.
3 to 5 seconds is much better.....but I find even 5 too long.
Ideal is tout de suite.....instant spin.
don't monkey around with the throttle by "being careful".

Err, thanks Mojoe, I think I'll pass on the burnouts--- haven't tried one yet, but after that description... I'll stick to the online videos--- internet connection is much cheaper than that

Words of wisdom from the man who recently burnt a smiley face into the pavement of a parking lot

don't let it scare you away if you want to give it a try. if everything is up to par on your bike (ex: good chain...not a an old chain that has been on the bike for 5 years and has seen it share of "rusty" days), then go for it. Once the tire is spinning, the stress is off of everything else. It is the point between when the bike is working to break the tire loose and when it starts spinning that is what is hard on the bike. Just minimize that time as much as possible.

this may be true....I do my share of burnouts as well. I am totally aware of the possible consequences. I just try to minimize the risks by following my own advice.....don't dick around. get that wheel spinning right away.

I was just bustin' your chops . I wasn't knocking your advice...

I know that. that is the problem with the internet....no way of knowing the context behind the words. all is good here....i didn't feel like you were knocking anything.