Engine Break In By DrRocco (Read 2,926 times)

[DrRocco]

I'm sorry to do this guys.  I'm certain there is a good discussion somewhere around here on engine break-in procedure, but I can't find it.  Can you either send me a link to it or let me know the best way to go about it?  Thanks!

[twowheeler]

Simply start it up and it will break! (or so LUKE says)

Just ride it normal but dont redline it for a hundred miles or so. Vary the speed. Take off steady then let off. Do that a few times and then let it cool down. Do it again. Change the oil.

[kz1000st]

My manual said not to exceed 60 kph (38 mph) for 1,000 miles. I vote for that. Chinese engines are very tight. You won't believe the change over that time.

[cyborg]

i'm with easy breakin myself

[cyborg]

Oh and i forgot to add,,,,,Fu(k luke,,,and the horse he rode in on,,,,,just sayin

[DrRocco]

I appreciate the insight guys, I really do. I don't want to sound like an unappreciative smart-arse, but this is what drives me nuts. I've scoured the interwebs for a definitive answer and I can't find it. Some say drive it 10 MPH for the first 50K miles. Some say drive it like you stole it from Day 1. Others say to just drive it normally. Most people come down somewhere in the middle. Perhaps it exists somewhere, but I can't find an actual qualitative analysis of how to properly break in an engine. It reminds me of how when I got a cough as a kid, my Grandad would make me eat a spoonful of Vick's because that's what his Dad did, and his Dad before him. There was no real reason why. It's just something that was done because someone said it works.

[twowheeler]

I hear that it needs to be run fairly agressively to get the rings to seat properly with clean edges. pansyfooting it wont accomplish that. I have had to scoots broken in this way and compression is tight. Doesnt use a drop of oil.

I also read that of you baby it too much then irreparable damage can be done to the piston and rings and a teardown will be in order. You might get a lot of blowby etc... You only get one chance to break it in right.

[kz1000st]

I'm sorry but that's the Motoman Break In method. There are other things at work during break in than just rings. The valves run through guides honed to four place decimals in tolerance (.0002). All the bearings have to seat and harden. Even the cam chain has to break in. I take it easy on all my bikes and haven't experienced excess oil consumption on any of them. Oh sure, if you have a brand new name brand bike with a warranty you paid for and a dealer to fix it, flog on. I watched a guy break in his Suzuki GS 1100 by doing burnouts and wheelies. "If it's going to break I want to have it happen under warranty," he said. If I'm the poor stooge who has to fix it under a parts only warranty (like most online scoots have) I'd really rather avoid the labor. Take me. Mine broke under warranty when the valve springs broke. I had to have somebody rebuild the head because he was good at it. Then I over tightened the head, cracked it and spent three years trying to find out where the oil was leaking from. Nah, easy does it Doc. Your scooter will thank you for it.

My 2 cents. Also the 60 kph is what my Owners Manual said. It actually said do it for 1800 miles. They built the bike, I take their word for it.

[cyborg]

when i was building race/hot street engines i used to do what's called heat cycling,,,i ran the engines on a stand till it reached 275 degrees,then shut it down to cool,,i used an infrared reader,,,,after about ten cycles we could run them hard but not wide open for extended periods till about 700-100 miles then it was the jokers wild after that,,,never had a failure,,,,the vespa i ran today had maybe 20 heat cycles on it,,so i ran it pretty hard today even tho the mileage is not where the factory would recommend the kind of antics i pulled today,,

[DrRocco]

Believe it or not, I've been inadvertently using your method, cyborg. I've heard of people having trouble getting this engine to start when warm, plus I'm trying to learn its personality a little. I've been heading out to the garage and firing it up on the stand, letting it warm up for 5 minutes or so, then shutting it down, doing an immediate re-start to see how it acts, then let it sit for a few hours. I've done this cycle probably 4 times in the last 24.

[Bashan]

Mar 8, 2014 19:21:16 GMT -6 cyborg said:

when i was building race/hot street engines i used to do what's called heat cycling,,,i ran the engines on a stand till it reached 275 degrees,then shut it down to cool,,i used an infrared reader,,,,after about ten cycles we could run them hard but not wide open for extended periods till about 700-100 miles then it was the jokers wild after that,,,never had a failure

Pete, I never questioned your intelligence but....well I did. But I'm humbled and I would apologize but I don't do that. Seriously, you can return the cortex nebulizer I charged you $800.00 for. Unless you think it worked? (rofl)Rich

[cyborg]

BANG !ZOOM! TO THE MOON ALICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[rockinez]

The easy answer is take it easy for the first 1k.
Don't ride at a consistent speed for long periods.
Change the oil at 300 and about 600 miles, then the factory schedule - (others will say different, but look at the oil and decide).
Resist all temptation to "get on it" or to see how fast it will go until you hit 2 or 3k.

Have fun, but put the face shield down when you smile.... keeps the bugs off the teeth.

[dan50]

I've broken in some Honda and Kawasaki road bikes. When I was a teenager, my Dad, brother and me all bought identical Honda CB750's. All 3 were broken in different.
My Dad and me broke ours in kinda normal, just riding it like I normally would gentle throttle on take off, but no hot rodding it. Once in a while I would get on the throttle but not wide open and no high revs. That bike lasted me about 12 years without any engine issues. After break-in period, I would rev this thing high and go speeding around.
My brother thought break-in meant go WOT and rev like crazy. His bike had some pretty serious issues after about 1 year. Valves went bad, rings went bad and crank bearing had to be replaced (1 broke).
My opinion on break-in, ride it normally (NO HOT RODDING), ease on the throttle (no WOT), gently go up and down in speed and change the oil after 100 miles. Change oil again at 300 miles.

[jvino]

Yeah the oil should be changed 100 to 300 miles after ridden you will be getting little savings of metal from the rings or the cylinder walls due to use and don't be alarmed that will leave metal flakes. That's why I believe it is important to change the oil 2 or 3 times during break in. Good luck and if you wan't it to last I would take the peoples advice in riding slow back of the throttle and let idle and also let it cool of for 30 minuits or so.


Good luck and be carful out there pay attention to your soroundings.