seruzawa

You can hear the player over the valve clatter?



Whooda thunk?

__________________
"Make no mistake, Communism lost a big argument - one we know today as the 20th century."

KPaulCook

Hey wrecks, John Kerry plays Hockey. I'll bet Canadian relations will improve when Kerry gets in .

The next President of the United States plays the Canadian game



I love hockey and anyone that appreciates/plays the sport is OK by me.

KPaulCook

Thanks for bringing some sanity to this discussion.

KPaulCook

"** Welcome KPaulCook, your account expires in 10 days"

Buzglyd

Well for a while I thought the sound of parts falling off was a percussion instrument but now I know better.

johnnyb

Far as the owners manual advice goes, I was always struck by stuff like, "for best performance, shift from 1st to 2nd gear at 21 mph." That was for an FZR1000 as I recall, but i've seen the same thing in all sorts of (Japanese) manuals. They totally err on the side of caution and liability avoidance, even when it doesn't even make sense. I say give `em the berries in top cog but that's just me.

josxr

The last 3 bikes I bought new (all Suzuki GSXRs of various vintage) have all been run in roughly the same way:

ride it for 75 to 100 miles and replace the oil with petroleum based oil (nothing too slippery, Honda HP4 and the like). It's amazing just how much machining by-product is suspended in the oil at this point, and I for one don't see the need to have this abrasive slurry circulating the engine for the next 900 miles. Up to 300 miles, constantly varying the engine speed, 1/4 to 3/4 throttle up to 50% of redline. 300 to 600 miles, same antics up to 75% of redline. 600 to 1000 miles, more of the same only up to full throttle and occaisional trips to the rev limiter. My 01 GSXR 1000 with a pipe and power commander peaked at 156 HP on a Dynojet 250 eddy current dyno with 10,000 miles on the clock, none the worse for wear and tear it would appear. I now have a CBR600RR that some clown flipped with 25 miles on the clock. After buying her up with a salvage title, I rode the wench around the neighborhood, shifting at 7 to 8k (after hanging armour bodies fiberglass) to an estimated 60 miles and swapped the oil out with the aforementioned Honda HP4 non-synthetic. Next weekend I flogged the crap out of 'er at a Team Promotion track day, even tapped the rev limiter a time or 2 (16,000 RPM?), without mercyfor 2 hours total. I have the utmost confidence that she will bring me joy for years to come. Machining practices have advanced to tthe point that extending break-in procedures beyond the first 100 miles may well be mental masturbation.

wrecks

Yes I'm Canadian which means I can't ride until April sometime which means I'm bored which means I spend a lot of time on motorcycle forums. I'm so bored I'm baking cookies. Anyone wanna take a shot?



Flame away flamers.

Flickmeister

I may be the Lone Ranger here, but my bikes are broken in between 100-125 miles. Back in 1991, MOTORCYCLIST had an article on how to break in a motorcycle properly. Two of the contributors were Rob Muzzy & Terry Vance. I've followed these guidelines ever since I read the article and have had great results since then (fast motors, no oil burning, never a breakdown or major engine repair, actually not even a minor engine repair). It goes like this:



1) Throughout the break-in, stay out of top gear. You don't want to lug it and build up excess engine heat. If you've ever seen an overheated piston versus one properly broken in, you know what I mean.



2) Vary your engine speeds and use the gearbox to do so. Load and unload the piston rings constantly. Don't maintain a constant engine speed for any length of time.



3) Keep your rides short--15 to 20 minutes, then shut it down and let it cool over night.



The above rules appy to all rides until break-in is complete.



If you want to do this 100% right, see if your dealer will agree to not having their mechanic test ride it. If the agrees, open the seat so they can put the battery in and take the key home with you. After it is serviced, come back and start the bike. Warm it up, varying the RPMs constantly, up to 3000-3500 RPM. After the bike is warm, shut it down, go home, and pick it up tomorrow or trailer it home.



Ride 1: Religiously obey the three rules above. Maximum RPM should be 4000-5000 RPM. No full throttle but don't be too bashful.



Ride 2: Same as ride 1, but a little more throttle and max of RPM 6500.



Ride 3: Max RPM is 8000 with short bursts of full throttle. You should have between 45-75 miles on the bike by now. Most of the metal pieces break loose in the first 50 miles. Change your oil and filter. This is really important.



Ride 4: More full throttle with a max of 9500 RPM.



Obviously, this is for bikes that have a redline greater than 9500. With each successive ride, add 1500 RPM and longer bursts of full throttle until you hit redline. You are now officially broken-in. Change your oil again at 500-600 miles. I use 10w-40 dino oil until I get 2000 miles on the bike, then I switch to Amsoil synthetic 10w-40. I swear by this stuff. I don't believe in motorcycle specific oil, but Amsoil's motorcycle oil is the same price as their regular synthetic, so why not?



I have broken in more than ten motorcycles bt this method, and it has always worked well for me. And it is a lot less frustrating tha the 600 mile thing. Most imprtantly, I feel it does a better job of breaking in the bike than the more conservative or highly abusive methods. THE most important part of breaking in a bike is seating the rings and, to a lesser degree, the bearings properly, Heat is the biggest enemy of a new engine, not high RPMs before heat builds up. Keeping the rides short and preventing it from lugging are the keys to preventing overheating.



The biggest controversies in motorcycling seem to be what oil to use, what are the best tires, and how to break in a new bike. I'm sure there are many that will disagree with what I have suggested here and that's fine. I am simply passing along a time proven method that has worked extremely well for me and also has the benefit if circumventing a great deal of time and aggravation. Hope this helps. Cheers, Jack

sarnali

Well, you got the first part right, "you're Canadian so you can't ride"

'course you cheesers can't drive either.