How to break in a new motorcycle...

[Adamm0621]

I saw this in the 696 appreciation thread, and being completely ignorant about even the most basic vehicular mechanics, I decided to ask here.

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

Is this a good idea at all?  When I purchase my monster, I plan on following the prescribed break-in methods, unless anyone with lots of mechanical expertise can convince me otherwise.

[teddy037.2]

ah... that guy...

I, for one, trust the mfr's break-in routine. I'd like to think that the folks who built my bike know what to do w/it...

[He Man]

Ive hear of the "throttle it like its 1999" approach, my friend did it on his 572cid Chevelle drag car and it worked great. I believe race bikes are broken in the same way. Another thing that doenst make sense to me is, Ducati facotry dynos all the engines prior to install them, and they will warm the enigne up, run it to redline for a few runs and make sure its making the right power. Thats already breaking hte factory rules. So what gives?

now if you scroll down to where it says

"Here are some popular engine tuning concepts in which the truth is
quite the opposite of what is commonly thought:"

you get the following list

- Bigger Ports

- Polishing The Ports

- Ignition Advancers

- Flatslide Carburetors

- Fuel Injection Tuning

- Cam Timing

- Jetting

So, you can pretty much say that this guy is retarded. but his method *which really isnt even his own, is something people have done, but i cant tell you if it works or not, becasue im not rich enough to own a new ducati. My friends 572 makes something like 800hp on pump and 1000 on race gas, and never gets babied and its in tip top condition. I have another friend who rode it hard to break in his new 3.8L Supercharged Tbird Supercoupe engine, and that thing was in tiptop shape (engine wise atleast)

[teddy037.2]

well, yes, engine testing is one thing, but they're not running it at WOT for hundreds of miles on end...

and race motors get rebuilt... how often?

[He Man]

well, yes, engine testing is one thing, but they're not running it at WOT for hundreds of miles on end...

The process doesn't state to run it WOT for hundreds of miles on end.
"
Then, using 4th gear:

Do Three 1/2 Throttle dyno runs from
40% - 60% of your engine's max rpm
Let it Cool Down For About 15 Minutes

Do Three 3/4 Throttle dyno runs from
40% - 80% of your engine's max rpm
Let it Cool Down For About 15 Minutes

Do Three Full Throttle dyno runs from
30% - 100% of your engine's max rpm
Let it Cool Down For About 15 Minutes
Go For It !! "

And honestly, you could apply the exact same stress on your engine by accident when you first get your bike.

and race motors get rebuilt... how often?

Race motors get rebuilt after every race, but I can't comment on how often they have to "break in the engine" after they rebuild it and replace xxx parts.

Again, it is a controversial topic, and I'm not even close to anything knowledgeable on it since i've never done it, but I knew 2 guys who did it and their engine is running fine. Thats the extent of my knowledge on this topic. HOWEVER if the OP does decide to do it, you let us know how it goes! [moto]

[teddy037.2]

point taken... and I admit, what I was typing was.. more than a bit of exaggeration... but the occasional new engine over-rev on the street is nothing compared to "three full throttle runs from 30-100% of max rpm." this dude's method reminds me of that youtube clip of the guy running in his Ti header-back exhaust to get that cool color on his pipes.

controversial? yes. I can't argue that. and I am far from knowledgable in this respect... I'm a fabricator, not an engine builder/racer...

[Adamm0621]

I didn't think 30-100% was that bad.  If max rpm is 9000, and during break in, you're not supposed to exceed 6K, that right there is almost 70% of the max rpm.  Just a thought...  

[Howie]

IMO, that procedure is the best for a hand built blueprinted engine.  Production engines are less perfect.  The most important condition to avoid on break in is constant throttle constant load.  In other words, avoid the slab.  On carbie engines avoid full throttle also.

[CairnsDuc]

I follow the break procedure within reason, I change the revs all the time, so no long runs at a set rev, Don't let the bike sit in traffic running very hot (Air cooled) Give a the engine a decent rev from time to time, nothing silly. Best thing to do I find is find a decent mountain range and ride up and down that a number of times.

And I always change the oil and filter after about 500KM's (about 300 miles) Maybe that's being a bit cautious.

Done that on 5 different bikes now and they have all run very well.

[teddy037.2]

I didn't think 30-100% was that bad.  If max rpm is 9000, and during break in, you're not supposed to exceed 6K, that right there is almost 70% of the max rpm.  Just a thought...  

...and is almost 70% of the max rpm=100% of the max rpm? you're still dealing with an additional 3000 rpm, assuming your redline is 9k.

just a thought.

[Popeye the Sailor]

<engineer>

The man has no data to back up his claims. None.

He'll tell you it'll work better on any given engine but I'd stake serious coin that at no point has he ever rebuilt two identical engines, then broke one in the traditional way and the other with his method, then checked their health at intervals over the years/mileage/use to see how each one survived. He has pictures of this...but did he do it? No. Was it done in a controlled environment? Recorded? Documented in any way that doesn't include a picture on a website?

No testing, no data, he just happens to say it works. What are his credentials again? Oh look....none.

Every engineer at every major manufacturer somehow knows less than this idiot. Keep in mind some of these engineers work at places like oh, Honda, Toyota...manufacturers who are 1) known for reliability and long engine life and 2) who have a huge selling point based on the previous. Does anyone *really* think they all just teamed up to have people break in their motors in the wrong way because it would somehow make them look good if their cars lasted a short amount of time? How about if they made less power?

This guy is an idiot. Absolute nutter. He can't prove shit about a damn thing he says. I would not listen to him.

</engineer>

[ducpainter]

<engineer>

The man has no data to back up his claims. None.

He'll tell you it'll work better on any given engine but I'd stake serious coin that at no point has he ever rebuilt two identical engines, then broke one in the traditional way and the other with his method, then checked their health at intervals over the years/mileage/use to see how each one survived. He has pictures of this...but did he do it? No. Was it done in a controlled environment? Recorded? Documented in any way that doesn't include a picture on a website?

No testing, no data, he just happens to say it works. What are his credentials again? Oh look....none.

Every engineer at every major manufacturer somehow knows less than this idiot. Keep in mind some of these engineers work at places like oh, Honda, Toyota...manufacturers who are 1) known for reliability and long engine life and 2) who have a huge selling point based on the previous. Does anyone *really* think they all just teamed up to have people break in their motors in the wrong way because it would somehow make them look good if their cars lasted a short amount of time? How about if they made less power?

This guy is an idiot. Absolute nutter. He can't prove shit about a damn thing he says. I would not listen to him.

</engineer>

<old guy>

I also have no proof...

I believe that nutter makes some sense

I also feel the manufacturing engineers are being ultra conservative with their recommendations...there was a lawyer looking over their shoulder when they were writing them...shocking. 

The biggest problem with manufacturer recs is that people never run the engines hard enough..meaning enough throttle..to ever seat the rings. You can use lot's of throttle and not exceed rpm limits, and that is what the nutter is trying to say.

</old guy>

[derby]

<old guy>

I also have no proof...

I believe that nutter makes some sense

I also feel the manufacturing engineers are being ultra conservative with their recommendations...there was a lawyer looking over their shoulder when they were writing them...shocking. 

The biggest problem with manufacturer recs is that people never run the engines hard enough..meaning enough throttle..to ever seat the rings. You can use lot's of throttle and not exceed rpm limits, and that is what the nutter is trying to say.

</old guy>

the last part is the clincher.

i broke my r1 in "hard" in a similar manner to what he describes. not only was it the most powerful stock r1 measured on the most commonly used dyno in dallas, it also didn't burn oil... and my buddy's r1s (to the letter factory breakin) were notorious for drinking oil.

so yeah, it's anecdotal and not very scientific, but i seemed to get favorable results and i'll continue to break in my bikes in that way

[Porsche Monkey]

Of all the engines I have rebuilt, car engines not bike engines, the best are the ones that are driven hard after a 20 or 30 minute warm up. There are many different schools of thought on this. I always tell my customers to just drive the car normally as they would drive any other car. Don't take it to redline every shift but also don't just hold it at a constant RPM. For a bike I would say a lot of backroads with plenty of twisties and different engine loads and speeds. This is just my professional opinion. I don't have any hard data so you can take it as you like.

[Hedgehog]

Seating the rings isn't really an issue with nikasil cylinders, unless you break them in dry like the BMW Airhead guys do - and they deal with high-mileage engines.

Traditional "breaking in" of an engine was more concerned with relieving the thermal/mechanical stresses in the pistons so they didn't go out of round.  However, manufacturing processes (even Ducati's processes) have improved so much over the years that pistons don't really need to be annealed in the engines anymore, but the break-in procedures of the 70s live on.

However, this is not to say that breaking an engine in hard and putting it to bed hot is going to give you more power and longer life.  The power part is pretty much fixed by the engine configuration.  The longer life part is often the luck of the draw.

Run it like you stole it if you want, just don't put it to bed hot.