How To Run In A New Motorcycle? | KTM 690 Diaries

[@shuttlefish59]

I think most people don't intend to keep the bike long so don't care. I have a KTM 1290 sa and i did run it in with mechanical sympathy. Even if i do get rid after 3 years i would hope that someone else can continue to enjoy it.

[@orlandoberry4031]

KTM 530 soft run in - but changed the oil early. It’s done 7000ks trouble free - only had to adjusted the valves once. However it has used oil since new. It hasn’t gotten worse, but you need to check it after every ride, but it only has 600ml on the engine side (the gearbox is seperate on my 2009 mdl)

[@Nomikeal]

I was talking to a Ducati master tech when I bought my hypermotard and he said 3 rules for break in: Let the bike fully warm up before hammering it, no full throttle at low RPM, and try to vary the speed (ie no 100 mile highway blasts with cruise control). So far that method has been working fine for me

[@-DC-]

Don't lug it don't rev limiter it, that's all they require really.

[@mwpanda98]

The manufacturer knows best about their machines. I'd recommend following their advice personally.

[@ianjohnson5365]

When you do that you get oil consumption issues 🤣

[@Shawn-in-da-Canyon]

Mark Pearce For liability reasons they can’t tell you to break in your new pride and joy hard. It’s well documented that a very hard break in keeps these engines form burning oil. In fact, all KTM and Husqvarna factory teams break their engines in hard. Specifically the Dakar teams, where they have to be ridden for thousand of miles and where oil burning is not desired. It’s literally impossible to break these engines in to hard and cause any damage by doing so.

[@diamondheat9]

If you look... Manufacturers put the same damn break in procedures across a wide variation of motorcycle models with very different motors...so no!

[@ThatGuyKezza]

Why do they get run to red line on dynos to test bhp after coming off the product line then ?

[@nsparacino]

@@Shawn-in-da-Canyon I’ve heard that argument and it never made sense to me. Comparing how I would care for a bike that I want to keep out of the shop as much as possible to how a race team that plans on rebuilding the bike after each race just never made any sense to me. I suspect the real answer is somewhere in the middle as with most things.

[@ithoughtthiswasspeeddating9701]

Perfect timing Chops as I picked up my new 690 Enduro r last Friday and I’m only 75 miles in to the running in period! On all the new bikes I’ve ever owned it’s always been as per the manufacturers recommendation, but with plenty of variation of load and speed on and off the throttle. Never had any issues with poor performance or oil consumption.

[@Kaegis]

Bang on!

[@roberthall1437]

Chops, well done with this video. My rule of thumb with running in a new bike is, don't over rev it in any of the gears and don't lug it in any of the gears. It hasn't failed me yet and iv'e had a number of new bikes over the years.

[@Drjfever]

I bought my Suzuki GSXS1000 from former SBK rider Karl Muggeridge at his dealership in Australia. He said just ride it up through the revs smoothly and that’s all that’s required. No need to limit revs except not going to redline. Many say it’s the first 20km that is the most important for the engine. Also, many people trade their bikes with low kms rather than keep them for 30-40,000 km (some do) so it’s highly unlikely that you’ll experience problems with the engine before you trade up. Agree that bedding in the brakes, tyres etc. is wise.

[@bruceleong9534]

Now listen here young Chops. Back when I were a lad in 1974 I was told the most important thing to remember when running in my new Norton Commando was to vary the revs and the load on the motor, while not exceeding the recommended rpm. Apart from the header flange continually unscrewing itself due to vibration and the many oil leaks I could never stop, that bike was reliable and a real joy, even with points ignition. I now have 2500 klms on my new BMW R1250R and I ran that in the same way. Thankfully it doesn’t have the oil leaks or the points ignition. Great idea for the SMC series 007.

[@wilswood8137]

Sadly I've never bad this problem as I can't afford a new bike 😂 but kids are nearly grown up so hopefully soon I will 😄

[@UberKvlt]

Amen brother. I’m hearing ya 😁

[@daverae7544]

It's worth the wait!

[@gomertron6329]

I've had 5 new bikes over the last 18yrs. All run in as per the manufacturer's instructions. 2002 1200 Bandit. No problems in 30,000+ miles great bike. 2012 Triumph Thruxton 900. One problem after another. Starting issues, used to cut out without warning, a lot of small rust spots started appearing on the bike. Dealer tried to tell me I had ridden on salted roads, I bought it in June stopped riding it by August the same year. Sat in the garage until I traded in after 1500ish disappointing miles. 2013 Yamaha XJ6. Brilliant bike ridden in all weathers. Racked up around 35,000 miles in 3 years, never let me down. 2016 XSR900. Throttle was a bit jerky at low speeds. Having the bike remapped and set up on a Dyno fixed that problem. 7000 trouble free miles. Still own this bike. 2018 CRF250L. Only issue so far has been a manufacturer's recall for a transmission shaft. Apart from that 1700 miles in all sorts of conditions.

[@blowduke]

Always run mine in as if I’m driving in wet conditions,nice and smooth .

[@justacomment1657]

Nice Vid :) most people don't understand mechanics and mishandle engines like crazy... Funfact, I do remember those break in periods in car manuals.... (at least Nissan did that in the 90s..) it somewhat disappeared nowdays. I had to replace the engine of my car 2 years ago... Was not sure what to do. As it is a forged engine from factory and most people are on the causious side in such cases..... Luckyly I do have a friend building high performance engines for race usage.... So I asked him about bedding in... Going slow... Whatever. He said:"if it is new, and installed by authorised dealers you got at least 1 year warrenty right" I had to agree... So he continued "if the engine is somewhat faulty it will develop a problem no matter what you do. Maybe it will take longer to materialise but it will happen. So wouldn't it be best to happen inside your warrenty?" I had to agree. So he said:"drive it warm reasonable, see if anything feels or sound strange....drive it with switching load and revs.... And if it survived about 50km without doing funny things.... Just push it. Let it cool from time to time but push it...if it stais together it will stay.. If faulty it will blow but you'd instandly know.... " And I get it. Every part wich is supposed to touch anywhere has a hardened coating. That coating will not give and will not bead in anyway. A running eingine with its correct oil should run nearly completely without parts touching each other... The Valve train is the exception. So if a warmed up engine is running without wear (as they normally do) what excectly is there to be beaded in? Maybe if the thing is so new that foreign objects are inside the lubrication system... But that should go away after the first oil change.... And such parts should not be found in a well made engine anyway... However i drove the next 300km way faster the usual and reved out 3,4,5 and 6 from time to time even did a verry long vmax run.... Engine has now about 50k km, no oil, water or other consumptions except fuel.... On the bike.....well I may be a little more sensible because a damaged engine can stop the rear wheel pretty ugly so it is difficult... But you gain nothing if you are to soft on it and drag possible problem toll warrenty expires... Oh and he states: "a natural aspirated 4 Stroke should not need oil, if it does the engine is crap (build to low standards)"

[@fqcraigus]

100% agree with you. Personally not bought a brand new bike yet but when I do I’ll be doing what the manufacturer recommends to bed the ‘whole bike in’ and preserve my warranty, because as we all know on that first service when they plug in the bike they can see exactly what you have done with it

[@dirkjordy9point714]

A couple of bike mechanics always told me rev freely but don't red line or labour the engine and the break in limits were manufacturers arse covering for if ANY post production failure did occur it would happen within the first few hundred miles, so you would be travelling slower and you would have a better chance of stopping safely.

[@keithappel5021]

I’ve been involved in the automotive and motorcycle industry for 40 years Fortnine Puts out a good video unbreaking you might want to watch that but my experience with today’s Oils in the tight tolerances manufacturing Brakin specs I think are a bit ridiculous as long as the motor is warmed up and you don’t get too crazy regular every day driving with a small bit of hooliganism and your motor is going to break in perfectly. I love watching your content I am waiting for you to get your hands turn the 890 Duke That’s the bike I really think will be the best of the middle weights

[@carllewis1691]

The official running in guidelines from Honda for my NeoSports CB1000R are as follows- during the first 500km (300 miles) of running, avoid full throttle, starts and rapid acceleration, avoid hard braking and rapid down-shifts, ride conservatively. Not exactly comprehensive. I have kept my revs to around 4-5k range, change gears a lot, short shift, try to change direction, brake and gears in a progressive way for the 1st 600 miles. Once my bike has had its 600 mile service then I plan to increase revs to 7-8k (I will be going well above the legal limit before then) to 1,000 miles and then just enjoy - this is what I did with my previous Ninja 650 albeit for that bike the rev range I used was slightly lower due to its smaller displacement.

[@christopherdevries1969]

Slow and steady wins the race is what I think.

[@philliprobertlawman2232]

I ran my MT10 in between the two, not thrashed no laboured, mostly round the twisties so you are going up and down the gearbox but not over revving, oil change at 900 kms, all's good so far 😊

[@andrewwelbourn9577]

I’ve just got a new multistrada enduro and like you watched the videos. I agree entirely that you are running in all aspects of the bike, not just the engine. The thing that convinced me was the comment on one site, “if something goes wrong, you’ll be better if it happens at a lower speed and lower revs, also it allows you to get used to the new bike”. Great content, keep it up.

[@tommy605]

I broke it in like I stole it. I have over 13K km on it and won't be getting rid of it for a couple of years, but there have been no issues. There's a shift light on it that was set to 5500 RPM and when I got out of the dealers, I stopped at a parking lot, changed it immediately to 10,500 then promptly hauled ass out of the parking lot. I varied the rpm and didn't keep it in one RPM range for any real length of time, and I stopped and let the engine cool down about every 10-15 minutes to get it to go through multiple heat cycles as possible. Was a pain because my normal 45 minute ride back from the dealer took over 4 hours, and a ton of coffee was downed that day as I sat in the coffee shop admiring the new bike, and I changed my oil and filter when I got home and again at the 600km mark. That's the thing with a hard break in, that first oil change has to be done quickly. Don't leave the metal shavings in your oil for extended time.

[@Speedytrip]

Ive owned quite a few bikes and what I do is ride it as I would normally. I try to avoid heavy traffic and staying in one gear/speed for the first 500km. That first oil change is very important.

[@Dcb2402]

I've got a Honda Blackbird with 86000 miles on it, no engine drama at all.. no oil leaks or anything since I've had it from around 50000 miles, whoever ran this one in did it the right way I reckon.

[@stevetamsett]

I ran my new Triumph Tiger 1200 in carefully until 1st service. After that I have ridden it normally I.e. enthusiastically. No problems. All mechanicals perfect. Great subject. I’m sure you will get a wide spectrum of views on this.

[@renevanderkraats3811]

I think it's a combination of mechanical sympathy, not being too careful and not being too harsh. I usually let it warm up properly, don't select too high a gear for low rpm's, choose routes that have lots of variation in speed. During the ride I regularly run it through the gears (3/4/5) with half-3/4 throttle to around the recommended running-in redline, than close the throttle completely and let it slow down/cool again. Make frequent stops to let it cool down a bit.

[@Surpriseify]

I'll start running in my new VFR 800F once the season starts here, the primary goal for me has always been to be smooth on everything, emphasis on good clean gear changes, not lugging the engine and getting it properly warm before really opening it up. (staying away from the very top of the rev range) After about 500km i'll change the oil and slowly build up my speed on it, start riding it like i am going to do eventually still emphasizing on being good on the controls, up-downshifts etc. Then the service is at 1000km. If you want your machine to last, dont be afraid to ride it or use it but operate it with a degree of mechanical tenderness (especially early on) but also down the line, and modern bikes will last you ages.

[@altabs7173]

Hi chops, I’ve had several bikes from new, always followed manufacturers guidelines; never had any engine issues, did 23k miles on a 2013 blade, no engine issues, 10k miles on a RSV4; no engine issues, can’t remember mileages on the 91 cbr600, 94 vfr750 & 98 R1, I had them for several years without any engine issues

[@jfro5867]

I have always run my bikes in with mechanical sympathy. Never had a problem. If you never intend to KEEP that bike from the off and basically don't care then that is your choice. Thats the gamble of buying used that we all do from time to time. Nice vlog 👍

[@MotoQuickShifter]

When i purchased my brand new new ZX6R 636 KRT in 2016 my local kawasaki dealer who was a manager there at the time told me to ride it like i stole it as it would make be better for the bike...however i rode her like she was a virgin very gentle with her, i did have moments where i would open her up slightly, ive still got her now and shes running perfectly with no issues what so ever! Personally in my opinion run the bike in according to the manufacturer , better safe than sorry i say 💚

[@ross5506]

Thanks for that BMW link. Every new bike I've owned first thing I do try not bring over 5 K rpm for first 500 kilometers, also change engine oil before first 100 kilometers, using non synthetic until 2000Ks. Never keep it constant rpm, up and down through gear box, in the city. Also first 100 k don't run it for longer than 20 mins, just too much heat get expansion. These are my some of my own and a friend that did build big block drag motors.

[@troyboy1900]

Really informative. Thanks for all the info. Great video. That rear facing camera in front of you is an awesome view.

[@jimmydunga1210]

Hold it wide open, it really doesn't matter. I have had quite a few new bikes now took it easy on my first new one, then all the others as hard as I can take it, and I have never had any problems. The last one I got the dude in the husky shop said hold it wide it will be alright, and it's still all good 2 years later.

[@rh_8599]

Went out on my 701sm today 355 miles on it now, hasnt used any oil yet and no problems touch wood the wheelies are upto 3rd gear now 😂

[@appymarley]

I'm running in my svartpilen 701 ..book says keep it under 6k don't rag it don't chug it and don't hold constant speeds for hours..it's not a chore like running in a 390..I always run them in carefully just seems right and works

[@bbouchan1]

Hi Lamb Chop....I'm the guy who lives in s/w France on his 4th 1290 Superduke & now a Tenere 700 has joined the family.....For the running in issue I've always thought that the worst thing to do is stagger the engine, so don't use too low revs which must create a lot of strain on all the moving parts, high revs probably not so bad. Just keep the bike in that midrange sweet spot....let it rev freely. Off to Spain today on the tenere & don't forget my invitation if you would like to see some of the best roads in Europe

[@tomfranz8365]

Back in mid 2017 I bought my first big bike being an MT09 (upgraded from a WR125X). I broke mine in in accordance with the manufacturer guidelines and in the time I've had it I've done over 30k miles. I've had a disc warp on both the front and rear, a knotch develop in the headrace bearing and I've had 2 O2 sensors, an oil level sensor and gear position sensor replaced (4th gear stopped being displayed about 30 mins after switching the bike on). Besides that I've not had any mechanical faults with the engine and everytime I've had it serviced at the dealer (inline with the manual) they've always said it doesn't appear to have burnt any oil at all. As always Chops, great video.

[@LambChopRides]

Ok Tom very interesting indeed! Good to see it worked well for your bike 👍

[@michaeldolan9812]

Morning chops 😁👍 my beauty was run in according to what the kawasaki people say 😁 they know the bike a hell of a lot better than me they built it and have been doing so for years so what they say I do. She's now done 14 thousand miles not one problem with her. All the best love ya videos mate 👍👍

[@ragerider6283]

I agree that due to modern engine tolerances, short of abusing the engine, I'm not sure it makes much difference anymore in terms of power at least but very few if any scientific studies have been done on long term reliability it seems. However I've run a few bikes in over the years & I essentially do pretty much what the manufacturer says for 600 miles & after the first service I go up & down the box & through the gears to about 80% of maximum as often as I can until the 1000 mile service. I also remember Suzuki's mechanic telling me when I bought a new GSXR750 15 years ago, you should never hold it at constant revs for too long or do high gear low speed roll-ons when running it in as the constant revs will cause barrels & pistons to "glaze" too quickly & won't bed in together properly & the roll-ons put big strain on the new components.

[@craigblackwood2845]

Breaking in any engine is better with lower revs. You want to load it, but at low rpm. Up shift out of corners and bog the engine down with load. That along with heat cycling is the best way. With newer Carb 5 rated bikes it's even more important. Since they run so lean.

[@dannyracer25]

Yes chops I agree purchased my mt10 april last year and run it in for 600 Miles as Yamaha says so then there's no problem with the 2 year warranty and hopefully the bike will run better 600 Miles only took 2 weeks thanks from Danny

[@jonnyhall1786]

I Recently purchased a new GSR 750 Moto GP im still running that in. The manufacturer states not to exceed 6000rpm but I spoke to the dealer and he says if you do exceed the 6000rpm not to hold it to long at high rpm. so accelerate then come of the throttle. due to the rubbish weather in the uk I have only managed to do 60 miles in total on the bike so I have another 540 miles left until she is run in. I hope the weather improves soon so she can be run in just in time for summer. Well I say summer but the 2 weeks of decent weather haha. Keep the videos up chops there always great.

[@andyfairchild2383]

I’ve always followed the manufacturers instructions on running in. They built it, so they should know. A few years back I asked my father about this - he was a development engineer in the automotive industry for 30 years - and he said the same. He did say the worst things are to do it on the motorway i.e. constant speed and to keep the revs too low “lugging” the engine.

[@keepthecoffeeon7344]

I have a 18 701sm and ran it in by riding it pretty normal, did ride it hard a few times and no issues. At 3k now and uses little to no oil and all runs fine. I hate how loud the timing chain is though on hot starts 😂

[@rh_8599]

Get a manual cam chain tensioner fitted it will cure the rattle on hot start

[@JoseOchoa-dw9vk]

I side with manufacturers break-in recommendations. For one, if the bike has initial problems the dealer will ask did I follow the break in procedures. Second I tend to keep all of my cars and now with my first new bike I intend to enjoy it for a long time. Thanks to your channel I got a 2020 Triumph Street Triple RS. At the moment the bike has about 245 miles with no issues following the break in steps. It’s been really difficult keeping the RPM’s in check. Cheers.

[@Land-Shark]

In my 50 years of motorcycle, car and truck ownership (with 30-years as a professional driver, driving my own vehicles for work up to 12-hours a day), I've always done medium-hard run-ins, and have never had any issues with performance, fluid leaks or reliability. I'm cheap, so I hang on to vehicles longterm. I'll never tell anyone to do it my way, but I won't NOT tell them to do it my way either. ;)

[@brucekendall52]

I'm with you on the "Gentle Approach".Its worked for me on my many bikes over the years.Common sense I say.

[@mattnicholas9842]

Hi Chops. Nice vid as always. I nearly always buy my bikes as low mileage nearly new as they are around 20% cheaper. My GSXR 750 was 0 miles, I ran it in by the book, it was fine. My latest Tuono V4 Factory has 412 miles its ex dem. (£12395), I’m being careful but who knows what the test pilots have done, although you’d have to have big stones to thrash a factory in Croydon. My theory is don’t rag the arse off it and more importantly don’t labour it for about a 1000 miles.

[@Firestorm637]

I agree with you. Truthfully you can set the rings in the first 60 miles by certain methods. But like you said there are more things to run in. Look at car engines. With tight tolerances in water cooled motors you probably do not be too careful. You must get use to a new bike, take it easy. The bikes black box will tell dealerships if you did not perform a proper run in and warranty may be voided. The manufacturers are covering the warranty so do as they recommend.

[@TheScortUK]

Always recall what a friend of mine said - working as a Porsche tech, they could always tell the difference between a car that was run in hard, vs one run in by the book; the former produced slightly more power, and used less oil. With my R1 and my ST RS - I did a combination of book and 'hard' - for the first few hundred miles, it was plenty of gear changes and lower revs, but I then allowed the bike to rev higher for a few gears - so long as you don't red line it in every gear all the time. it's fine.

[@tobyrussell4523]

Just bough a new 1290 SDR and I'm following the procedure as I dont want any warranty issues. But I rebuilt my 30 year old KLR250 engine last year (new piston and rings) and hat had a hard run. No issues so far, 600 miles on, but time will tell

[@iamthemobey]

I'm currently running in my 790 Duke and in keeping it below the 6.8k rpm as per the manual. Well most of the time, very occasionally I'll be a bit of a knob and go to about 8-9. First service on Friday then I can start to have some fun!

[@Kaegis]

Most engine builders will run the cam in - 2,000rpm for 20mins. Providing the manufacturer does this, it's good to start running the engine. I was always informed various loads and RPM's but first, these 3 steps. 1) Get on a quiet open road where you can do 100KPH or more. Whilst in 4th gear, and starting at 40KPH and at 1/3rd throttle, power on till the revs flatline then decelerate back to 40KPH. 2) Repeat the above at 2/3rds throttle, then back to 40KPH 3) Repeat the above at full throttle to redline, then back to cruise. After that under normal riding, if revving the engine out - the load is kept low. However, when under full load, don't go passed 1/2 throttle. Ride like this for the first 1000klms. After that, it's good to go. Service and respect your pride and joy. Let it cool before shutting down after riding hard to prevent premature hardening of gaskets etc.

[@foxtrot.tango.whisky]

Mate you make a brilliant point with regards to the so called "hard break-in". It makes no sense whatsoever to be stressing all the components of an internal combustion engine to within an inch of their life from mile 0.0 to 621, not to mention all the other brand spanking new systems such as brakes, tyres, gearbox, clutch etc etc etc. What malicious / conspiratorial benefit could the people who designed, built, tested and subsequently wrote the manuals prescribing proper break-in processes possibly benefit from by telling the first owner to break-in the bike in a smooth, progressive manner other than ensuring their customers get machines that will be reliable long-term and their ownership experience be such that come the time said owner decides to upgrade, that they will be strongly considering another bike of the same brand? The instructions given are very clear on how to ensure the longevity of the engine & components by doing what makes absolute sense, specifically not ragging the shit out of a brand new bike. In all honesty mate, what kind of person is going to spend £10k/£15k/£20k+ on a new motorbike to then just abuse the living shit out of it during its first 620miles (and beyond) of use? You either must have multiple millions of disposable dosh in the bank to not give a shit about the longevity of your investment (or perhaps more likely considered by said sort of person to be a new toy to thrash around for 6 to 12 months & not an investment at all) before buying next years model and selling the poor abused bike to some unexpecting soul that will end up lumped with all the yet-to-develop troubles caused by the first abusive owner. I'm very fortunate to live where I do (in España) because on my doorstep, 15km to the east I have the A-397 (the road that runs inland from San Pedro to Ronda) which has a moderate incline and you gain a fair amount of altitude riding up it & 15km to the west I have the MA-8301 (the more mountainous road that runs from Estepona to Jubrique and beyond) which has an even steeper gradient incline. These roads are perfect to break-in new motorbikes because they call for constant gear shifts all the way up & down through the gearbox and provide a nice incline to allow the engine to be put under more load (though I'm always careful to keep within/below the maximum stated engine speeds as per the manual during break-in). In addition to being great roads that provide perfect conditions to break-in engines & components, they're also fantastic roads to ride on. Great sweeping corners & switchback curves provide ideal conditions to properly scrub in new tyres and bed in new braking systems while also providing beautiful scenery and exhilarating riding conditions. These two roads have pretty much been the principal two roads on which I have ridden the first 932 miles / 1500 kilometres breaking in four of my past new bikes over the years (two of which I am actually currently in the phase of doing right now as I traded in two bikes in order to buy two new machines). So I have to wholeheartedly agree with you that the entire concept of "hard break-ins" is completely misguided. I will trust what the designers, manufacturers, testers conclude when it comes to writing the owners manuals' best break-in procedures for the machine over the incoherent ramblings of internet keyboard warriors that try to justify the whole "ride it like you stole it break-in method", which, let's not forget, the reasons they give for why their methods are better than the manufacturer's stated methods are categorically, empirically flawed at every level - common sense aside a very superficial and cursory understanding of the properties of materials science and engineering, or even just considering the stresses and forces involved inside an internal combustion engine - then realising the new engine has never been run under load, should lead to the conclusion that every single motorbike owners manual ever printed has stated in no uncertain terms since the dawn of petrol powered two wheeled machines. Anyway Chopsy, nice video mate & I couldn't agree with your points more. I'll be eagerly awaiting the upcoming video you mentioned you'll be posting on the correct setting up of suspension sag, preloaded, compression & rebound. I'm sure I'll learn a lot from that video. One of my bikes has semi-active suspension but my other bike is a supersports with all manual Öhlins NIX30 forks & Öhlins TTX36 twin-tube monoshock which will undoubtedly require some serious dialling in of the correct settings, perhaps even getting the assistance of an expert is going to be required if I want to have it dialled in perfectly. I'm also very happy about your partnership with Destination Triumph and I'm again eagerly awaiting some videos reviewing more Triumph's. All the best fella, enjoy that KTM you lucky bugger ;)

[@bikerbaz60]

I’m with you Chopsy, run it in how the manufacturers tell you, also got to think about warranty issues later on.

[@Bobsbarn]

The most important stage is not putting load on the engine from cold Running in used to be important when the tolerances in the manufacturing weren’t so accurate. Now they are so accurate running in isn’t as important. Two strokes are more fragile. It’s good to run in, just take it easy for the first 10 rides. Obviously it’s not the mileage it’s the cycle of warming up. The most important stage is not putting load on the engine from cold

[@koshtie]

Hi Chops Sir i have 2 train of thoughts on break-in, in 95 when my Blade was new i ran it in as recommended, but by the same token it's just as important to be [OF] the throttle just as much as on, so as to bed pistons in both ways? but like you say bikes have fine tolerances, as for cars i new to guy's back in the day, showing my age here they had 3 litre Capri's, ok the Essex engine has mm tolerances rather than thou? but 1 guy thrashed his & the other took it steady, the thrashed 1 was much faster? ATB Wayne.

[@SBKPete]

One of the worst things you can do, is allow the engine to labour. Especially loading the engine going up an hill.

[@shaun9107]

Worming it up before you pull off helps as well.

[@coreytelford2865]

Yeah good to stick to the manual. But I got a new 2016 xt660ra and gave it a hard run in and iv done 30545 km on it now and still runs like a dream. I also put some aftermarket exhaust on it wow what difference that made to the power

[@Fastliner8]

It's called mechanical sympathy while running in, and I support it.

[@Lex-Rex]

No reason for that nonsense. It is 2020 and materials and tolerances has changed. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rqHSmJ-lq96slZo

[@SladeRenegade]

My 2014 Triumph Street Triple R definitely had a " hard break in" when I purchased it new, and 83,000km later not a single issue with anything. The valves only had to be adjusted minutely at 60,000 km.

[@Lex-Rex]

I broke in my 18 Street Triple R like I ride it -- hard and fast. Changed the oil at like 1,200 miles. No issues. Now have 10,000 miles on my bike in a year.

[@mbingham10]

Don't forget part of the running in period going steady is to get the rider familiarise themselves with the machine also.

[@michaeljkasnter]

Did Hard Break In on my 701-SM, runs excellent, burns 0 oil

[@davidharrison8762]

I used to work in the dyno at cosworth and we ran in the F1 engines. 6000rpm ish to start, then 9000ish then a bearing run in which was high revs (12500rpm) but hardly any load.

[@LambChopRides]

Oh wow what a fantastic job!! 👏

[@davidharrison8762]

Just about to put a deposit down on a smcr 690 after seeing your enthusiasm for them!

[@Tenfx72]

By the book, manufacturers know more about their products than I do and most riders. Ninja 650, 18 months 6k no issues. Street Triple RS 2k no issues.

[@youtubed9695]

Great timing with the video chops getting a new bike 1st of march! I'm planning on doing 90% soft break inn with the 10% open the taps abit more.. I did this with my tuono v4 factory and has had no problems at all bike is 2 years old now with 6350 miles on the clock

[@Bazza47]

Like others below I follow the manufacturer's instructions as they designed the bike so are best placed to know on how to run it in. New engines are tighter than those that have done a fair few miles, which if you ask anyone with a dyno they will confirm this so thrashing them from new will make the bike run hotter due to increased friction which in turn could damage bearings and cause bores to glaze plus as also mentioned you're running the whole bike in, not just the engine. If someone else wants to ignore the handbook and ride it like they stole it that's fine by me!

[@Shrekeo]

Blimey chops! That Chelsea tractor looked a bit close.

[@LambChopRides]

Yes it was, bloody in a hurry! He was lucky I was running it in or would have had him! Haha 😂

[@lynsmith1096]

Good video Lamb Chop. I'v had a few new bikes and run them in using the Manufacturer guide lines but never kept them for more than 2 years.

[@Missis_890]

Agree with you with run in procedure chops. Looking forward to the suspension video, still need to do mine on my 701 !

[@comfysofa1549]

Definately a soft break in with a twist.... while ive not ever owned a new bike once the my hypermotard's engine was rebuilt i ran it when you get to a part of the rev range where it "goes tight" and as soon as your in there shut off and change gear - and ease it in that way bit by bit. Did that for 500 miles. I hold on to my bikes for way longer than 3 years so looking after them is of paramount importance to me..

[@Ahogg1992]

1st half of run in miles nice an gentle 2nd half pushing more and more using all rpm but importantly not lugging the engine giving it lots of load etc

[@lonk80]

Bought a Street Triple RS in 2017 and Triumph told me that the first 30 miles were the most important. Ran the bike up to 10k rpm in first gear and not over 6k for the rest of the gears. Did this for the first 30 miles and then followed the manufacturer's recommendations up to 600 miles. Impossible to tell if this did anything for the seals or not. Gave me peace of mind that I had followed Triumph's guidelines though.

[@Lex-Rex]

Pathetic.

[@lonk80]

@@Lex-Rex Constructive. Thanks for your wisdom 👍

[@josh786manchester]

Good advice. Hope others learn from your advice. Too many riders out there hard breaking in the engine because they believe the new bikes can handle the high revs when breaking in.. 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@grahamtricker4103]

Agree with you on your recommendations for engine run-in.

[@almondvision]

Got a husky 701sm and ran in hard(ish) . Wasn't bouncing off limiter but still pulling and letting engine brake work as well. I'm on almost 7k miles and no engine problems or oil burning. I see alot saying about manufacturers know best but if that's the case with husky why do almost all the 701s have clutch slave cylinder issues?

[@randersson3672]

Interesting because I face this "problem" this spring with almost the same bike the 690 Enduro 😁 I will simply follow KTM's manual, my little CRF 250L had a hard breakin, no problems at all with that and it has 20 000 km on it now. But this bike I will take a different route with..it's not a Honda 😉🤣

[@vernonwitney806]

Interesting subject. I've read a lot about this subject. I've built a few engines..V8's and V6's. There is a lot of views on this, some from reputable sources that can back up with data, and some more gut feel. I've had a freshly built V8 on the dyno, 6000 plus RPM for mapping and all was fine, but I've also run in more gently V6's..will be doing another one this year..showing my age as another commenter said, a capri! My view is run it in with the rev limits set by the manufacturer. A couple of reasons really. They built the engine. I can guarantee, they build more engines than I do and know their stuff. Apart from being a bit painful at first, I see no reason not to do this. If anything does go wrong, I want to be able to put hand on heart and be able to say I followed the run in procedure. They may not be able to prove that I did or didn't (but then again, the ECU could easily record max RPM's..not impossible). What I have always done is to ensure I have not laboured the engine at too low revs, and not thrashed it up to the max revs either. Varied engine speed through the gears, get the engine working over various revs, not just sitting at the same speed, and, as has also been said, get some engine breaking done as this works the rings both ways. Finally, I'll run in on a good mineral oil and switch to synthetic after the run it. So when it comes to running in a bike and warranty, I'll always follow the manufacturers recommendation. My own engines, I'll run a little harder, but with the odd foray into higher revs as time goes on, but not drastically different from a manufacturers recommendations.

[@steve-wu7jp]

I just ride the bike normal, if I have to dip into the power I will but I don't go crazy. Main thing, don't buy the bike and do 500 miles at one speed on the motorway

[@davidelizabeth4933]

Always hard break in. KLR650s are notorious for burning oil but after hard break in mine never burned a drop. The most modern materials and manufacturing processes don't require "break in". Manufacturers only call for it to reduce chances of crashing a new bike and limiting their legal liability.

[@djl6825]

I've had three new bikes and all have been run in according to manufacturers recommendations. Simply because after dropping that amount of money on something that comes with a warranty I see no reason to do anything that might put that warranty at risk. 600-1000 miles soon goes by and running a bike in also gives you a chance to get used to it before you start cracking the throttle wide open. As you say, just my opinion, each to their own etc etc.

[@yonniboy1]

I found the "gentle" running in more crucial with two strokers and not so much with four strokes.

[@Jordan-rs8yi]

yonniboy1 unless you have nickel plated bore and piston for two strokes then you don’t really need to run them in if done right

[@davidharrison8762]

Question chops, do I fit the wings exhaust that's just turned up before the first service? On about 380 miles at the moment. Not sure if it's frowned upon by dealerships.

[@LambChopRides]

Yeah good point.. Greg fitted his but it's possible they could get funny.. Best to wait imo

[@PaddyWack999]

I've always run my previous bikes in as per manufacture guidelines but i have to admit once i'd put 100 miles on the tyres of my Z H2 I couldn't resist booting it.

[@jasonpoole6701]

I think you may miss understand the hard run in method, it's not about revs, you could keep to the manufactures speed in gears. It's about creating a high pressure which is done with a wide open throttle, go up the gears then shut off and decelerate through the gears to clear the bores of debris. One point you didn't mention is to do some extra oil and filter changes with mineral oil, say at 50 and 150 miles but like you say each to their own, ride safe.

[@frankmalone236]

In my experience soft run in better than hard run in. Then after run in I change oil n filter every 1000 miles twice during higher rev's. Then follow manufacturer of brand recommendation.

[@kickbackgarage]

When I build engines I take the varied route on breaking in. aim for the twisties and hills and vary the revs and use all the gears. I belive it helps everything to bed in correctly. No prolonged stints in any given rev range. Both 4 and 2 strokes. On 2 strokes I build it also helps with jetting in correctly during the run in period of the nikasil. If you are running weak in any given throttle opening, you can destroy the motor on the first ride if you dont varey your revs... haha. On modern bikes, just stick with what is reccomended, that way if any garanti work is needed, you are in the clear.

[@oldman748]

Hi chops running in my 690 smcr at mo and am riding it quite hard an not being gentle with it. Will change oil an filters myself before the 600 mile first service

[@rh_8599]

Same with my 701sm but will let dealer do the service at 600 miles for warranty and i will change it again myself at around 1500 miles

[@xedniw23]

Did your smcr have a countershaft seal issue?

[@bsmukler]

I generally follow the run-in procedure in the user manual (which I do check for each new bike). Also, I have a history of being really excited about the new bikes and they are often ready for the first service by the next weekend following delivery. There is another thing to keep in mind, especially regarding higher end, high -performance motorcycles: I assume, but do not know, that that the manufacturers can check the engine history-how the engine has been treated regarding high revs, high road speed, and hard use when not at operating temperature. I do know that high-end sports car manufacturers have that data. In fact, they use that data when determining whether to certify the vehicles for resale. I mention this because I also think it would or could make the difference in what the manufacturer would do for you in the event of a very expensive repair (say, the need for piston and cylinder liner replacement) outside of the stated warranty period.

[@1103trevorp]

I'm with you chops, mechanical sympathy is best, I've run in new buses and they just seem to drive & perform better if done gently, also if something was to go during hard brake in, how would that effect the warranty? Bike's are joy to have, why risk it for the sake of impatience also the brake in allows you to bond with the machine and learn it's nuances good and bad!

[@imreder5171]

What is impressive though, that the 360 camera shakes like hell but the horizon of the video is smooth, only the bike shakes.

[@cpuuk]

Yes, I remember Ari's test of the 2x engines, very interesting, but as you say it gives no indication of long term wear. The best anecdotal evidence is from the racing scene, as you know they get through rings\ pistons\ barrels: all racing engines can be used hard with just a little running in, BUT they all need changing (parts) on a regular basis- the longevity isn't there. And that old nut-cutlet about the manufacturer bench running in the engine is BS- at the factory the Japanese manufacturer will only quickly test up to the initial running-in RPM, they don't thrash them to the redline. I think some manufacturers actually log the running-in, so if you do it hard your Warranty is fubar should something fail. I've always followed the manufacturer's recommendation, of the 5x new bikes (15k-25K miles; 2-10 years) I've never had an oil leak or mechanical failure, the same can't be said for some of the other 2nd hand bikes I've owned.

[@terrymalyon4117]

i brought 2 2nd hand 1050 triumphs low mileage ex demo's assume both ridden hard from new both burn't oil and destroyed no2 pistons 1st after i p/x it in for the 2nd which did so with in 3 months so was covered by warranty had 2 new bikes and run in to manufactures spec both didn't use an ounce of oil sold 1 @ 16000 miles and other @28000 miles

[@Addy29plus5]

terry malyon what were the bikes at the end were they speed triples?

[@terrymalyon4117]

@@Addy29plus5 no kinda put me off triumphs both were suzuki's gsxr750 just over a year old when i sold it with 16000 and dl1000 28000 about 1 1/2 years old now got a gsx 1400 with just over 96000 miles 2005 model

[@Addy29plus5]

terry malyon I have a triumph street triple and CBR600RR. The newer triumphs are top quality

[@amancalledjames9345]

Always followed manufacturers guidelines so if there’s any issues I could confidently claim under warranty. With all the electronic gubbins these days I reckon they can see if it’d been leathered during run in.

[@marksweepiebernard6138]

Hey Chopsy, good vid. Interesting onfo. Question, buying a used bike allready run in from a dealer. How would you know its been done right.

[@LambChopRides]

Yeah that's the problem you don't... if its a dealer run in then its an ex demo bike. My advice would be steer clear

[@marksweepiebernard6138]

@@LambChopRides I hear that

[@markmason2294]

Chops has the Gsxr sold yet? If not where is she advertised? Maybe be interested in it depending on price and mods she comes with

[@michaeljkasnter]

I saw that video!!! Would have been epic to watch with your crew!!!

[@54darkdog]

Hi Chops. Just got the same bike. Are you going for Wings end can again? Or do you think there are better deals/exhaust to be had. It was a close call between a KTM 300 tpi 2020 or the 690.

[@MyMednas]

I'm running in my ZX6R. The book says 4k for 500 miles, 6k for next 500 miles. It's impossible, 4k is 45 mph in top gear! I'm taking it easy, but you can't ride around at 45 mph.

[@LambChopRides]

Yes agreed, Kawasaki seem to be very strict with the run in approach.. Not sure if its just to cover themselves, not sure... 1000 miles is OTT anyway! But under 4k is crazy on a ZX6R haha

[@-DC-]

That's insane you wouldn't buy a car and be told you can't drive above 45mph before the first service, is the engine made of cheese lolol

[@Addy29plus5]

MyMednas that’s crazy, the run in for bikes is so stupid. I follow it but if you look at cars no one would buy one if you 45mph was a max speed for 500 miles. Good comment btw 👍

[@appymarley]

You in third gear?

[@MyMednas]

@@appymarley they dropped the hearing for the 19 model. Red line at 16k, so 65 mph at 6k is fine once you can use all the revs. 16k is over 170 mph in 6th...