Motorcycle Engine Break-in Procedures

[JTCAndrew]

I want to hear from each of you who have purchased a NEW Bike, and How you broke the engine in. Did you follow the Manuals? I recently came across this site: http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm and found it to be very interesting. I am sure there is probably other subjects on the forums all about this subject, but I want to hear how you did it! Ok lets get started. Please be sure to include make, model size and year of your ride.

How did you break-in your NEW Bike? :?:

[FastDoc]

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

Another good article. :D

In medicine, as with many fields of study, there if there are many answers to a question there is no one right answer to that question. This I believe is the case with engine break in procedeures.

Kawasaki, like Q, has an absurdley conservative procedeure. Basically ride 40 MPH or less for 500 miles, then 55 MPH or less for another 500 miles. If a guy did that the engine would NOT be broken in properly to set the rings. That requires pressure (manifold and cylinder pressure). On the other hand a new motor builds heat due to friction and can't be run at high pressure all the time. So the key is to vary the throttle opening (manifold pressure) and RPMs constantly.

To me this means constantly varying engine speed from 45-55 when in 6th gear, never going to full throttle, and never going to idle while decelerating. I do this for 500 miles, then change the oil, then for the next 500 miles do the same thing but less religiously. I keep the RPM's down to 60-75% of redline at the maximum.

Interestingly one of the best ways to do this is off road where all these actions are automatic.

To break in an airplane engine, also air cooled like your Q, the procedeure is to run it 75% maximum power, no less, for the first 20 hours of it's life. Don't let it heat up to more than 100 degrees (cylinder head temp) of it's maximum then change the oil. An airplane is NOT to be broken in on synthetic oil because it lubricates too well and won't seat the rings. The same applies to detergent oil. An airplane is broken in on straight mineral oil only.

Hope this helps.

[FastDoc]

I just read the article. It is remarkably similar to what I have advised, albeit a little more extreme. So I would say your article, FastDoc, and Dan's webpage are all in agreement. More or less... :P

[Barnone]

With all the different break in procedures that are around maybe it really doesn't matter what you do.

I do tend to baby all my vehicles. :D

[weiser23]

the technology of the Q is around 1985 so they say ,So using the old school break in make sense to me, plus the guys on this group have been here a long time and tend to think a easy break in is the best way

[Barnone]

the technology of the Q is around 1985 so they say ,So using the old school break in make sense to me, plus the guys on this group have been here a long time and tend to think a easy break in is the best way
Nice way of saying we are a bunch of old farts.

[Cal25]

I just rode mine like normal. Maybe a little easy on the RPMs for the first 1000 miles. I will most likely never know if my break in was correct. It will likely last longer than I own it anyway.

[JTCAndrew]

Here's an intresting Video Part 1 Be sure and watch all PARTS:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_Y1hDgBJ7Y

Andrew :D

[katoranger]

I rode my new bike like normal too. So that means like the motor man method. Over 10K miles with no engine troubles or oil burning.

I think the key is to not overheat it and change the oil.

Almost 34 if that matters.

[JTCAndrew]

Nice write up about the choices we have - I also agree about our gear choices. Start a new Post regarding our choices of gear and accessories and watch it grow! LOL

[FastDoc]

Spam. :evil:

[MICRider]

Yup, that looked like a spam post to me as well. As far as break in procedures, I don't follow a formal (ie. owners manual) procedure... I just vary the RPM and try not to rev the snot out of it for the first couple of tanks of gas. Pretty much normal riding really. Scuse me now, I strangely have a sudden urge to shop for motorcycle gear... :lol:

[JTCAndrew]

Guess I fell for the Spam - Hahahahaha If someone was going to spam a MC Forum they dhould have at leat posted some links for us to follow! - Hell we may have even bought something! LMAO
EDIT:
Duh - Guess they did POST A link! LOL

[2LZ]

Spam? Heck....once I started reading it, I was just about ready to assume the Lotus position and 'OWWWWMMMMMMMM" 8)

[SpudRider]

I agree with Allen and Stew. :) I ride my new motorcycles normally, but I vary the engine rpms, and I don't push the engine really hard for at least a thousand miles or so. ;) This procedure worked very well for my Zong; I currently have 40,000 miles on the odometer. :)

P.S. I split the SPAM post, and moved it to the Moderator's forum. Frostbite will probably kill the account in a few days. :twisted: You caught me on the April Fool's post, so it is fitting you got caught by the SPAM post, Andrew. :lol:

Spud :)

[2LZ]

I'm going to break in the Q like everything else. Vary the throttle. Don't nail it or ride it really hard until it's got about a 1000 on it like Spud mentioned.....not that I ride really hard anyway. the manual did mention about not going over 5000 r's until after 1000 km's. I do also change the oil far more often in all my bikes during break in that they say to. Cheap insurance.

I will say that my CB Guy recently sold an orange Q like mine to someone and it was on the stand, covered in mud, when I went in last. Blown motor. Had less than 200 km's on the ticker, I believe.
The customer SWEARS he wasn't riding it hard.....though it already looked like it had been in a motocross race.
They rebuilt it, rode it around the shop for a bout a week until the guy came to get it......and once it got home, it made it another 1000 feet and grenaded again. They're getting a factory motor for it. My CB Guy says he's going to tell him if he grenades it again, he owns it.

Nothing wrong with being cool with a new piece of machinery.

[FastDoc]

OMG. 8O

I am so sorry to hear about the puked Q. :cry:

I have only heard of one other Q engine failure. A guy called Volksjagger I encountered on some forum somewhere had his Q eat a valve as I recall. He was using it as a 70 MPH freeway commuter in SoCal traffic and it puked with a few thousand miles on it. 70 on a Q is all she's got, and is likely close to redline. The bike was run like this for some time. :cry:

Q bought him a new motor and they lived happily ever after.

Being the exact same motor as in the Suzuki, I expect the same thing could have happened no matter who's name was on the tank.

FWIW a Q Ranger (a Zong like Spud's) was on CL here for a few hours before presumably being sold at an asking price of $1,200! It was an '05. 8O