Running in a new engine...

[4th Axis]

One of the local dealers told me to use as much “ENGINE BRAKING” as possible when running in a new bike.

He said it helps everything seat better.

Does anyone here have an opinion on this?

[Yellow Pig]

One word:

Mototune!

[Roughidle]

When I asked my dealer about breaking in my new 950, he said to take it easy for about 200mi, then ride it like I would normally. he said that of all the bikes he has worked on (KTM, aprillia, Ducati, Guzzi, bmw), the ones that were ridden normally from the get go (after 200mi) ran the best later on. and that the ones with problems were babied for a while then ridden hard in spurts. its all about consitency.

Basically your engine will break in and run according to your riding style, stay with me here, if you are a someone who revs the crap out of your engine and rides it hard allot, doing so from the get go will break in the engine with that in mind. I have seen it with cars in my years as a mechanic.

some may disagree, but run it like you want to, change the oil and have fun.

[cpmodem]

Originally Posted by 4th Axis

One of the local dealers told me to use as much “ENGINE BRAKING” as possible when running in a new bike.

He said it helps everything seat better.

Does anyone here have an opinion on this?

Your dealer is right on this fact. Its the compression pressure that causes the rings to push against the cylinder walls and seat. Under engine braking, you are maximizing the pressure on the rings, helping them to seat quicker. On modern engines, there is very little to break-in beyond the rings, and the rings will have to be mostly seated in by 40-100 miles. After that the cross hatch honing will pretty much have lost its edge, and very little ring seating will occur.

First I warm up my engines thoroughly, then I seat the rings in the first 40 miles or so with alternate acceleration de-celeration cycles, and then change the oil and filter immediately. I then drive normally without lugging or overheating for another 1000 miles, then change the oil and filter again. It's then good for 5k between changes, unless I encounter exceptional conditions.

This is my own experience from over 1,000,000 miles and 45 years of building and racing engines, so it shouldn't be taken as a recommendation for anyone to do with their own engines. YMMV, of course, and remember, advice from the internet is worth exactly what you paid for it. Also, opinions are like assholes ... everyone has one.

-cp

[Hammer]

Originally Posted by cpmodem

opinions are like assholes ... everyone has one.

-cp

and everyone else's STINKS!!!!!!!

[cpmodem]

Originally Posted by Hammer

and everyone else's STINKS!!!!!!!

Assholes or opinions?

[4th Axis]

It seems that everyone agrees, if you run the bike too easy, you run the risk of the cylinder walls glazing over.

I’m not sure if my SE will come with synthetic oil in it, but it sounds like an oil change to "Non Synthetic" should be the first thing on my list before I even start it. I also plan to pickup an extra oil filter or two, and do a few more oil changes then what the manual recommends.

Here are a couple of links I found interesting:

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

http://www.dansmc.com/engine_breakin.htm


Again “Opinions” are what I had asked for, so if you have one lets here it.

Originally Posted by cpmodem

Also, opinions are like assholes ... everyone has one.

-cp

Thanks!

[cpmodem]

Originally Posted by 4th Axis

It seems that everyone agrees, ...
SNIP>>>

-cp