I have a bone stock 2011 fxdb streetbob.

I have 100 miles on the motor.

I have been breaking in the new motor . I followed all recommended break in procedures.

At about 30 miles I had a slight case of smoke just very briefly and the motor smelled hot (it is breaking in) . My girlfriend said she briefly saw a puff of blue smoke between the front forks and the engine. At 100 miles it did it again .

Both times were when I had run the motor for longer periods of time , each time getting hotter than the time before . I am gradually increasing my riding time as I get more miles. Is this normal while the rings are seating and the engine paint is baking on? Just wondering if I should be concerned or if this is normal. The bike seems to run just fine, smooth power, no popping , pinging etc, I now have 105 miles on my motor. Could use some input as to if this is ok or if I should be very concerned.

 

Could be a few dirrerent things causeing some smoke, since your engine is so fresh. The header pipes will smoke a little as they burn in, and if the rings are not married to the cylider walls yet, you will get some oil burn off until they properly seat, but the smoke will come out of the tailpipe. Another is to check where your pipes go into the head and ensure that the exhaust mounting nuts are tight, may be a little blow by. Just keep an eye on her to catch anything before it can cause any serious probs if its the case.
If it happens to be a serious issue its a 2011, Warranty!

 

thanks I was hoping it was not too serious. ill keep an eye on it and check the oil often. Its only happened twice so I am hoping its just something breaking (not literally) in.

Getting HD to act on a warranty is like getting nuns to go to an orgy (no offense to anyone religious here) .

 

If you are breaking it in I suggest that 105 miles should have been done in the first 2 hours...stop babying it, take it out, ride it and keep riding it......if your last trip was 5 miles you are going to kill that motor my friend.

People, including H-D talk a heap of BS about breaking in a motor.

Its already been to the rev-limiter in the factory and the wrench gave it death on the test ride.

Most of the "precautions" in the H-D handbook are designed to be so complex and unworkable that it will always be your fault if something goes wrong...that or an ****-covering exercise.

Forget heat cycles, forget incremental rides, its all nonesense...and that engine paint has already been baked on mate....just go for a ride, enjoy yourself and keep the motor spinning, don't let it labour in a high gear.

Its a precision machine, breaking in was for back in the day when things weren't made to fine or predictable tolerances.

Riding at the legal limit is almost too low in the RPM range in top gear for the motor, use that gearbox and come back hours later with bugs in yer teeth!

 

Just relax...It is under warranty...Just ride her and don't beat the crap out of her right away. If there is any problem, or if you have any concern call the dealer and bring her in so they can take a look at her.

 

Like the others say ride the hell out of it.I have a 2011 wide glide and they say the most critical time is the first 1000 miles,put it too its paces don't baby it but don't beat it.Did my first 1000 miles in 4days.LOL stay safe.

 

Once I got my new pipes installed, the bike was still pulled into the garage. I was anxious to hear it run so I fired it up. They smoked like crazy for about 3-4 minutes and then tapered off. Smoke alarm was going off it was so bad. This may be a little of what you are experiencing. Oh, and I've never had the discipline to break anything in by the book. I just hop on and ride and try not to get too much in the throttle till the recommended period is over.

 

PROPER break in is

2rd gear...get it to about 2k rpm's... then go WOT to just before redline then release throttle and let engine break back down to 2000 rpm's. Repeat. Repeat again....etc...
Then ...
3rd gear...get it to about 2k rpm's... then go WOT to just before redline then release throttle and let engine break back down to 2000 rpm's. Repeat. Repeat again....etc...

This seals the rings. If this is done when the bike is new it will run FAST and RELIABLE.
Baby the motor when breaking it in and you'll have a slower machine.

This is how RACE ENGINES are broken in...for a reason.
That's how I broke in my Low Rider and it was the fastest HD in our crowd! And...it never leaked one drop of anything for the 20K miles I had it!

 

thanks everybody. Great information .

I have been keeping the miles low mostly because its still mighty cold here in MT. Mostly riding in between rain and snow showers and I have been really ill to boot.

I try to put at least 25 miles in at a time. Longest so far has been 60 at once . Easy first 50 miles, ran it at normal speeds but varied the rpm's and then riding it a bit harder and rev it higher each time I run the motor after the first 50. Really likes highway speeds. I appreciate all the great information. As soon as Im back on my feet physically Im going to ride it over to Idaho and back . about 5oo miles round trip. Should take care of most of the rest of the break in period.

 

One cool thing about living in Montana USA . 1 mile away from my home is 25mph. 2 miles is 35 mph, 3 miles is 45 mph. 4 is 55 mph then 65. 5 is 75 and mostly an honest 80 mph most of the time with no issues from the police as long as you slow down to safe speeds when going through small towns. The weather has been cool which is great for not overheating the motor. I have been doing shorter rides with 3o miles being about the shortest. Been pretty ill so i haven't been able to ride it as far as Id like. Once I hit 50 miles though been riding it just like normal. Never lugging the motor. As soon as I can physically handle it Im heading on a 500 mile ride and not stopping for anything.