How to break in a new motorbike engine︱Cross Training Adventure

FURTHER NOTES! A viewer raised an interesting point. On some modern bikes the dealer can get readings from the ECU and see if you followed the break in recommendations. It's always possible this could be used to deny a warranty claim? Food for thought!

Im with you, man. Generational misinformation, is a cancer on society. The older I get, the more I realize half this shit I was told as a kid, was pure bs.

Two 73 year olds and one 83 year old just got back from a wonderful adventure in Oregon. The 83 year old is riding a Honda 650 he purchased after selling his T7. A little more cautious but still smiling! 😊

Honda's Shop manual for a CB300R literally states:
During the first 300 miles (500km) of running follow these guidelines to ensure your vehicle's future reliability and performance.
- avoid full throttle starts and rapid acceleration
- avoid hard braking and rapid down-shift
- Ride conservatively

no hard numbers other than 500km.

On my 2023 KLR, I’m going up the canyon, then let it cool. Go down the canyon, let it cool. Repeat with next canyon, running up the power and letting off. Change oil at 50miles, 150, 500, then every 3K. May be excessive, but it at least makes me feel like I tried to get a good ring seal. Tires, get em warm, let em cool. Scrub em on asphalt first, tgen dirt canyons.

Great video mate

It shouldn't be that much work because there are several Chinese manufacturers buying the rights to old Japanese engines to make them comply with Euro 5 standards, see the example of the Mash X Ride 650 that uses the Honda Dominator engine to which an oil radiator has been added and Injection, this example is one of the best because is Air/Oil cooled. Perhaps the Japanese are already turning the page on combustion.

I do what they call a cold break in where you start the bike immediately ride it for a short distance let it cool and repeat 3 times. Just riding like normal most the time but goosing it up here and there. Basically the idea is the piston rings harden some on longer rides so not letting the engine warm up to much for long beds in the rings better

It seems to me that if a certain type of engine break in actually made a significant difference, there wouldn't be so much controversy. Instead, you have a bunch of people saying one thing, a bunch of people saying the opposite, and a bunch of data that doesn't seem to point one way or the other.

excellent informative vid,well done guys

Change the oil after one hour?

LYW. Here's a good video topic: jump starting. My owner's club chat is very divided on this. Some say you don't want to do this because you'll cause a surge and break something electrical -- the most feared gremlin any of the oldies can warn us newbs about. A small minority (maybe just me) says there's a difference between a voltage source and a charger: a charger pumps current into a system, and too much can damage things, but a voltage source only supplies the current drawn as predicted by ohm's law, so connecting 12V (fish) in parallel with your existing 12V(fish) battery won't hurt anything. What's the real truth?

Is dedicated brake in oil with high zinc of any real benefit?

I go 5000 miles keeping it under 3500 rpm. My buddy picked up a sweet z900 and has the ride it and don't bother with break in style....never seen either of them again.

The "heat cycle" is the most misunderstood... Its not that the parts need to heat cycle to "toughen" but rather as the moving/touching parts are wearing from rough to smooth, the heat they generate can be excessive enough to change their metallurgy causing premature wear patterns in the future. Giving the parts ample time to wear together without generating excess heat is key to longevity.

Good video. I am about to purchase a new motorcycle in a month and it is a 2.5 hr drive from my house. Going to avoid the highway and do a moderate break in. Thinking about stopping 2-3 times during the trip then get an oil change once I reach my destination

My BMW GS1200 manual states (Rider_s_Manual_BMW_R_1200_GS_2008.pdf) at page 154; Engine Oils - please see the quote below:
BMW Motorrad recommends not using synthetic
oils for the first 10,000 km. Please do not
hesitate to contact your authorised BMW
Motorrad dealer if you have any questions relating
the choice of a suitable engine oil for your
motorcycle.
-- Keep up the good <vids>

run your engine without any oil, it will break in few seconds.

I've drowned the bike twice during break-in, does that count as the heat cycle? Mineral oil is a good bet though, especially if you are too lazy to check the water depth, since you'll be changing it soon enough anyway.

Most owner's manuals will have an engine break-in section. Instead creating your own religion about how to break-in your engine, just read your owner's manual. Your owner's manual is the bible for your engine.

Great subject/video, Barry! I'm currently in 'break-in' with the new T7 now. My plan is to stick to the manufacturer's recommendations thru brake-in and warranty (including lube and filters), then open up the possibilities! Doesn't feel very limiting as I am adjusting to a new and very different bike as well....loving it so far! Cheers, and heal well!

What year did they start locktiteing the NSU bolts on the dr650?
Im buying a 2015 model and wondering if i need to check them?
thanks!!

most bike dealers will shit in ya pocket just so you damage it and go back to them and spend $$$$$$$$$$ then they hit you up for $$,$$.$$ in parts and labour for things you didn't need.

Great advice.

These rules looks like: "different types of sex with new girlfriend". Be gentle and live together for a long time or hard break in and make impression :))

What tires should I use while breaking in my new bike?

I've owned a couple of identical bikes over the years, same model and year. One always performs better than another. The ones that ran stronger were broken In by me using old school technique: keep changing rpm as much as you can, keep revs low until valve adjustment.

“Dead run”. I see what you did there.

Yup, let it warm up, run it through the gears, rev it out here and there. Then again ive never owned a new bike...

I follow the Slaven's Racing technique. Go easy for about a mile, then it's good to go.

I watched a mate do a drunk burnout on a ktm 300 at 2am in zero degree temp with about 10 seconds of warmup and it seems fine. Don't worry he was wearing socks and safety thongs.

I was waiting for the cold seizure that never came. Engines aren't as fragile as we all think.

Being an Aircraft maintenance engineer by trade, I will stick to the manufactures recommendations . Aircraft, vehicles and motorcycles are no different.
If the manufacturer says, only rev to x amount of revs for the first thousands kays or whatever, do what they say. If they say don’t ride off until your oil temp is at 50 degrees C, do that as well. Engineers who design these engines are the ones inputting into the manual.
Pretty simple, just follow the procedure.

Agree, in my opinion a break in period is mostly about making sure that everything it put right together and no parts has a "0ne out of a million problem" you don't want to find at max rpm while the surfaces of the moving parts get a chance to rub off the edges.

ANOTHER POINT: NO ZERO NONE motorcycle manufacturers will ever risk the liability of telling people to ride hard on a brand new bike they don't know, and especially not to "ride it like they stole it".
Such advice just ain't EVER gonna happen, no matter how true it is. Sure, seasoned riders are going to do this, they have no problem because they are used to different bikes, and can automatically adjust and cope with getting on a bike they have never ridden before, as long as it's at least in a familiar class to what they are used to. I "rode it like I stole it" and then did an oil change at 30 minuts, when I bought my new XT250 a few years ago, but I have been riding very similar bikes for decades, and it's not a challenging bike, I wasn't going to kill myself in the process. That simply does not apply to a first time or small bike rider buying some big crotch rocket, they stand a very good chance of serious injury or death, and if the fucking lawyers can show a judge that the owner's manual told them to do it, there will be hell to pay.
The only advice we'll ever get from the manufacturer will be ride gentle to normal, any alternatives are too much risk to them, because the world is full of idiots, and some of them buy bikes.

Minute of silence for those who believe in "hard break ins"

I just did shitty wheelies for the first hr then an oil change and back to the usual terrible riding that the new bike didn't fix, turns out the shop lied to me, they said It would make me an amazing rider!!

The way I've done it after a rebuild is to get it warmed up just mainly to check for leaks. Then nurse it for almost a lap. After that I just ride it like normal mostly because I lack the patience/impulse control.

I find it interesting that this is still a debate and guesswork. There has to be some engineer somewhere who has a defined answer to this.

my take on this topic is (basically): for first 50-100h it wont make big difference (if not done break-in). but if ur not much for regular service the blow by will be somewhat significantly reduced for them +hourse and your horsepower wont decrease too much. so a normal or a somewhat "softer" break in period will thank some later. good for piston rings and cylinder to wear in... not everyone is sponsored :D im all for this normal to softer riding during break-in. not, all but aggressive break-in.

Follow the instructions in the manual would be the best advice you could ever take

So here’s a thought, the engineers that designed the motorcycle might be more knowledgeable than all of us 🤔, a radical idea might be to read the owners manual that comes with that new bike, and follow its instructions for break in 😆👍.

They gotta come out with a sandpaper treadmill....strap in the bike for an hour. Do aggressive leans while playing with the revs. Change the oil, clean the shiny rubber dust up with the vacuum, and good to go.

Get oil samples if your worried.
It's what industry does

Well I just ride the bike like I would for a hour or so and then change the oil and ride the bike some more and I change my oil every 2 to 3 rides. I haven't had any problems yet and I have owned my 1991 cr125r since it was new. Great video!!

I've never owned a new bike, only purchased used two strokes. I've rebuilt a few motors with new bearings, pistons, nikisil plating etc etc. With the rebuilds I just ran a bit more 2t oil in the fuel, let the bike warm up for a minute or two then rode it normally with 5 litres of fuel. Once done I would replace the gearbox oil & run the normal premix ratio.

Africa twin for life!!!!!!!!😝👍

The best way is a deliberate hard break in (varying hard accel and hard engine braking) with a super early oil change, it seats the seals better and will let the motor make more HP. Flogging it does help, you need to seat the seals :)