Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Hey all,

what are peoples opinions on bike break in techniques?

see link, seems to make a huge difference to engine wear and even
how much true horse power your ride has compared to the factory claimed horse power output.

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm" target="_blank

cheers

I believe PhotoMike is a believer of the above philosophy.
You may find a 50/50 result between this and the factory method if this was polled - maybe edit your initial post and add a poll.



Hope I'm not lecturing Hoffy

its all a buncha crap, but my view is basically don't baby it, dont load it excessively in too high a gear (i.e. top gear at 70km/h, which is about 3krpm on my bike), dont thrash the piss out of it.and ease into it.

IMHO - change oil frequently - if new, change @ the time you get bike home regardless of km. Then @ 100-200km - then @500km. Dealer service is usually 1000km - make sure they use your oil of choice. From then on change oil @ Half recommended interval in owners manual. Oil is the cheapest part you can replace in the engine for the greatest benefit.

Have you ever seen videos of how they run it on the dyno after it comes off the line?? I doubt givin it a little wrap from new will hurt it.

oh yeah, i forgot about the frequent oil changes.

ozten wrote:Have you ever seen videos of how they run it on the dyno after it comes off the line?? I doubt givin it a little wrap from new will hurt it.

I did my apprenticeship with GMH and on my lunch break / smoko / whenever i felt like it, I used to go and wander along the Engine co production line. And yeah when they get to the end of the line engines are strapped into a jig and run to the limit to ensure everything is bolted in correctly and they work before moving on as a complete assembly to be fitted to a vehicle. Baby it if you like or flog it senseless it doesn't make too much difference. It's all down to the production tolerances on the assembly line. Imagine if you will, a motor that has been built by achieving the 10 000 perfect tolerances as created by engineers and the like Vs the engine that unfortunately gets every component that is manufactured using parts that just fit within the lowest tolerances. Easily off the production line you can get an engine that is absolutely perfect to design and performs at its optimum or you can get an engine that is close enough but quite lacking compared to what it should be. Also known as the "Friday car". Read Ben Elton to understand.

i have read both options and i opted for my own when i got my brand spanking 636, basically not hold it at constant speed, don't rev it too hard, but don't baby it. And change oil often!

just ride the fucking thing...

thats how i did it....

I hit redline at full throttle 4 km after installing new pistons and rings in the TZR. Oops, it's just too easy.

My new demo Z has just on 2600km's now - bought it with like 2550km's - its had a 1000km service,

but yea i was thinking of changing oil and filter again, just to be sure.

factory oil is 40 10 , but what sort of oil should i be putting in it now?

Synthetic? you only keep the non synthetic in for the first 500kms right?

i'll probably go with the motul half synth 40 10.

thanks

BikerBoy wrote:My new demo Z has just on 2600km's now - bought it with like 2550km's - its had a 1000km service,

but yea i was thinking of changing oil and filter again, just to be sure.

factory oil is 40 10 , but what sort of oil should i be putting in it now?

Synthetic? you only keep the non synthetic in for the first 500kms right?

i'll probably go with the motul half synth 40 10.

thanks

Being a demo, you really have no idea how its been run in.. and at 2500k's its pretty much run in. The most damage can occur in the first 500 ks... Also being a demo I would suggest its been run in similar to the mototune usa method.. ppl test riding don't care..
Its not a problem though, my previous zx10r (now Watties) was also a demo bike and at the dyno day last year with a 2 other zx10r's put out the most HP...
Anyway, change the oil and filter (as you don't know what's in it or when it was done), I'd go with a semi synthetic and then, if you want, go to a full at the 6000 service.

and check supercheap or autobanh. They both do motorcycle oils Castrol, silkolene, repsol and it may be a cheaper more convenient option to get it from them... Once you decide on an oil, try to stick with the same one...

MadKaw wrote:

BikerBoy wrote:My new demo Z has just on 2600km's now - bought it with like 2550km's - its had a 1000km service,

but yea i was thinking of changing oil and filter again, just to be sure.

factory oil is 40 10 , but what sort of oil should i be putting in it now?

Synthetic? you only keep the non synthetic in for the first 500kms right?

i'll probably go with the motul half synth 40 10.

thanks

Being a demo, you really have no idea how its been run in.. and at 2500k's its pretty much run in. The most damage can occur in the first 500 ks... Also being a demo I would suggest its been run in similar to the mototune usa method.. ppl test riding don't care..
Its not a problem though, my previous zx10r (now Watties) was also a demo bike and at the dyno day last year with a 2 other zx10r's put out the most HP...
Anyway, change the oil and filter (as you don't know what's in it or when it was done), I'd go with a semi synthetic and then, if you want, go to a full at the 6000 service.

and check supercheap or autobanh. They both do motorcycle oils Castrol, silkolene, repsol and it may be a cheaper more convenient option to get it from them... Once you decide on an oil, try to stick with the same one...

This is the whole theory of the Mototune method, but revving the engine (high, not redline)in the first 500Km the pressure builds behind the rings and helps strip any imperfections off the bore. Staying at low rpm the rings move over the imperfection and 'oval' the bore hence the higher HP of the first method. Once the 500Km is passed, back off as everything else needs bed in (suspension, bearings etc). Wether you gain a tighter engine with higher HP at the expense of other engine wear I don't know. I certainly had a play in the early stages, but even at 7500Km I still haven't found redline.

If you're looking for redline on a 10 though Mike, I'd be suggesting a visit to PI! I tend to agree with the motortune method. My bike is an ex demo, so I wouldn't mind running it on the dyno to see what it can do.

Well i was tlaking to my mate about this, he reckons if it run it too hard, you can damage the bore, but i would have thought the inside of the bore is going to have "rough" spots and the rings will just take out those rough spots and face back the bore to a smooth finish.
Wat are other peoples oppions, do you think you can do excessive damage to the bore with revving too hard in the run in stage ?