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    New Engine Break In Procedure

    Hello folks, I'm coming to GS Resource for your advice and wisdom. I'm wondering what your thoughts, opinions and experiences are on breaking in a motorcycle engine. The owners manual says to keep the RPM's under 4,000 for the first 1,000 miles. Change the oils at 600 miles and then again at 1,000 miles. So, here is my problem. The guys on the FJR forum say NOT to keep the rpm's under 4,000 and to race the engine, going between high and low rpm's, and avoid highways. They say to change the oils after the first engine run (25 miles) then again at 600 miles. So fellows what are your thoughts or experience on breaking in a new motorcycle?
    My Motorcycles:
    22 Kawasaki Z900 RS (Candy Tone Blue)
    22 BMW K1600GT (Probably been to a town near you)
    82 1100e Drag Bike (needs race engine)
    81 1100e Street Bike (with race engine)
    79 1000e (all original)
    82 850g (all original)
    80 KZ 650F (needs restored)

    #2
    Could not following the manuf. posted breaking procedure void any implied or explicitly written warranty on this new bike or it’s engine?
    Rich
    1982 GS 750TZ
    2015 Triumph Tiger 1200

    BikeCliff's / Charging System Sorted / Posting Pics
    Destroy-Rebuild 750T/ Destroy-Rebuild part deux

    Comment


      #3
      Follow the manufacturer's guidelines. They will tell you to vary the rpms, but don't over rev. Patience!
      1982 GS1100E V&H "SS" exhaust, APE pods, 1150 oil cooler, 140 speedo, 99.3 rear wheel HP, black engine, '83 red

      2016 XL883L sigpic Two-tone blue and white. Almost 42 hp! Status: destroyed, now owned by the insurance company. The hole in my memory starts an hour before the accident and ends 24 hours after.

      Comment


        #4
        This discussion has been going on since 1983 when I bought my bike brand new. I followed the manufacturers instructions and it is still going strong. But I know many who didn't and so is theirs .........
        Old age and treachery will beat youth and skill every time
        Originally Posted by Schweisshund I mean, sure, guns were used in some of these mass shootings, but not all of them
        1983 GS 750

        Comment


          #5
          The manufacturers instructions are geared to assure the rider doesn't crash out from using too much throttle before they get used to the bike. Most knowledgeable gearhead types will tell you to use the throttle to load the rings and seat them early in the engines life. Go to youtube and watch some engine build videos and you will see tons of high dollar engines getting broken in on a dyno using LOTS of throttle. I subscribe to an assertive urban riding pattern where you accelerate using a fair bit of throttle and vary the engine speed a lot. Keeping below redline is a good idea for a couple hundred miles but running the rpm's up into to 7000 rpm or so is no problem. And I'd follow the manufacturers recommended oil change interval. Engines don't come loaded with casting trash and so forth like they did from detroit decades ago so changing the oil right away is needless. There are oil filters for a reason.
          Ed

          To measure is to know.

          Mikuni O-ring Kits For Sale...https://www.thegsresources.com/_foru...ts#post1703182

          Top Newbie Mistakes thread...http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...d.php?t=171846

          Carb rebuild tutorial...https://gsarchive.bwringer.com/mtsac...d_Tutorial.pdf

          KZ750E Rebuild Thread...http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...0-Resurrection

          Comment


            #6
            Thanks for your thoughts Ed. I was hoping you'd chime in. 👍
            My Motorcycles:
            22 Kawasaki Z900 RS (Candy Tone Blue)
            22 BMW K1600GT (Probably been to a town near you)
            82 1100e Drag Bike (needs race engine)
            81 1100e Street Bike (with race engine)
            79 1000e (all original)
            82 850g (all original)
            80 KZ 650F (needs restored)

            Comment


              #7
              I agree with Ed. A lot of various revving will be good for seating the rings. If you could run it like a moonshiner would run it you would end up with a good running engine.
              A lot of mixing with the throttle. Just so you don't lock it in on cruising speeds.

              Bottom line Norm, ride it like you stole it.
              Larry

              '79 GS 1000E
              '93 Honda ST 1100 SOLD-- now residing in Arizona.
              '18 Triumph Tiger 800 (gone too soon)
              '19 Triumph Tiger 800 Christmas 2018 to me from me.
              '01 BMW R1100RL project purchased from a friend.

              Comment


                #8
                Yeah, the old-school method was to baby it, and it seemed to work, but the newer-school method says that it's already broken-in by the time you get to 25 miles.

                The reasoning behind it is that combustion pressures get behind the rings, helping to push them out, against the cylinder walls. If you baby it, there's not much pressure. Applying more throttle enhances that pressure and helps break it in. Using the engine for braking also helps load the other side of the rings.

                Basic idea is to warm the engine by riding, then doing about 10-15 mph in second gear, apply about half throttle until you get up to about 2/3 of redline, then roll off the throttle. Do that a few times, then do it in third gear, so it lasts a bit longer each time. Let the bike cool (overnight is good), repeat the next day, it's broken-in.

                I agree with the principle, just have not tried it for myself.

                .
                sigpic
                mine: 2000 Honda GoldWing GL1500SE and 1980 GS850G'K' "Junior"
                hers: 1982 GS850GL - "Angel" and 1969 Suzuki T250 Scrambler
                #1 son: 1986 Yamaha Venture Royale 1300 and 1982 GS650GL "Rat Bagger"
                #2 son: 1980 GS1000G
                Family Portrait
                Siblings and Spouses
                Mom's first ride
                Want a copy of my valve adjust spreadsheet for your 2-valve per cylinder engine? Send me an e-mail request (not a PM)
                (Click on my username in the upper-left corner for e-mail info.)

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by Nessism View Post
                  The manufacturers instructions are geared to assure the rider doesn't crash out from using too much throttle before they get used to it.
                  Never heard that one before.

                  Originally posted by alke46 View Post
                  If you could run it like a moonshiner would run it you would end up with a good running engine...ride it like you stole it.
                  I must sound like an old bible-thumper..Cycle World, that is.

                  They addressed this very issue for the umpteenth time a few years ago, even including a cartoon with a rider explaining to the police that he was advised to "ride it like it was stolen."

                  Who has the most to lose if large numbers of new, waranteed engines fail? The manufacturer. So there must be a higher rate of failure if you red line it out the showroom door. So why don't you make the only logical claim you can - that if it doesn't fail, the bike will be faster than those which were broken in according to the manufacturer's recommendations?

                  And on the secondary issue: every owner's manual I've ever seen specifically advises to vary the rpms.

                  And the last justification: "High-performance this and top fuel that!"

                  They don't have time to break in their engines. And besides that, they are typically completely rebuilt every quarter mile.

                  Bottom line: I trust Cycle World, not some guy or "they."

                  Don't mean to come off preachy or rude, but I'm firmly middle class. If I've plunked down my hard earned dollars for a brand new machine, I'm afraid to red line it before the manufacturer recommends.
                  Last edited by Rob S.; 03-07-2020, 10:35 PM.
                  1982 GS1100E V&H "SS" exhaust, APE pods, 1150 oil cooler, 140 speedo, 99.3 rear wheel HP, black engine, '83 red

                  2016 XL883L sigpic Two-tone blue and white. Almost 42 hp! Status: destroyed, now owned by the insurance company. The hole in my memory starts an hour before the accident and ends 24 hours after.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Here..read this



                    MY BIKES..1977 GS 750 B, 1978 GS 1000 C (X2)
                    1978 GS 1000 E, 1979 GS 1000 S, 1973 Yamaha TX 750, 1977 Kawasaki KZ 650B1, 1975 Honda GL1000 Goldwing, 1983 CB 650SC Nighthawk, 1972 Honda CB 350K4, 74 Honda CB550

                    NEVER SNEAK UP ON A SLEEPING DOG..NOT EVEN YOUR OWN.


                    I would rather trust my bike to a "QUACK" that KNOWS how to fix it rather than a book worm that THINKS HE KNOWS how to fix it.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by chuck hahn View Post
                      "We asked four top engine builders..."

                      Unarmed engine builders. Probably not Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki or Yamaha. Those are my four top engine builders.

                      And in any case, the article mentions brief high rpm runs. Not "ride it like you stole it."
                      1982 GS1100E V&H "SS" exhaust, APE pods, 1150 oil cooler, 140 speedo, 99.3 rear wheel HP, black engine, '83 red

                      2016 XL883L sigpic Two-tone blue and white. Almost 42 hp! Status: destroyed, now owned by the insurance company. The hole in my memory starts an hour before the accident and ends 24 hours after.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        lol, as you can see, it probably doesn't matter much.....
                        1983 GS 1100 ESD

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by greg78gs750 View Post
                          lol, as you can see, it probably doesn't matter much.....
                          Hey! My Sportster was properly broken in. Until it got broken in two.
                          1982 GS1100E V&H "SS" exhaust, APE pods, 1150 oil cooler, 140 speedo, 99.3 rear wheel HP, black engine, '83 red

                          2016 XL883L sigpic Two-tone blue and white. Almost 42 hp! Status: destroyed, now owned by the insurance company. The hole in my memory starts an hour before the accident and ends 24 hours after.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Car manufacturers don't typically specify a break-in procedure and most auto engines manage to run just fine regardless of how the customer drives the car from new. No doubt they have learned that it does not matter much what type of break-in is performed.

                            And for what it's worth, at the auto plant that I worked at the cars went from first start straight to a set of rollers where the test tech mashed the throttle down to the floor and accelerated the vehicle up to high speed. Even earlier in the process, when the engine was assembled and sent to a dyno, again, the engines were tested at high throttle loads almost immediately.
                            Last edited by Nessism; 03-09-2020, 08:06 AM.
                            Ed

                            To measure is to know.

                            Mikuni O-ring Kits For Sale...https://www.thegsresources.com/_foru...ts#post1703182

                            Top Newbie Mistakes thread...http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...d.php?t=171846

                            Carb rebuild tutorial...https://gsarchive.bwringer.com/mtsac...d_Tutorial.pdf

                            KZ750E Rebuild Thread...http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...0-Resurrection

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Take it for what its worth...as with everything else in life.
                              MY BIKES..1977 GS 750 B, 1978 GS 1000 C (X2)
                              1978 GS 1000 E, 1979 GS 1000 S, 1973 Yamaha TX 750, 1977 Kawasaki KZ 650B1, 1975 Honda GL1000 Goldwing, 1983 CB 650SC Nighthawk, 1972 Honda CB 350K4, 74 Honda CB550

                              NEVER SNEAK UP ON A SLEEPING DOG..NOT EVEN YOUR OWN.


                              I would rather trust my bike to a "QUACK" that KNOWS how to fix it rather than a book worm that THINKS HE KNOWS how to fix it.

                              Comment

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