break in oil change

[Johnny K]

I am a little worried about the "break-in" period where I am throttling very hard and letting go back down and doing this over and over. It will be my first break-in. How often do you do this? Do you constantly do it for 20 miles and then change the oil? When I change the oil, do I remove the oil pan and get all the debris that could be sitting in there? The gasket would be affected when you take off the oil pan right? Or just change the oil and filter without removing the oil pan?

[rapidray]

Just change the oil & filter. If you are planning on using SYNTHETIC oil, DON'T use it until you have at LEAST 600 miles on the motor to ensure you have good ring seal. Ray.

[Nessism]

I assume you are refering to the mototuneusa.com break-in method http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

Just my personal opinion but I think that technique is a bit extreme. I'm in favor of loading the rings but no reason to go nuts. Progressively add more and more load over the course of a few hundered miles. Also vary the throttle position a lot and do not lug the engine. Do that and you should be in good shape. The filter will catch any contamination so just change the oil and filter at about 600 miles and things will be fine.

Good luck.

[Mark M]

I am a little worried about the "break-in" period where I am throttling very hard and letting go back down and doing this over and over. It will be my first break-in. How often do you do this? Do you constantly do it for 20 miles and then change the oil?

I did the Mototune break in on my GSXR. Picked it up at the dealer, rode about 35km home through light traffic at reasonable speeds. Stopped at home, got fully geared up and went out to a local backroad a couple of km out. Spent 15-20 minutes doing 3rd gear roll-ons. Let it idle down to maybe 2000-2500rpm, then full throttle. Did 3 to 7500rpm, 3 to 9000rpm, 3 to 11000rpm. Didn't feel safe going past 11K (redline is 13.5K) and the thing was ungodly fast at that point, so I went home. Break in done. Changed the oil after some more miles. I should have changed it right away, but didn't get around to it immediately. The bike runs super strong, never uses oil and never has given me any problems.

Did I mention that the Mototune break is the only way I will run in engines from now on? It is the most rational method I have seen and my results are enough to keep me using it.

Mark

[tkent02]

If you talk to 200 people about breaking in an engine, you will get 200 different techniques.
And maybe one or two of these people will know what they are talking about.

I just blast away on the throttle, up and down, on and off. Something like 3,000 to 7,000 RPM or so. No specific number, just up and down. No partial throttle if I can help it, on or off. Away from traffic so I can do what I want safely.

I change the oil at about ten or twenty miles, and again at about 100. The oil is still good, it just has particles in it so I let it settle a while, run it through a filter and put it in my Jeep.

I don't go synthetic for several thousand miles.

But I'm just one of the 200.

[Nessism]

Just to put it into perspective...of all the engine manufacturers in the world you will never find one that tells you to take your brand new engine and hammer on it with high throttle loads straight out of the box. Typically the recommended engine break in procedures are pretty conservative, and for good reason - they pay the warranty.

[tkent02]

Just to put it into perspective...of all the engine manufacturers in the world you will never find one that tells you to take your brand new engine and hammer on it with high throttle loads straight out of the box. Typically the recommended engine break in procedures are pretty conservative, and for good reason - they pay the warranty.

I think the reason is that they also would have to pay all the lawsuits if they told every customer to go out and run the hell out their new bikes, before they even learn how it handles, how it brakes, and especially how it accelerates at full power.

A lot of people would die.

Piston driven airplane engines have been broken in this way forever.
Full throttle, full RPM, right out of the box.

[Nessism]

I think the reason is that they also would have to pay all the lawsuits if they told every customer to go out and run the hell out their new bikes, before they even learn how it handles, how it brakes, and especially how it accelerates at full power.

A lot of people would die.

Piston driven airplane engines have been broken in this way forever.
Full throttle, full RPM, right out of the box.

Well...you got me on the aircraft engine analogy. And good point about getting to know your bike before hammering on it. I still don't think this is the full story though. Auto mfg'ers are pretty conservative regarding break-in and they don't have the same concerns as the motorcycle mfg'ers do.

Again, I'm not in favor of babying a new engine. Just don't think it is necessary to do full throttle pulls right away.

[tkent02]

Well...you got me on the aircraft engine analogy. And good point about getting to know your bike before hammering on it. I still don't think this is the full story though. Auto mfg'ers are pretty conservative regarding break-in and they don't have the same concerns as the motorcycle mfg'ers do.

Again, I'm not in favor of babying a new engine. Just don't think it is necessary to do full throttle pulls right away.

According to the MotoTune guy, right away is the ONLY chance to do it right.
It has always worked for me.

[Nessism]

According to the MotoTune guy, right away is the ONLY chance to do it right.

Yea, that's the BS part.

Edit: Found an article from the Flight Safety Foundation about proper aircraft engine break-in. They are very scientific and do NOT just run the engine at full throttle out of the box. There is specific mention about the rings taking from between 2 - 50 hours to seat the rings. Full break-in is noted as typically taking 50 hours. http://www.flightsafety.org/amb/amb_jan-feb95.pdf

.

[tkent02]

Mototune says most of the break in ring wear is done immediately, the rest takes quite a while.

No contradictions, they both say run it hard.

The running on the ground only needs to be done to ensure nothing will fail such as fuel pumps or whatever, oil leaks or other issues that would be hazardous in flight.

Climb at standard power means pretty much full blast, or on higher performance engines, the highest power setting that it is allowed to be run at for more than five minutes.

Cruise at 75% power is pretty darn high also, usually that's the highest cruise power recommended ever.

Seems the same, just different wording.

The only difference is airplanes are done at a more or less steady RPM, it's hard to vary the RPM continuously as we can do on a bike.
On airplanes you can also keep the throttle open continuously without getting killed, unlike a bike in most places.

[Johnny K]

Thanks guys. Yeah a lot of responses which is what I'm looking for. I have about a week left until I can start her up. I will gather more info and decide then. Thanks again.

[Mark M]

Thanks guys. Yeah a lot of responses which is what I'm looking for. I have about a week left until I can start her up. I will gather more info and decide then. Thanks again.

One thing to note on the Mototune break in method is that the engine must be fully up to operating temp before you run it hard. Hammering a cold engine can cause terminal issues. Yamaha notes that on liquid cooled bikes, let it idle until the cooling fan comes on to ensure it is fully up to temp before beginning the ring seating. Always good advice to follow regardless of what break in method you choose.

Mark

[bonanzadave]

Piston driven airplane engines have been broken in this way forever.
Full throttle, full RPM, right out of the box.

http://www.tcmlink.com/visitors/carenfeed/brkin.pdf

Engine Break-In Teledyne Continental Motors, Inc.

Recommended Break-in Flight Tips:
1. Conduct a normal take-off with full power full rich conditions and monitor the engine RPM, oil pressure, cylinder head temperatures and oil temperatures.
2. Reduce to climb power in accordance with the flight manual and maintain a shallow climb attitude to gain optimum air speed and cooling.
3. Level flight cruise should be at 75% power with best power or richer mixture for the first hour of operation.
4. The second hour power settings should alternate between 65% and 75% power with the appropriate best power mixture settings. Vary the power setting
every 15 to 30 minutes utilizing best power settings. Best power mixture settings are necessary to maintain high cylinder combustion pressures.