Fiirst Break-In Ride..........

[Ghost-Geezer]

For my new '09 will be this Friday.  The weather is supposed to be around 55 and sunny.  "The book" says keep it under 5 grand.  I think that an occasional burst to 8 or so with a quick back-off should not hurt the motor.

How do you guys break in a new Gen II bike? 

I will be riding on the  "A" setting of course.   I see no reason to retard the timing to break the motor in.........unless you guys think otherwise.

It has been my experience over the last 42 years of riding that there are two ways to break in a motor........."ride it hard, like you would ride it all the time" or "ride it easy and let the parts get to know each other before nailing it".

Any recommendations?

[FlatlandBusa]

My '08 was broke in by;  keeping the RPM under 5000 the first 200 miles and using less than 1/2 throttle. I did the first oil change at 200 miles.  After that I rode it pretty much like normal, other than I avoided top speed runs for the first 1000 miles.

16,000 miles on it now and it does not use a drop of oil over a 3000 mile oil change interval.

Don't over think the break in process, the big thing is to warm the engine up throughly before you start ripping on it.

[Rocketgeezer]

Dave, the biggest thing you will want to avoid is extended high or full throttle runs, crank it up just dont hold it open, for to long, this may or may not have been the right thing to do but every new bike I have ever bought, got the snot rung out of it the very first day I got on it, bought a new Harley Sportster in 04, we leave the dealership to go to dinner, about 3 miles down the interstate from the Harley shop, my wife took off in the car, me on the bike, we got on the interstate the new bike had 3 miles on it, i ran it up to redline first, second, third gear, got into fifth, and ran it till it had no more, i think it was 106 or 108 or something like that, I know I know,but please no Harley jokes, then first ride home on the busa, got on a strait shot of interstate and let her eat, took it to about 160 or so, bike had 18 miles on it, now thats just two, out of maybe 14 or 15 new motorcycles over that last 40 years, ran the hell out of them from first day, never had problem one

[Ghost-Geezer]

Thank you FlatlandBusa,
                                        I agree that it is good to dump the break-in oil early.  I did that on my 2001.  I think it did it at 250 miles.  As far as keeping the RPMs under 5 grand, I can do that............but it will be hard.  I was hoping that after the first  50 miles, I could at least buzz it up at 1/2 throttle to 8 grand and bring it back down immediately.  But if that is not wise, I will stay under 5 grand.  Easy does it.......is what I will have to keep telling myself.  

Dave                  

[Ghost-Geezer]

Rocketgeezer,
                        I had no intention of a full throttle run.........but I had hoped to buzz it a little.  From what you have posted, I can do that without fear of hurting it, up to a point.  Breaking in one of these new bikes is not like is was when I broke in my 1968 BSA 650 Hornet.  That was my first bike and I paid 1135 bucks for it out the door.  

These new bikes are so far ahead of those old ones, it is not even worth comparing.  Having said that, they all still have a certain amount of metal to metal contact and the only thing that keeps the motors from frying is a good oil and a good cooling system......in my opinion.  In 1968, no motorcycles were liquid cooled.  And oil was all petroleum based.  No synthetics.  The only additive was STP.  And that stuff was nothing more than 190 weight oil.  Not good for a bike.    
 
Thanks,

Dave

P.S. No Harley Jokes from me.........I rode Harleys for 25 years, bored and stroked, and even had one on the cover of Hot Bike Magazine in September of 1985.  But, those were tractors compared to these bikes.

[Rocketgeezer]

Only other thing was break i oil got changed at maybe 100 to 200 miles then the next two changes no more than 500 miles, then after that every 1500 to 2000, I average 10 to 12 thousand miles a year, between the two bikes

[Ghost-Geezer]

Makes sense.  Get the initial metal shavings out.   

[Rocketgeezer]

Rocketgeezer,
                        I had no intention of a full throttle run.........but I had hoped to buzz it a little.  From what you have posted, I can do that without fear of hurting it, up to a point.  Breaking in one of these new bikes is not like is was when I broke in my 1968 BSA 650 Hornet.  That was my first bike and I paid 1135 bucks for it out the door.  

These new bikes are so far ahead of those old ones, it is not even worth comparing.  Having said that, they all still have a certain amount of metal to metal contact and the only thing that keeps the motors from frying is a good oil and a good cooling system......in my opinion.  In 1968, no motorcycles were liquid cooled.  And oil was all petroleum based.  No synthetics.  The only additive was STP.  And that stuff was nothing more than 190 weight oil.  Not good for a bike.    
 
Thanks,

Dave

P.S. No Harley Jokes from me.........I rode Harleys for 25 years, bored and stroked, and even had one on the cover of Hot Bike Magazine in September of 1985.  But, those were tractors compared to these bikes.

The thing about the break in is mainly the piston rings, you do not want to over heat them, the rest, bearings, gears, clutch, are not going to know or car how fast the motors running, cam, chain, doe's not matter how hard your cranking on it, you also may want to avoid real hard take offs, or popping the clutch, or burnouts, these have nothing to do with the bikes break in its just hard on them anytime, Harleys have there place thats for sure, like when my old ass is buzzing from abit to many miles at one time on the Busa, if the rides more than 100 to 150 miles my ass is on the Ultra Classic, with the CDs cranking out of the radio and STP makes the Harleys transmission shift slick as hell......

[STUNNAH]

I'ld ride it like I stole it...I would change oil early and keep a eye on the initial stretch of the chain...

[ACE23]

I've had only had 2 bikes and I broke them in the same way all my riding buddies did. All of our bikes ran great for tons of miles, none burned oil and they all were fast. All that don't take it over a certain amount of RPM's for 500 miles and no this and not that doesn't apply to me. I understand maybe doing that if your just out "cruising" on your busa and your trying to get 150K miles out of it otherwise I think you will be fine

1. Let the bike reach operating temperature
2. Run the shit out of it
3. Change the oil at the first 500 miles
4. Change the oil and filter every 2000 miles and ride it as hard as you want
5. Keep and eye on the air filter and lube the chain

[Mpeavler]

I always heat cycle my stuff....and it's the relic for each their own..

1.  Get it up to Op temp....then do some WOT pulls in 5-6 gear to put a load on the rings to get them to bite into the cylinder walls upt o 5500 RPM.  I then decel back and forth for 50ish miles.  Again as mentioned your seating the rings and letting the parts mate together more then anything.  YOu want to load and unload the rings as much as possible.

2.  I let it cool completely off...and I mean back to room temperatures and cold to the touch...then repeat cylcle....at the end of the second round...I change the oil at 100miles

3.  Heat cycle again....then I do this again as I ride this around for the next 150 miles and change the oil /filter again "250" miles

4.  After that I always make sure prop operating temps..and I never stay at a consistent throttle until at least 500 miles on it...and then you get your RPM increase.

5.  From 750 miles to 1,000 I start pushing it a bit harder on it.....and then change oils at 1,000 miles and ride it like normal

Thats just me....

[G]

IMHO if its worth anything to you, its really only letting the engine labour that will damage it during run in. IE hitting a hill in top gear at 40mph. If the bike cant accelerate with the trottle, its too high a gear. Other than that it should be fine.

[Ghost-Geezer]

Thanks guys,
                       All great input.   Weather still looks good for Friday.  Should be fun.  I'll be ridin' with my 20 year old son......he has a 2007 naked SV650 I got for him that was used but in great shape.  I'll make sure not to lug the motor and then dump the oil/filter early.   It appears that chain has enough factory lube on it for 3 chains.  I am sure a pile of that will sling off. 

Dave

[ondre30]

I got my 08 and rode it hard the first 500 miles and it made 188 horse.

[Rocketgeezer]

I got my 08 and rode it hard the first 500 miles and it made 188 horse.

So much for the theory of easy break in

[slatroni]

when I put on the 1397 kit, I let her warm up and when I hit 3rd gear I did a WOT up to about 7K dropped the throttle and did it again and again. After about 20 miles of this I came home and changed the oil and filter. I never looked back. I do change the oil and filter every 2500 miles with Dyno oil.
 good luck with the new bike
 Steve

[Pat Dietrich]

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

Ive always done it like this. Always!! Easy breakins make no sense. Although you dont want to be in 6th gear at 3K rpms and nail it letting your cylinder walls get flushed down before the rings are seated I would not just baby the bike around for several hundred miles

[dadofthree]

I've always followed the manufactures recommendation. Now a days they can dump what you've been doing in the event you have a warranty claim, but I've also heard of guys getting them broke in on a dyno as well.

[Yngve]

Since EVERY bike is dynotested WOT to redline at the factory it makes very little sense in special "break in" procedures.

If you have a build engine its another matter.

[gjp1300]

0-50 miles/ 9000rpm max,1st-3rd gear rips here and there and don't lug the motor,no constant rpm driving
50-100 miles 10k rpm max,1st-3rd gear rips here and there and don't lug the motor,no constant rpm driving
100 to 200 miles right to redline with 1st to 3rd gear rips same as before
200 plus miles game on,I alway's noticed with all my bikes that around 800 to 1000 miles the bike starts to shift smoother and the front end seems to be lifting easier,just starts too feel faster.
change the oil leave the filter at 500 miles non synthetic oil,1000 miles change oil and oil filter,2000 miles oil and oil filter,switch to synthetic oil
All my bikes put up better than average hp using this procedure and I've had four busa's as opposed to my friend who breaks his in on the dyno,could be coincidental but my bike always put up 2-3 more hp than his stock for stock.Whatever you do it's not gonna break so enjoy!

[Jonny Hotnuts]

THere is a lot of misconceptions about break in and even manufactures re hash info because it was the way it was always done and never updated the procedure.

But....

Peeps like Ace and Stunna have it correct.....


Heres why:

The reason you dingle berry a cylinder on a new build is to hatch the cylinder walls. The hatching will 'sand' the rings so they will properly seat.
You need to make horsepower to develop cylinder pressures to press the rings into the hatching. If you baby it motor the hatching will smooth out before the rings willl properly seat and this is why many engines will be down on HP, have worse leakdown and higher oil consumption when they didnt have the poop run out of them.


It is very true you need to get your motor up to proper operating temps before running it hard. This is because metals expand and its possible to cold cease a motor by running it before it warms up if its in extremely cold conditions and run wide open. (*heard of this on 2 strokes).


Because this is a flat tappet motor you should run a break in oil or a break in additive (*these have zinc and its needed in the motors).


On my race motors I run them on the dyno and change oil. THey have only made 7 ish pulls and you would be surprised whats in the oil. Then we change the oil again after 500 (if on a bike build that is streeted) then follow manufactures recommendations.


Basically you better run the pizz out of it.

~JH

[Ghost-Geezer]

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

Ive always done it like this. Always!! Easy breakins make no sense. Although you dont want to be in 6th gear at 3K rpms and nail it letting your cylinder walls get flushed down before the rings are seated I would not just baby the bike around for several hundred miles

Pat Dietrich,
                     Now there is a name that trips my trigger.  Pat, you likely do not remember me but I remember you.  I used to be SuperDave with the UltraKit 01 Busa that Dennis built.
That attachment you just gave me has just saved me from making a huge error with this new '09 stock motor,bike.  I would have ridden it too easy. It has one mile on it.  I did not get to ride today because the snow-melt was excessive and there was too much water on the roads........combined with the salt the trucks put down.  And now, after reading your post, I am so glad I did not ride.

                     On the first dry-road 55 degree day we have, Lord Willing, I'm gonna warm this bike up fully and run it just as hard as your attachment recommends.  The logic and experience in that video strike a tone of truth that hit me right between the eyes.  All I can say Pat is..........Thank You and Happy New Year!!!

                      Happy New Year to all you guys on this board from Dave Harris in North Carolina!!.  Thanks to everyone for their input and info. 

                      Now just one more thing.....................these Gen II plastics look easier to remove than the Gen 1's did.  But, when I looked closely, it appears that there are a pile of hidden push pins, etc.  I found the video that shows how to remove the new plastics and it confirmed my suspicions.  You almost have to have the manual dexterity of a monkey to get some of those pins out.  Iit will be a bit of a challenge for me.  But, what the heck, human hands put the plastics on, and I still have two that work most of the time.   BWA-HA!!!

                      It is good to be back among Busa Lovers/riders/builders.   This is the site.  It really is like coming home again.  I have been out of circulation for 3 and 1/2 years.  No bikes, just work and caring for my mom..........she passed from Alzheimer's in March of 2010.  If any of you ever have to do that there is a book called "The 36 Hour Day" that will help make you a better "care-giver".  Those last 9 months were tough but, as an only child, I had to do what I had to do, and we still loved each other until the end.

                      I'm retired/retarded now and look forward to bein' on that Busa.  2011 is gonna be a good year.  Thanks again.

Dave

                      It is all good.    

[Cookie]

                      It is good to be back among Busa Lovers/riders/builders.   This is the site.  It really is like coming home again.  I have been out of circulation for 3 and 1/2 years.  No bikes, just work and caring for my mom..........she passed from Alzheimer's in March of 2010.  If any of you ever have to do that there is a book called "The 36 Hour Day" that will help make you a better "care-giver".  Those last 9 months were tough but, as an only child, I had to do what I had to do, and we still loved each other until the end.

                      I'm retired/retarded now and look forward to bein' on that Busa.  2011 is gonna be a good year.  Thanks again.

Dave

                      It is all good.    

God bless you for taking care of your Mother in the only way you could. May she rest in peace.

Good to have you back. SuperDave!   You can change your name in profile if you like. I know a lot will recognize you like I did.

And I am with Yngve,, break them in like the little bitches they are!   It's all about the lubrication and having fun.  

And could you keep the Harley's running like tractor talk down,, there are a few that really light into that and run with it! 

[Ghost-Geezer]

Cookie,
              Oh My Gosh!!!  It is great to hear your "voice" again.  Thanks much for the kind words.  You are aces, pal.  Great way to start the new year.

As far as the Harleys go..........I did ride 'em and worked on 'em for 25 years...a lot.  But those old Shovelhead motors were light years behind the new dual-cam units that Harley makes now.  Their  new stuff has quality control and longevity built in that was unheard of when I rode those old shovels. 

Your point is well taken.  In fact, I might be on a new one some day....a second bike.......as a cruiser and long-haul ride.  My pal Freddy has a Busa and a Harley bagger and loves 'em both.  He rides the bagger to Sturgis.  He is a bit younger than me......only 59.

Take care.......great to hear from you. 





 

[Cookie]

Great to "hear" you too, Dave! Hang out for a while,,, it's going to be a great year!