[Brownpsu78]

I just bought a brand new Ninja 250R...What is the proper break in procedure?
The dealer says i can rip it und 7k till first service
The sticker on the bike said keep it under 4k which is like 35mph in 6th till first service...
What is the best way to do it??
Thank you for your time
--Brown

 

[tek_civic]

well in all the experience i have had in the racing world(mostly endurance cars) this is what we have done. take it out to a street that is pretty desolate(no traffic). take the engine up to about 4.5-5.5k in 1st gear(full throttle), then throttle off and let it down to about 2-3k, then take it back up and down. repete untill you have done 3-4 reps of this. then bump it up a grand so its 5.5-6.5k down to 4k. repete until you have done 3-4 reps all the way up to red line. watch your temp gauge as you get into the higher rpm range. after this process take it from like 4k up to redline through the gears a couple times.

many people will tell you to take it easy, go under 4k for 1k miles etc. but why do this? if your engine isn't going to hold together and seal up after 1mile its not going to after 1k. rings will seat instantly, seals will seat at any rpm, and everything else is good.

this is the way we break in every fresh built race engine(as well as stock spec rebuilds), as well as the way my boss used to break in his race bikes and street bikes at his shop.

critics will prolly chime in and bash this idea down, but it is proven time and time again.


oh ps: Dealers don't approve of this method, they will try to void your warranty if you tell them this is how you broke it in. they do what they are told for different reasons.

 

[tek_civic]

oh also, if you haven't already rode it(its still on 0 mi). when you start it don't let it idle at low rpms, fluctuate the idle between 2-3k but don't let it sit for the first couple seconds.

 

[bobbo84]

if you follow the manufactorer's recommended break-in procedure and something engine related happens, then there is no question as far as warrenty is concerned. Sure, breaking it in hard may mean an extra 1.5hp on top, but it may also mean a rebuild at 20k miles, too. I like to have no worries about the reliability of my rings, etc.

My theory on break-in? For the first 500 miles or so, don't take it past .5-.6 of redline. Don't be afraid to open the throttle a goodly amount during that period, though. The engine still needs to experience loads, just don't go full throttle from low rpm's. After that, go to about .8 of redline, doing the same thing. No full throttle blasts, but opening the throttle a decent amount isn't going to hurt it. After 1k miles, it should be good to go for the most part.

The key when breaking in an engine is to not lug it at low rpm's under heavy loads and to not keep a steady rpm during the first portion of break in.

 

[Brownpsu78]

hey bobbo,
it redlines at like 14 grand...so for the first 500 miles keep it under 7 grand?
no luggin it and no full throttle blasts?
--Brown

 

[GreenZED]

bobbo is right. if you want the motor to last, break it in conservatively. no lugging (too high of a gear for the road speed), no WOT, vary speeds constantly for the manufacturer's suggested period (usually 500 miles), and engine brake. I've found engine braking during the first 500 to really help...downshift and upshift a lot and use your engine to slow down. After the break in period, change the oil/filter and let her rip.

This is not a race engine, you dont want to have to put in new rings at 20k miles on a streetbike.

 

[Philbiker]

I just bought a brand new Ninja 250R...What is the proper break in procedure?
The dealer says i can rip it und 7k till first service
The sticker on the bike said keep it under 4k which is like 35mph in 6th till first service...
What is the best way to do it??
Thank you for your time
--Brown

Every "expert" has a different idea about break-in procedures.

My advice is this: Follow the recommendations in your owner's manual. The people who designed and built the bike know better what it needs to break in than anyone else. Try to vary the RPM as much as possible, don't let it sit at a single RPM for a long time (that's why they say long trips are bad for break-ing). Also, do NOT rev it at idle with no load on the engine!!!

 

[MoO_coW]

Go and read the faq at www.ninja250.info , I broke in mine that way, changed the oil at 100 miles, now at almost 700 I can't see that it's burned any(getting ready to change it tonight). Keeping the little ninja under 35 mph(in 6th gear no less) for 500 miles is just cruel. As said above, everyone has a different opinion but I see no reason to baby it for x miles under y rpm and have read up and feel that the varied RPM and heat cycle method is best.

 

[Hagios]

The "break it in hard" mindset is supposed to make a few more ponies. You aren't racing, though, so you don't need to worry about ponies. Break it in how Kawi tells you to.

 

[bobbo84]

hey bobbo,
it redlines at like 14 grand...so for the first 500 miles keep it under 7 grand?
no luggin it and no full throttle blasts?
--Brown

thats basically the jist of it. There's not really a fine line for break in. Just ride somewhat normally, but be aware of some of the caveats we've expressed. And I would change the oil and filter at 500 miles too.

 

[tek_civic]

ill continue to break in my engines my way, but thats just me. like stated, there hasn't been a PROVEN way to correctly do it so many different methods exsist. keep in mind the things we said not to do.

i do agree that a quick oil change is a good idea. somewhere between 100 and 200 miles. consider it a flush.

also if your thinking about running synthetic i would run it it well on standard oil, maybe up to 1-3k depending on what your feeling. the reasoning behind this is not about the rings(popular misconception) but rather the seals. the synthetic can make the seals leak or otherwise not perform correctly. i can't remember exactly the physics/chem of it, ill try to ask my teacher on monday and get a clear reason.

 

[olc51322]

There is much debate about the best way to break-in a bike. This thread might help some. break-in discussion

I followed the dealer recommeded break-in, but I have a friend who bought a new R1 and rode it hard right away and he hasn't had any problems. I tend to side with tek-civic. I think if you want the top performance out of the bike you should break it in hard. This is how I will break-in my next bike.

However you break it in it should not damage the bike. Break-in will determine the life of the engine and if it's not done correctly more oil consumption.
The dealer basically recommends what is in the manual. I don't know why the manual recommends this besides the fact it is super conservative and possibly out of date with modern bikes. My manual also recommends shifting at 19 mph, 29, 37, 47 and 54 or something like that. Try following that suggestion. I did it for a while and believe me it is no fun.

From what I understand about the warranty they can't void your warranty unless the cause of the failure was a result of something you changed or added to the bike. Call your bike manufacturer and they'll tell you.

This is where I first read about the hard break-in break-in secrets
You can even e-mail him if you have questions.

 

[msbrowne21]

250 Break In Problems

Hey, new to the place, but I was reading up on alot of the suggestions about break ins on the 250. Now here's a question for ya all. Picked up the bike a week ago....when I drove it home it started acting sluggish, chugging and actually pulled over to check the gas. It was fine, but took it out the other day for a ride, it acted the same way.......finally it stalled, got it back going, and then about a mile later it died for a while, it was done....finally had new gas brought. Maybe the half a tank they gave it to me was bad, what gives? I started it up to ride today, had to leave it at half choke to warm up, but everytime I took the choke off it died. Why is it acting this way? What am I supposed to check? Would bring it back to the dealer if my salesperson wasnt such a knob.............any advice?

 

[mikem317]

Check the owners' manual. The process is prob. detailed there.