Run in period for 2008 ZX-6R

[KrAzYHaYzY]

Hey guys just a question any tips on the run in on the bike, manual sez first 800km dont go over 4000revs but that is damn near impossible my bike at 700km now any tips on running it in dont wanna break my baby. should I follow it strictly or give it a bit more cause when i finish that run in i dont wanna give it lots of revs and it just breaks any opinions would be welcome

[zx6rider]

The power on my 6 starts to come on around 8000rpm and upwards, so I would be reluctant to go beyond that for the first 800km.
I think one of the important things is to vary the revs all the time, in other words dont drive through town at 60kmh for 10 minutes at 3000 to 4000rpm, change up and down gears to keep the revs varying.

This is what I have heard anyway, I think the bike would probably be ok provided you dont stress the engine to much early on.

Correct me if I'm wrong anyone???

[fireyrob]

I think the above is spot on. I had the same issue on the Ninja 250! Trying to keep it to 4000rpm was a joke. I think youd be safe to 8000 rpm just dont overstress the engine, give the seals time to bed in and dont stay on the same rev's for extended periods of time!

[Blurr]

if you have completed 700kms you would consider the motor just about run in. Remember this bike is designed to cop more of a flogging than you probably ever going to give it no offense intended (these bike are intended to be rev'd at high rpm for long periods by intermediate to expert racers).

one way i can reccommend is this following and it is how i run my bikes in after 800kms

STEP 1. find a long straight uninhabited road free from people, cars and cops!!
STEP 2. warm up engine completely
STEP 3. accelerate down the road up to 6000rpm then back off and allow the engine braking to bring the bike back down to a slow pace.
STEP 4. accelerate down the road up to 8000rpm then back off and allow the engine braking to bring the bike back down to a slow pace.
STEP 5. accelerate down the road up to 10,000rpm then back off and allow the engine braking to bring the bike back down to a slow pace.
STEP 6. 12k then 14k ........well you get the idea right to the peak of the rev range.

now many would tell you to change the oil + filter before and after you do this as this will cause your rings and seals to fully expand therefore fully remove any imperfections from the cylinder walls which is where the metal shavings in your oil come from. So whether you change the oil initially or not ensure you do it after so all shavings are removed from your system.

good luck

[IsleofNinja]

if you have completed 700kms you would consider the motor just about run in. Remember this bike is designed to cop more of a flogging than you probably ever going to give it no offense intended (these bike are intended to be rev'd at high rpm for long periods by intermediate to expert racers).

one way i can reccommend is this following and it is how i run my bikes in after 800kms

STEP 1. find a long straight uninhabited road free from people, cars and cops!!
STEP 2. warm up engine completely
STEP 3. accelerate down the road up to 6000rpm then back off and allow the engine braking to bring the bike back down to a slow pace.
STEP 4. accelerate down the road up to 8000rpm then back off and allow the engine braking to bring the bike back down to a slow pace.
STEP 5. accelerate down the road up to 10,000rpm then back off and allow the engine braking to bring the bike back down to a slow pace.
STEP 6. 12k then 14k ........well you get the idea right to the peak of the rev range.

now many would tell you to change the oil + filter before and after you do this as this will cause your rings and seals to fully expand therefore fully remove any imperfections from the cylinder walls which is where the metal shavings in your oil come from. So whether you change the oil initially or not ensure you do it after so all shavings are removed from your system.

good luck

Only thing I'd add here is that up to around 500km I'd repeat step 3 as many times as I could, then to step 4 four or so times , then 5 and so on........

NEVER idle the bike / run in neutral for any longer than absolutely necessary.
NEVER redline the bike for at least the 1st 1000km [at which point you should change oil and filter]
NEVER 'lug' the motor in too high a gear.
NEVER run a fully synthetic oil for at least 5000km
GENTLY does it on the clutch and gear changes for at least 1000km
Hills are your best friend with a new bike - just keep a close eye on your temp gauge.

Do it properly and you'll have a 'freak' bike that just seems to be so much snappier and pull harder than most similar bikes.

[grunge]

Hmm... so many opinions... and here's mine:

When I got my zx6, the shop said not to be stupid with it, and push it high for too long.
I read the manual and it said the same thing, not to go above 4000 revs... and did try to do that.. but at times I went to about 6ish and 7 and even 8.
I think the key is not to keep it at those revs. "Touching" those rev points should be okay.

When I spoke to the store regarding this, they told me it was because the initial oils that they put in the bike before the first 1000KM service is actually thinner, the reason being what Blurr mentioned about imperfections off the cylinder walls coming off as metal shavings....

Anyhoo, just so you know after getting used to changing at 4-6K revs, it does take a bit to get used to being able to rev it up high... LOL.

[BikerBoy]

just smash it to redline

Engines don't come from the factory without being tested, and they do redline them right off the assembly
line to test them, so your engine has already being beaten in.

they recommend those 'break in' rpm limits, just in case someone forgot to add add a critical screw or bolt, better that
something fails at 3000 rpm speeds than 12,000 rpm speeds.

google motorcycle break in.

[Saki]

I put so much research into this when i bought my brand spanker 06 636. I read so many different articles on how to do it. So really i had a good long hard think and made up my own idea (which is prob same as someone elses anyway)

But some reviews say take it really easy like the manual. Others say thrash it to the boards.
A few things to consider are this.

1. Metal crafting now days is obviously alot more advanced than several years ago. This being said, many of the cutting tools used are able to get the components to very fine measurements and basically have a "perfect" fit. So the theory that you have to be gentle due to engine parts rubbing and wearing is a bit flawed because of the precious in the parts.

2. The idea to running an engine in mostly is the seat the oil rings. So a good idea is to not sit at 1 stationary amount of RPM, but to vary it greatly. The idea is to get engine load/vacuum on the rings so they seat properly and create a correct seal.
An article i read talked about snow-mobiles. There is alot of temptation for people when they buy them and get them home to start them up and give htem a rev. Problem is, if you run the engine without load/vacuum there is no resistance on the rings and they will not seat properly. So that in turn will be very bad for your engine.

3. Now days most engines will come pre-runin from Factory. I remember speaking to a chap who worked for GM on the assembly line and he said the last stage of the motors life is they had it running and have it revving its head off momentarily to ensure nothing was wrong.
I could only assume the same would go for most other brands. Many of the engines would be pre runin.

So the few steps i followed was;
* Very first ride is THE MOST important part of the engines life. So if you are leaving the dealership, give it a few minutes to run to let the oil warm up.
* Dont be too soft, or too hard, on the revs. If you baby it and granny it then you aren't getting the load/vacuum you require. Where as if you push it a little to hard IF (i stress the term IF) there is something loose, etc etc in the motor it could cause problems. So just sit middle of hte road!
* First oil change at 20km! then Change oil every 50kms for the first 200km's. This isn't so important but it doesnt hurt to be over caring. The reason being is, you have an oil filter which will obivously filter any fine parts. But if you change the oil after the first 20kms it will help remove a portion of these parts! Then a few more changes up till 200kms will just ensure nothing nasty is floating around!
This comes back to the precious machining of parts. Most things will be cut preciously and this is not really required but it never hurts to be too careful! Nothing is perfect.
* Get the 1,000km service done! The motor will have runin oil and reason being is the lack of super protective components. You want the engine to get some wear to run in,
* Synthetic oil after 10,000. This i have debated with alot of people and a personal preference. Most engines are pretty well run in after the first 1,000km service. But the engine iwll still be fresh and metals will still be sensetive to the heat and cooling so using a mineral oil give hte motor time to set.

I personally put synthetic in at 10,000 kms and noticed a huge change in the bikes performance. I had my 636 dyno'd from follwoing my own guide and the mechanic said it was pretty much spot on to the correct amount of power that model should have!

End of the day, everyone will have there own oppion so follow which ever guide or ideas you have! But i am sticking to mine cause i have proved that it worked!

my 2c!

[IsleofNinja]

just smash it to redline

Engines don't come from the factory without being tested, and they do redline them right off the assembly
line to test them, so your engine has already being beaten in.

they recommend those 'break in' rpm limits, just in case someone forgot to add add a critical screw or bolt, better that
something fails at 3000 rpm speeds than 12,000 rpm speeds.

google motorcycle break in.

As I said , DO NOT baby it early in life or you'll have a slug (comparatively) for the rest of it's life.Saki is on the right track also but to correct , it's the COMPRESSION rings particularly the top ring which relies on combustion pressure acting on the back side of the ring to force it against the cylinder wall creating the seal NOT ring tension so much as many people believe!! Secondly , as the engine RPM's increase , the con' rods , pistons and to some extent valves actually 'stretch' as they suddenly change direction at the end of the stroke.
The significance of this in that if you were to 'baby' the motor the rings never reach their proper maximum limits nor do the compression rings properly seal against the cylinder walls!!

If you DO fang the ass of it too early all you will do is open the door for galling and heat distortion of bores , valve heads etc and potentially cause a lot of undue wear to many critical engine components!!
The biggest killer of a new engine and cog box is HEAT more so than load / RPM!! This is why you take it up the rev range and allow the bike / car / truck /whatever to coast back down to gently and evenly distribute / dissipate localised 'hot spots'.

Localised overheating (which may well NOT register on your temp gauge) is caused by tight clearances and excessive / prolonged high RPM!!
Now I don't think there are too many folks on this forum with a belly tanker or similar complete with oil temp / pressure readings , oil cooler temp , coolant temp and /or a data logger etc etc etc.... All we all rely on is a simple idiot light and a single temp sender unit!!


Facts;
-These days almost all vehicle manufacturers do a pre delivery engine 'stress' test - This is only for a few seconds normally and if bits were gonna fall off this would be a good time rather than on the road! It's basically to make sure it runs on all cylinders , is responsive , has oil pressure , no rattles/bangs/knocks etc.
This is done in neutral NOT under load generally.
-The longer you keep the RPM's low on a new bike the less chance you'll be marching back though the dealer's door demanding warranty!!
-There are NO shavings from the rings or cylinder bores during run in as such!!! If you got shavings , you got a BLOWN ENGINE!!!
[most 'shavings come from gearbox teeth,oil pump drives etc NOT bores]anyone heard of 'Nikasil' / chromed bores in the KX's etc??


Now I could go on and on here but I'll lose most people and bore the rest shitless!!
Point being we can guess all we like and listen to all manner of garble but 90% is pure speculation loosely based on fact!!

Without trying to sound like a wanker, I have been building performance and racing engines for both 2 and 4 stroke motorcycles for about 25 years. In that time I have also spent a hell of a lot of time with some of Oz's fastest road vehicles including Sprinters , super saloons , most drag racing catagories yaadda yaadda!!

Basically I've seen the guts of a LOT of different engines and built some pretty tough runners in my time. I have absolutely no reason to bullshit anyone here as I have absolutely NOTHING to gain by it!
What I have written on these posts is based on my experience same as 'Strika' or 'Wattie' for example may impart their knowledge on cornering techniques or 'Dave suspension set ups etc etc.

Hey I don't know every farkin thing but I'll happily advise / assist fello KSRCians who have had an ear full of bullshit by some squeezer trying to stroke their ego or relieve ya's of your hard earned cash if I can!!


Ps; When I get my arse over your way I'll need some of you buggers to show me how to to do REAL corners again!!! ie Track days


'

[hoffy]

Use it as the Manufacturer intended during and after the wear in process, and you will have no problems

[Wattie]

my bike was a shop demo,

and it eats 08 10r's for breakfast

[Glen]

Without trying to sound like a wanker, '

Now mate c'mon you don't need to try to sound like a wanker.......

Just kidding.... Good explanation of what happens. So i presume your saying to take it easy, probably not as easy as the manual says but vary it around a lot and give it the odd run up through the rev range without thrashing it.

Question for you on oils . Whats the real deal on Synthetic Oils. I've heard varying points of view from you shouldn't run it until x klm's, I've also heard you shouldn't change it too early etc. I've had full synthetic in mine from 6000klm's and I chhnge it every 3000.

[KrAzYHaYzY]

Cheers for all the replys guys, so what Ive done is looked at all the information that has been given, and I now have a better Idea of running my bike in. I think a lot of good advise is in there and thank you for that, shit thing is its been raining here non stop so I havent even had a chance to get on my bike. But when I do I will definitely be varying the revs on the bike a bit more and stop babying it to the extent i have been, but not over work it cheers guys really appreciate it

[Saki]

ahhhh reading all this takes me back to the days of the brand new bike and the smell and feeling! Oh i think new bike might be in order very soon!

[Slow and wobbly]

See above

Well said.

See above

Well said.

If you follow the owners manual you cant go wrong. If you follow what is being said from these fellas above you cant go wrong. The Engineers at Kawasaki advise being gentle because they have mixed faith in those assembling and creating what they designed to meet the exacting tolerances they demand and hence they errrr on the side of caution. The advice offered above allows for gentle bedding in without stressing components that are all still getting to know each other and there is important heat cycling taking place also. Dis-similar metals expand and contract at different rates and by allowing them to do this under "normal" operating temperatures and loads it allows them to bed themselves in and become acquainted with their mating surfaces.

Saki I used to work at Fishermans Bend and I saw the final stage of the HEC engine line where a newly built engine was strapped in to the jig and flogged unmercifully from cold for 2mins for exactly the reason stated - Just in case something wasn't assembled correctly it would fail there and then. Makes me smile to see the care new owners go to in carefully running in a new vehicle knowing they have already been flogged before leaving the factory. No Reason Kawasaki, Honda, Audi, Mercedes, or Skoda would be any different but it is worthwhile spending the time to ensure whilst it is in your care that it is done properly.