Breaking in a bike engine

I normally do what the manufacturer says but this guy goes as far as dismissing it as one of the worst ways to run an engine in. His theory kind of makes sense although I'm no mechanic/engineer.
 
Its a good method, I would avoid high revs but certainly load the engine to help force those piston rings in.
 
I would discount it wholly on the fact all the text is centered and it looks like a get rich quick website.

I'm sure engines are checked and bedded in to some degree before being fitted on the modern production line. I have seen a lot of people mention not to pussy foot around and use the full rev range that is safe but I'd rather believe the manufacturers who invest millions in development and research than someone who wrote book once.
 
Ahhh this old chestnut.

Theres been loads of discussion in bike forums about this and it`s usually accepted that a hard break in method is better for the bike.
Generally, even dealers tell you to just ride like you normally do, dont over rev it and alternate your revs and gears as much as possible.
 
Yeah, my Kawasaki dealer (an ex isle of man racer) told me yojust ride normally and ignore the manual. No problems here, admittedly only 2000 miles later, but as far as I know they are bench rubin the factories first anyway.

Engines tend to be the last things to die on bike so I wouldn't, and didn't, worry about it
 
I have to agree with them.

When I first got my 80cc bike, it seemed to run amazingly well, even though I raked the dung out of it.

Then I had to get a replacement barrel and piston etc, and I followed my dads advice and drove it slowly and smoothly etc etc. and I noticed I had MUCH less top end power (its noticeable on a little bike).

Any MX rider I know say the same thing.

Also at the bottom of his page he says "smaller intake ports increase power" I think that's B.S, if they are correctly shaped, that is the best way to get power, not just "make them smaller"; of course I have no experience with 4T engines.......
 
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We run in several engines a week and most the run in procedures are hard.

I quite like our BMW diesel engine run in procedure, the rings are pretty hard and so to get oil consumption down (a sign of how well the pistons bed in) we run first run 2x 15min bed in cycles and then for 30 hours it is ran at 4000rpm, 100% load. Every 10 mins the engine drops down to 1500 to let the turbo vanes move.

Sometimes we have to run it twice as the rings still haven't bedded in
 
Reppyboyo said:
Ahhh this old chestnut.

Theres been loads of discussion in bike forums about this and it`s usually accepted that a hard break in method is better for the bike.
Generally, even dealers tell you to just ride like you normally do, dont over rev it and alternate your revs and gears as much as possible.
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its not better for the bike, it just means the bike gives its max power after say 1.5k instead of 4k(most dont want to wait for the engine to bed in) and as most dont keep them past the first MOT there not the one to see any engine problems from worn parts from not being run in
 
Janesy B said:
Do whatever the manufacturer says to run it in, i'd be skeptical about these so call experts
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manufacturers have to provide a warrenty so i doubt they can trust regular joe with a hard running in. also they have things like "1 litre of oil consumption per 1000 miles is acceptable" in the handbook

my 200k mile old golf, with a couple bad leaks doesnt even consume that much oil
 
My r6 was broken in after being well warmed then absolutely thrashed. had it as a road bike for 2 years, then track bike for 2. never missed a beat or used oil, and it makes very very good power! definitely the best way to break in! it got harder use than any bike on this forum I'd imagine and I have never had an issue. its upto 14.5k miles now on the clock, bearing in mind theres about 4-5k of track miles between 10krpm and 16k at all times, and the road miles were a bit silly (I was 19).
 
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Oakesy2001uk said:
My r6 was broken in after being well warmed then absolutely thrashed. had it as a road bike for 2 years, then track bike for 2. never missed a beat or used oil, and it makes very very good power! definitely the best way to break in! it got harder use than any bike on this forum I'd imagine and I have never had an issue. its upto 14.5k miles now on the clock, bearing in mind theres about 4-5k of track miles between 10krpm and 16k at all times, and the road miles were a bit silly (I was 19).
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When you say warmed up, do you mean left to warm up on idle or ridden for 15 mins, etc before hammering it? What's the best way to warm up to the "required" amount?
 
Most of the guys i know that run race engines certainly at UK Club level thrash the engines as soon as they are warmed normally, on a brand new engine the main importance is on using as much sharp engine braking as possible.

Hard acceleration without too much redline, and then sharp deceleration using as much engine braking as possible.

That being said given the time allowances for getting an engine run in for racing, most would do it on the dyno anyway so there is no need for using brake, lots of gear changes and lots of throttle (on and off) and then an oil change after around 250 miles.

As far as road bikes go, my last new one i rode out of the showroom and as advised by the dealer rode it like i had stolen it, at the first service some 600 miles later the tolerances were checked and everything was fine, by the 3rd service at 12000 miles (although i was changing the oil every 3000 anyway) it was still putting out the right amount of power.

Engine run in as far as manufacturers are concerned are a safety net, just to make sure they dont overload themselves with warranty claims, lets face it most engines these days have an rpm limit that is set by the management systems, it doesnt mean that is the safe rpm limit of the engine however as most can handle at least another 1000-2000 rpm safely :)
 
if/when i get round to putting a rebuilt engine in mine its going to get the murder treatment too. it makes perfect sense to me
 
Also, just sitting and letting the car warm up to idle is a good way to wreck it, you need to put it under load from word go... that does not mean rag the t!ts off it cold.
 
haha no joke, but spend time checking bolts and stuff after 1000 miles, my boss got a brand new ZX6R last year and found lots of bolts loose and some missing :o
 
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