Break In Period
#1
10-28-2014, 08:51 PM
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Houston, TX
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Break In Period
Well, just bought a '15 FLTRX. It's 53 mostly non-highway miles to work; rode pretty normal there. Wrenched on the throttle a few times on the way home. Totally forgot about the break in period. Dealer also forgot to mention it on the way out when I bought it, but it was still my responsibility. Nothing bad to speak of happened, but I'll probably be keeping it below the 3500 rpm threshold. Not sure it it matters, but I did hit between 4000 and 4500 a time or two. Seen posts that are both the ride it like you stole it from the purchase, and those that believe the bike is all but done for if you go outside the guidelines here. Anyone have any actual problems (piston rings or others) from not abiding by the break in "rules"?
#2
10-28-2014, 08:59 PM
#3
10-29-2014, 06:43 AM
You are more likely to have blow by issues down the road by following the "break in rules" that were written by lawyers, not mechanics.
Ride it like you are going to ride it.
I run mine in hard, and have no excessive blow by. Babying it can cause the rings to not seat properly.
If you want to see what the manufacturer really thinks of their "break in rules", go to York and watch what they do to them right off the line.
I bought my last one 2 states away, broke it in hard on the throttle, and hard off for the first 10 miles, then jumped in the interstate and run it home with the cruise set at 75.
Never had a lick of trouble out of that 2011 103", and had it for 30k miles.
Here's an informative link...
http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm
And another from Hastings, who makes most of the piston rings out there.
http://www.hastingsmfg.com/ServiceTi..._procedure.htm
More reading.
http://hqperformance.blogspot.com/20...n-and-afr.html
At the end of the day, it's your decision.
But there is a reason I won't buy a used bike as my primary ride....
Ride it like you are going to ride it.
I run mine in hard, and have no excessive blow by. Babying it can cause the rings to not seat properly.
If you want to see what the manufacturer really thinks of their "break in rules", go to York and watch what they do to them right off the line.
I bought my last one 2 states away, broke it in hard on the throttle, and hard off for the first 10 miles, then jumped in the interstate and run it home with the cruise set at 75.
Never had a lick of trouble out of that 2011 103", and had it for 30k miles.
Here's an informative link...
http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm
And another from Hastings, who makes most of the piston rings out there.
http://www.hastingsmfg.com/ServiceTi..._procedure.htm
More reading.
http://hqperformance.blogspot.com/20...n-and-afr.html
At the end of the day, it's your decision.
But there is a reason I won't buy a used bike as my primary ride....
#4
10-29-2014, 07:32 AM
I am not saying I completely agree with this, but there is quite a bit to it.
http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm
http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm
#5
10-29-2014, 08:32 AM
Road Warrior
You are more likely to have blow by issues down the road by following the "break in rules" that were written by lawyers, not mechanics.
Ride it like you are going to ride it.
I run mine in hard, and have no excessive blow by. Babying it can cause the rings to not seat properly.
If you want to see what the manufacturer really thinks of their "break in rules", go to York and watch what they do to them right off the line.
I bought my last one 2 states away, broke it in hard on the throttle, and hard off for the first 10 miles, then jumped in the interstate and run it home with the cruise set at 75.
Never had a lick of trouble out of that 2011 103", and had it for 30k miles.
Here's an informative link...
http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm
And another from Hastings, who makes most of the piston rings out there.
http://www.hastingsmfg.com/ServiceTi..._procedure.htm
More reading.
http://hqperformance.blogspot.com/20...n-and-afr.html
At the end of the day, it's your decision.
But there is a reason I won't buy a used bike as my primary ride....
Ride it like you are going to ride it.
I run mine in hard, and have no excessive blow by. Babying it can cause the rings to not seat properly.
If you want to see what the manufacturer really thinks of their "break in rules", go to York and watch what they do to them right off the line.
I bought my last one 2 states away, broke it in hard on the throttle, and hard off for the first 10 miles, then jumped in the interstate and run it home with the cruise set at 75.
Never had a lick of trouble out of that 2011 103", and had it for 30k miles.
Here's an informative link...
http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm
And another from Hastings, who makes most of the piston rings out there.
http://www.hastingsmfg.com/ServiceTi..._procedure.htm
More reading.
http://hqperformance.blogspot.com/20...n-and-afr.html
At the end of the day, it's your decision.
But there is a reason I won't buy a used bike as my primary ride....
Never had to buy one of those spit cup kits to keep oil off the side of the engine, filter, and front of my right leg.
#7
10-29-2014, 08:56 AM
There are a few things you are trying to accomplish with break-ins. You want to set the rings into the cylinder walls which is usually completed within the first 50 miles in the proper conditions. That requires some cylinder pressure to get maximum expansion of the rings. Most folks think that means a constant mildly aggressive increase of throttle to medium RPMs, but you actually get just as much effect by letting off the throttle for engine braking. For those who use the Mototuneusa technique, it is important to make sure the engine is at working temperature and to not let the engine overheat. I believe a few runs on and off the highway will achieve a good setting of the rings.
Then there is the internal parts wear from different RPMs. Parts expand and contract as a result of engine temperature and RPMs. So to make sure the parts are wearing evenly, the rider needs to run the engine at different RPMs for the first 500 to 1000 miles. I am surprised that Harley recommends keeping max break-in RPM below 3500 rpms because there is still a lot of room for proper engine wear between 3500 and 5500 RPMs. But I’m assuming they don’t want riders to cross the line of abusing the engine in constant high RPMs. Again there is the problem of overheating the engine and that can be done in higher RPMs on a hot day. Harley recommends the rider break-in the bike by running a various speeds, but the same result can be accomplished by just maintaining the same speed and shifting up or down a gear to change the RPMs. I personally spent a few minutes running the engine in the higher RPMs.
Break-in is also kind of a misnomer, once the rings are set and the engine has gone through a few heat cycles, the engine is broke-in and now just in a constant state of parts wearing. But since most (about 90%) of the normal wear of an engine happens in the first 1000 miles (some experts say 3000 miles), that is why we think of it as break-in. If you were to sample your oil every 3000 miles, you would find some residue from wear all the way to its end. So to get an even wear for that first 90%, the rider should vary his RPMs through the ranges he plans to use his bike. As for setting rings, if the rider is nervous with the ride-it-like-you-stole-it method, then I suggest riding in town making sure to get up to the speed limit quickly and engine breaking for slowing down at the stop lights. A few sporty accelerations up the highway on ramp works nice too.
While I can understand not wanting to do a hard break-ins of your new $25,000 investment, but you shouldn’t baby it either. At the very least ride it like you would normally ride it.
Beary
Last edited by beary; 10-29-2014 at 08:59 AM.
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#8
10-29-2014, 09:27 AM
Road Warrior
I asked this question a few years ago and got no responses. I come from the ride it like you stole it group. I break in all my new engines like that including mowers and garden equipment.
There are a few things you are trying to accomplish with break-ins. You want to set the rings into the cylinder walls which is usually completed within the first 50 miles in the proper conditions. That requires some cylinder pressure to get maximum expansion of the rings. Most folks think that means a constant mildly aggressive increase of throttle to medium RPMs, but you actually get just as much effect by letting off the throttle for engine braking. For those who use the Mototuneusa technique, it is important to make sure the engine is at working temperature and to not let the engine overheat. I believe a few runs on and off the highway will achieve a good setting of the rings.
Then there is the internal parts wear from different RPMs. Parts expand and contract as a result of engine temperature and RPMs. So to make sure the parts are wearing evenly, the rider needs to run the engine at different RPMs for the first 500 to 1000 miles. I am surprised that Harley recommends keeping max break-in RPM below 3500 rpms because there is still a lot of room for proper engine wear between 3500 and 5500 RPMs. But I’m assuming they don’t want riders to cross the line of abusing the engine in constant high RPMs. Again there is the problem of overheating the engine and that can be done in higher RPMs on a hot day. Harley recommends the rider break-in the bike by running a various speeds, but the same result can be accomplished by just maintaining the same speed and shifting up or down a gear to change the RPMs. I personally spent a few minutes running the engine in the higher RPMs.
Break-in is also kind of a misnomer, once the rings are set and the engine has gone through a few heat cycles, the engine is broke-in and now just in a constant state of parts wearing. But since most (about 90%) of the normal wear of an engine happens in the first 1000 miles (some experts say 3000 miles), that is why we think of it as break-in. If you were to sample your oil every 3000 miles, you would find some residue from wear all the way to its end. So to get an even wear for that first 90%, the rider should vary his RPMs through the ranges he plans to use his bike. As for setting rings, if the rider is nervous with the ride-it-like-you-stole-it method, then I suggest riding in town making sure to get up to the speed limit quickly and engine breaking for slowing down at the stop lights. A few sporty accelerations up the highway on ramp works nice too.
While I can understand not wanting to do a hard break-ins of your new $25,000 investment, but you shouldn’t baby it either. At the very least ride it like you would normally ride it.
Beary
There are a few things you are trying to accomplish with break-ins. You want to set the rings into the cylinder walls which is usually completed within the first 50 miles in the proper conditions. That requires some cylinder pressure to get maximum expansion of the rings. Most folks think that means a constant mildly aggressive increase of throttle to medium RPMs, but you actually get just as much effect by letting off the throttle for engine braking. For those who use the Mototuneusa technique, it is important to make sure the engine is at working temperature and to not let the engine overheat. I believe a few runs on and off the highway will achieve a good setting of the rings.
Then there is the internal parts wear from different RPMs. Parts expand and contract as a result of engine temperature and RPMs. So to make sure the parts are wearing evenly, the rider needs to run the engine at different RPMs for the first 500 to 1000 miles. I am surprised that Harley recommends keeping max break-in RPM below 3500 rpms because there is still a lot of room for proper engine wear between 3500 and 5500 RPMs. But I’m assuming they don’t want riders to cross the line of abusing the engine in constant high RPMs. Again there is the problem of overheating the engine and that can be done in higher RPMs on a hot day. Harley recommends the rider break-in the bike by running a various speeds, but the same result can be accomplished by just maintaining the same speed and shifting up or down a gear to change the RPMs. I personally spent a few minutes running the engine in the higher RPMs.
Break-in is also kind of a misnomer, once the rings are set and the engine has gone through a few heat cycles, the engine is broke-in and now just in a constant state of parts wearing. But since most (about 90%) of the normal wear of an engine happens in the first 1000 miles (some experts say 3000 miles), that is why we think of it as break-in. If you were to sample your oil every 3000 miles, you would find some residue from wear all the way to its end. So to get an even wear for that first 90%, the rider should vary his RPMs through the ranges he plans to use his bike. As for setting rings, if the rider is nervous with the ride-it-like-you-stole-it method, then I suggest riding in town making sure to get up to the speed limit quickly and engine breaking for slowing down at the stop lights. A few sporty accelerations up the highway on ramp works nice too.
While I can understand not wanting to do a hard break-ins of your new $25,000 investment, but you shouldn’t baby it either. At the very least ride it like you would normally ride it.
Beary
#9
10-29-2014, 11:54 AM
Club Member
Indeed - it's really quite easy! I don't recall how many new bikes I've bought over the last forty-odd years, but giving them an easy start, referring to the owners manual, has never failed me.
#10
10-29-2014, 12:09 PM
