New Bike Question - Running In

[Aaron]

Thanks guys. I changed my mind about waiting, and have managed to get hold of a bike (sign papers this weekend) and saved some cash. They'll hold onto it for me 'till i pass my test.

I've got, maybe, a dumb question so I thought the newbie section is a good place to go ahead and ask

I've been reading about breaking/running in a new engine. Sounds like the user manuals tend to just say stay below so many revs for so long, but lots of people are saying to put some strain on the engine. I'm guessing that means that really one should cycle between alot of throttle and closing the throttle, while still staying below the suggested rev limits?

Further to that, all the articles say to use non-synthetic oil during the break-in period. Is it typical for new bikes to contain mineral based oil to start with? or should i change it to be sure?

Figured i'd ask the dumb questions here rather that at the dealership in order to minimise my vulnerability to being ripped off as much as possible : )

Cheers.

[Guest]

Hi, split and moved into Pitstop

[Aaron]

Ta.

[Guest]

And I would do whatever the manufacturer tell you to do... then if it goes tits up, your covered because you only followed their instructions

[Guest]

Every bike is different, so follow the manufacturers advice, those that have diffent opinions generally have the mechanical nouse to do what they do, so if you don't know what you're doing, stick with the recommended, and you won't go far wrong, or invalidate a warranty...

a busted engine thats not warranted is an expensive learning curve...

[Guest]

Sorry to hijack thread, but what are the possible consequences of not running the bike in?

[Guest]

an engine needs time to bed in its components, going straight in will cause premature wear and possible failure of the components

 

Any rebuilt or new engine has to go through a break in process. Each piece of moving metal must get to know and fit with the piece of metal it is moving against. Usually, the manufacturers put a sticker on the speedometer or tachometer telling you to take it easy for 600 miles or so. Your buddy says "If you want to run it hard, break it in hard." As you might expect, the truth is not on the right hand or the left but, in the center.

The problem is this. All this rubbing produces heat, which can cause oil to fail, which can cause a piston to seize to a cylinder wall. On the other hand, if there is not enough rubbing, the piston rings will not seat right with the cylinder walls. If this happens the engine will not reach it's full power potential. If the only new parts are piston and rings, as in an engine rebuild, we only have to worry about heat build up from the new parts. If the entire engine is new, the heat built up is even greater, because all the parts are new.

[Guest]

Oh

Just, Edgey's bike i noticed hasn't done 600 miles yet, but his bike has this feature where it saves to memory the highest speed its ever done, and it says 83mph.

For that 125 to do 83mph, it must have been really screaming and definately going downhill hah. So i wonder if thats gonna have caused it some problems.

[Aaron]

Thanks for the input : ) Now i just need to actually get a test date that doesn't get cancelled. There was me thinking that learning in winter would be quicker as everyone wants to stay in the warm :s