I own a bike and a car. I’ve wondered this for some time, when I am doing 120km/h the car gets around 3k revs and the bike easily 6k.
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The smaller an engine is the higher it can rev. Motorcycles usually have small engines, up to a liter (1000cc) of total displacement, which is about 125 – 300cc per cylinder. They’re also usually more performance tuned than cars, because you’re not as likely to care much about fuel economy on a bike.
Cars start at about 300cc for small economy cars, which won’t rev high because they’re tuned for efficiency, and the more performance oriented cars have large cylinders with 500cc or more.
Now for why they do this, it’s better to have a slow engine for fuel economy and wear, but bikes simply can’t fit a humongous 3L V6 twin turbo between your legs, so they make tradeoffs. Plus it’s tradition at this point, sportsbike buyers want their engine to sound and feel a certain way, so the manufacturers keep that in mind.
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