Running in a new bike

[Riff Raff]

Reading an article in Two Wheels March 05 issue about running in a new bike. Having just been a (mostly) good girl at following the instructions for running in my bike, I found this really interesting. They talked to the Castrol Research Centre who are saying that any bike over 500cc can be run normally right from the start.
"Surface finishing occurs on crank and small end bearing surfaces as well as on the piston and bore. When brand new these have a harsh, jagged surface from being machined. The aim is to turn this into a surface that is a combination of plateaus and valleys. The plateaus bear the loads and spread it out, while the valleys act as reservoirs for the lubricating oil. The ratio of one to the other matters: too many valleys and oil consumption will be high, while not enough and friction increases. If you're too gentle with your engine, plateau formation is restricted and your oil consumption will be worse. Ride too hard and you end up with too much plateau."
If you mollycoddle your bike it result in a varnish forming that stops further running in. A modern bike should be run in by 800km, and once you reach this mark you should be doing large throttle openings and high revs to finish off the process. If you don't your oil consumption could double, you also get a slight power reduction and the engine life will be slightly shorter.
Castol also say the component surfaces continue to stabilise for at least the first 8000km, and during this time you should NOT use a fully synthetic oil as these inhibit the process.

[vifferman]

So.....



What method did you use to run in your new BlackToyBoy (or is that BlackBoyToy??)

[bugjuice]

I saw a sticker on the tank of a new Triumph Daytona 650 which said something about no more than 45% throttle til 1000ks, 60% to 1500ks, then 100% at 2000ks..
I got my bike at 1100ks so it was just starting to break, as I was just starting to get used to the power jump, so I think we were a good match, hence I love my bike..

[Riff Raff]

So.....
What method did you use to run in your new BlackToyBoy (or is that BlackBoyToy??)

Weeeel... from Wellington to Bulls I was stuck in quite heavy traffic so was doing between 80 and 120kph, with regular changing of gears and mostly keeping it below the 5000 revs range. After Bulls there was very little traffic and no so I was doing between 110 and 160kph. For the most part I did try to stick to 5000 revs and I swapped between 6th and 5th gear every couple of minutes. After Taranaki I did normal(ish) road speed for the most part as I went through the gorges, and had to behave the rest of the way due to the regular presence of . I've pretty much ridden it normally until 1500km, and then I've started playing....

[scroter]

no 1. do not i repeat do not leave the bike idleing.

no 2. do not sit on one speed for long periods of time.

no 3. if at all possible do not use heavy braking

no 4. no full throttle

what it says in the books is pretty lame. all you have to do is make sure you lift the revs and let them drop. eg get the bike up to third gear or so and wind the throttle on (full throttle not really advised) and bring the revs up and then let the throttle off so the revs come back down. this loads the engine up in both directions (accelaration and deceleration). number of revs is really irrelevant and you may end up being too soft on it if you stick to the reccomended revs, really there just there as a guide and also the manufactures dont want you thrashing the tits off their bikes straight out of the crate.

Actually most of the running is done in on your first ride hence dont let it idle cause the bores can glaze that fast.

one exception is that some bikes are run in before you buy them (i think hondas not to sure tho) in that case ride however you like.

[vifferman]

So, how many kilometres have you done now, Riff Raff?

Incidentally, a lot of people who try take extra good care of their bikes (this is once they're broken in) idle them till they're hot before riding off. I've read so many articles that say that this is bad for them, and that the best way to treat them is to start them up, idle them just long enough to ensure the oil's circulated around the engine, then ride off.
Suits me.
I idle the bike long enough at most to get my gloves on, then I'm off.

Some bikes are actually subject to more wear'n'tear by being idled too much, like there's some evidence that the camchain tensioner failures experienced by VTR1000s are exacerbated by excessive idling on the sidestand.

[Riff Raff]

So, how many kilometres have you done now, Riff Raff?

Incidentally, a lot of people who try take extra good care of their bikes (this is once they're broken in) idle them till they're hot before riding off. I've read so many articles that say that this is bad for them, and that the best way to treat them is to start them up, idle them just long enough to ensure the oil's circulated around the engine, then ride off.

2100 km so far...
I probably idle mine for about a minute while I fart around putting helmet and gloves on. Is that too long?

[Waylander]

Only idle mine when it's cold out and I have to warm it up.Do this with the choke on so its runnin about 2,000 revs for the time it takes me to put my helmet and gloves on. After that it runs great and I dont have to worry about doin this when its nice to hot out. If I don't warm it up though it sputters and backfires several times before it rides right. By the way bcakfire off an 1100 virago is very, VERY loud when goin through a tunnel, my ears were ringing for antoher 10 mins after that happend.

[FROSTY:Me]

different rules methinks when sdealing with mismatched components

[justsomeguy]

When I got my basic handling skills John Wright let the bikes idle for around 5 mins........ he mentioned that that was the way to go.........


Can the experienced please clarify?? What's the best for a ZZR250??

[Sensei]

As long as you don't take your bike to 3000 from redline & don't labour it to death . Just ride the thing like it was all ready run in .
Run in was back in the day's of shit machining so you had to . Motor's now adays are all but run in at the factory just 1000k of bedding in parts & let it RIP .
SENSEI

[StoneChucker]

Not sure about other bikes, but on mine when you start from cold the temp reads "Lo". That changes to 40 deg after about a minute at the most, and I take off straight away.

[FROSTY:Me]

2100 km so far...
I probably idle mine for about a minute while I fart around putting helmet and gloves on. Is that too long?

Thats how i do it normally --fire up bike get jacket and helmet and gloves on--ride off -llong enuff for the oil to get around the motor

[scroter]

i reckon you dont need to idle your bike for long at all just enough so the oil gets everywhere. but dont bother thrashing it till its properly warmed up, you can warm the bike up while riding it, it wont hurt it. of course i dont know bugger all about warming up turbos but i suspect the same way would be fine as long as you dont get the turbo working hard till its warmed up properly.

[F5 Dave]

I’m going to hit the unsubscribe button soon, as there are more theories than people spouting them. A few quick misconceptions:

Running in the bottom end. Any ball bearings are already round, if they aren’t then game over for that bearing. Any plain bearings are force fed oil by the pump, the crank is supported by a layer of oil & never touches these surfaces except for instance when revved from cold before the oil pressure comes up.

When the bike comes off the production line, one of the first things they do is run it through the gears at max revs, full throttle. Makes a mockery of the don’t use full throttle instructions.

Stops new bike owners crashing the bike before they get used to it.