Cool Running

[Zed]

There is a lot of talk out there about how best to run in a new bike! I would appreciate feedback from those who have had the pleasure of purchasing a brand new bike and running it in- what has worked for you?

Personally I have only bought one brand new bike, a CBR900RR fireblade in '95, and I ran it in by the book...the first 2000kms were very boring! My approach on the next new bike I get will be to ride it like I normally would (giving it death at times :yes: ) but not redlining it straightaway! I am a firm believer that the more you work a bike the better it goes, regular maintenance & orderly riding practices taken into consideration.


Zed

[Jackrat]

Only ever had one new bike,Suzuki GS850G.
Ran it in just like I rode it,Don't let it labour an don't cane it.
First oil change at 100km an after that as per the book.

[speedpro]

http://mototuneusa.com/thanx.htm

Check it out for some alternative views on running in, look at #9. Plenty of evidence to support ideas.

Even big 4-stroke race bikes I've had, including a turbo, I've always followed more or less his ideas and never had a problem. A friend has a 8L blown drag car. From new the motor is warmed up then cooled before retorqueing the heads. The next time it's started is to race. It does 9000rpm through the gears and over a season the leakdown just gets better and better. Never a problem with bores/pistons or bearings on the bikes or car. Even on my little 2-stroke bike it seems to be fine, round the kart track anyway.

[Zed]

http://mototuneusa.com/thanx.htm

Check it out for some alternative views on running in, look at #9. Plenty of evidence to support ideas.

Even big 4-stroke race bikes I've had, including a turbo, I've always followed more or less his ideas and never had a problem. A friend has a 8L blown drag car. From new the motor is warmed up then cooled before retorqueing the heads. The next time it's started is to race. It does 9000rpm through the gears and over a season the leakdown just gets better and better. Never a problem with bores/pistons or bearings on the bikes or car. Even on my little 2-stroke bike it seems to be fine, round the kart track anyway.
Thanks, that method sounds logical.

[ching_ching]

Hi Zed,

Racing spannerman over in Taupo told me to do this:-

- Don't let it idle too long.
- Don't let it warm up for more than about 90 secs (different for particularly cold mornings).
- Don't rev the nuts off it (I interpreted this as 'don't redline it').
- Don't labour it.

Apart from that he said ride it straight out of the crate like ya gonna ride it (which is also open to interpretation). Just give it good bursts of acceleration and deceleration to produce those high pressures to achieve good component mating between rings and cylinder walls and therefore good compressions.

Nice bike Zed. Enjoy brudder!

ching

[Coldkiwi]

not quite sure why you wouldn't let it warm up really well anyway tho? I wait till its up to 50' before trundling off (and 65 at least before opening the tap much). certainly warm up is crucial to preventing engine wear (and thats something that all parties agree on)

zed... i'm guessing yours is an ex-demo? could well mean it has been babied a bit by test riders (CBR's being a decent tourer and all) so it probably needs a damn good hiding to get the compression up in a big hurry! (if not, what the heck... its a good excuse if ever there was one!)

[Zed]

not quite sure why you wouldn't let it warm up really well anyway tho? I wait till its up to 50' before trundling off (and 65 at least before opening the tap much). certainly warm up is crucial to preventing engine wear (and thats something that all parties agree on)

zed... i'm guessing yours is an ex-demo? could well mean it has been babied a bit by test riders (CBR's being a decent tourer and all) so it probably needs a damn good hiding to get the compression up in a big hurry! (if not, what the heck... its a good excuse if ever there was one!)
Nah, I was told that it was sold brand new to a 19yr old whose parents made him bring it back...he clocked up around 1600kms on it.

And as for a good hiding...well...already done sir! twice :sweatdrop That spurt out at Pukekohe last Friday transformed me a tad! :cool: I wish I had the CBR then...


Zed

[Coldkiwi]

hehe, glad you enjoyed it. Puke is much more enjoyable with a stable but nimble front end and I imagine the CBR should give you more of that over the zx6R.

poor kid having to bring it back tho. he would've been over the moon to ride one of those I'm sure

[Wenier]

not quite sure why you wouldn't let it warm up really well anyway tho? I wait till its up to 50' before trundling off (and 65 at least before opening the tap much). certainly warm up is crucial to preventing engine wear (and thats something that all parties agree on)


It is usually better to warm any vehicle up by driving it nice and calmly until it is warm, so therefore letting it warm for no more than 90secs and then ride down the road nicely for a bit should have it warmed up in about 5min or less. Thats if its not to cold out there.

I might seem like a dick asking this but i cant quite make my mind up completely on wut u mean by Labouring so please explain.

Thanks :)

[White trash]

"Labouring" is the term used to describe a good honest days work. Something you wouldn't know too much about I'll bet. :bleh:

Or, to describe over loading the engine. Such as trying to ride your ZXR up the Wainui hill in 6th gear at 50kph.

[riffer]

Nah you're not a dick.

Labouring is when you are using too high a gear for the speed you are doing ie the revs are too low and you are using too much throttle - you know - it sounds really "laboured". You might also get chain snatch too when this happens.

[mangell6]

With the FZed1 I read the book then applied the uncommonsense approach as outined by many above. I ran it past the rev limit that the manufacturer rec'd and then back down again, did not hold the revs above the rec'd limit for long. I did not 'cane' the machine until 1600kms and then it was all on :)

[speedpro]

It is usually better to warm any vehicle up by driving it nice and calmly until it is warm, so therefore letting it warm for no more than 90secs and then ride down the road nicely for a bit should have it warmed up in about 5min or less. Thats if its not to cold out there.

I might seem like a dick asking this but i cant quite make my mind up completely on wut u mean by Labouring so please explain.

Thanks :)
Chevrolet did lots of very careful tests on a lot of cars over a lot of miles to try and determine the best option re warming engines. Half got the get in and drive away treatment, the other half got warmed up before moving. Engines were stripped and measured and no differance was measureable.

I had an oil temp gauge on a modified Z1 and even after warming it up and then riding off at a fairly brisk pace it still took about 10Kms for the oil to get close to operating temp. The engine felt warm/hot well before then. Based on that, even those who warm their engines before driving off don't allow enough time for the really important bit to get warm. Plus Chevrolet found no benefit, which is not to say you should fire it up and redline it down the road immediately, that wasn't what they tested.

[Lou Girardin]

If the CBR's already done 1,600 km's, talk of running in seems moot.
Just ride normally.
Lou

[Zed]

If the CBR's already done 1,600 km's, talk of running in seems moot.
Just ride normally.
Lou
My concern is that it hasn't been run in properly and may never perform to its full potential? :sneaky2:

Hearing others views about running in new bikes was my main intention when I started this thread.


Zed

[cruzer]

There is a lot of talk out there about how best to run in a new bike! I would appreciate feedback from those who have had the pleasure of purchasing a brand new bike and running it in- what has worked for you?

Personally I have only bought one brand new bike, a CBR900RR fireblade in '95, and I ran it in by the book...the first 2000kms were very boring! My approach on the next new bike I get will be to ride it like I normally would (giving it death at times :yes: ) but not redlining it straightaway! I am a firm believer that the more you work a bike the better it goes, regular maintenance & orderly riding practices taken into consideration.



Zed
Have a look at this site as it says "A controversial topic"
http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

[Hitcher]

There is a lot of talk out there about how best to run in a new bike! I would appreciate feedback from those who have had the pleasure of purchasing a brand new bike and running it in- what has worked for you?

Personally I have only bought one brand new bike, a CBR900RR fireblade in '95, and I ran it in by the book...the first 2000kms were very boring! My approach on the next new bike I get will be to ride it like I normally would (giving it death at times :yes: ) but not redlining it straightaway! I am a firm believer that the more you work a bike the better it goes, regular maintenance & orderly riding practices taken into consideration.


Zed

Zed -- what happened to your Kawasaki?

[Lou Girardin]

[QUOTE=Zed][b][color=navy]My concern is that it hasn't been run in properly and may never perform to its full potential? :sneaky2: [b][color=navy]ZedbQUOTE]
If the compressions are normal and it doesn't use oil, relax. It's fine.
Lou

[Posh Tourer :P]

Parents just bought an almost new (300kms) Mazda MX-5. Running in istructions run as follows:

Dont let it run at steady revs for prolonged periods
Do an initial oil change at 100km (or so)

That is the sum total of it. I presume that they havent done a huge amount to the engine to make it usable without running in. Thus I assume this principle can probably be applied to new bikes as well. I think it might be a combination of well fitted parts (better engineering compared to much earlier vehicles that needed to be run in when new), and a change in theories.

[Wenier]

thanks for answering my question WT and celticno6. Yay i dont do that often :laugh:.
Now i no for when i get a new bike to running it in under normal riding conditions. gotta love doing the prolonged revs bit, go down the motorway speedup to 120 slow down to 90km speed up 120 slow down, then get pulled up by a cop wut r ya doin, Im breaking it in officier really :)

[Drunken Monkey]

[QUOTE=Coldkiwi]not quite sure why you wouldn't let it warm up really well anyway tho? I wait till its up to 50' before trundling off (and 65 at least before opening the tap much). certainly warm up is crucial to preventing engine wear (and thats something that all parties agree on)
{/QUOTE]

CK - the reasoning behind this is that at idle, the fuel and air mixtures are not ideal for optimum engine running, and the combustion is not is clean as it is at higher revs with fresh air getting into the engine. Letting any (modern) 4 stroke piston engine sit still while it warms up is not as 'easy' on the engine as starting it and moving off straight away.
Suprised me too when I learned it, but this is the general consensus from engineers. Even seemed counter-intuitive when I knew from personal experience that the turbo cars I owned in the past ran more smoothly if they sat for 4 or 5 minutes before I drove off. On the other hand, the 2K Gixxr (and my 2K Diamante) both drive/ride nicely right off ignition - might be something to do with modern fuel injection systems warm up maps?

[Joni]

Just take her (sorry him) out on the road once or twice and get the valves good and open, push her a little, the bike is not new, it will respond well, and up the general performance after that.

[Zed]

Just take her (sorry him) out on the road once or twice and get the valves good and open, push her a little, the bike is not new, it will respond well, and up the general performance after that.
Oh yeah, HE has responded spectacularly!! Quite a reasonable step up in power and speed from my Kawasaki ZX-6R...that's 4 years technology for you! :yes:

I'm much looking forward to really opening him up this weekend on a 2-3 hour blast out of Auckland somewhere? :banana:


Zed

[Zed]

Zed -- what happened to your Kawasaki?
Traded him in for the Honda. He had 62,000kms on the clock and was fast approaching 70k. I figured that I had better trade him and upgrade now while I can get a good price for him...and I did more or less get my money back!

Was seriously considering another Kawasaki but the dealer put me off when he tried to dumb down my trade-in terms. :thud:


Zed

[Wenier]

Even seemed counter-intuitive when I knew from personal experience that the turbo cars I owned in the past ran more smoothly if they sat for 4 or 5 minutes before I drove off. On the other hand, the 2K Gixxr (and my 2K Diamante) both drive/ride nicely right off ignition - might be something to do with modern fuel injection systems warm up maps?

I think you will find that is to do with the turbo, as ya generally dont want to use the turbo at all on boost if the car isnt warm. But drivin it round below the boost area is usually fine and the car responds like normal. Then once the bugas warm hey hey its party time :)