BREAK IN

[jimbemotumbo]

Just ride the damn thing. Make sure there is something resembling oil inside. Change it once in awhile. If something falls off, put it back on.

Word.

 

[FJR_pig]

Geez, I'm picking up my bike on Saturday and just reading this and trying to decide what I should do is giving me one heckavah headache... :blink:

 

[charismaticmegafauna]

Struth -- it's a tough place to be. I've been told that in Europe, rich "Burgers" hire a mechanic to perform the break-in for them. Usually, a 7 series Bimmer or similar Merc -- but, the FJR may fall into the category for some? btw, I'd be glad to provide the break-in service to those who may find the concept too daunting -- for a small fee (references provided).

Of course, waiting and buying used side-steps this whole problem.....

 

[evil_henchman]

I take all that break in advice with a grain of salt, both motoman's and Yamaha's with their engineers, lawyers and accountants.

I do the Motoman break in but only because his theories fit with my own preconceptions :lol:

If you have a tight bearing etc., no amount of babying is going to help you. All you do is prolong the inevitable, hopefully till you're out of warranty hopes Yamaha. That's why as soon as I'm out of sight and earshot of the dealership it goes straight to redline with hard engine braking. If it survives it's a winner and if it fails, it's under warranty. I've been lucky so far, only winners

 

[deanz4]

guys guys i abit dont understand here... me from singapore we usually ride it slow and nv wack the bike till abt 1000km den gradually wack the bike till 3000km....

is this following the manul so is this adviserable????? or i should just wack the bike..

wat moto man means of hard ride is to wack the bike hard when u just recieved the bikey dont this give the engine a shock ??? as the bike does have not blend itsrelf to the other part yet...

pls advise me as i getting my bike soon thanks

 

[Thumperbike]

Deen, I no wacky too much untilln affer firs oil change, den purdy mush wack hard!

 

[SMC]

:blink: I did the motoman break-in on both my '05 and my '06, nary a tick or any problems.

I didn't do this lightly either as I quizzed a bunch of mechanics and race drivers (none knew each other) over a period of 8 months over from both the auto and motorcycle racing arenas.

Seemed to be a recurrent thread among many of them that manufacturers tend to go the "gentle" route due to liability reasons, not performance.

But, bottom line is do what makes you comfortable.

Many have done what Yamaha recommends and many have gone the Motoman route. I don't think anyone has suffered adverse effects.

 

[deanz4]

THANKS GUYS...

 

[chornbe]

I used to build performance car engines for street use. Good old American steel and iron. No ceramics, no "super tight tolerances", etc. I broke in every engine the same way - fully warm it up, run it like you actually intend to drive the car on the street for about 100 miles, change the oil, collect check from customer, send him on his way with instructions to come back every couple of hundred miles for the first 1000 miles to an oil change.

In 10 years of wrenching, ONE engine broke, ever, because the dunce did an 8000 RPM holeshot (on a 6500 RPM engine, mind you!)

Aside from everything else, the biggest thing about breaking in an engine is the common sense: Don't overheat the engine, don't rev it to redline in neutral (and unloaded engine run too high is called a time bomb!) and do NOT, EVER, run it hard when it's cold. There aren't too many ~550 horsepower small block chevies, driven on the street, with 110k miles on them still running fine.

I broke in my new '06 with a 100 miles of commuting, then a ~750 mile ride weekend jaunt thru' the mountains, riding it like it's actually mine - meaning, hard when necessary, lightly when just cruising. Did the first service tonight with 1100 miles on it because I honestly just didn't have the time before now. The engine's fine. It'll be fine. Simple; never beat a cold engine, and don't let it overheat, don't let the oil go too long without changes (I normally change it 2x or 3x in the first thousaid - didn't this time). Anyway... Live life, guys. The engineers know how to build these things pretty well.

Don't be one of those asshats who starts their bike and immediately revs it to 6k or higher, cold, in neutral. That's just stupid and does more damage in 2 seconds than *any* 100mph ride.

 

[Grievous Angel]

What about the poor sap who has to ride it 200 miles home from the dealer?

 

[Mogambo]

What about the poor sap who has to ride it 200 miles home from the dealer?

You'll have no problem keeping the bike within Yamaha recommended RPM's (if that's what you want to do), and going as fast as you need to go to get home. I just finished my 600 mile break in point on my second FJR (1st was an 04) and only once did I touch 4500 rpm's.

 

[tripletango]

Take the bike into the twisties and give it a good work out until you get tired. The rings will then be seated. Don't get the engine too hot. Give it a chance to cool a little between flogs. You can do 90 at 5000 rpm, that's plenty for the first 500 miles or so but keep working the bike hard.

I change oil and filter around 100 miles and then again around 1000.

My 05 is fine after a break in similar to that, 19,000 miles now and smooth as silk. My 06 is fine after chasing and passing my buddies ST1300 about 50 miles from the dealer. Did let the bike cool down though as they get a little warm when they are exercised with low mileage.

Just don't sweat the break in! Go out and have fun!

 

[Grievous Angel]

Take the bike into the twisties and give it a good work out until you get tired. The rings will then be seated. Don't get the engine too hot. Give it a chance to cool a little between flogs. You can do 90 at 5000 rpm, that's plenty for the first 500 miles or so but keep working the bike hard.I change oil and filter around 100 miles and then again around 1000.

My 05 is fine after a break in similar to that, 19,000 miles now and smooth as silk. My 06 is fine after chasing and passing my buddies ST1300 about 50 miles from the dealer. Did let the bike cool down though as they get a little warm when they are exercised with low mileage.

Just don't sweat the break in! Go out and have fun!

Thanks guys! I'm picking my bike up on Friday. I am AMPED!! A little nervous about the drive off--I've logged about 20k on bikes in the past few years, so hopefully I'll handle the slow-speed issues like an old pro. I believe the Honda Pacific Coast I had, my first bike, was heavier and more unwieldy than this thing. I demoed a Gold Wing a few years back without any issues, so hopefully I'll be able to handle it early without doing something stupid and dumping it.

 

[jestal]

I didn't do this lightly either as I quizzed a bunch of mechanics and race drivers (none knew each other) over a period of 8 months over from both the auto and motorcycle racing arenas.

Probably your worst source of good engineering information....LOL. Don't EVER assume that what works good on the race track is in the least way applicable to street use.

What about the poor sap who has to ride it 200 miles home from the dealer?

Ride the bike and quit worrying. There is absolutely no need to change the oil or do anything extreme in the first miles on the engine to "break it in" correctly. If there is any debris in the oil that is what the oil filter is far...LOL.

Not sure if we mentioned here before or not but it bears repeating that manufacturer's break in recommendations have more involved than just the engine.

No one ever talks about bedding in new brakes properly so that they work to the maximum effect and are not damaged by overinthusiatic use when brand new and not broken in.

Same for the owner....telling the owner to take it easy on a new bike is also a good way to get the owner to get the feel of the new car/bike so that there is less chance they will crash it 'trying it out" first thing. Several makers have determined a correlation between new owners/low miles and major crashes due to the owner simply not expecting the performance level the vehicle delivered.

Engines are really the least of any concern for breakin in most cases.

Brakes need a dedicated bedding in schedule to achieve high...but not too high....temeratures to eliminate comtaminants, properly burnish the rotor surface and transfer some pad material to the rotor for maximum braking effectiveness. Typically you would do about 10 or 12 hard stops from 35 or 40 to a slow roll , drive and let the brakes cool, repeat the braking schedule and repeat the cool down. This creates heat in the pads/brakes without overheating them. Doing a couple of panic stops from 80 with new brakes "to try them out" is a good way to overheat the pads since they will not be braking to maximum effectiveness. Having an owner "take it easy" for several hundred miles is another way of getting them to bed in the brakes without trying to give them a dedicated schedule to do it with. If they take it easy on the engine likely they will also take it easy on the brakes, too.

 

[Scab]

And get those new tires heated up and scuffed before you go betting your arse on them in a hard lean.

 

[kindofblue]

FWIW I followed, as best I could, HMarcs advice on break in: https://www.fjr1300.info/breakin.html
I didn't get all the way through step 4; step 3 was exciting enough for me. My arms are longer now.

Whatever- as others have pointed out, it prolly doesn't matter that much; at least thats what I've concluded after all the addition things I've read since my break in almost two years ago.

I used Yamalube 20-40 for the 25, 600 and 3000 mile oil changes- went to Rotella T Syn after that. Purrs like a kitten.

I agree with FJReady and did this modified break-in. I too didn't do step 4 as 3 had already scared the beejeesus out of me. I'd never been on a bike that powerful

Right after finishing this break-in I rode back to the dealer to change the oil and filter. I watched as they poured the oil from the drain pan into the recycle drum outside in the sun. The oil had many, many shiny bits of metal in it that glinted in the sun. I then rode home 285 miles.

When I subsequently changed the oil again at 600 miles I again looked for metal particles. Couldn't see any at all. That sold me on doing this break-in procedure B)

 

[Grievous Angel]

Right after finishing this break-in I rode back to the dealer to change the oil and filter. I watched as they poured the oil from the drain pan into the recycle drum outside in the sun. The oil had many, many shiny bits of metal in it that glinted in the sun. I then rode home 285 miles.
When I subsequently changed the oil again at 600 miles I again looked for metal particles. Couldn't see any at all. That sold me on doing this break-in procedure B)

I wonder if you saw more particles in the oil because you were "hard" on it in those virginal miles? Might one interpret those particles as "excessive wear on a new engine?" I wonder if you had ridden the bike another 30 minutes under a light load would the filter have removed all of those particles?

I'm making arrangements to change the oil after 100 miles . . that's the best I can do. I'm picking up the bike at closing time and heading 100 miles to my next destination.

I'll be taking it easy on her . . accel, decel, maybe quick, maybe slow, varied speed, let it cool off, don't crash the bike. I've heard of this motoman thing before--flogging my new bike just seems counterintuitive to me. Your results may vary.

 

[kindofblue]

Right after finishing this break-in I rode back to the dealer to change the oil and filter. I watched as they poured the oil from the drain pan into the recycle drum outside in the sun. The oil had many, many shiny bits of metal in it that glinted in the sun. I then rode home 285 miles.

When I subsequently changed the oil again at 600 miles I again looked for metal particles. Couldn't see any at all. That sold me on doing this break-in procedure B)

I wonder if you saw more particles in the oil because you were "hard" on it in those virginal miles? Might one interpret those particles as "excessive wear on a new engine?"

Possibly but don't think so. I had my 05 for 12k miles. It never burned any oil, leaked or gave me any problems. I'd rather have those metal shavings out sooner rather than later. As my grandmother used to say "to each his own said the old lady as she kissed the cow."

 

[Grievous Angel]

Possibly but don't think so. I had my 05 for 12k miles. It never burned any oil, leaked or gave me any problems. I'd rather have those metal shavings out sooner rather than later. As my grandmother used to say "to each his own said the old lady as she kissed the cow."

I would submit that your bike likely would have not burnt any oil for 12k miles if you never changed it. I'm not saying it would be good for the motor, just saying that the fact that you didn't burn oil after 12k miles probably isn't proof that the flog-it break-in method is necessarily the best approach--or that it isn't harmful.

Heck, the regular interval on Triumph/BMW is 6,000 miles. I imagine doubling that would increase wear and promote sludge, but that neglect probably wouldn't show up for tens of thousands of miles later.

Look at me . . I don't even have the bike yet and I'm already in a pissin' contest!

Thanks for the advice though.

One thought about racing engines: Formula 1 currently goes for two races on one engine. Not every engine makes it two races (not at revs of 19 and 20k). I would imagine their goals for wear and performance are significantly different than ours, who desire to buy a long term bike that will a very long service life.