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Frankie

Parking Attendant
Posts: 19

posted September 24, 2006 10:29 AM

Break in proceedures?

The manual says no more than 4k for 500 mi, and no more than 6k for the next 500mi. What are your thoughts? Stick with the manual? Ride like I stole it? What?

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Fuel Air & Spark
Posts: 17104

posted September 24, 2006 10:48 AM

No way could I keep mine under 4 during break in but I did keep it under 7 . And did a lot of throttle up and down not good to leave at same rpm for long amoumt of ride time at break in also heard not to start with open throttle.
____________
77 RD 400
80 GS1000 GT
06 ZX14

Frankie

Parking Attendant
Posts: 19

posted September 24, 2006 10:53 AM

quote:
No way could I keep mine under 4 during break in but I did keep it under 7 . And did a lot of throttle up and down not good to leave at same rpm for long amoumt of ride time at break in also heard not to start with open throttle.

So how many miles do you have on her now? No issues taking her to the red? Nice and smooth all the way around?

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Fuel Air & Spark
Posts: 17104

posted September 24, 2006 10:57 AM

3228 runs smooth and great freed up good after 2500
____________
77 RD 400
80 GS1000 GT
06 ZX14

dubious

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Posts: 8442

posted September 24, 2006 11:07 AM

Edited By: dubious on 24 Sep 2006 12:11

Let the engine warm up to operating temp before putting it under a load.
top gear full throttle roll ons for first 100 miles, 70 - 100 mph, no engine breaking, pull in the clutch and use the brakes to decellerate between each roll on keeping revs under 7000 rpm.

Loading the engine under full throttle places the rings under more combustion pressure,
seating them squarely against the cyl walls for better ring seal.
Once the hone is worn from break in this can not occur, so it is imperative to perform this for the first few miles, or hour of operation.

after 200 miles change the oil and filter, ride it like you stole it

Noticed mine loosened up noticably after 100 miles.
jUST MY 2 CENTS....

Frankie

Parking Attendant
Posts: 19

posted September 24, 2006 11:43 AM

Okay.. very interesting. Thank you.

raptor14

Expert Class
Posts: 264

posted September 24, 2006 12:21 PM

Lot's of controversy and conflicting stories concerning proper bike break-in. I've done every bike I've owned pretty much by the book, including the 14. Never had any problems with any of them. I know a few who break theirs in by "running it like you stole it". They haven't had any problems either. None of us use any oil over a 3,000 mile interval. For me the main break-in issues are:

1. Change the oil often. I did my first at 500miles, and then again at 1000 miles. I use oil from dead decayed dinosaurs for the first 3,000 miles. I've now switched over to full synthetic (Mobil 1 for me). Change the filter every time you change the oil.

2. As dubious said, load and unload the engine, don't just sit on the highway at one throttle position. You need to do this from the very beginning.

3. Tires don't break-in until you get somewhere between 50 and 100 miles on them. Take the twistys with care until the tires are scrubbed in.

vegasdude

Zone Head
Posts: 821

posted September 24, 2006 01:40 PM

I had mine to 7 grand before I had a mile on mine................haha...............

Frankie

Parking Attendant
Posts: 19

posted September 24, 2006 01:51 PM

Thanks again. I'll be looking forward to my next ride to fully load it - hadn't done that yet but I don't even have 50 miles on the bike.

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Fuel Air & Spark
Posts: 17104

posted September 24, 2006 02:59 PM

Sounds like a plan bought the Mobil 1 full synthetic for my second oil change. Ran golden specto semi last one.
____________
77 RD 400
80 GS1000 GT
06 ZX14

INTIMIDA2OR

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RED rider!
Posts: 13081

posted September 25, 2006 04:36 PM

Do a bunch of canyon riding , the constant variance in rpm ,loads ,and gear changes are good things for a new bike!
And change that oil often.

Works for me

____________
'06 Passion Red ZX-14

*Lee*

smiddy1

Expert Class
Posts: 155

posted September 25, 2006 05:23 PM

Edited By: smiddy1 on 25 Sep 2006 18:25

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

http://www.brockracing.com/forum/display_topic_threads.asp?ForumID=5&TopicID=6&PagePosition=1

This helped me out.
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blitzkrieg

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Posts: 2044

posted September 25, 2006 05:56 PM

LOL.

MotoMan always rears his head in these threads.

Just rev the fucker to 13K and pour sand in the oil fill!

It'll be broken in <10 miles.

____________
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SoCal ZX-14 Rider

Expert Class
Posts: 351

posted September 25, 2006 06:00 PM

quote:
Let the engine warm up to operating temp before putting it under a load.
top gear full throttle roll ons for first 100 miles, 70 - 100 mph, no engine breaking, pull in the clutch and use the brakes to decellerate between each roll on keeping revs under 7000 rpm.

Loading the engine under full throttle places the rings under more combustion pressure,
seating them squarely against the cyl walls for better ring seal.
Once the hone is worn from break in this can not occur, so it is imperative to perform this for the first few miles, or hour of operation.

after 200 miles change the oil and filter, ride it like you stole it

Noticed mine loosened up noticably after 100 miles.
jUST MY 2 CENTS....

I completely agree with Dubious!
Machined part tolerances are way better than it used to be, not as much metal in the oil immediately after break in as there used to be so break in has changed from the old days but any metal in the oil is your enemy so frequent changes is good but not so soon that your wasting money by changing good oil.
Seating the rings is critical so you dont get blow by later. So running the engine under load helps seat them.
Never run the engine until warmed up.
I did all that Dubious said, changed oil after 400 miles then went another 2000 and changed to full synthetic. I changed it a little soon because I run the engine really hard.
After about 400 miles I ran her any way i wanted, I have 8000 miles on mine and she runs perfect.
Next I have to deal with the 7500 mile maintenance check-up, wondering if I can just get away with a valve adjustment.

____________
If I'm not riding her, I'm dreaming about riding her! Mount up!

SoCal ZX-14 Rider

Expert Class
Posts: 351

posted September 25, 2006 06:10 PM

I forgot one thing.
In the event something goes wrong with the power train of the bike,
I would not tell the service guys at the dealer how you broke it in if you do anything different than the factory break-in, especially if you don't know the guys that work there.
The may void your warranty if they find out you did something different from the factory recommended break-in.
This was the advice I got from my service manager where I bought mine, he understands "real" break-in procedures and the "no-one does that anymore" ones from the factory.
____________
If I'm not riding her, I'm dreaming about riding her! Mount up!

sands

Expert Class
Posts: 151

posted September 26, 2006 05:52 AM

Edited By: sands on 26 Sep 2006 06:57

It's true that a hard break in will seat the rings better but a hard breakin doesn't mean high rpm. Not understanding the critical difference can result in a good ring seal but at the cost of more wear on the engine...

Most people automatically assume that it's the rpm because high rpm is a product of full throttle operation over a period of time....But they fail to distinguish what part of that equation is getting the job done when it comes to a good ring seal...What causes the good ring seal is the maximum gas pressure that comes from using full throttle not the high rpm.

So how does a person do a hard break in with full throttle without screaming the engine toward redline on their brand new motor ?

Easy...

The way to get maximum gas pressure for ring sealing without high rpm is very brief full throttle bursts with a load on the engine (in gear..never apply rpms in neutral) for a limited amount of time....

Just apply full throttle and once the rpms reach the target rpms (recommended rpm ceiling in your manual ) let off...Incorporate these brief full throttle bursts in your normal riding while avoiding any sustained high rpm operation/and or redline...If you happen to accidently go into high rpm it's o.k. briefly just make sure you close the throttle as soon as possible...Some people like to do a gradual increase of target rpms (full throttle bursts up to that specific rpm) in stages as the miles pile on...Some recommend it some don't...It's probably not a bad idea...But remember the critical thing that helps produce the best possible ring seal and that is incorporating 100% gas pressure and that can only come from 100% throttle, not rpm...Very easy to do while staying within the factory recommended rpm range...

A few rules...

1.Always warm up your engine...This is important on any engine but even more critical on engines that are capable of high rpm.

2. Never apply rpm of any kind to a cold motor/and or a bike that's been sitting for a while

3. Never apply rpm with zero load (like with the clutch in or in neutral). I know you see alot of guys do it but there is absolutley no reason for it and they are ignorantly operating their engine in a way that increases the likelyhood of engine damage and certainly unneccessary wear....Forget what you see your favorite AMA racer doing...They are not concerned with the engine lasting any longer than the race they are in...Blipping the throttle before a race is unneccessary and a nervous habit probably as a result of years of racing carburated two strokes...The only reason they need to apply a higher rpm at the start is to get a maximum launch...Other than that it's pointless.
4. Make sure you have the coolant temp function in operation when you are breaking in the bike...Because you are breaking it in and going in short bursts you will not get as much air through your cooling system as you would just droning on the highway...Therefore it is neccessary to keep an eye on your temp gauge to make sure temperatures do not get too high..If they start climbing too high you can see it and know when to pull over and shut off to let it cool down...

5. Keep an eye on your oil and coolant levels

6. Change your oil quickly...everyone has a different number of miles but the more frequent and quicker you do it during the breakin process the better...During break in you will have more metal shavings/wear metals and other junk in the oil than any other time from the manufacturing process and just from being a new engine...You do not want this stuff in your engine...get it out and change it more frequently when new.

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