Breaking in my Ninja 250

**purple** · 30th January 2009, 06:10

I finally took the plunge and got a great deal on a new ninja from Red Baron (ask for Nick! - he was great) here in Auckland. I was looking forward to having a great ride this weekend when I wa told that I need to break the engine in ?? What!

So, I can't/shouldn't exceed 4,000 rpm. Well that means I can't travel on the motorway then - anything above 65km/hour means that I am above 4,000rpm.
Not looking forward to travellling 800 ks at 65km/hour.

Surely this 4,000 rpm is not that precious is it?

Why don't bike manufacturers break in the engine at the factory? They could easily put each one on a dyno and have them running for x hours in order to bed them in.

**ital916** · 30th January 2009, 06:22

Originally Posted by purple

I finally took the plunge and got a great deal on a new ninja from Red Baron (ask for Nick! - he was great) here in Auckland. I was looking forward to having a great ride this weekend when I wa told that I need to break the engine in ?? What!

So, I can't/shouldn't exceed 4,000 rpm. Well that means I can't travel on the motorway then - anything above 65km/hour means that I am above 4,000rpm.
Not looking forward to travellling 800 ks at 65km/hour.

Surely this 4,000 rpm is not that precious is it?

Why don't bike manufacturers break in the engine at the factory? They could easily put each one on a dyno and have them running for x hours in order to bed them in.

Mate, as long as you warm her up properly whenever you are gonna ride her and don't redline it or load the engine up too heavily i.e chugging up a hill in far too high a gear the engine will be sweet. They wont break. Again warm her up, dont be scared to rev it *you have to to get places you know haha* dont bounce it off the limiter and dont excessively load it up for the first 600-thousand ks and you should be swet.

The procedure labelled in the manual is a cover for the manufacturers, a get out of jail free card as one would say.

**Pwalo** · 30th January 2009, 06:24

Visit the Ninja 250 site. They have enough information on the little kawasaki to keep you happy for many hours, and cover break in methods. Nice little bike.

**FJRider** · 30th January 2009, 06:26

If you dont inteend keeping it for long... go ahead and thrash it. The next owner will suffer though. Your bike now... but if you don't do as they ask, it may void any warranty... your choice.

**t3mp0r4ry nzr** · 30th January 2009, 06:35

engines are robust. my maiden ride the sv650 was qualification for f2 at the race track (only hit the rev limit once)! you wont break it. dont get carried away with warming it up either. 10-30 sec. is all you need to get some temp into the oil.

**phaedrus** · 30th January 2009, 06:56

Originally Posted by FJRider

If you dont inteend keeping it for long... go ahead and thrash it. The next owner will suffer though. Your bike now... but if you don't do as they ask, it may void any warranty... your choice.

following the break in procedure is listed as one of the owner's obligations in my warranty, i imagine that the 250 would not be that different. I would expect that it would void it, and that my bikes ecu will rat me out if questioned.

**McDuck** · 30th January 2009, 07:22

Originally Posted by purple

I finally took the plunge and got a great deal on a new ninja from Red Baron (ask for Nick! - he was great) here in Auckland. I was looking forward to having a great ride this weekend when I wa told that I need to break the engine in ?? What!

So, I can't/shouldn't exceed 4,000 rpm. Well that means I can't travel on the motorway then - anything above 65km/hour means that I am above 4,000rpm.
Not looking forward to travellling 800 ks at 65km/hour.

Surely this 4,000 rpm is not that precious is it?

Why don't bike manufacturers break in the engine at the factory? They could easily put each one on a dyno and have them running for x hours in order to bed them in.

i would do around 100kms at under 4000, then do about 5000kms without thrashing it.

**disenfranchised** · 30th January 2009, 08:07

4000?? That sounds quite low to me.

The Ninja is using the same engine from the GPX and ZZR of old isn't it.
My wife's ZZR makes almost no power below 5000rpm and really kicks in around 9000.

When I got my bike (also from Red Baron) I was told to keep it below 7000, and not to let the engine bog down....which meant keeping it above 3000...preferabley above 4000 even.

With the difference with the Hyo engine compared to the Ninja, I'd expect you to need to keep the engine in the 5-8krpm range....Also don't open the throttle more than 3/4...just let the speed build a bit more gradually.

But just to be safe you might want to re-check with Red Baron..go and visit Mike down in the workshop and ask his advice.

**3L4NS1R** · 30th January 2009, 08:11

i was told by numerous sources that you need to vary the rev's a lot, don't keep it in the high ranges for long periods of time, and don't lug the engine...

**Pogo2** · 30th January 2009, 14:58

New bike, open road and fine weekend!

I was in the same boat - don't exceed 4000 rpm for the first 600 miles. Had to pottle around at 55 kph for a little while. Mind you being an auto meant no bogging down. One bonus I guess. Enjoy your new ride

**Howsie** · 31st January 2009, 00:02

There are two views on how to break in engines. Follow the manufacturer's recommendations or run it hard but carefully.

I was of the opinion that you take it easy on new engines. Until i read the link below i realised that the theory behind that was wrong.

Just a few points:

You cannot break the engine
I broke in my Ninja this way
The next guy will most likely thank you

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

Happy Reading!

**Howsie** · 31st January 2009, 00:03

Originally Posted by phaedrus

my bikes ecu will rat me out if questioned.

Highly HIGHLY unlikely

**TimeOut** · 31st January 2009, 06:17

Originally Posted by Howsie

There are two views on how to break in engines. Follow the manufacturer's recommendations or run it hard but carefully.

I was of the opinion that you take it easy on new engines. Until i read the link below i realised that the theory behind that was wrong.

Just a few points:

You cannot break the engine
I broke in my Ninja this way
The next guy will most likely thank you

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

Happy Reading!

+ 1 for this method

Give it plenty of work in the mid rev range, vary the revs, don't over or under rev.
And do warm it up.

I have glazed two Honda TRX's bores by running them in too gently both needing new rings by 12000km's one needing two sets.
I was told by the dealer to run in hard and haven't had any problems since.

Enjoy your ride

**phaedrus** · 31st January 2009, 10:50

Originally Posted by Howsie

Highly HIGHLY unlikely

why?, running the bike in according to the manual is a condition of the warranty. how are they to know if you did? the ecu knows everything about how the bike is being ridden, storage is cheap i see no reason why a 'was not run in as specified in the manual' flag would not exist. (i'd put one in there)

**fishb8nz** · 31st January 2009, 11:09

I'd change the engine oil and filter at 500 km, 1000, then about 2500. Oil is an engine's life blood and those 3 changes will make more difference than how it's run it in.