Dealer suggests new bike break-in

slowbird

slowbird

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So a friend of mine just picked up a 2012 R6.

He said that the salesman told him that for the first few thousand km's he should:

-Keep the revs below 6,000rpm
-Not go over 100km/h

Is this normal dealer malarkey? I'm totally blown away by this.
 
Read the manual or maybe the salesman was an undercover engineer from Kawasaki who knows better?
 
"few" thousand?

/facepalm.
 
Jayv said:
Read the manual or maybe the salesman was an undercover engineer from Kawasaki who knows better?
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LOL!

Yeah, I'll tell him to see what the manual says.

Sounds like an extremely conservative recommendation to me.
 
I would disregard that BS....its a high strung R6 not a damn cruiser.
Tell him to just let her warm up nice and proceed to ride the **** out of her...
 
LoneRonin said:
I would disregard that BS....its a high strung R6 not a damn cruiser.
Tell him to just let her warm up nice and proceed to ride the **** out of her...
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boooya said:
Today's modern engines require no break in procedure. Ride it like you stole it straight from the showroom floor.
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I agree 100% with the above, but my friend doesn't listen to me very much.

I was more curious if this was standard dealership new bike recommendation?
 
For what it's worth my 400R was the same for the first 2000 km (both dealer and manual).

Was also told to vary speeds, trip length etc. I obeyed it for the most part, as it won't hurt (although I did a few runs above 6000 rpm so the engine wouldn't end up lazy).
 
I'm getting word he bought the bike from Kahuna.
 
slowbird said:
I'm getting word he bought the bike from Kahuna.
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Who cares, read the manual, breakin will likely be close to what the dealership said...well, besides the 100km/h ********. There's two categories of thinkers here, first is subdued breakin period, second is ride the **** out of it. Pick one.
 
espro said:
Who cares, read the manual, breakin will likely be close to what the dealership said...well, besides the 100km/h ********. There's two categories of thinkers here, first is subdued breakin period, second is ride the **** out of it. Pick one.
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Regardless of which 2 categories you choose....100km/h limit? That's just dumb.
Maybe 100km/h on that bike is about 6,000rpm????
 
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slowbird said:
Regardless of which 2 categories you choose....100km/h limit? That's just dumb.
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That may be related more to chassis break in, not motor. The manufacture has to cover there butts, thats why its so important to make it back to the dealer for the "first Service" were they apperantly "check all the bolts for proper torque".
 
boooya said:
That may be related more to chassis break in, not motor. The manufacture has to cover there butts, thats why its so important to make it back to the dealer for the "first Service" were they apperantly "check all the bolts for proper torque".
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That sounds like a load of phooey. Shouldn't the bike have been gone over with a fine tooth comb before the customer took delivery?? (during the Pre-Delivery-Inspection)
 
slowbird said:
That sounds like a load of phooey. Shouldn't the bike have been gone over with a fine tooth comb before the customer took delivery?? (during the Pre-Delivery-Inspection)
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It makes sense... When it's ridden for a bit, things may loosen... Could be more evident the first bit ridden.


- Randy
 
slowbird said:
That sounds like a load of phooey. Shouldn't the bike have been gone over with a fine tooth comb before the customer took delivery?? (during the Pre-Delivery-Inspection)
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No things expand, stretch, contract and vibrate, It really is a good idea to go over your bike after 500-1000kms and just re-torque important components.
Ive seen new cars come back after a few hundred kms with loose wheels and exhaust components. Not very common but it does happen.
And if you think techs go over your bike with a fine tooth comb during the PDI your sadly mistaken my friend.
 
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Shouldnt all of the important bolts have been torqued, and maybe even had some lock-tite added to the threads during assembly?
....and then said bolts re-checked during the PDI?

All those services where they "inspect" a new bike and charge the customer $$ is just a money grab IMO.

Its not my new bike, but if it was I'd ride it a fair bit harder then my friend was instructed to.
 
slowbird said:
Shouldnt all of the important bolts have been torqued, and maybe even had some lock-tite added to the threads during assembly?
....and then said bolts re-checked during the PDI?

All those services where they "inspect" a new bike and charge the customer $$ is just a money grab IMO.

Its not my new bike, but if it was I'd ride it a fair bit harder then my friend was instructed to.
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These things are being done by humans remember..who make mistakes..

Break-in is not as complicated or long as it used to be, but a break-in period is important. There is a certain amount of wear-matching that goes on in an engine's initial start-up period. It's important to not over-heat a new engine..don't lug it at low rpms..don't do max rev pulls..vary the throttle..vary the engine speed..do use some full-throttle to seat the rings. Don't be hard on it while it's cold. Let it warm up fully before being hard on it. I'd heat-cycle the engine a few times, vary engine speed by doing some rpm runs but not hard. Change the oil after a few days, few 100kms..then I'd start with the beating. :-)

This is a good article.
http://www.stockcarracing.com/techarticles/scrp_0701_racing_engine_break_in/viewall.html
 
Just got my R1 last week. I've gone through this before with my VTR, however yes vary rpm and load. 1000km usually is 1st service.
Tech told me not baby it and not redline it, but do vary rpm and do some full throttle to set the rings and valvetrain.
Funny the shift light is set at 7g's on my bike..
 
EXR said:
Just got my R1 last week. I've gone through this before with my VTR, however yes vary rpm and load. 1000km usually is 1st service.
Tech told me not baby it and not redline it, but do vary rpm and do some full throttle to set the rings and valvetrain.
Funny the shift light is set at 7g's on my bike..
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That's very sensible advice from your tech.
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