Hi all,

Im curious to hear the reactions/opinions of others as to the best way to break in a new bike.

Just traded in the 97F3 for an 08 600rr the other day, and I cant wait for the snow to melt in my part of the world...

I have been trying to inform myself on the best break in procedure, particularly cos' I'll be chomping at the bit to get out to the track as soon as I'm able...I'm about an hour from Calabogie motorsport in Ontario, and got hooked bad on track riding last season....

Here's a link to an 'expert's' procedure for break in I'd like feedback on:

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

Thanks all, ....Cheers

 

i bought my bike as my first that i have ever rode. break in was easy for me because i was learning at the same time. i didnt take it over 6 grand for the first 500 miles. didnt hit redline until 1200 when it was on the dyno. everyone has their own opinions

 

just don't let your rpms sit in the same range for an extended period of time
ie no lengthy hwy riding

otherwise have at it

 

No don't "have at it"

Don't rev high. The rings haven't seated yet and high revs will just cause them to flutter instead of wearing in properly. Also as said above don't sit at one rpm, if you want to go 65mph then go between 60-70mph all the time. Don't pull in the clutch when slowing down, let the engine help brake the bike [this forces the rings in the opposite direction, again helping seat them] DO apply heavy throttle while keeping the revs low. High cylinder pressure = rings being pushed againts cylinder hard. Do this for the first 600 miles, change your oil, then have at it.

 

PROPER BREAK-IN OF A MOTOR (any vehicle):

Drive the vehicle THROUGHOUT the RPM range. That doesn't mean getting on it (avoid full throttle starts & aggressive riding/driving). But the first few miles are crucial. Many belive that you have to "seat the pistons" by gradually taking the bike up to about 10000 RPM, then rolling off the throttle back down to around 4000 RPM. Doing this a few times "seats the pistons". This is only done during the first couple of miles on the engine.

After that, just ride the bike normally (avoiding lengthly highway riding, or riding in the same RPM range).

You need to varry your riding. Constantly take the bike throughout the RPM range. Constantly shift, and shift at different RPM's. Don't lug the engine by riding in very low RPM ranges (3,000 & below).

Once you hit 600 miles, take it to a dealer and have the 600 mile service done if you trust the dealer, if not, take it to a dealer or shop you do trust. Shouldn't cost anymore than $80 bucks. MAKE SURE you have the 600 mile service done regardless of who does it.

After that, regular oil changes & chain lubes/adjustments and you'll have no problems with it.

Hope this helps,

 

StevesCBR,
I read that article. It makes sense, he has the pics for so-called "proof," but it's just hard to ride your brand new $9000+ baby HARD! If you let the needle bounce off the red-line, you'll be doing damge. Just pretty much follow the advice of him and Fox and you should be fine. Ride hard and all around the RPM's.

Just don't confuse riding "hard" with beating on it.

 

Ride it like you stole it!!!!!!!!!

a good old squiddy top end run in the first few mile is key, and make sure you bounce it off the rev limiter at every shift. then a few hours of freeway at exactly 8k.

just kidding, but i am pretty sure a large percentage of bikes go through that every year.

I think boredofstrokeingit and foxy hit the nail on the head, or at least made enough sense to convince me.

 

Thanks all,

thanks for the feedback guys

it sounds like there's pretty much consensus
on the importance of avoiding constant rpms

as well as on encouraging loading the engine, with throttle and with engine breaking, to get the good ring seal devlopment

charging it up to redline right out of the box, over and over, agressively is not what was in question for me, I think we all agree on that would be bad

On Motman's site, he makes the case that 80% of ring seal break in occurs in first 20 miles

Here's his formula for breaking in on a dyno:

"On a Dyno:
Warm the engine up
completely !!

Then, using 4th gear:

Do Three 1/2 Throttle dyno runs from
40% - 60% of your engine's max rpm
Let it Cool Down For About 15 Minutes

Do Three 3/4 Throttle dyno runs from
40% - 80% of your engine's max rpm
Let it Cool Down For About 15 Minutes

Do Three Full Throttle dyno runs from
30% - 100% of your engine's max rpm
Let it Cool Down For About 15 Minutes"

I'll put this question out:
Does this seem overly aggressive?

My position is that im inclined to think its not, and think he makes a strong point on it actually being crucial to do this...he claims :

"It's up to you:
The loss in power from an easy break-in and the resulting poor ring seal can be
anywhere from 2% - 10% !!

In other words:
The gain in power from using this break-in method can be anywhere from 2% - 10% !! "

I think Im decided on doing this on a dyno..and follow his fluid change schedule too, ...which includes immeditealy changing adter that break in,...where he's claiming the fluid is filled with micro aluminum machine filings...

My last question...lol...

After this break in he says...Have at er...?

To be honest though,...as a realtive noob to the track, and with this 08 rr underneath me..I'll be needing some break-in of my own before I get to pushing a machine like that....

Cheers everybody, thanks again

Somebody get to melting all this snow so I can get this thing on the road!....

 

even a noob can have at an engine on the track, its the tires and the brakes that you won't be pushing to the fullest.

it sounds over aggressive to you because you brain thinks in an "easy break-in" train of thought, I really don't know enough about bikes motors to tell you if that is harsh or not. talk to a mechanical engineer (or me in 3-4 more years) and they should know a lot more about this then your average joe mechanic.

what i can tell you is that a tractor transmission needs to be broken in under load, you can do that on a dyno or plowing a field, just something that will put strain on it. it has something to do with the gears seating them selves and if its not done it can shorten the life of the tranny.

so this isn't the first application i have heard of a hard break-in

P.S. I am not a redneck, but i used to work with them.

 

Right...you probably had to wipe the drool off your chin with all that tractor talk!!

Steve,
Pushing the bike to its limits is one thing, pushing your skills to the limits is another. Get comfortable on the bike first. Can you street ride for a little first before your track day? That way you're at least used to the ergos. Good luck either way and be safe.