First Oil Change.. Metalic Flakes

[PorterzCustomz]

First oil change after riding for many hours, couple days.. 18 miles in total both on and offroad. Medium load, Heavy load, high & low rpm. The oil came out with very fine metalic flakes, almost microscopic. Hard to see unless you look close. Maybe from the kick starter, it makes a light grinding noise when my foot rests against it but cant help it because the peg is right there and it sticks out a little. Not sure if thats the grinding or just normal break in. The filter had a very small amount of small metal flakes.

Not sure if any of this is normal because I read on here some guy did his oil change and said there was no flakes at all.. Maybe he did not look closely?

i noticed a couple small particles on my first change and then on the 2nd less but also a small piece of something that looked liked dried elmers glue. Since then, the screen is clean..at least of anything big enough to see. clean it anyway.

[elroyjetsn]

That's why that first oil change is so critical! :)

[Gimpdiggity]

You should've changed your oil after the first few times that you heat cycled the bike.

Those metal shavings are fairly normal...but if you've ran the engine alot since the first few heat cycles then it's POSSIBLE (but not very probable) that they could've caused some damage to the piston/rings.

[red2003]

That's normal. You'll see soemk metal in there for the first few oil changes. You have several HOURS on the bike but only 18 miles?? With only 18 miles, you really shouldn't be hammering on the bike and turning it 10000 rpm like you mentioned earlier. In an air cooled engine, you most certainly have taken some life out of it now.

[PorterzCustomz]

That's normal. You'll see soemk metal in there for the first few oil changes. You have several HOURS on the bike but only 18 miles?? With only 18 miles, you really shouldn't be hammering on the bike and turning it 10000 rpm like you mentioned earlier. In an air cooled engine, you most certainly have taken some life out of it now.

yes several hours, mostly offroad riding. I am doing the "hard" break in :lol:
I figured the metalic flakes help the break in. They do call it BREAK in for a reason =) They will give the cyl walls a nice cross hatch to help seating and prevent glazing. What does air cooling have to do with it? At 60m mph cooling is all the same, especially in 45-50 degree weather.

I have also herd of using valve grinding compound mixed in with the oil for a short time to help the break in instead of loading the engine to seat the rings. I wouldn't use it because you don't want it getting in the bearings and not being able to fully flush it back out.

[warrior91]

I have metalic particles in my oil out of my Yamaha to this day...

Until the gears mesh in there usually is more on the first couple changes.

Blown shifts/clutch plates/ clutch basket all leave filings in normal operation... usually if the pieces are shiny I don't worry...but if they are blued I would be worried.

[motohillbilly]

I was gonna post my reply here but portez dosnt need my answer, hes had his bike for 18 miles and is an expert now. Portez treat that bike well, because there is no warranty on it, after the abuse.

[warrior91]

Porterz -I have also herd of using valve grinding compound mixed in with the oil for a short time to help the break in instead of loading the engine to seat the rings.

If you like that one...how about blowing some baking soda into the carb air intake while running to remove glaze and vainly attempt to gain enough compression to make it home...

[PorterzCustomz]

wow, are you serious? that's pretty crazy

[PorterzCustomz]

I was gonna post my reply here but portez dosnt need my answer, hes had his bike for 18 miles and is an expert now. Portez treat that bike well, because there is no warranty on it, after the abuse.

What are you talking about? There was never a warranty on it away, the company I bought it from are pieces of shit and coned me.

They also told me it would easily cruise at 65-70 so I thought high reving was only normal as they are road legal and obviously your not expected to travel in the breakdown lane at 30 mph. Thats why I posted the thread about high rpm because it dident seem right but at first I figured it had to be normal because they are road legal bikes and you have to drive AT LEAST 55 on the highway. I did not "abuse" it I drove it like they claimed you could. I did not build the motor and calculate the gearing I rode it at normal on road speed for a short burst untill I realized the rpms are too high and something is very wrong.

[warrior91]

wow, are you serious? that's pretty crazy

Old School

[Gimpdiggity]

I was gonna post my reply here but portez dosnt need my answer, hes had his bike for 18 miles and is an expert now. Portez treat that bike well, because there is no warranty on it, after the abuse.

I agree.

With some of the things that he's done to this bike, I'm scared that he's a certified mechanic.

I can gaurantee you that I would NEVER take any of my vehicles to him for any repairs.

[PorterzCustomz]

I was gonna post my reply here but portez dosnt need my answer, hes had his bike for 18 miles and is an expert now. Portez treat that bike well, because there is no warranty on it, after the abuse.

I agree.

With some of the things that he's done to this bike, I'm scared that he's a certified mechanic.

I can gaurantee you that I would NEVER take any of my vehicles to him for any repairs.

* It's spelled guarantee and you went too far this time. Your just talkin out your ass because I trash talked your big bird and I don't really appreciate it. It's not my fault I like the look of the Lifan better and I spoke with Brian from MotoXtreme and he assured me the hi bird is garbage and thats why he would never sell them only the Lifan. *

[Gimpdiggity]

I guess the difference between us is you're basing your opinion on me based on the fact that we like different motorcycles.

I'm basing my opinion on you on the fact that you come across that you have no idea what you're doing.

Hours of engine running before your first oil change. Good work.
Running an engine with 18 miles to 10,000 RPM. Good work.
Wondering if metal flakes are normal in a new engine. Good work.

Those are all things that I would have imagined that a certified mechanic would've known about...

And as far as Brian at MotoXtreme telling you that the Hi-Birds are crap...well, he doesn't sell the Hi-Birds, does he?? That's like going to the Ford dealership and thinking it must be true when the Ford dealership tells you that Chevys are pieces of junk. If you believe a salesman about the quality of a product that he doesn't sell, then you're just ignorant...

***EDIT***
And if you want to talk about spelling and grammar, we can do that all day. You're the one that got "coned" by the company you bought your bike from...so let's not get into spelling and grammar...

[red2003]

Now, now boys, let's play nice :D . Porterz, I think you are rubbing some guys here the wrong way. You opened your bike from the crate what 4 days ago? You have 18 miles on it and now you're a China bike expert giving US all advice on exhaust mods, and engine break-in procedures. I, personally, find you pretty cocky, and that's an immediate turn off for me. I went to bat for you and e-mailed the company you were so pissed off at, only to find out that same day you were riding the freakin thing. You might wanna lay low for a while and just get some miles on your Lifan before pissing off any more people here. Take my advice for what it's worth, but Frostbite (our moderator) doesn't take kindly to certain types, and their careers here are short lived.

[Ream]

Scary stuff man!!! What`s sad is that people that don`t know anything mechanically,take this"advice" and then end up with a bunch of headaches!!!

[frostbite]

Take my advice for what it's worth, but Frostbite (our moderator) doesn't take kindly to certain types, and their careers here are short lived.

As long as everybody stays civil, people can say just about whatever they like even if it is contrary to popular opinion (or common sense).

Play nice people. I hate locking threads.