Running-in new bikes

[darryn1]

hi guys. i'm about to take delivery of a '07 gsx1400 brand new. have had a quick read of various break-in procedures from various manufacturers, and also had a look on the net. very conflictiing reports there!
anyone run one in, and what procedure did you use? surely, the manufacturers would know best with their own machiney wouldn't they? and it'd be against their best interests to put you wrong, because if their bikes need things doing prematurely further down the track, or if they fail - then that'd affect re-sale / secondhand sales, which would inevitably affect new bike sales.
so what's the deal on the subject? any thoughts? some say rev fuck out of it, some say stop / start for a few hundred kms, change your oil after 50kms, leave it 'till first service at 1000kms... then there's the whole synthetic vs mineral oils!! for every good argument i read, there's anohter good one to contradict the previous one.
quite confusing. HELP!!!

[Cajun]

this topic is pretty random, alot of it is personal prefence,

Just start riding it like you would normally ride it, just don't keep at the same throttle/rpm for long times vary it.

change oil is up to you drop it at 500, or wait for 1000

[bistard]

The main things to remember are,dont labour the motor,dont rev the crap out of it,vary your revs while riding & its a personal thing when to change the oil,but stick with mineral for the first couple of changes,I would change at 500 & 1000ks
Everybody has an opinion on this,if nothing else ride nice for 500ks & then start using more revs occaisonally & at 1000ks ride normally

[kiwifruit]

give it heaps = x

[MTW]

So would the same run in procedures stand true for overhauling an engine as well? When I say overhaul, I'm dropping a 442cc big bore kit in my Impulse, so I assume it would be safer to give that a 'run in' period also?

[WRT]

In my mind, it all comes down to how much you like your warranty really. Stick with the manufacturers recommendations.

[Kwaka14]

Run it in as per the Manufacturers instructions, don't keep the revs in the same place for too long and occasionally wind it on a little bit, Things are tight to start off with and they tend to get hotter when they're new....

[WRT]

Run it in as per the Manufacturers instructions, don't keep the revs in the same place for too long and occasionally wind it on a little bit, Things are tight to start off with and they tend to get hotter when they're new....

You talking about running in a bike or a virgin???

[Kwaka14]

You talking about running in a bike or a virgin???
.... if you overdo it too early either one will give you a warped head....

[Buster]

Just ride it as per usual. Warm it up first, dont hold it at constant revs or take it into the red all day long. Do the 1st service at 1000 to keep the warranty side of it cool.

[JimO]

mine had to be kept under 5000 rpm for the first 600 miles

[KoroJ]

Ask your dealer...he should be the expert.??

It's your new baby, look after it.

[Busy]

When I brought my bike (GSX600F - couple of months ago) I was told to keep under 6500rpm until the first service (1000k's) and also not to labour the engine, apart from that just ride normally with a varation of town and open road riding - ie varing rev ranges.

Being oil cooled also warm it up throughly before give it death.
I'm at 3000k's now and still feel it bedding in, improves every week but still has the new muffler stink, err smell etc

[Edbear]

See my thread, "Running in fun?"

[t3mp0r4ry nzr]

your bike is already run in. once of the production line, it has gone straight to the rollers where they take it up through the gears hitting the rev limiter to make sure all is well!!

ride normally.

when running my car in I hit the rev limiter 6 times in the first drive to make sure those rings seal gooood haha

[jafa18]

Not shure if you have read this, but i found it to be very interesting.....
this guy seems to know what hes doing, after over 300 run in's using his method, and the piston comprasions at the bottom of the page are a bit of a wakeup.....
http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

[Reckless]

I have spent many years karting ie 125 on methanol, cadet and 125 engines. Doing many many rebuilds. Although we didn't now it at the time, due to impatience during run in (the first few times) we where using the mototune method. So we kept doing it. Our engines always went really well!! I discovered their method a couple of years ago and it confirmed what we where doing for the last 20 years.
Although I would qualify this by saying if your going to keep it for 10 years, and never going to expect it, to give the most it can deliver, use the factory method.
But if you want it to go like the clappers and still be a good reliable bike. Ride it and ride it well. That doesn't mean of coarse thrashing to death. Read the moto tune thing, changing the oil is inportant as well:rockon:

My opinion only!

[roadracingoldfart]

your bike is already run in. once of the production line, it has gone straight to the rollers where they take it up through the gears hitting the rev limiter to make sure all is well!!
ride normally.
when running my car in I hit the rev limiter 6 times in the first drive to make sure those rings seal gooood haha


Yuppp , i see you have read all the bullshit garbage myths from days gone by and believed them all. As i have to deal with owners killing $ 50,000 cars all the time i just love to hear that kind of crap. not (if the manufacturer has to spend all his money on warranty rebuilds then the cost of a car / bike will creep up, thats economics.)
A small peice of trivia told to me by a senior staff member of Blue Wing Honda, in 1976 the CB650 was launched here for (memory) about $1600.00 NZ and it cost Honda America $150.00 per unit to make.:whocares:

As its already well and truely covered above , give it plenty of varied revs and work a few hills without putting the engine under load at all . A consistant rev range will creat an oil burner after a while.

[Grub]

In a previous life I was Product Manager for Honda (Cars) NZ. I used to pick up a new car from the plant and drive it to Auckland and back ... run-in all done. I had the fastest cars in the fleet consistently and here's why.

To bed in the rings, they need pressure exerted on them to de-glaze the bore and seat the rings. They also need to heat up and stay hot for a while. We used to run the cars not too harshly all the way to Waiouru and then it was flat nackers (redlining thru the gears) all the way to Auckland and back. (Best time Porirua lights to East Tamaki turnoff = 5hr 57min)

As already said ... don't labour it, don't fang it for the first 500ks but don't nana it either (that's the worst thing you can do). Make sure its above the max torque rpm and then use the throttle and get some pressures into the cylinders.

Our dealers used to get brand new Civics and Accords in for their 6,000km service that wouldn't pull the skin of that rice pudding. They all belonged to nanas who ran them in like they used to do with their 1952 Morris Oxford.

Those vehicles were usually given to the apprentice to thrash the ring off them up and down the motorway for half an hour - you should have heard the praise they got for doing a "marvelous tune-up on the car!"

[TygerTung]

Give it heaps, Thats what I always do on my rebuilds (have done four now) and they seem to go sweet as, I reckon don't nana it otherwise the rings won't bed in, but thats my opinion.