First, let me just preempt this post by saying that I'm at 950 miles, I did the break-in as recommended by the manual and did the initial service myself, and the bike is running like gold and I am in love with it. Not in a creepy way.

Anyways, how would you know if something went wrong during the break-in period? I guess things like the rings not properly setting, something happening in the combustion chamber, a valve getting tweaked...anything. What kind of signs would one notice if something was awry? Maybe even somehow the bike wasn't broken properly but it was riding ok for now although something was internally wrong and would rear its ugly head later.

And I guess what exactly could go wrong? I may have missed the mark with the examples I gave above, so what are common problems that an engine may have after the break-in?

I don't know, I think about random crap during my 25-minute commute to work  :dunno:

Dave  

I wonder about this myself.

It seems from a seal standpoint that your bike will eat more oil if you don't get the seals fit in well during break-in.   :dunno:

But is break-in really ALL about the pistons?  Or are there other parts that need to get settled in before being flogged?

I gave my SV a good, quick flogging all the way to red-line at 2 miles during the test ride, then followed break-in and I haven't lost a drop of oil in almost 4000 miles.

oK I am assuming that everyone has at least seen the guys website that claims there is no need for a "break-in" period.  He baisically says that you can run your bike hard from brand new.  (maybe someone can find the link).  

I would think that your main concern would be the pistons and the valves, the rest of the internals are just kinda there and dont really need to seat.  If theres a problem underneath then it probably was going to be there regardless.

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

you are referring to the 'motoman' philosophy of breakin in a motor.

I don't know how much i trust that manner of break-in. I can see how it would be good for racing engines, but not so much for normal usage. I know some people stand by it, and I'm not flaming you. I went with what the manual said, and the bike runs like a top.

I just really wonder what signs your bike will have if there are internal issues stemming from an improper break-in??? Who knows?

Dave  

I know a few guys who have done motomans method of engine break in on their cars. None had any problems. But they were decent builds that used minimal OEM parts. Once of which was a 750 HP LT1, ran pretty hard for the first 150 miles N/A, then introduced boost at roughly that point.

Although built for racing, they were all daily drivers.

IMO you can push a motor (just keep it reasonable), just be especially careful on the first 25 minutes of engine life and check oil often and cut open the oil filter at each oil change throughout the breakin period. If things look good gradually work the power up. Also, dont forget, you can break in an engine as good as you can, but if you do stupid stuff after that period like rev it up while it's still cold, you wasted all that break-in time.

Quote from: 2005-GS500-PDX
I just really wonder what signs your bike will have if there are internal issues stemming from an improper break-in??? Who knows?

Dave  

Hmm I would think oil usage, blue-ish smoke out the exhaust, bad compression readings come to mind. Not totally sure though as any engine troubles I've come across from others were from being stupid and not really improper break-in techniques. :dunno:

Quote from: The Lazy Destroyer

Quote from: 2005-GS500-PDX
I just really wonder what signs your bike will have if there are internal issues stemming from an improper break-in??? Who knows?

Dave  

Hmm I would think oil usage, blue-ish smoke out the exhaust, bad compression readings come to mind. Not totally sure though as any engine troubles I've come across from others were from being stupid and not really improper break-in techniques. :dunno:

Blueish smoke- no
oil usage- no
Bad compression- haven't checked, but presumably not

Yahtzee! Not that those are the only bad things, but I thought I'd act excited for a second. Sorry, work is boring (as opposed to every other day. Wait, I'm an accountant... )

dave  

Oh no...  Another break in thread...  Ride the damn thing already and stop worrying about it.  It really isn't rocket science.  

Congrats on the new bike.  

Quote from: GeePOh no...  Another break in thread...  Ride the damn thing already and stop worrying about it.  It really isn't rocket science.  

Congrats on the new bike.  

For sure. It was a hypothetical question; mine is running great. I was just curious what COULD happen and what symptoms you'd see for those.

Back to my hole...

Dave

I'll say it like my mechanic did...

"its rare for us to see any major engine work with sportsbikes that isn't maintenance related like not changing/checking the oil, air filter or checking the valve clearances... "

And then he proceeded to say "On that note, I checked your valve clearences recently and you just changed your oil... what the heck did you do to burn a valve?!?"  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

If it feels OK then it probably is, don't worry about it, enjoy riding. Keep an eye on chain lubrication an tension then settle into the lube every 600 miles/1000km all should be well.

Indeed Cal. I am almost to 1000 miles, at which time I plan on changing the oil again, clean/wax/tighten the chain, and check the fluids, bolts, hoses, etc. one more time just to be on the safe side. And from there, hopefully many thousands of miles of enjoyment!

Dave  

Just tossing another opinion in here, seeing as how some obsessing is all in good fun...

My guess is, an improper break-in might not show up in the near term, but might result in overheated bearing surfaces due to lube problems until everything gets seated nicely. In other words, maybe a crankshaft main, or rod main bearing might get hot and warp or gall, or otherwise not be nice and smooth, so that it could wear out quicker than it should. This might not become a problem in who knows how many miles. Maybe at 10k you start getting a bearing knock or extra noise.

Allowing for a break-in helps ensure that all the bearings get a little time to make love to each other, get aquainted, say "Howdy-do," etc. Then they'll be a lot happier and live a lot longer. See?

I'm with ballyhoo.  I've heard of the high-revvin' breakin, but have heard of it as a race engine breakin, where you don't expect an engine to last 10K miles without at least a minor rebuild no matter how you break it in.  Mechanics don't pull breakin out of their butts; I'm sure it's better marketing to tell people to run the piss out of an engine from day 1.

Why would the manufacturer recomend a breakin period if it was not needed?   I have always gone through a breakin period for all my rebuilt engines.  It just makes a lot of sense.  

ive had no adverse reactions with motoman's technique, and for a footnote, if all you do is hone cyl and put new rings on pistons, but leave everything else the same with say 60k on them, you still have to break in the engine.


still looking for 78 or 79mm pistons here

If it was just a Piston job, then I'd be more inclined to do as Motorman suggests and flog the engine to seat the rings.

But if the manufacturer says to take it easy, maybe the other parts of the engine would be the target of leniency.  There's more to an engine than the cylinder walls, rings & piston surfaces.

The attention to detail that race engine builders give has to be far better than that of the retail manufacturers.  Same goes for mechanics that work directly with the public.  I gotta believe that the (major) retail manufactuers suggest a go-easy policy to make sure their bikes go the distance and are well "cured" in the first 600 miles (1000 kilometers).

The GS500 may well take the Motorman method, but it's caveat emptor 'cuz you go against the manufacturer.

No manufacturer would recommend anything like what motoman suggests because no one but a select few would actually do it properly. Although he does suggest to run it hard, there is a method to it and even he says doing it wrong is bad, very bad. Going easy on the engine is harder to screw up than the motoman method, and thats what the manufacturers are going for: hard to screw up methods. Because people, in general, are stupid.

I can see all the squids now showing off their new bike to their non-riding friends. Revving the shaZam! out of it still cold while parked in the driveway. "You sure you should be doing that to your new GSXR?" the friend asks. "Nah, it's cool, Suzuki says I should do this" the squid replies.  

There isn't anything wrong with going easy on an engine break in, it just keeps liability and risk down for the manufacturers.