Which Break In Method For You?

[MotoMike]

We all know the manufacturer's recommended procedure. 600 miles, no constant speed, go up and down through the gears, etc.
And then there are those that insist that method encourages improperly bedded rings with premature compression and blowby issues to appear later on down the road.
And those folks are the ones that usually tout the 'dyno break-in' or something similar.
1. Get the engine up to operating temp
2. Run it up through the gears up to 60 per and back down again.
3. Let it idle for a minute to stabilize temps
4. Shutdown and let cool completely
5. Repeat steps 1-4 twice more. Heat and cool cycling is key.
6. Start, let oil press. stabilize
7. Run hard up through gears to redline as fast as you can shift.
8. Steps 3-4.
Anything internal that had improper clearances or torquing will have reared its head at this point and rings and valves will be firmly bedded in their sleeves and seats. Engines broken in with this technique typically will make more power and less blowby/leakdown.
Lets Go Racing!!
I bought an '87 5.0 H.O. Mustang LX from Cal Worthington when they first came out. It was a demo model that had been flogged repeatedly on test drives by different drivers. To say it had a hard 'cycling' break-in would be an understatement. That car in stock form would do 150mph, and would pull away from buddies five-o's that were stock as well. I put 125,000 HARD miles on that car, a lot of it a 1/4 mile at a time, ran a full syn oil from break-in. Changed every 3k with a double filter change.
The conn rod bolts finally stretched from being banged against the limiter 10 zillion times, the only weak link in this motor. We tore that motor apart and found ZERO wear, everything a nice golden hue, no carbon.
Im not saying Im breaking in MY B this way......

[Fla_rider]

Ride it like you stole it! 'riding'

[Maddoggie501]

Im sure there are a million opinions. I just ride it like I normally ride. Don't lug it and don't baby it.

[BadDawg]

The dealer told me to keep it under 60 for the first 100 miles. I live 6 miles from the dealer so I took a long cut home. Took it on 80 miles of back road and then cut over to the freeway. Hit 80 by the end of the on ramp. Held it at 100 until for a mile until I saw the cop running radar at the next ramp. Decelerate as well as it accelerates. Apparently I had the stealth function on he never batted an eye
Unfourtunaly I wasn't wearing my depends. I might have pissed myself a little bit.

[wjduke]

I didn't do anything special besides take it easy for a bit. After a couple hundred miles, I started to ride like I always do. My friend with an Indian had an elaborate procedure similar to the write up. Don't go over 60, go up and down the gears and don't stay at a steady speed....then take it in for a 500 mile oil change. After that, he could let it rip. None of that nonsense here!

[Dave Ritsema]

We all know the manufacturer's recommended procedure. 600 miles, no constant speed, go up and down through the gears, etc.


Thats pretty much what my dealer recommended and I did that on both of my new Wings. I am guessing you would really have to abuse them to make a significant negative impact on them. I do 1000 mile oil changes on my new stuff just in case there is some left over casting sand, etc. The dealer was quite adamant that I not switch to full synthetic until 4000 miles in order that everything can wear in properly.

[Old Ryder]

I bought mine from a dealer in Maryland---so my "break in" was 350 miles of I-95. You don't have to be a math professor to figure out what I did (and that was just to stay alive to get home)

[JackB]

Of all the new Goldwings and new owners everyone's broken in differently and they all seen to last forever. But I also listen to what my dearer told me.
Just ride and smile.🏍🏍🤓😍🤗😎

[seadog]

I will tell you, the break in period is 5 second in first gear and after that you ride it like you stole it and the cops are chasing you. I have done the break in on every motorcycle I have owned in that fashion and not one has failed or start burning oil. You do what you like but if its going to break it will do it immediately not after the warranty runs out. Never had a problem and this is the 8th motorcycle I have owned.

[wjduke]

This is my opinion only

The dealer is out to make money. The manufacturer doesn't want warranty issues. I'll listen to the manufacturer.

I did my first oil change at 2,900 miles, ahead of manufacturer interval, and I'll do my changes around 7,000, ahead of the interval. All documented. Any problems from that and the manufacturer has an issue.

[willtill]

Dont they run these engines up at the factory, when they are tuning them and checking them?

Tolerances are rumored to be right on modern day engines, that I think most of the scuffing/seating/mating of surfaces has already been done...?

[pilotguy299]

At the beginning I just took it easy and didn't hammer it. At 1,000 miles I took it in to the dealer for the first oil change to synthetic, and have ridden it a bit more aggressively ever since :)

Should be up for the 4,000 mile service in about 3 weeks ;)

[seadog]

Thats pretty much what my dealer recommended and I did that on both of my new Wings. I am guessing you would really have to abuse them to make a significant negative impact on them. I do 1000 mile oil changes on my new stuff just in case there is some left over casting sand, etc. The dealer was quite adamant that I not switch to full synthetic until 4000 miles in order that everything can wear in properly.

You can go to full synthetic right from the git go as these bikes these days are so close to tolerances that it really doesn't matter. Any oil expert will tell you the same thing.

[BIGLRY]

Ride it like you stole it! 'riding'Yep... that is the way I have broken in all my modern bikes, even my turbo engines and have never had any problems, but not any of my past H-D they puked oil after a few miles when broke in that way.:icon_lol:

[pilotguy299]

You can go to full synthetic right from the git go as these bikes these days are so close to tolerances that it really doesn't matter. Any oil expert will tell you the same thing.

my dealer recommended coming in at 1,000 and going synthetic.

[Felloverboard]

I think the old break-in periods of past decades are not the same as engines built today with closer tolerance and harder metals. Engines in cars used to be shot at 90-100,000 miles, not 300,000 plus. I bought my bike in Mississippi. Rode around the small town 10 minutes going through the gears, took the county road from there about 100 miles to the interstate. Slowed going through the gears downshifting to a stop at a gas station to fill up. Back to speed on the interstate varying 55-75 mph and stopping & starting every 90 minutes or so for gas till I arrived back in Orlando, FL. That first day ride was 700 miles. 19K on the bike now and all it needs is for Honda to give me a new paint job on the black soft paint that scratches easily. I did change oil at 1,000 miles not the 4,000 in the book and at every 5k mark since. Sometimes with Rotella dino and sometimes Rotella Syn. Purolator L14610 (longer) or L14612 (shorter) oil filters. Walmart quit selling these but have started selling the SuperTech ST6607 (shorter) again which has been the #1 filter alternative for most of the Full GW owners for many years.

[shooter]

50 mile ride home the day I bought it. My brother in law took me to pick her up. Had it up to 110 on the way home. Didn't redline any of the gears. That's taking it easy. Next day started riding it hard.

[stroguy]

I didn't see any published breakin recommendation. So I drove her hard the day I picked her up.

[Steve 0080]

Climb on, sink steel, ride off.....

[BIGLRY]

I know I made a smart ass post above about breaking in a new bike engine or any engine for that matter, but I though I'd expand on it a bit with a link to an article that explains why I said "Ride it like you stole it" for guys & gals who don't know all about the intricacies of an internal combustion engine and would rather ride their scoot than work on them.
I have been a firm believer for many years in what the article's writer, Pat McGivern exposés as how to do and why his method works. The author has built many engines with empirical evidence that this method produces long life engines with superior performance. I to over the years have build many engines...stock and some not so stock. I use and recommend his methods, my VTX1800s, Runes, F6B were broke in this way and not only does my F6B runs flawlessly, IMHO I feel it is a cut above some other F6B I've run against in the power dept. Yea... I do have an open custom exhaust & Torq Loopz).:shhh:
Even if you disagree it is still a good read with logical explanations to the science behind this engine break in procedure.
Example: "The piston ring seal is really what the break in process is all about. Contrary to popular belief, piston rings don't seal the combustion pressure by spring tension. Ring tension is necessary only to "scrape" the oil to prevent it from entering the combustion chamber.
If you think about it, the ring exerts maybe 5-10 lbs of spring tension against the cylinder wall ...
How can such a small amount of spring tension seal against thousands of PSI (Pounds Per Square Inch) of combustion pressure??
Of course it can't.

How Do Rings Seal Against Tremendous Combustion Pressure?
From the actual gas pressure itself! It passes over the top of the ring, and gets behind it to force it outward against the cylinder wall. The problem is that new rings are far from perfect and they must be worn in quite a bit in order to completely seal all the way around the bore. If the gas pressure is strong enough during the engine's first miles of operation (open that throttle !!!), then the entire ring will wear into the cylinder surface, to seal the combustion pressure as well as possible."

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

[Dave Ritsema]

If you think about it, the ring exerts maybe 5-10 lbs of spring tension against the cylinder wall ...
How can such a small amount of spring tension seal against thousands of PSI (Pounds Per Square Inch) of combustion pressure??
Of course it can't.

I had read that article before, the author lost all credibility with me with the "Thousands of PSI " of combustion chamber pressure statement. More like 160 - 180 PSI?

[stroguy]

How much pressure is generated on the piston head upon detonation?

[willtill]

How much pressure is generated on the piston head upon detonation?

If you have detonation; you have bigger problems.

[BIGLRY]

If you think about it, the ring exerts maybe 5-10 lbs of spring tension against the cylinder wall ...
How can such a small amount of spring tension seal against thousands of PSI (Pounds Per Square Inch) of combustion pressure??
Of course it can't.

I had read that article before, the author lost all credibility with me with the "Thousands of PSI " of combustion chamber pressure statement. More like 160 - 180 PSI?
Ah contraire my friend, while it is true the compression of the cylinder may be 160 to 180 PSI when turning over an engine not running like when doing a compression check, but when an engine is running and the air & fuel mix are being detonated in a controlled explosion to make power to push the piston down the combustion pressures do rise much higher that the "160 to 180 PSI" found in a non-running engine's compression.:icon_wink:

"Combustion / Expansion Stroke
This stroke is where the spark plug ignites the air/fuel mixture, creating very high cylinder pressure which rise very quickly. Peak cylinder pressures near TDC (where spark occurs) will be in the range of 300 psi for engine's at light loads, to 1000 psi for production engines at full power to 1500 psi or greater for race engines."
http://performancetrends.com/Definitions/Cylinder-Pressure.htm

Here is a quote from http://mb-soft.com/public2/engine.html about the compression pressures on a 4" aluminum piston, the article is a long read so I only put in info pertaining to our thread.:icon_lol:
"Since the piston is 4" in diameter, the top surface of it is just PI * (4/2)2 or around 12.6 square inches. Each of those square inches experiences the 500 PSI(G) pressure (Pascal's Law), so the total force then instantaneously applied to the top of the piston is 12.6 * 500 or around 6300 pounds. (OK. It is ACTUALLY the 515 PSIA, but there is natural air pressure pressing against the UNDERSIDE of the piston as well, so the NET effect we are interested in is due to the GAUGE pressure. Not too different, but slightly!) But those aluminum alloy pistons in your engine are pretty amazing in being subject the 6300-pound force of hundreds of explosions pounding down on them every minute!

[BIGLRY]

How much pressure is generated on the piston head upon detonation?
See post above:lolup:

[BIGLRY]

If you have detonation; you have bigger problems.Very true and why normal combustion is sometimes referred to as a 'controlled explosion' while "detonation" is an 'uncontrolled explosion' and pre detonation is an 'uncontrolled explosion' igniting the air/fuel mix before it is suppose to!
http://student-pilots.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/detonation.gif

[stroguy]

Larry said contraire.

[BIGLRY]

Larry said contraire.My bad... I should have said Au contraire instead of "Ah contraire". :icon_mrgreen:

[Dave Ritsema]

My bad... I should have said Au contraire instead of "Ah contraire". :icon_mrgreen:

LOL Good discussion.:yes:

[BIGLRY]

LOL Good discussion.:yes:http://images.clipartpanda.com/smiley-face-thumbs-up-Smiley-face-with-thumbs-up.jpg

[MotoMike]

Well, there you have it. My next ride is going to be a WHOLE lot different!!

[MotoMike]

Went for 2nd ride yesterday with 104 miles on the clock.
Second I left the driveway I pulled out my owners manual and turned to the page with the factory break-in procedure--and tore the page out.
Performed the Pat McGivern/BIGLRY patently endorsed procedure to Vegas and back.
All I can say is wow. My baby got her reins slipped and she made me a very impressed vaquero.:lolup:

[broncsrule21]

I had to see what she felt like at 100mph (less than a mile from the steelership). Smooth as glass. I subscribe to ride it like you will normally use it. For me, that is slightly aggressive...batman-smilie.

BTW the bike was fully warmed up. Took about 10min for the salesman to give me my "walk-around".

[wiggy]

Thats pretty much what my dealer recommended and I did that on both of my new Wings. I am guessing you would really have to abuse them to make a significant negative impact on them. I do 1000 mile oil changes on my new stuff just in case there is some left over casting sand, etc. The dealer was quite adamant that I not switch to full synthetic until 4000 miles in order that everything can wear in properly.

Dave, I highly respect your opinions, but I'm not sure about that 4000 mile till full synthetic one. Don't Corvettes and many other performance cars come right from the factory with full synthetic? My Subaru Forester even came with full synthetic.

Hoping you're loving the new Wing!

[shooter]

You're right Wiggy. Engines are built with such tight and precise tolerances that a lot of engines come with synthetic as a factory fill. Years ago manufacturers used to recommend 1000 miles before switching over. I changed my B over to Mobil 1 at 500 miles. Same on my 109.

[BIGLRY]

You're right Wiggy. Engines are built with such tight and precise tolerances that a lot of engines come with synthetic as a factory fill. Years ago manufacturers used to recommend 1000 miles before switching over. I changed my B over to Mobil 1 at 500 miles. Same on my 109.
Now I know I'm dating myself, but I remember when for a new engine the recommendation was to use a non-detergent oil till the first oil change then switch over to a detergent oil..... I suspect not may of the young whippersnappers today have ever heard of it. Like turn signals which became mandatory around the US in 1957 oil filters were an option on early cage engines. I have a 1954 five window Chev 1/4 ton truck I'm restoring with the first 235ci six with insert rod bearings and it did not come with an oil filter it was added by the dealer when my grandmother bought the truck new.

https://www.fillingstation.com/articles/earlyengineoil.htm

When early engines (prior to 1954) were new, oil filters were an accessory item and non-detergent oil was the type of oil used. Original, unrestored engines have most likely been run on non-detergent oil. If you are running an early unrestored engine that is not spotlessly clean internally, it is imperative to continue to run it on non-detergent oil. Otherwise there is the risk of damage to the engine. Non-detergent oil was used before oil filters became standard equipment. This type of oil would "stick" contaminants to the sidewalls and valleys of the engine to prevent dirty oil from damaging bearing surfaces.

Engines that have been run on non-detergent oil for many years will have a thick "sludge" buildup. Sludge will appear to be oil that has turned to gelatin except that it will be very black with contaminants. Using detergent oil in an engine that had been running non-detergent oil would allow these contaminants to be released to flow through the engine. This could result in serious damage to the rod, main and cam bearings as well as other engine components such as lifters and plugging of oil lines. After an engine has been rebuilt or thoroughly cleaned, use straight grade 30 WT or multi-grade 10-30 or 10-40 WT detergent oil to keep the engine clean. Early oil filters only filtered a small portion of the oil flowing through the engine. Unlike modern, full flow filters, these add-on filters are more of a decoration than real protection for the engine. Even if your engine does not have an oil filter, the number of miles a vintage car is driven is much less than when these cars were new. The simple solution is to change your oil more often. Every 500 miles or a minimum of once per year is a good rule of thumb.

[shooter]

Larry , back in the early sixties when my Dad was rebuilding a lot of engines I can remember when he pulled the valve covers off sometimes there would be a "sludge" valve cover underneath.

[Old Ryder]

Larry , back in the early sixties when my Dad was rebuilding a lot of engines I can remember when he pulled the valve covers off sometimes there would be a "sludge" valve cover underneath.

Sounds like he used Quaker State motor oil. :stirthepot: It was notorious for that back in the 60-80s. :icon_biggrin: