Break in...what's your poison?

[JetTest]

Things would be pretty boring if everyone had the same ideas all the time, and even as old as I am, I always try to take something away from every discussion, but yes, some people tend to over-personalize things if they are not agreed with. There are some great resources on this site, lots of good information, and sometimes even a nube can suprise you with a bit of information. I tend to put my preferences as follows (in no particular order): Italian motorcycles, German cars, American jets, Polish women.

[needtorque]

I believe the digression is my fault.  My post kind of directed the thread away from the OP.  Sorry about that.

[JetTest]

Good discussion, in spite of any digression. 

[herm]

I don't think the OP was asking about break in.

He already made the decision to do that by the book.

[He Man]

there was a really good discussion about this that use to be in the tutorials section, but i cant seem to find it. it was the arguement of basically warming up your bike and proceeding to run the snot out of it, vs manufacture guidelines.

[♣ McKraut ♣]

i know i've heard Jeff Nash and the other guys at AMS all say basically the same thing: "ride it like you stole it" RE: break-in period.

[He Man]

i know i've heard Jeff Nash and the other guys at AMS all say basically the same thing: "ride it like you stole it" RE: break-in period.

dont forget about a proper warm up. not idle and go, i mena idel smooth ride, ~230ish for the air cooled guys then ride the snot out of it.

[Shazaam!]

I think this is part of the confusion about break-in methods. The answer to how to break-in an engine, and whether to use a synthetic oil during break-in, is different for new engines and rebuilt engines. What the engine manufacturers do and recommend for a new engine break-in should not be construed as the best solution for a rebuilt engine. Here's why.

The manufacturer controls the complete quality assurance and quality control process: design, fabrication, build, inspection and testing. The overall result is not necessarily better than can be achieved by a custom engine builder, just more consistent.

So when a manufacturer first fires-up each new engine on a test stand, they know from experience (and monitoring each engine's exhaust oil combustion products) that the piston rings will seat properly before the engine leaves the factory.

Every Ducati is run-in for ten minutes or more on the dyno using a prescribed rpm and temperature sequence. Many manufacturers including Ducati, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Corvette, Viper and Aston Martin do their initial fill with a synthetic oil, and piston wall glazing is simply not a problem for them.

The piston rings seal is mostly complete after this initial test run. The follow-up part of the break-in (that you read in your Owners Manual) has little to do with piston ring sealing. It's meant to accommodate the time it takes for normal wear to occur to thousands of mating parts like bearings and gears, that will happen regardless of the type lubricant used. It's particularly important to change any lubricant early, and often, to remove the resultant wear debris.

However, when you rebuild an engine you can introduce a number of variables (that affect glazing) that are different from a new engine such as piston ring material, clearances (that affects ring pressure on the wall) and cylinder wall surface finish. Also, not all engine re-builders have complete, accurate control over their cylinder-wall finish and ring type like the manufacturers.

Cylinder wall glazing occurs when the engine is run at power levels too low to produce temperatures high enough to expand the piston rings sufficiently to prevent a film of oil being left on the cylinder walls. The high temperatures in the combustion chamber will oxidize this oil film so that it creates a condition commonly called glazing. When this happens, the ring break-in process stops, and excessive oil consumption can occur. Excessive glazing can only be corrected by removing the cylinders and re-honing the walls.

The build quality of engines 25 years ago probably contributed to the controversy that somehow synthetic oils are too slippery for break-in and that than conventional oils should be used.

So what do the oil manufacturers say?

According to a Road & Track article a few years ago regarding the use of synthetic oil during break-in, Mobil's position was that engines break-in just fine on synthetics, and that any wear point in the engine significant enough to be an interference, and thus susceptible to rapid wear, would be a wear point no matter what lubricant is used. Redline on the other hand, recommended a mineral oil for break-in. They say that in their experience, occasionally a rebuilt engine will glaze its cylinder walls when initially run on Redline synthetic, so by using a mineral oil for 2,000 miles, verifying there is no oil consumption, and then switching to the synthetic, glazing is eliminated.

In any event, for a rebuild, you shouldn't use an Owners Manual-style break-in period. You need to reproduce the Ducati factory dyno runs to avoid cylinder glazing. One way is to monitor tailpipe hydrocarbons to see when they drop during dyno runs. The other way is to ride it like you stole it.

[causeofkaos]

Shazaam !!!  and there you have it. Ive read quite a bit on break in and i like your write up the most well done

[JetTest]

Shazaam, Well written. Could not agree more.