Running in?

OK, so I've just picked up the K8, said goodbye to my CBF250, and put the first 15miles on the clock...

The dealership said to keep the bike at about half revs for the first 500miles. What do you all think........?

Just loving the torque..................

Two schools of thought on this from what I have seen.

Some say redline it straight out of the crate, others say run it in according to the manual.

I ran mine in following the manual...under 5k for the first 600miles, under 8.5k upto 1000miles.

+1 you could hammer it every gear from new or do what the manual says.

you would probley be best doing it the way they say then you should not have any problems!

A tale of caution:

My dad knows of a bloke who brought a brand new ZX6r (this was years ago, before they slimed down). He hammered it right out of the crate. Engine broke.

He got given another bike, as the dealership never asked about how he treated the bike, instead thihnking it must have had some major fault.

Again, the bloke redlined it from new.

It broke.

The dealership thought this was dodgy; asked how he ran it in. He was honest. And had to pay for the next bike.

Personally, I would run in by the book, but every now and then take it just over the recoomened limit - but at least wait a few hundred miles of good running. Run it in by doing good long runs ; not short piddly things. My uncle once did the first load of miles on this zx6r (in 1997!) by going round the M25 a few times!

Happy riding

Matt

[embee]

Loads of threads on this, but FWIW here's one post I put up.....(I have been in engine design/development for about 30yrs)

This is another topic where too many times people talk in terms of black and white - bee too gentle vs thrash it.

Break-in is a progressive process and should be done correctly, end of.

Sliding speed is the critical issue for the first phase of piston/liner interface break-in, new components have very small contact areas and frictional heat generated can cause the oil film to break down and lead to micro-welding and tearing of the surfaces, this will not subsequently heal. Sorry but that's a fact of life, and no amount of ah-but's can change it. This phase is more akin to a machining process than a wear process.

Use moderate engine speeds for the first couple of hours and you'll get through this phase.

Then progressively increase speeds and loads, using higher speeds at light load and following on with high load at the lower speeds, and progressively bring the speed load combinations up the rev range. By about 20hrs/600mls on a road-based break-in you should be using near full power occasionally.

Is 600miles of controlled use such a big issue? Just do it and then get on and enjoy the bike.

Production engines are manufactured and built under strict process control so it's very unlikely that incorrect clearances/nips/overstands etc are built into it. Design and development processes ensure that the new engine is tolerant of "abuse" without failure, but that's not to say that everyone should do a "cold-scuff" test on their new engine just because it can survive it.

...but at the end of the day it's your engine so do with it what you will......

I ran mine in by the book using the logic that Suzuki know slightly more about engines than I do.

Originally Posted by glsuk1970

I ran mine in by the book using the logic that Suzuki know slightly more about engines than I do.

+1 for that one. Don't go too gentle either though. Listen to embee

Garry

I'm in the nappy process at the moment I was told 4k for 1st 100 miles 5k up to 500-600 I am on about 200 odd now and have the odd blip to 6.5 I try & vary my speed and riding but will generally follow manufacture guidelines as GLsuk1970 says |I am sure they have more idea than me as well.

I bought a K6 brand new, and I happily told the dealership that I'd be doing 100 miles a day, 5 days a week on it.

He looked a little sheepish when running in came up, but explained that varying the throttle would be more beneficial in my circumstances.

He advised that I kept it at low revs, high gear, and gently varied the throttle every few miles. I did.

For the second phase of running in, I couldn't hack it, I just couldn't keep the revs down, but I did slowly build up.

My engine is still going strong at 33k miles. Whatever you do, make sure the service schedule is adhered to, especially in the case of oil/filter changes. Change the oil as frequently as you should, and don't redline it out of the crate, and it should be good for a long long while.

This may be of interest although a bit late for RP123
http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

I used this system to run my Fireblade in, one of the important points though was to change the engine oil and filter after 20 miles.

EMBEE I would like to hear your thoughts on this breaking in system