Engine break in period

[aircav1182]

Hello all,
Picking up new NC this evening and was wondering what your advice is on breaking in new engine? Vary speeds? Keep it below higher RPMs for a certain amount of miles? ....that kind of thing. Any advice would be appreciated.

Tony

 

[Beemerphile]

Essentailly that. The recommended procedure in the manual is what I used. Don't neglect breaking in the brakes.

 

[davidc83]

New bikes come with the owners manual. Recommend reading the manual.

 

[670cc]

Check these resources:

1) Owner's manual

2) Prior threads
http://nc700-forum.com/forum/nc700-general-discussion/3996-break-period-question.html
http://nc700-forum.com/forum/nc700-general-discussion/2600-what-does-manual-say-about-engine-break-period.html
http://nc700-forum.com/forum/nc700-technical/6779-break-recommendations.html

Threads are best found by searching with Google for "NC700-forum.com <subject>"

 

[aircav1182]

Thanks for the info. Much appreciated. Will read it thoroughly,

 

[L.B.S.]

Hey Tony! Congrats on the purchase-to-be, and welcome to the fold

Baaaaaasically, you are only going to run into three schools of thought here- the break it in according to the approved Honda (and all other manufacturers) manual procedure, the "Motoman" break in procedure, which in a nutshell, is the opposite; to run the engine in very hard instead of taking it easy, and a kind of common ground between those two, a "just ride your bike normally" attitude.

Of the three basic choices, I would tilt in favour of the Honda recommendation, myself. Knowing I am only human, and humans make mistakes though, I tend to accidently fall into the habit of erm...slightly stretching the limits of a rigidly set out procedure via muffing the occasional shift and hitting redline once in awhile when you are supposed to keep it below X rpm for x time, etc. oops.

I don't lose sleep over a non explicitly letter of the law followed routine, but go more for a spirit of the law type of view.

 

[MZ5]

At this point, I don't 'baby' new vehicle powertrains. Enough fleet analysis and even working with blenders to make lubes that work better than off-the-shelf, has shown me that sometimes the rings don't seal as well as they should when one is too gentle with a new engine. Sometimes, if caught early enough, that can be remedied, but I see no point in getting there in the first place. Good break-in for me is WOT pulls in, say, 3rd gear from low-medium revs up to redline, then closing the throttle and letting engine braking slow me back down.

Brakes are a different matter. I've seen too many warped rotors and other problems from 'aggressive' brake break-in.

I guess that puts me toward the Motoman end of the middle ground.

 

[rjarrell]

Another school of thought on this subject: Break it in the way
you will ride it. I have owned several new motorcycles and never had a problem.

 

[Beemerphile]

Honda spent $5.4 billion on R&D last year. Probably has a high rise building full of degreed engineers. Brainy Smurf types in white lab coats with a pocket full of pencils. Has the advantage of having selected and tested the materials and clearances in the engines. Has been building motors since 1948. Has a financial stake in their customers' good outcomes. And, has a recommendation for how to break in the new motor.

Yeah, but I am going to do what some random guy on the internet does.

 

[Johninaz]

Yep exactly right, that's why I would never change a seat, exhaust, lower or raise it, change tire brands from what the manufacture recommends, oils or a myriad of other things the aftermarket has available. Nope not me I always stick with what Honda engineers or accountants recommend. But that's just me.

 

[670cc]

Honda spent $5.4 billion on R&D last year. Probably has a high rise building full of degreed engineers. Brainy Smurf types in white lab coats with a pocket full of pencils. Has the advantage of having selected and tested the materials and clearances in the engines. Has been building motors since 1948. Has a financial stake in their customers' good outcomes. And, has a recommendation for how to break in the new motor.

Yeah, but I am going to do what some random guy on the internet does.

Good point.

This hold true especially in lubrication science. Despite Honda's experience and research efforts, the customer is still often better able to determine the best oil types, weights, and change intervals.

 

[Beemerphile]

Yep exactly right, that's why I would never change a seat, exhaust, lower or raise it, change tire brands from what the manufacture recommends, oils or a myriad of other things the aftermarket has available. Nope not me I always stick with what Honda engineers or accountants recommend. But that's just me.

Apples and oranges. My bike is as far from stock as any here, but I still use their technical recommendations for torques, adjustments, and wear-in. Changing things to fit you and improving the quality of parts and accessories cheapened to meet a market price point are entirely a different matter than deciding on your own how two metals metals that they provided should be worn in together.

 

[MZ5]

Everybody makes their own choices, even when those choices are to stick with the manual. I propose that starting with the manual is best and proper, particularly for those who have no other data. Still, blanket recommendations intended for the universal 'average,' combined with specific, individual-unit data, often leads to better products, processes, or procedures, just like Beemerphile says.

I have additional data, so I take their recommendations and apply direct, in-field experience to improve upon them.