[Wicked]

Hey guys. I have never bought a new car or bike, so my 02 R1 is my first. I have bulit engines for my cars and stuff and know how to break them in but how accurate is the factories recommendation for break in??

It says 6000RPM til 600 miles then 7000RPM til 1000 then go have fun?

What are you guys doing? Is this too conservative?
Let me know thanks!

 

[pegdrgr]

I followed the factory recommendation on mine and I don't regret it at all. Most of the 5K rpm vibration that everyone complains about went away for me at the 400 mile mark. And now the vibration that was noticable above 6K is going away also. I have 920 miles on mine now, hopefully tonight that will be 1K. The other thing about breaking it in is you get a chance to get to know the bike a little before you get yourself into a biut of trouble.

Take a couple of long rides through you favorite twisty road and you will break it in the best way possible. Things to remember, don't keep it at a constant speed or gear, and it is ok to run it over the 6 and 7K RPM limits occasionally as long as it is not "for extended periods". If you run on a twisty road you will naturally go through all the gears, and you will never be at a constant RPM.

J

 

[Bjorn]

"...It says 6000RPM til 600 miles then 7000RPM til 1000 then go have fun? ..."

It actually says to AVOID PROLONGED OPERATION above 6000rpm for the first 1000km

The for the next 600km to AVOID PROLONGED OPERATION ABOVE 7000rpm.

To me that says popping it up once and a while is fine!!!

Go enjoy the bike. Hell what are the chances of you having the same bike in 2-3 years anyway? You know you're going to get a new one!!!

 

[sKy27R1]

ay pegdrgr

check this out, you said to never stay at a constant speed especially in one gear. So far I have put 600 miles on mines and those miles took place within 5 days and basically all freeway miles staying constant speed of 75 to 80 on sixth gear. So I ask is this havardous to my vehicle and if so, how?

 

[Wicked]

TRUE TRUE

 

[NY2NJ]

check this out, you said to never stay at a constant speed especially in one gear. So far I have put 600 miles on mines and those miles took place within 5 days and basically all freeway miles staying constant speed of 75 to 80 on sixth gear. So I ask is this havardous to my vehicle and if so, how?

There's a buttload of theories out there, but I've heard to avoid 6th gear and constant speed.

 

[aceracer24]

I've always been told to NEVER keep it at a constant speed and DRIVE IT LIKE YOU NORMALLY WOULD!!. Keeping it at a constant speed is bad because while it's breaking in the motor it will only top out so far at the top of the piston bore. So you will start getting a lip at the pistons highest point. If you get a lip at the pistons highest travel and then rack the RPM's up you will cause the piston to actually stretch just a bit which will cross the lip in turn wearing the rings out faster. Also I have been told to run the bike like i normally would because again at lower RPM's the piston will only stretch so far. But if you get on the throttle hard and run the RPM's up you will allow the piston to stretch to it's fullest amount of travel eliminating the chance of making a lip lower in the bore. If you have ever taken any kind of motor apart you will notice at the top of the bore there is a lip. Thats the pistons highest amount of travel. 1000 miles can easily make this lip and if it's to low in the bore after 1000 miles and after this you start to race the engine you will be stretching the piston that much farther past the lip and wearing out your rings. One thing i can suggest is DO NOT RUN FULL SYNTHETIC OIL during the break in period. The motor will never break in right. Regardless how you decide to break your motor in don't use full synthetic until AFTER 1000 miles.

 

[sKy27R1]

You say that keeping it on a constant speed is bad because while its breaking in the motor it would top out the piston bore and therefore cause a lip. Should'nt this only happen at higher revs other than anything below factory recommendation(5k RPM during breaking) considering the fact that you have about 6 more grand to go before redline. Your not telling me that if I go at a constant speed of 30 mph on third gear for bout 10 minute would do harm to my bike, right? This is just impossible to believe, explain to me detaily how this can be possible? I dont mean to be a a**hole but I need some prove.

 

[pegdrgr]

sKy, my understanding about the constant speed issue is more of a vibration harmonics. If you keep the engine at a constant speed vibration harmonics may cause unusual wear patterns in the matting faces. One thing I did notice is that as I ran in a particular RPM range like 4-6K that range smoothed out. Then when I passed 600 miles, I ram more 6-7K and that range got smoother. The no 6th gear only rule is just so that you wear in all matting faces equally.

 

[aceracer24]

No I am not saying 10 min of constant speed is going to make that lip. It takes several hundred miles before you would even begin to see a lip or feel one. I am just saying that if you where to go on a long ride say on the highway often and always ran the bike at 6000 during this long highway trip that it's possible to make a lip at 6000 rpm. After your 600 miles doing constant 6000 rpm you now go 7000 the piston will stretch and pass this lip created at 6000 rpm. Now you continue the 7000 for the remainder of your break in and you COULD make a new lip at the 7000 mark. I am not a tech. I can only explain what i have been told in the past by bike shops. If your a hard rider by heart and always use the full RPM spectrum from day one and ride it like you normally would from day one then the only lip you would create would be at the bikes maximum RPM. During the break in it's just more critical NOT to run at a constant speed. I have done bikes both ways. I have run them exactly like the manufacturer says and exactly as i have explained to you. I have never kept a bike long enough to notice any differance either way. It's a persoanl choice really.

 

[aceracer24]

Something you need to keep in mind...your breakin ina BRAND NEW MOTOR. When you change your oil for the first time you will see metal flakes in the oil. Where do you think that comes from? The rings, and every other metal part in the motor. If you where to only ever go 30 mph in 3rd gear for the entire life of the motor the lip would be set for that RPM. At 3000 rpm you will get very little stretch out of the piston. All motor parts will flex and stretch to a certain point. Add more RPM you get more stretch. This is on a VERY small measurement. Maybe 1000's of an inch. But what you can't see the motor WILL feel. Takin this example of only running the motor at 3000 RPM's for the life of the engine(say about 20,000 miles) then a new rider buys it and runs it like a GP bike and he will soon see smoke because he is running the RPM's to the red line. The rings will be passing this 3000 RPM lip causeing the rings to be worn down. This is just an example. NO ONE will ever only run the bike at 3000 rpm's for 20,000 miles. I just hope it better explains what I am talkin about. I am not the best at explaining what I mean so sorry if it's a bit confusing. The factory recommendations are so you can get THE MOST out of your engine. Miles wise. Do you ever see a GP race bike breakin his engine for 1000 miles before he races it in a race?? Nope. But then they have to rebuild there engines often because of the hard abuse.

 

[RecklessR1]

"I just hope it better explains what I am talkin about. I am not the best at explaining what I mean so sorry if it's a bit confusing."

I'm not confused at all. This all makes sense to me.
Thanks for the info!:thumbup

 

[aceracer24]

No problem at all. But please be aware...I accept NO responsability if something should go wrong because you choose to disregard what the manufaturer says...thats if you DO choose to ignore it.

 

[sKy27R1]

aceracer24

I understand very much what you are saying but this is not what I asked? My question is how is it worse if I ride my bike at constant speed on a certain gear(I am not talking bout riding in 3rd for 20,000 miles I am talking commuting from work to home on freeway at 75 -80 mph on sixth gear and why I chose that speed is because I won't slow traffic down and that is the max rpm(5000rpm) recommended by the factory)? I believe that this is much better than riding on the highway constantly having to stop at stop signs or red lite and let your bike over heat considering all the cool air you get from the wind on the freeway and as long as you dont take it up too high in the rpm. Ok if I understand your lip theory correctly than your saying after 1000k break in your bike is protected against any lip problem. I mean I am not even bringing it pass 5000. So once again I ask how am I causing worse engine wear than anyone else who bring their rpm up and down and constantly switching gears(are they waive from such engine by using this riding technique?)?

 

[PrizmP]

BTW Sky, the limit is 6000 RPMs for the first 600 miles and 7000 up to 1000 miles... not 5000 RPM. And as the manual says don't take it over that for a plolonged period of time... that doesn't mean you can't take over 6~7000 RPMs once in a while to prevent the lip from forming.

Haaaa! All the worries of having a new bike! Poor little you. :lol

 

[tortellini]

my 02 R1 is my second break-in (99 gsxr750 1st) like the gsxr i rode it under 6000rpm for the 1st 600miles, took it in for the service and then let her rip never looking back after all thats why we all have these bikes right? never had a problem with the gsxr and knock on wood evrythings going good on my new baby. besides that's what warranties are for. talking with the mechanics they say yamaha puts in that extra about 7000 rpm from 600-1000miles as a precaution to cover their ass.

 

[NY2NJ]

I'm with tortellini...I broke my F4i in hard and I feel I got more out of it than a friend of mine who broke his F4i in by the book. I've thrown over 10K miles on the F4i and the engine seems to get better with time. I'm breaking in my R1 the same way. I vary my speed and the rev range throughout each gear. I've heard that you should break it in the way you want it to perform.

 

[aceracer24]

My question is how is it worse if I ride my bike at constant speed on a certain gear(I am not talking bout riding in 3rd for 20,000 miles I am talking commuting from work to home on freeway at 75 -80 mph on sixth gear and why I chose that speed is because I won't slow traffic down and that is the max rpm(5000rpm) recommended by the factory)?

As i said I am not a pro bike mechanic. I can only say that constant riding at one speed at the same RPM will cause the lip. Which answeres your question as to why it's bad.

Ok if I understand your lip theory correctly than your saying after 1000k break in your bike is protected against any lip problem.

No it's not. But after your 1000 miles you will most likely put alot harder miles on the bike. Faster RPM's and you will most likely do it more often. So the chance of a lip forming anywhere under the redline is alot less likely. Yamaha says that after 1000 miles the break in is done and so MOST the metal that will come out of the bike will have finished coming out. The bore will be smoother and less wear will take place. Meaning that less chance of lip but I said LESS chance. Not no chance. If after the break in you still only ever do 30 mph at 5 or 6 grand then you still have the potential to get a lip at that speed and rpm. But you own a R1...I am SURE after the break in you'll be redlining and driving at all differant speeds and RPM's. Yamaha just says not to do this during break in. After break in have a blast with your new rocket on wheel.

 

[Dazza31]

5000rpm or 6000rpm ????????

Picked up my new 2001 model last Saturday :finger
Reading the manual it says avoid prolonged use above 5000rpm for first 1000km!
Earlier posts mention 6000rpm, Does anyone know if this different for 2002 model or different or uk model ?

Is there even a difference in engine in the 2002 model?

It then says 1000-1600km up to 6000rpm.

Ive started at 5000 rpm but intend to gradually give it more and more throttle each time I go out. Cant believe its healthy to stick at 6000rpm for so many miles and then crack the throttle fully open!

 

[holysmoke]

Hey guys. I have never bought a new car or bike, so my 02 R1 is my first. I have bulit engines for my cars and stuff and know how to break them in but how accurate is the factories recommendation for break in??

It says 6000RPM til 600 miles then 7000RPM til 1000 then go have fun?

What are you guys doing? Is this too conservative?
Let me know thanks!

i have been told the worst thing to do is labour the engine,ensure all the gears are used well. up to about 5.5 or 6 rpm.
never ever change gear too early while running in .