New bike - how do I break it in? [Archive]

chubby

14th July 2008, 11:13

In order:
Speak to the salesman
Speak to a mechanic there
Read the manual, read the manual, read the manual.

Being concerned about it as you are will mean that you'll take it careful anyway but identify first services, and any particular riding requirements ie keeping revs below... till ... etc. listen and obey. New bike you'll be careful anyway.

Oh and by the way, good luck and safe riding.

chubby

14th July 2008, 11:14

what he said.

and remember its not only the engine you need to break in, for the first 50-100ks the brakes need to bed in properly.

and the tyres... so just be careful... and relax

Jase H

14th July 2008, 13:11

No more than 4,700 rpm for the first 500 kms. Keep varying the revs, i.e. cruise at little more than idle for a few mins then go up to 4-4500 rpm for a bit, etc. Stop/ start traffic forces you to do this anyway. With the Scorpio you also need to give it 5-10 mins rest after 1 hr of riding. As a newbie you'll probably won't do more than 1 hr at a time, anyway. 4,700 if top gear is only 70 kmh, so avoid motorways if you want to play it safe.

500 - 1,000 kms: still no full throttle but you can go up to 6,600 rpm. This is just over 100 kmh (not sure if you're learner or restricted - if the latter, motorways are now bearable).

Get the oil changed at 2 mths/ 1,000 kms, whichever comes first.

After 1,000 kms: open up, let rip and enjoy.

Qkchk

14th July 2008, 13:17

Read the manual.

what he said.

And what they both said.

People can get confused or forget important information like that. A book however, never does. It was written by the people who made/designed the engine/bike from scratch.

Roki_nz

14th July 2008, 13:35

I would Check your owner manual and stick to what it recommends. On my Ninja its no more than 4000rpm which means about 60km. I only exceed that if i need extra power to merge. As long as you don't go over the recommended rpm all the time you should be fine

CookMySock

14th July 2008, 14:02

On modern vehicles you don't have to do much - just pootle around leaner-stylez and you will be fine. Half throttle and half revs. Don't put car engine oil in it.

Just dont get it out on the motorway at 100k or climb any really massive hills.

And congrats on yer first bike :sunny:
DB

sinfull

14th July 2008, 14:23

You'll be right !
Biggest thing is like the guys said, the brakes and bogging it down ! Cant see you thrashing it !
Test the brakes as ya would if ya had just drove through a deep puddle, make sure they work and you know how well they'll stop ya !
Bogging it down is like when ya cruising along at 50 ks and twist open the throttle but nothing happens (your bogging it down) too high a gear !
The bike will run in with your skill level !! Listen for the bikes happy sound lol and use the gears to keep it there !

svr

20th July 2008, 16:20

On modern vehicles you don't have to do much DB

DB is right. Don't stress - that's dangerous. Bikes are tough. My bike was ex-demo and was thrashed it mercilously from day one (day 2 was a track-day). Its currently stripped and the pistons & bores are still perfect.
The only thing to watch is if its got thin `running-in' oil in it, which isnt the best for high-stress / high temperatures. Before you start thrashing it (?) you'll have to change to normal oil, then just enjoy your biking.

EJK

20th July 2008, 16:45

Use the Heel Gear Shifter alot... You won't have that on other bikes.

Trust me ;)

Swoop

20th July 2008, 19:25

Welcome to the site and also congrat's on your first bike! May she treat you well.
:ride:

AllanB

20th July 2008, 19:47

Don't get too hung up on revving it too high - you are better to go a bit over than lug it around in to tall a gear.

Don't worry about the oil type - it will come with what the factory wants for the first period and be changed to what they recommend at the first dealer service.
However do check the oil level every week or more often if doing big kms.

Have fun.

swedencamilla

26th July 2008, 08:04

EJK What do you mean by heel gear shifter? Probably a stupid question. I just change gears with the front of the left foot. Is it better to use the heel?

Hidalgo

27th July 2008, 03:45

Read the manual.
+1 ^ :niceone:

hayd3n

27th July 2008, 08:36

EJK What do you mean by heel gear shifter? Probably a stupid question. I just change gears with the front of the left foot. Is it better to use the heel?

i think he's giving you shit m8

DMNTD

27th July 2008, 08:41

i think he's giving you shit m8
Nah he's not...they do have a "heel shift".

Re running in a Scorpio Z...just ride the thing,don't labour it and don't red line the wee beasty and change gears plenty many times. Choose a road with plenty of twisties etc as it'll "make you" do all of the above.
The manual is a bit challenged for these bikes so your best bet is to just go out and ride your new bike and enjoy yourself.

Unit

27th July 2008, 11:44

Well done on your new adventure. Hope the running in is going to date, you'll be fine just make sure you feel comfortable and giggle a lot, it helps believe me

dyls

28th July 2008, 13:13

Hey Swedencamilla,

grats on the new bike :)

I'm really interested in how you find it, as I'm leaning towards getting one myself...haven't taken any for a test ride yet, haha, but 'on paper' it's got me interested.

I'm new to bikes.

Also, I'm interested to know which dealer you got it from and how much it ended up costing all up...if you don't mind saying? And would you recommend the dealer to someone else?

Badjelly

28th July 2008, 13:36

...they do have a "heel shift".

Mine doesn't have one :eek5:. It used to, but I sawed it off :yes:.

Swedencamilla, the heel extension of the shift lever is something that some old commuter-oriented bikes used to have. (I'm not sure why it was there, possibly to let the rider use platform soles?) You can safely ignore it. I sawed mine off because it occasionally caught on my heels. And, of course, because heel shifters are seriously uncool.

Regarding running-in, there are some people who argue that engines should be worked hard very early in their lives to bed in the pistons. This issue has been argued at great length on KB, eg in this thread

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=77636
While I don't discount this theory, I think you are safer following the recommendations in the manual. This is what I did with my Scorpio and it runs fine (at 9 months old, 3000 km) and doesn't burn any oil.

swedencamilla

29th July 2008, 09:27

Thanks Badjelly - I will just ignore this heel shift thing I think. I need to concentrate on other things.

To the poster before Badjelly, sorry forgot your name. I bought mine from TSS Motorcycles in Lower Hutt. They were very helpful. With registration, fuel and all extra costs it was a total of about 4.4 I think. The bike itself was just under 4. I got the red one with the mag wheels. You can get the blue one for 200$ less.
I really like the Scorpio, although I have not got a lot of other bikes to compare with. I have tried a GN125 and a GN250 when I did the course. I have also ridden something else many years ago in Thailand, but I have forgotten which one that was. I find it quite responsive, infact the throttle is so responsive you have to be very careful. I have started using the clutch more at slow speeds. It is easy to do reasonably tight turns. I am doing figure of eights in a quiet cul de sac. One thing that is a bit frustrating is that there is no indicator showing which gear you are in. The gear box to me seems a little imprecise, but I will probably get the hang of it with time. I am still at a quiet street stage. I am just a bit of a chicken really.

I have been away on a skiing holiday, which turned to be more of a not skiing holiday given the wheather. Anyway I haven't had a chance to take my bike out for the last week and a half or so. As soon as this coming storm passes I will go out. I need to work on doing lots of gear changes and practice changing down before stopping.

Could another Scorpio rider give me some general advice. I am wondering at what revs and speeds should I change gears. Maybe give me just some rought indicators for even ground. Obviously if going uphill or needing to accelerate I would have to go down in gear or if engine seems to roar to much or revs very high. It is just that I don't have much to compare with as far as what the engine sounds like and it would be good to have some rough indication as to where I should be at.

Thanks you for all encouragement, advice and comments. Much appreciated!!

Badjelly

29th July 2008, 10:07

Could another Scorpio rider give me some general advice. I am wondering at what revs and speeds should I change gears. Maybe give me just some rough indicators for even ground. Obviously if going uphill or needing to accelerate I would have to go down in gear or if engine seems to roar to much or revs very high. It is just that I don't have much to compare with as far as what the engine sounds like and it would be good to have some rough indication as to where I should be at.

It depends, obviously, but in the higher gears you want to keep it spinning at 3500 rpm or more. You can run the engine slower, but then you need to be very gentle on the throttle. Try this experiment (on a quiet road): ride along in top, let your speed drop until the engine is spinning at 3000 rpm (this will be 40-45 km/h), then accelerate reasonably strongly. Feel the pulsing, as the engine tugs a bit roughly on the drive chain? You want to avoid that, because it may not be good for the engine and drive train, and because there's not much power on tap at those speeds.

The sweet spot for general round-town running is 4000 rpm.

At the upper end, you're not supposed to run it above 4700 rpm for long periods in the first 500 km, so if you change up somewhere between 4500 and 5000 rpm, you'll be fine. (But if you find yourself having to accelerate in a hurry to avoid a car you didn't see, or something, do it, and don't worry too much about the revs.)

Once you've run it in and take it out on faster roads, you'll find it will spin along at 7000 rpm for as long as you like. The engine has quite a different feel at those higher speeds: much busier.

Rev DJ

29th July 2008, 11:11

BadJelly always has such good advice - cool :woohoo:

Just an observation from my perspective as a new-ish rider. My bike took some 1000-1500kms to really loosen up and for it to feel like it was reving freely. I have heard similar comments from other riders. So, you may well find that as you get some more km's on the scorp, you will find that it revs better/more easily.

(The other thing I did with my new bike was make sure that my brake and clutch levers were adjusted properly. I found that the original/factory position of the levers meant that I was stretching my fingers up and back to grab the brake or clutch. I adjusted the levers down and now my fingers sit more comfortably on the levers without putting pressure on my wrists. If you havent checked this out, TSS should be able to help you when you take the bike in for a service.)

And welcome to the site :yes:

DJ

dyls

29th July 2008, 16:45

To the poster before Badjelly, sorry forgot your name. I bought mine from TSS Motorcycles in Lower Hutt. They were very helpful. With registration, fuel and all extra costs it was a total of about 4.4 I think. The bike itself was just under 4. I got the red one with the mag wheels. You can get the blue one for 200$ less.

Awesome, thanks for taking the time to let me know. I've had them recommended by others too. Will have to go and see them :):2thumbsup

tate35

29th July 2008, 19:43

Hey SwedenCamilla,

Congratulations on the purchase of your yamaha scorpio, lucky you. :niceone:

Hope the riding is going well and lots of fun :scooter:

bryan2609

30th July 2008, 01:07

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm
How about this content ? anyone try this with good result ?
It sound a little real :confused:

dangerous

30th July 2008, 06:42

running in is over rated with new machines... ride it normal and or like ya stole it, the faster its done the beter it will be.

IMO with biger bikes 200k veried, oil change, give it arsholes.

swedencamilla

30th July 2008, 08:37

CookMySock

30th July 2008, 09:13

running in is over rated with new machines...

I read the article in the link a couple of posts above and now I am really confused as to if I am doing the right thing breaking it in.You worrying way too much. Its not a big thing - really..

0-200km, Just avoid more than half throttle, and avoid going over half revs.
200-1000km, you can use 3/4 throttle and 3/4 revs.
1000-3000km, you can use full throttle, and 90% revs, but not for more than one minute at a time.
3000km up - enjoy !

To put it another way ;

0-200km DONT beat the piss outa it !
200-1000km Beat the piss outa it ten seconds max !
1000-3000km Beat the piss outa it, but not for hours and hours
3000km up - BEAT THE PISS OUTA IT MUTHAH!!!

DB

Badjelly

30th July 2008, 10:09

Thanks so much Badjelly and RevDJ!!! I read the article in the link a couple of posts above and now I am really confused as to if I am doing the right thing breaking it in. This advice goes against most of the advice I have been given and the manual as well. What do you think about the article??

The "Break-in Secrets" article was the one I was thinking about when I wrote this...

While I don't discount this theory, I think you are safer following the recommendations in the manual. This is what I did with my Scorpio and it runs fine (at 9 months old, 3000 km) and doesn't burn any oil.

According to "Break-in Secrets", the danger with gentle riding early in the engine's life is that it allows the cylinder bores to form a hard, glazed coating. If this happens, you'll never get a really good seal between the piston rings and the bores. This may be so, but I see no sign of it on my bike. (I haven't stripped the engine down to check, but I do know that it's not burning any oil, as it would if the bores were glazed. And it runs nicely.)

And don't stress about it too much. If, when you die, the only regret you have is that you didn't run the Scorpio in properly, then ... [I'm not sure where I'm going with this sentence, but I think you get my drift].

dangerous

30th July 2008, 18:10

You worrying way too much. Its not a big thing - really..

0-200km, Just avoid more than half throttle, and avoid going over half revs.
200-1000km, you can use 3/4 throttle and 3/4 revs.
1000-3000km, you can use full throttle, and 90% revs, but not for more than one minute at a time.
3000km up - enjoy !

DB
na crap... 0-200k I agree with on a big bore engine, change oil at 200 reguardless of size then give it shit you need to SPREAD them rings out hard and fast, bearings metals etc are strong enuff these days to handle it.

King_Rider

9th August 2008, 19:56

The advice you have received is all good and correct (what I have read anyway) but if you want the exact run-in procedure I suggest reading the manual that came with the Scorpio Z as this gives you RPM threshholds, throttle position and kms before first service is due. If you want to do it right you cant go wrong reading the manual.

Irontusk

23rd August 2008, 01:24

Yeah so I've been told that ordinary car engine oil has additives (or lacks the correct additives?) that are bad for your transmission/clutch, because cars don't share their engine oil with their gearbox or have the same clutch system.

getafix

24th September 2008, 23:34

Hi
I am an excited owner of my first bike, a Yamaha Scorpio, which will be delivered today or tomorrow. Is there any particular advice regarding how to break in the engine? I did a search before posting this, but could not come up with anything. I am only a very newbie rider, so I am limited as to what I can do really. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I bought a new scorpio in January from Waikato Yamaha. I was told by them to just ride it as I would normaly. The day I bought it I rode to Tauranga doing 100 to 110 kms/h. Even passing a harley going up the Kaimais. I have now done just over 10,000 kms on this bike and its srill running like a dream. No smoke no oil use. I think these days that the reason they tell you to baby these new bikes is so you can get the feel of the way to handle them and not come to grief rather than the fact that it will harm the motor. Probably a bit late for this advise for you as the bikes probably run in by now anyway.
Hope you enjoy the scorpio as much as I have. Cheers

Howsie

29th November 2008, 19:41

The "Break-in Secrets" article was the one I was thinking about when I wrote this...

According to "Break-in Secrets", the danger with gentle riding early in the engine's life is that it allows the cylinder bores to form a hard, glazed coating. If this happens, you'll never get a really good seal between the piston rings and the bores. This may be so, but I see no sign of it on my bike. (I haven't stripped the engine down to check, but I do know that it's not burning any oil, as it would if the bores were glazed. And it runs nicely.)

And don't stress about it too much. If, when you die, the only regret you have is that you didn't run the Scorpio in properly, then ... [I'm not sure where I'm going with this sentence, but I think you get my drift].
If you are after proof for breaking in the engine the unconventional way then visit this site http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm as it explains why running in an engine according to the manual can not get the best performance out of it.

The reason why you break in an engine is to seat the rings against the bore of the cylinder, as previously mentioned in this thread.

DB is right. Don't stress - that's dangerous. Bikes are tough. My bike was ex-demo and was thrashed it mercilously from day one (day 2 was a track-day). Its currently stripped and the pistons & bores are still perfect.

As above, thrashed bike from day one and the pistons and bores are perfect!! What does this tell you?

No matter how you decide to do it enjoy the awesome spectacle of riding your new toy!

fire eyes

29th November 2008, 21:32

just saying hello :2thumbsup

FJRider

29th November 2008, 21:37

just saying hello :2thumbsup

hello......

fire eyes

29th November 2008, 21:41

hello......

:spanking: :clap:

SARGE

29th November 2008, 22:30

when i did the big-bore kit on Spooky, i filled it with lightweight oil.. let it run in the driveway for 1/2 hour then drove it for another 1/2 hour (like i normally ride).. brought it home, dumped the oil and rode it balls out from then on

not a hiccup in 3 years

just enjoy it and ride safe

FJRider

29th November 2008, 22:35

Ride it like you own it... and want it to last forever...

samgab

7th December 2008, 05:35

Maki

7th December 2008, 07:04

Ride it like you stole it, but maintain it according to the manual. I have heard of engines that have been destroyed or damaged by running them in too gently. Glazed pistons and rings that fail to seat properly are sometimes caused by running an engine in too gently.

Maki

7th December 2008, 07:25

I came across this:

"We asked four top motorcycle engine builders what they do to ensure peak power output and optimum engine life. Here is a capsulation of their responses.
"If the wrong type of oil is used initially, or the break-in is too easy, rings and cylinders could (read will) glaze and never seal properly. A fresh cylinder wall needs some medium to high engine loading to get the piston rings to seat properly for good compression but make sure you don't lug or overheat the engine. "

http://www.ntnoa.org/enginebreakin.htm

Pixie

7th December 2008, 08:05

From the link in the previous post:

The higher the B.M.E.P, the harder the piston ring is pushed against the wall. The surface temperature at the piston ring face and cylinder wall interface will be greater with high B.M.E.P. than with low B.M.E.P. This is because we are pushing the ring harder against the rough cylinder wall surface causing high amounts of friction and thus heat. The primary deterrent of break in is this heat. Allowing to much heat to build up at the ring to cylinder wall interface will cause the lubricating oil that is present to break down and glaze the cylinder wall surface. This glaze will prevent any further seating of the piston rings. If glazing is allowed to happen break in will never occur. Also, if too little pressure (throttle) is used during the break-in period glazing will also occur.

Most people seem to operate on the philosophy that they can best get their money's worth from any mechanical device by treating it with great care. This is probably true, but in many cases it is necessary to interpret what great care really means. This is particularly applicable when considering the break-in of a modern, reciprocating engine.For those who still think that running the engine hard during break-in falls into the category of cruel and unusual punishment, there is one more argument for using high power loading for short periods (to avoid excessive heat) during the break-in. The use of low power settings does not expand the piston rings enough, and a film of oil is left on the cylinder walls. The high temperatures in the combustion chamber will oxidize this oil film so that it creates glazing of the cylinder walls. When this happens, the ring break-in process stops, and excessive oil consumption frequently occurs.
The bad news is that extensive glazing can only be corrected by removing the cylinders and rehoning the walls. This is expensive, and it is an expense that can be avoided by proper break in procedures.

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