3/4 throttle

[chokeslam512]

...that's what the tech at the dealer told me should be the max for the break in period. Only question is: where is that? I guessed somewhere around 8000 rpm. Haven't noticed any weird sounds/smells. What did you use for your baseline?

 

[fast blue one]

My dealer recommended 7000 for the 1st 600 miles and then 8000 for another 400.

 

[HavBlue]

No doubt the variations of what is or isn't OK are as wide ranging as the colors of the rainbow. I swear you could go from shop to shop asking the question, "how far can I take it" and you will get as many answers as the number of shops you visit. However, get that tech aside and ask the same question and find out they don't hold back. My bike had less than 20 miles on it the first time it saw 10,000rpm and it hit the freeway all the way home the first ride. I have never paid much attention to the written break in as it has been pretty much the same as that which appeared in books long before I was born and that's way back. Good accel and decel runs with seat things quick and from there it's life in the fast lane for me.....

 

[fast blue one]

Yep - smooth on the throttle and lots of gear changes will help things along.

 

[Scott64a]

Follow the instructions in your manual, and if you don't have one, download it from the manual .pdf collection here.

If you follow the instructions, it says not to go over 7,000RPM for EXTENDED periods of time for the first 600mi, and then not to go for EXTENDED periods over 8,000RPM until 1,000mi.

I did just that, but occasionall revved it up to be sure and polish the cylinders/cams/valve seats at over 7,000RPM -you don't want to wear any parts at certain RPM, so vary it a lot and your motor will be better for the small amount of wear.

Be easy on it, and open it up here and there.

The shifting gets smoother, the acceleration gets a little easier as the rings wear properly, and after that you've got a properly broken in bike.
I know mechanics who race their bikes after 500mi, and sear it's ok to do so, though I'm not so bold.

The most important thing is to change the break-in oil and filter before 600mi. I did mine at 500mi.

Then change it again at 1,000mi. I switched to synthetic oil, but some like to just keep regular oil going in theirs. When you get to 600mi, use a Wix or equivalent filter, but go for the longer one with more surface area. No need to buy a premium filter for 400 more miles of wear.

After that, I strongly recommend a Purolator PureOne filter, you can get them at PepBoys. They are about $6.00USD, and are better than a Yamaha filter any day. Trick is, the Yamaha OEM filter costs $10.00!

And the PureOne filter is almost the same color as Yamaha blue.
Sweet

 

[chokeslam512]

It sounds like I'm doing things right then... I was going to ask about rough shifting (1st to 2nd) but it is getting a lot better. My clutch cable could use some tightening but I think that is included in the first service. I have noticed that it shifts a lot smoother above 6000 rpm. Any of you see that too?

 

[Fred]

My break in technique was as follows. It's based on the fact that higher cylinder pressures (larger throttle openings) push the rings against the cylinder walls harder. And given the fine machining on modern engines, most of the ring break-in happens in the first 20 miles. It's important to get the rings to seat during that 20 mile period.

First off, do not put synthetic oil into the engine until you're done with break-in. Synth oil is too good, and the rings just won't seat because they won't be experiencing any friction with the cylinder walls.

Don't start the engine. Push it onto the truck and haul it home rather than making the engine break in during stop and go traffic.

The sales guy was a bit surprised that I pushed the bike the 100 feet to the loading ramp and then pushed it up the ramp. "Hey, you know it has fuel in it," was his comment.

The actual break-in.

Find a time when the local roads are nice and empty. Start bike and let it idle until it reaches 150 degrees. Begin riding.

Once it's fully up to temperature, give it 1/4 throttle and accelerate to the break-in rev limit. I believe that's 7500 on the tachometer.

Close the throttle and engine brake back down to low speed. The engine braking is critical to a good break in. You've just put friction on the rings, and they're hot. By engine braking, you're creating high levels of vacuum in the cylinders, and this will draw engine oil past the rings into the cylinders. In the process, the rings are cooled down.

Do this 3-4 times total.

Then do the same thing at 1/2 throttle 3-4 times. Continue to use engine braking to slow back down. If you wish ( I did ) on one of these runs go ahead and take it to about 10,000.

Repeat the whole procedure at full throttle 3-4 times. Ride sedately for a bit, then do one more full throttle run to redline before engine braking back down to a sane speed.

Ride it around for the next 20 miles, varying the speed and throttle position as much as you can. Keep it below 7500 for the most part, but don't be afraid to take it to redline. Even the manual agrees. It doesn't say never exceed 7500, just don't exceed it for prolonged times.

Change the oil and filter somewhere between 50-100 miles on the odometer.

Continue riding and varying the RPMs until you reach the end of the Yamaha break-in period. Change the oil and filter again and perform all the other required services. Break-in is now done. Follow normal maintainance schedules from here on.

Fred

 

[Hellgate]

Fred is spot on, I've read that many engine builders, MC and auto use a very similar process. That is pretty much what I did when I built my race bikes. For a racer you don't have the time to wait 600 miles, basically, seat rings, change oil, go race.

 

[Fred]

There's another method based on the same idea that is used for BMW engines with Nikisil plated cylinders. DO NOT use this for an FZ6. I'm just posting it because I think it's an interesting approach.

This technique was devised by Tom Cutter, who built a lot of BMW's racing air cooled boxer motors. He needed a way to rebuild a motor and break it in quickly so it could go racing as soon as he was done with it.

BMW motorcycle engine break-in

Install a new oil filter, using the starter (no fuel in carbs so engine will not start) to fill the oil canister area (OIL light goes OUT). Start the engine, using a minimal amount of 'choke', and within seconds move the rpm to about 3000 and hold it there for perhaps a minute, THEN go for a ride. DO NOT baby the engine...use a fair amount of throttle. DO NOT, however, use over about 4500 rpm for the first few miles. Keep the engine around 3000-4200, as best you can, backing off the throttle fully every few blocks, then increasing throttle so the rpm is back in that range. The idea is for oil to be sucked into the rings area when the throttle is OFF. It is OK to use a fair amount, but not wide-open throttle, but do not use extremely high rpm. After a few miles, you can move slightly higher in rpm. Don't idle the engine for long periods of time. After a few miles, stop, turn off the engine, and check for oil leaks. If none, go for a nice long ride, finishing the rest of the initial break-in in the usual fashion as in such as the Rider's Manual...modest rpm, vary the rpm, vary the throttle, etc. After 50 miles or so, return home and change the oil to a quality 20W50 (or proper grade, depending on weather conditions for riding)...but do NOT use a synthetic until the engine is FULLY broken-in, which can take a few thousand miles sometimes. You probably will want to change the filter, and to inspect the pleating (disassemble the filter by prying the metal ends off the filter, then slit the outer wrap, then unroll and inspect all pleats. both sides).

 

[Nelly]

...that's what the tech at the dealer told me should be the max for the break in period. Only question is: where is that? I guessed somewhere around 8000 rpm. Haven't noticed any weird sounds/smells. What did you use for your baseline?

I didn't break mine in so I can't answer on that front. If you decide to use the 3/4 method then your tach will be more accurate. To find out the true redline take a look at Hellgates dyno thread. I believe it was somewhere in the region of 13200 rpm.

Nelly

PS break in procedures has been talked about to kingdom come so if you want to see a huge amount of input. do a quick search.