[BouncingRadical]

I’ve heard a lot of mixed opinions of breaking in an engine. My manuel says keep it under 4k rpm for 500mi and under 5k for the next 500, and change the oil at 600. The place I bought it from said run it not to roughly for two tanks then change oil. Another website I see linked to a lot says run it hard out of the box instead of being gentle at all with it. E also says to change oil after first 20mi. With so many mixed opinions I was wondering what to do? I’m more inclined to make a mix of them.

I am on a KLX250S which is a liquid cooled 4 stroke. I will post that run ragged website when I get to a computer. He has pictures of cylinders that are to good to be true imo.

[Munch]

I will say this… As far as the internet goes…. it doesn’t take much to be an expert. I can promise you this though…. no matter how you run it, if something goes wrong inside the warranty period and you did not run it the way the MOM says…. warranty will be VOID. Make sure you have all documentation of any work done.
There are tests they can/will use and comparisons from their examples they will match your condition up with. No matter what the truth is that warranty will be based off what they find…not what you know or what “slimjim5” said on the runitlikeyoustoleit.com website
As with riding the break in period the risk is yours.
I follow the break in period as closely as I can. Being an auto mechanic I have seen just about everything. Not to mention, and I meant to say something on here and now seems appropriate.
When I bought my 900 I was talking with the Service manager there. They had a customer that bought a 125 for his wife. The wife refused to ride the bike so the guy decided ( very dumbly) that he was gonna abuse the bike and blow it up, thus ignorantly thinking that Kawi would be forced to buy the bike back. So he took it out and rode it around in extreme high RPM’s overheated the engine and bent the intake valve. Now instead of taking a hit on the trade in value he is now straight up out of the whole purchase…money and bike. I got to see the head…. obviously this guy thought they wouldn’t be able to tell.
The decision is yours…. as with my safety with gear…. I would rather error on the side “safe then sorry” then to just be sorry.

*****************************************************************************************
Common sense exists!!! Problem is -if the ones around me are setting the bar
……. I am a genius!
**************************************************************

[BouncingRadical]

Yeah, I’d rather keep my warranty than drive faster sooner! I’ll probably just change my oil sooner I don’t want metal bits banging around for 600mi. Thanks for the advice

[Budd]

It is important to change your oil as directed for break in. Breaking in means that metal parts are rubbing on metal parts and you will get metal shavings in the oil. If you are looking for alternate methods, I would google motoman’s breake in method.

“I am the best there is at what I do, and what I do ain’t nice.”-Wolverine

[Clay Dowling]

I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that the guys who designed the engine and ran all the tests on it know better than anybody else what it needs to be broken in properly. As a rule engineers understand their creations much better than joe random dude.

[BouncingRadical]

Motoman’s method is the one I refered to in the first post. His is very different from any I’ve seen, just run it hard to get the better seal from the seals. I dunno I will probably just stick to the manf method and heat cycles. I will change the oil earlier though I don’t understand why the manf wants you to go 600mi with metal shavings in the oil.

I just made 100mi today though woo! 1/5 of the way to halfway haha. I love the bike, its fantastic.

[Munch]

The “shavings” are more a very finite powder. Take a knife edge and rub it across a pencil tip and that’s pretty much what you’ll have.The travel is already free but as the cylinders heat up the swelling causes a slow “rub” effect until everything is flush. Not like your skinning anything. The metal in there is not big enough in small amounts to hurt alot but let it build up over time and it can seal oil ports and other areas.
Good example to see what I am talking about… if you have a GM car… drop the oil plug out, they are magnetized…most of em…to catch the “metal powder” as it passes by. There is also a magnet in the bottom of your automatic transmission pans to do the same thing.

*****************************************************************************************
Common sense exists!!! Problem is -if the ones around me are setting the bar
……. I am a genius!
**************************************************************

[megaspaz]

I’d gather motorcycle manufacturer’s recommended break in hasn’t kept pace with the improvements in manufacturing. The ninja’s break in, for example, hasn’t changed since 1982. It’s up to you how you wanna break in your bike. I, myself, used a hybrid break in for both the sv and the duc. I follow the manufacturer’s break in for the first 500 miles, change the oil, and then ride the bike the way i plan to ride it. Babying the bike initially probably helps from early deformaties in engine parts that might occur running it hot right off the bat. But with newer generation bikes, I’d fathom to guess that the bike’s engine should pretty much be broken in by the first 500-600 miles.

[Munch]

That reflects what the V500 MoM says and the 900 also I believe. It gives lower speeds for your shift points for the first 500-600 miles then recommends you go to a qualified mechanic to have any adjustments made and the oil change, then resume normal riding practices at a regular shifting interval.

[Author]

Posts