so as the title suggests, i am buying a new motorcycle, in fact im picking it up on Monday (23rd), i have also decided i want to try and get at least the first service done within one week.
so im looking at 600 miles, to be performed at speed limits within a certain rev range, not looking for racing partners here…not yet anyway!
i will be riding all week so if anyone does fancy riding around / meeting up it would be awesome.
its probably a safe assumption most of you are going to be working in the day but i shall be riding long in the the wee hours of the morrow so at any point after work ect i will most likely be available. i will also try and take lunch stops near somewhere with WiFi so i can keep track of this thread.
i live in the ealing / hanwell / brentford area, W7 postcode but i dont mind a good ride, happy to go most places but im not a massive fan or riding in Central London so perhaps avoiding there is my only real stipulation.
unfortunately im getting the bike on the 23rd plus if something was to go wrong it would be kind of awkward after the first service i think i might give it a go
Enhanced manufacturing processes, tighter machining tolerances, improved fuelling systems and lubrication means that the first service is carried out more because the punter expects rather than the machine needs it.
i suppose i should ask about personal preference in breaking in a new engine, so what do you think guys? soft or hard break in? or just ride as i intend to ride and let the engine deal with it?
I did read somewhere it was better to run the machine in hard, something to do with forcing the piston ring seal into position before it has a chance to wear down against the crosshatch of the cylinder wall.
Don’t take this as sound advice, my limited knowledge of engine mechanics isn’t anywhere near enough to make a recommendation but just to give you a different perspective.
Some people on here just rode round the M25 to run their bikes in. There are lots of theories about how to do it properly. When I picked mine up they just told me not to give it full throttle until the first service but I could rev it round the dial if I wanted to. I just took their advice. After the first service on the way home I gave it full throttle in first then when I got home I put it back under it’s cover and didn’t get on it again for a week.
I opted for the hard break-in method; lots of hard acceleration/full throttle, but not beyond the maximum recomended revs, to wear the piston rings into the bores before the honing marks are worn away. This is supposed to yield the maximum possible power from your engine in the long run, theoretically. 20,000 miles later, my engine is still going strong, so it doesn’t seem to have caused any harm. Would be interesting to see what th output is on the dyno, though.
i would run it in for the first 600miles as the book says. i’m in ealing but unfortunately i’m off this friday and this weekend so i’ll be back to work by the time you pick the bike up.
this is one of my favorite routes, westbound
HEAD DOWN THE A40 TOWARDS OXFORD (keep on the A40, not the motorway)
from there GET DOWN THE A420, THEN 419 THEN 346 TOWARDS THE A338 AND KEEP GOING
to that point you can either get back on A31 then hit the 272 ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE OTHER SIDE and come back A22, or keep going towards Bournemouth and come back A350 then A429 THEN BACK ON THE A40
that should be about 3 tanks of fuel, or about 300 miles
It may be different in a car but i had a Brand New Mini Cooper S and i run it in how they advised, first 1000 Miles not over 60mph and not over half revs. But i just went to visit my Mates in Newcastle for the weekend and basically done it in 1 weekend. If it were going to take me a Month to run in i very much doubt i would do it, I would go for the Hard option. The thing i always think about is, would the person who bought my 10 year old bike when it was new have done it? i reckon less than 50% people do the preffered run in, i bet most (me included) would most likely get a nice shiny new sports bike and do the first few miles sensibly then get Hoon vision and open it up! if it doesn’t affect the bike till 20-30,000 miles then its going to be on about 4 owners by then so anything could’ve happened by then.
I collected my Speed Triple R on Wednesday, on Saturday I had 1st service after run in period. The painful were first 75 miles to keep it under 3500rpms, after that you have 6000 rpms limit which means that on 6th gear you are doing 95mph (depends on bike but defo more than speed limit).
Where to ride, well just ride ahead, when you see 250 miles on the clock turn around and look for road way back home.
R
ps. Yes I know people who were running in a year…
ps2. Off topic: You getting brand new bike, you have more likely 2 years of warranty, so second owner, after warranty will hit every hidden issue in the bike because it had low milage…
plus if something was to go wrong it would be kind of awkward 
after the first service i think i might give it a go
