[jacobhoyt]

Ok, so I really tried not to exceed the 4000 rpm limit on my 250 r, but it's just so hard. I did real well for the first 50 miles but after that, I was cruising at around 55 -70 mph. Sometimes my rpms were at a steady 7000. I think I am already starting to notice a power drop in 1st and 2nd gear. Is this even possible. It is brand new and has only 325 miles on it?

 

[Boldblood]

Ok, so I really tried not to exceed the 4000 rpm limit on my 250 r, but it's just so hard. I did real well for the first 50 miles but after that, I was cruising at around 55 -70 mph. Sometimes my rpms were at a steady 7000. I think I am already starting to notice a power drop in 1st and 2nd gear. Is this even possible. It is brand new and has only 325 miles on it?

I really can't understand why you would not want to follow the break-in rules, they are so critical. . .

But anyway, a bud of mine told me that though I should follow the break-in rules, that if I took it to 6 or 7k that it really wouldn't hurt as long as I didn't maintain it for very long. And from what I gather from other posts, the key to proper break-in is a lot of stop and go, stop and go. So, I guess if you didn't maintain high rpm's for too long a time you might be okay.

 

[MnM]

just make sure you vary your rpm's in diff gears....its ok if you went above in the RPM's just try not to keep them constant

 

[Vampyre]

according to FOG of the Ninja 500 boards, the break in kawi uses is bs.

the proper break in is in the first 100 miles.

ride 15 minutes with the engine at 4000 then cool off for half hour
ride 15 minutes at 5000 rpm then cool off for half hour.
do this for the every 1000 rpm.

break in is setting the piston rings into the engine. only problem with FOGs break in is that it must be done when the bike has 0 miles on it. i did this on my ninja 500 and have no problems with it. i can even keep up with some of the 600s around here.

 

[srootster]

break it in how you're going to ride it. just be religious about oil changes the first 1000 miles. i usually do 3 in that time to get the metallic dust out of the system. if you break it in softly, it will run softly, break it in hard and you'll have a beast. an old racers rule of thumb that i've used for many moons. as far as the power loss in the first couple gears... nah, you're just getting used to it. best of luck!

 

[Punkwood2k]

I've heard a hundred different "proper" ways to break in a bike. run it hard.. run it soft.. whatever.. The only thing they all agree on, is dont run at a constant RPM for a long time.. Keep the Revs moving, shift gears up and down.. dont run at one constant RPM for a while.. that is all.. Everything else is gravy.

 

[mysunnshine]

break it in how you're going to ride it. just be religious about oil changes the first 1000 miles. i usually do 3 in that time to get the metallic dust out of the system. if you break it in softly, it will run softly, break it in hard and you'll have a beast. an old racers rule of thumb that i've used for many moons. as far as the power loss in the first couple gears... nah, you're just getting used to it. best of luck!

Yea and racers tear down their motors regularly. They also don't have time to break-in their motor like everyone else in the world too.... It's all about the heat cycles and the loads placed on the motor.....

Sunshine

 

[srootster]

i do race, do you? and in my spare time i'm an aerospace engineer, so i know a lil bit about heat cycles and loads.

 

[mysunnshine]

i do race, do you? and in my spare time i'm an aerospace engineer, so i know a lil bit about heat cycles and loads.

OOh.. Testy aren't we??? Actually, I do some racing myself. I work in a race shop and do custom fuel injection for a living. Sounds like my qualifications are better than yours doesn't it? Did that rattle the cage at all? It's all about the heat cycles and incresing loads per heat cycles......

 

[tlr2zx10]

I agree with srootster. When I bought my ZX10 the dealer, who races, told me to vary the rpms from the bottom to about 1500rpms above mid rev range (12500rpms=7500rpms or so) which is not what the manual states. I did this and changed my oil at 200mls, then again at 600mls and then once again at 1200mls. I will tell you this, my stock 10 was faster than most other stock 10s and ran with several bikes that had a full systems and a PC. Break it in how you are going to ride it, but change that oil.

 

[fordfasterr]

i put 200 miles on my bike this weekend... started from zero miles..

I rode mostly 65-85 mph in 6th gear at a constant rpm...

I am wondering if this could possibly cause my piston rings not to break in properly ?

I broke in my busa the same way back in the day and I never had a problem with it and it was always very fast...

 

[USMC MAD HATTER]

I agree with varying the RPM's, and consistancy with your oil changes. Unless you hear something weird like a leak or something, I wouldn't worry. It probably is that you are just getting used to it. Don't ride it for a while. Let it sit in the garage for a couple weeks. When you get back on it, I'm sure it will feel like the power is back.

 

[shft600]

all I did to break in was heavy acceleration, and then once I was cruising, I would just pop it around different gears and use lots of engine braking. It was a real pain to always throttle on/off, but now that its over I havent found any problems.

 

[Camride]

i put 200 miles on my bike this weekend... started from zero miles..

I rode mostly 65-85 mph in 6th gear at a constant rpm...

I am wondering if this could possibly cause my piston rings not to break in properly ?

Yep, that was a very bad idea. Like previously mentiuoned, the break in is all about varying the rpm's, never keeping it in one spot. Now since you rose it at a constant rpm for 200 miles, that might cause a problem. Try to vary the rpm's as much as you can for the rest of the rbeak in and you might be alright. But I'd be chqanging the oil constantly and checking it for anything abnormal after the first 1500 miles.