Breaking in a new bike

Hi guys and gals,

After laying down the best part of 5 grand for a shiny new fazer fz6 s2, i was after advice on breaking the thing in.

Thiking outside the box (and the manual) I have found this website: http://216.219.217.96/break_in_secrets.htm

Which seems a bit extreme to me.

Any tips for the new bike? Changing the oil after 20 miles according to that website? Running it in hard? Soft? What gives?

Red

I found this at the weekend… http://www.600rr.net/vb/showthread.php?t=46297

I dont think that it matters quite so much these days, but usually better to be safe than sorry.

Personally I would run in a new bike as per manufacturers instructions as I would probably keep it for more than a few months. I would however vary the revs during running in - i.e. if it says don’t exceed 7,000 rpm I wouldn’t just sit there for 500 miles or whatever at 7,000 rpm, I would vary the revs gently up and down. I know a few people who do things like ride to Cornwall and back to run in a new bike - pretty pointless if you do that by Motorway & fast A roads… yes you cover the miles but you don’t (in my opinion) do a good job of running in.

My CB1300 was a demo bike, so that had a mixture of abuse from test riders and an employee of the garage using it for his commute too, that’s not done that any harm engine wise - makes 132BHP RWP as opposed to 112 (with the addition of full Akrapovic system)

Most people who buy a new bike don’t keep them long enough for “damage” caused by not properly running in to affect them. TBH if I wasn’t going to keep it outside the warranty period I would proably just rag it from day one…

I also followed the manufacturers instructions (ish). A lot of people will give you a lot of advice as I found in March. The people that make your bike, should know best I reckon.

manufacturer recommendation will be a safeguard to avoid having to fix bikes/recall them. they’ll leave the biggest margin for error. its not actually necessarily the best for the engine, its more to stop some chav buying it and razzing the ass off it from the word go and something failing, possibly in a dramatic way.

the link in the first post is about sealing the piston rings etc. the manufacturing process for the rest should all be pretty decent, altho you’re more likely to get rubbish in the oil in the run in period

its also assuming you do the technique straight out of the crate. what will actually happen is the dealer will take it for a pre sale test ride for a mile or two, and you’ll ride it home/ride it round to your mates/lap london in your excitement. odds are the chance to ‘improve’ the seal has already passed.

just ride it normally. nailing it to the rideline from the word go isn’t unlikely to do it any favours, but dont let the engine lug. the gear box etc will prob be a little tight/will give a bit as you break it in. just work the bike, accel/engine braking, work the gear box etc. cruising in the same gear isn’t doing much to break it in.

oh, and dont forget you’re on new tyres!

Do a trackday

No seriously…A track day on a twisty track like say Rockingham will wear in all major componenets of a bike…Engine, gear box, brake pads, suspension and tyres.

Change the oil after 20 miles worth of laps.

The engine will be at varying revs and loads and the gearbox will be worked. No track is completely flat so the suspension eill be worked. The tyres will be scrubbed in after a few laps and ofcourse you need to use your brakes to set the entry speed for each corner.

Perfect

Just don’t go Wide Open Throttle from the off as you’ll end up on your arse

PS. You’ll still have run in miles to do on the bike unless you’re doing some sort of endurance 24 hour track session, but you’ll have given your bike a great start in life. Ride home still running the machine in so that means varying speed and revs on the Mway home.

“Personally I would run in a new bike as per manufacturers instructions as I would probably keep it for more than a few months. I would however vary the revs during running in - i.e. if it says don’t exceed 7,000 rpm I wouldn’t just sit there for 500 miles or whatever at 7,000 rpm, I would vary the revs gently up and down. I know a few people who do things like ride to Cornwall and back to run in a new bike - pretty pointless if you do that by Motorway & fast A roads… yes you cover the miles but you don’t (in my opinion) do a good job of running in.”

Biggus - you obviously listened to your salesman!!

What Biggus said is exactly right - but i would tell you that after 250/300 miles to start going further and further up the rev’s - but only for short periods to help break in the top-end ready for after the 1st service!

The manufacturer does not only put these gudlines in to avoid recalls & safety - if that was the case the would bed them in at the factory!!

I have heard that engines from new are given a full power run by the manufacturer before being put in the bike chassis…Don’t know how true this is though.

yeh engines are so tight now that running in isn’t crucial…good for long term reliability but i’m sure i’ve been told that if you thrash one from the start you can gain an extra couple of HP from the engine.

explain that last one mate? they’d put miles on before selling it? who would do this exactly? each manufacturer would exploy someone to ride each bike a thousand miles for you to break it in?

you dont half talk some rubbish sometimes geez

so the manufacturers ideal recommendation - where exactly did you get this info from? you took part in the tests? you did your own controlled test? or you were told that by the manufacturer?

what happened to the bikes that were ridden aggressively from the crate?

PMSL change the oil after 20 miles on a trackday…

so im gonna do 1 session, strip the bodywork, drain out the scorching hot oil (because youve screamed it upto 14,000 revs), potentially burn myself on the hot exhaust, hot engine, not genny cover, hot radiator etc to change the oil in between sessions

Errrr… no.

If you are looking for longevity in the engine run it in as per manufacturers spec if you want something that will make potentially another 2 bhp then run it in on track!

BTW Afro, Silverstone is pretty much flat!

When I was involved in an endurance race team we would rag CBR6’s out of the crate without any problem.

As long as the oil is changed regularly.

Rag em from word go and sell before they reach 20K on the clock

So apart from you getting hot and burnt (erm…well wear protective clothing or allow the oil to cool for a bit you) and apart from the mileage between oil changes that I may have got wrong, you think running in on track is a good idea. Good good.

And I said Rockingham mate…Geez

You so worried about getting burnt…Do you never change oil on your road or race / track bike? There is a possibility of getting burnt since you should heat the oil by running the engine for a while before draining.

Or are you telling me you drain the oil with the engine cold?

explain that last one mate? they’d put miles on before selling it? who would do this exactly? each manufacturer would exploy someone to ride each bike a thousand miles for you to break it in?

Think you missed the point… I was just saying there’s little point in my opinion in running it in properly if you are one of those fashion victim types who do 10 miles a week on sunny days & are likley to be punting the bike on well within the warranty period as you “need” the latest bling version etc etc…

so the manufacturers ideal recommendation - where exactly did you get this info from? you took part in the tests? you did your own controlled test? or you were told that by the manufacturer?

Ermm not sure who you’re quoting there… Not me as I never said that!? As for manufacturers running in recommendations I would suggest looking in the owners manual or service book as a good place to start, they are often written in a number of different languages if you struggle with English

what happened to the bikes that were ridden aggressively from the crate?

No idea, but my CB1300 was one of them and that (apart from a minor gearbox glitch) is still going strong as ever after 49,000 miles…

haha i was quoting sean’s post fella, not yours!

altho that pont you’re making about the fashion victims is true enough - none of them will see 20k miles on the clock in their hands, and the 2nd hand buyers will have no idea how it was broken in. in fact thats prob true of many riders, people change their bikes pretty often adn get the new shiny one…

used to have a mate that worked for a car dealership and they’d get the motors off the transporter at the dock and rag the silly little arse off them back to the dealership. then asked the buyer to ‘be careful with the run in miles’. used to make me laugh

Doh sorry dude

Never ceases to amaze me how many sub 1000 mile 6 month old machines you can buy…

lol no probs

tell me about it. i had to sell the ducati as i was ‘ruining’ its value by merely putting miles on it. 6 year old bike with 14k on the clock is apparently excessive, clock up much more and I wouldn’t be able to give it away. blummin joke, the bike was in great condition.

I’ve done nearly 6k since september on the r1, and we’ve not even had a summer yet!

Its amazing…I saw a 2002 R6 on ebay earlier this year with just over 4000 miles on the clock…Now unless it was a track bike with the speed sensor disconnected from the gearbox, that is ridiculously low for such an age.

What’s the point of owning a bike and doing less than 1000 miles a year?

I bought my R1 in October with 7500 miles on it and have put on just over 13500 miles on it now. Guess it won’t be worth looking at when it has at least 20K on it.

See that’s the problem, because there are so many low mileage bike out there, higher mileage ones are worth SFA…