Break in info
by Steve ZRXOA #516.
There are many schools of thought on break in procedure, this is Steve's procedure.
- My recommendations are as follows.
- Try to stay below 4000 as recommended by the book. Use the right gear for the right speed (good thing to do even when break in is
done...) to avoid lugging.
- Avoid maintaining the same engine speed for too long, vary your rpms occasionally, shift down a gear, shift up a gear, accelerate,
slow down but remember to... Avoid using more than 1/2 throttle until 500 or so, and then avoid using more than 3/4 perhaps.
- An occasional trip past 4 or 6000 won't kill the motor, just make sure you do it when the bike is nice and warmed up, and make sure
to do it with less than full throttle.
- Break in is all about building heat into the motor progressively and evenly, so as to allow all the different metals and alloys of
the motor to find their places. Too much heat too soon disrupts this process. Like overcooking a tire or brakes for instance.
- With commuting every day, or a ride after work each day and long rides each weekend, you can rack up 1000 miles really quickly. I
did 120 miles this week, and another 210 this afternoon. Tomorrow I plan another 150 to 200 mile day, so if my bike were new, it would
be broken in by the end of next weekend. Of course, no wife, no kids, means I can decide what to do with my weekends...
- Oh, and you need to break in the brakes too, don't just jump on them immediately either, several firm but moderate tugs for the
first 200 miles or more, followed each time by a cool down period, and try not to keep the lever squeezed hard at a light or sign, ease
off all the way and just use the foot to keep the brake light on.
- Improper break in is easy to spot, a leak down test will tell you a lot, as will a compression test. Bikes that use a lot of oil but
have low mileage might have had a rough break in for instance. Or, bikes that have a strong smell of gas in their oil (more than usual),
or actual gas in the oil is another bad sign.
- Ride safe, and use your head. A new bike is a big commitment, like marriage perhaps, nothing you should rush into at full throttle
and at redline IMO.