The role of dynamic behavior of operating rotor system in rotor design may or may not be evaluated under the impact of an external force such as earthquake. This article reports the result of an experimental study to resolve the dilemma. First, a sine weep test was performed to determine the first natural frequency of a Jeffcott rotor and compared with the ANSYS mode analysis demonstrating the reliability of experimental tests. The operating rotor vibrations were measured under the impact of sinusoidal forces at several frequencies, generated by the MTS vibration exciter. The experimental data suggest the need for a rotor design considering the dynamic behavior of the operating rotor under exciting external forces.