I though that I was doing the right thing by running my new Z in by following the owners manual instructions ( keep it under 4 thou for 800 K? 500 Miles)
And Im not sure what to do as it virtually says the exact opposite of the owners manual.
It also advises to do an oil change after the first 20 k's !..and to use non synthetic oil for 1500 miles..
I have only just used a tank of fuel on the new bike (about 150 K's) ..and now don't know what my next move should be ..I sure want to do the right thing and would appreciate any thoughts anyone has about this.
Loaded question. Everyone has a different ideas on how you should do it.
Me personally, I like to just generally treat it nicely, but not baby it. I kept mine under 4K for the first 500km's and gradually started increasing it.
I never remain at a single constant rpm.
I changed my oil (w/mineral oil) at 500km's and Semi synth at 1000km's.
I agree that the method you posted will make more power, quicker. But at the same time, reduce the longevity of the motor in my opinion. There's a lot of credence to the thought of bedding in the rings properly by riding it hard.
Personally, it's too mechanically unsympathetic for me.
to what Benny said. Loaded question. A very old one at that. Many people have told me to break in my stuff like I drive it. So over the years I've done both ways. Nice and easy on the wife's vehicles and hard, yet not abusive on my vehicles. I could never tell the difference because hers were mildly modded where I had my stuff apart modding junk all the time. I even installed Nitrous on a 1986 Buick Grand National within 600 miles of delivery and ran it hard. I sold it to a friend at 112,000 miles of meticulous maintenance and many trips to the drags. He still has it today any it runs well, with over 150,000. Not bad for a Buick!
Now days I hang somewhere in the middle. Mostly because I don't wanna buy a new one and I've mellowed with age. A little...
I agree with BennyV.
I have owned a lot of motorcycles in my time, most of them stock. But two of them had heavily modded engines.
I ride the bike quite normally for the first 300-500 miles. By normally, I mean not beating/abusing it at all.
Because it is very important to vary the RPMs, I don't take interstate roads during break-in period.
When I hit the 300-500 mile mark, I change the oil and filter. In this situation, I will use the Kawasaki (non-synthetic) motorcycle oil 10w40. Then I will ride a bit more agressively, still not beating on the bike, but will take it into its power-band, (not redline).
At about 1000 miles, I will change the oil and filter again, and ride the bike how I want to ride it. Its at this time, I will actually allow the bike to impress me with its muscle, (and can barely wait).
At around 2,000 miles, I will then be using my "Motul 7100 fully synthetic motorcycle engine oil" and Kawsaki oil filter.
The following oil change will put me into the summer months here in central Florida, and I will be changing from 10w40 to 20w50.
This method makes me feel very comfortable, and my other bikes have always run strong and well.
I don't believe in breaking a new engine hard the way it was noted in that article on-line, but I also don't believe in riding the bike like a Catholic Nun.
**Very important: Do Not Lug Your Engine!
Always, use your good judgement in everything you do, and you will not screw up.
Congratulations!
Two things that seem pretty consistent across all "beliefs" are never keep at a constant RPM and keep it out of the red line. After that there is massive debates over mineral oil versus synthetic and how hard you should ride it. If you feel better doing what the manual does then fine, but I think they are VERY conservative on how to break the motor in.
When you guys say - dont keep it in the same RPM for long, how long do you mean ? like 1 mile ? 10 miles ? 20 miles ?
And what if i do want to make the "running in" outside the city, so i can do it, just not keep my speed the same, and slow down a lot, shift the gears and accelerate again. Sounds ok ?
Z1000thai, my opinion for varying your rpms during break-in is if at all possible, try to NOT use big 4-6 lane super highways because one tends to hold a steady speed while traveling on them. I don't feel you would damage your engine if you rode the interstate highway for 10 miles or so, because you could always downshift and run in 5th or 4th gear, and then shift back up again. If you were to ride the interstate for a longer period, it would actually tend to be very annoying for you to keep upshifting and downshifting. I hope you get my point. During break-in, I would take the scenic route to wherever you're going. Again, this is my opinion for varying the rpms on your new engine and transmission.
I would hope that others will chime in with their opinions.
Bike: 2012 Kawasaki Z1000 & 1998 Honda Goldwing SE
Posts: 199
I will be taking the advice of the guy who delivered my bike: No more than 5500 rpm for the first 100 miles and then no more than 7000 rpm for the second 100 miles. After that he said I could let it rip! And then bring it in for the oil change at 600 miles.
Running/Breaking in Period Confusion.
to what Benny said. Loaded question. A very old one at that. Many people have told me to break in my stuff like I drive it. So over the years I've done both ways. Nice and easy on the wife's vehicles and hard, yet not abusive on my vehicles. I could never tell the difference because hers were mildly modded where I had my stuff apart modding junk all the time. I even installed Nitrous on a 1986 Buick Grand National within 600 miles of delivery and ran it hard. I sold it to a friend at 112,000 miles of meticulous maintenance and many trips to the drags. He still has it today any it runs well, with over 150,000. Not bad for a Buick!
