Engine break-in the controversy
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Stage III
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
From: Cape Town, South Africa
Engine break-in the controversy
Hey Guys, I'm picking up a new street glide in a few days and I have a question around breaking in the new engine there are a few contradicting points of view on this, the Harley ofical way i.e. don't go over 3000rpm, no heavy engine load or the gradually load the engine till it is under full load in the first 200 miles (http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm).
Now I have broken in two engines before the first I did in the Harley way on an 883 and it never gave an issue the other bike had a ton of performance parts in it and the mech at the workshop broke the engine in with the other method on the dyno and that bike never gave an issue and at last dyno put out more power than the other bikes of the same modification.
what's your opinion on the matter?
Now I have broken in two engines before the first I did in the Harley way on an 883 and it never gave an issue the other bike had a ton of performance parts in it and the mech at the workshop broke the engine in with the other method on the dyno and that bike never gave an issue and at last dyno put out more power than the other bikes of the same modification.
what's your opinion on the matter?
Run it hard, it will always run hard. With that being said , no long wot pulls. Short burst. Start at 3k max, then bump it up 500 rpms every 20 miles till 5k. Ive never had a issues with this way.
My. .02
My. .02
Road Warrior
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 1,997
Likes: 94
From: Massachusetts
You are going to get a lot of different opinions on this subject.
I've been buying and riding bikes for over 45 years.
I've babied them for the first 500 miles, I've ridden them hard for the first 500 miles and I've never had any issues with either method.
Now I just ride them like I'm going to ride them from day one.
The only thing I don't do with a new bike is rev it past 3,500 rpms or hold it at the same rpm for an extended period of time until I get a few hundred miles on it.
Just ride it like you normally ride within reason.
You very rarely hear of someone asking this question about the new Toyota Corolla that they just bought, and there's still hundreds of thousands of them on the road. Just ride it and enjoy.
I've been buying and riding bikes for over 45 years.
I've babied them for the first 500 miles, I've ridden them hard for the first 500 miles and I've never had any issues with either method.
Now I just ride them like I'm going to ride them from day one.
The only thing I don't do with a new bike is rev it past 3,500 rpms or hold it at the same rpm for an extended period of time until I get a few hundred miles on it.
Just ride it like you normally ride within reason.
You very rarely hear of someone asking this question about the new Toyota Corolla that they just bought, and there's still hundreds of thousands of them on the road. Just ride it and enjoy.
Thread Starter
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Stage III
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
From: Cape Town, South Africa
Yeah there are tons of opinions out there on this. Puts my mind at ease a little to hear other Harley riders have run their bikes in hard and not regretted the decision later.
A friend of mine rented a new Fatboy for a week down in Florida recently.she took delivery of the bike with 6 miles on it.She and my wife immediately jumped on I 75 and rode 12,000 miles the following week with out a hitch..
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Road Captain
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 646
Likes: 1
From: Rockford, IL
don't baby it.. ride it with "spirited" acceleration. I basically used the motoman method and my bike runs flawlessly (with 3x the hp of normal harleys). Go through the gears, don't redline it, but definitely don't baby the thing!
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The older I get, and the more engines behind me, the more I think this is better. I've had book break-ins turn into total milktoast motors, while my drunken careless buds came out with ground pounders with the same engine.
I read a controversial mechanics blog who swore by a hardline break-in with a few rules and swears he's never had a problem, short life,or low power; just the opposite.
Since we've been indoctrinated in the baby method, it just goes against the grain of our thought, but that doesn't mean it's wrong. Also, we have better machining and tighter tolerances nowadays, so less piston slap to fear.
I do admonish any motor to be warmed up before pouring fuel to it, so the cold, oval pistons become round.
I read a controversial mechanics blog who swore by a hardline break-in with a few rules and swears he's never had a problem, short life,or low power; just the opposite.
Since we've been indoctrinated in the baby method, it just goes against the grain of our thought, but that doesn't mean it's wrong. Also, we have better machining and tighter tolerances nowadays, so less piston slap to fear.
I do admonish any motor to be warmed up before pouring fuel to it, so the cold, oval pistons become round.
Grand HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 3,580
Likes: 215
From: Illinois
Kirby, what oil would you recommend on using during break-in(weight/brand)?