[Ventay]

So as a new rider how should i go about breaking in my bike? I have ridden dirt bikes in the past ttr 90 -> ttr 125 -> ttr 230, but it has been atleast 5 years since I've ridden my 230. My friend is going to be bringing the the bike home for me on either Monday or Tuesday. Expecting it to have about 20 miles on it by the time I'm the one riding it.

I know there are two suggested methods of breaking the bike in. Hard Break In and Factory Break In. As a new rider I feel I should just try to stay below 7k rpms and not hover at the same spot for any length of time. Would you advise me against trying to do a hard break in? How did you end up breaking in the bike if you were inexperienced on the street like me? And realistically what speeds would the Hard Break In method get the the R3 up to?


I'm in L.A in the south bay area so it is bit of an urban/suburban jungle as opposed to open roads.


Also should I get frame sliders? I've heard they can cause your plastics to shatter as much as save them... any recommendations for sliders for the R3?
(http://www.r3-forums.com/forum/289-yamaha-r3-general-discussion/4369-frame-sliders-fit-2.html)
^available sliders, if anyone is interested^

 

[mgfchapin]

Whether you do a hard or factory break-in, the most important thing is to vary RPM and move up and down through the gearbox often. Back-pressure will seat your piston rings better and faster than anything else, so also make sure you use engine braking as much as possible.

FWIW, I just ride a new bike like I normally would on public roads, which means not riding like an ass and redlining everywhere. I guess that could be considered close enough to a factory break-in.

As a new rider, yes, I would recommend sliders for you. You're most likely to drop your bike in a parking lot or at very low speeds, so sliders will save your butt. They can be disadvantageous in high-speed crashes where they can catch and cause the bike to flip, but even then it's a toss-up.

 

[AJ Nin]

I'm not sure as a new rider I would recommend a hard breakin. That requires taking the bike to, or almost to redline. You could do that in 2nd gear say and it might not be so dangerous for you, but I would at least get down the basics either at the msf course with one of their indestructible bikes or after you put on a few tame miles on your own bike. When I buy a bike, I warm it up by riding around tamely for 10 min. or so, then take the bike to redline within the first 10 miles and repeat a couple dozen times and go up and down all the gears until I change the oil at 200 miles or so. The hard breakin usually recommends the first oil change at 50 miles if you go that way. It's just that a new rider shouldn't be riding that way. It won't hurt a thing to take it easy on this bike and go by your confidence level rather than any formula for how to break in a bike, but I think you could go by the manual. The bike will get broken in just fine either way.

I don't have sliders and never had. I've also had to replace a couple of gear shift levers, brake handles, mirrors, and fairings over the years. I have long spools that attach to the swing arm for raising the bike on a rear stand. They call those sliders because mine from mjmotogear are long, but they wouldn't save anything other than possibly the swingarm. I probably wouldn't drill into the bike to attach frame sliders. If there were already holes there, I would, but opinions will differ. I also wouldn't mind spending money to replace stuff so that might be an issue too. I agree they are cheap insurance, but then I also don't carry insurance on anything...home, cars, bikes, so don't go by me. Ha.

 

[Jen]

As a new rider, I would not recommend that you do a hard break-in because you won't be able to do this safely. I'm not a new rider, so I did break it it hard.

Make sure that you vary the RPMs. You don't want to ride it on the highway at a constant RPM for hours. Find some back roads and vary the RPMs.

As far as frame sliders, if you drop this bike at a stop, I'm guessing you would have to replace the clutch lever or front brake lever, maybe you will scratch the mirrors, mess up the bar ends, and damage the turn signals. I'm not sure how the frame sliders would prevent this. Hopefully someone else would know. On my FZ-09, I didn't have to modify the bike to install sliders, so that bike has them. It appears that you need to drill through the bodywork on this one. If that's the case, I'm not going to put on sliders.

 

[Ventay]

Thanks guys! Great info here

 

[Aufitt]

Im all for hard break in,


But;
There is no way someone new to riding could ever do it,
Don't do it unless you have at least four full heat cycles to stone cold thrown in,
Don't do it unless you are going to change the oil at 100km/ 1 hr run time.

 

[bigbayr3]

Hi guys

I read tons of literature on the net, it is such a controversial subject it will give you a headache after all the reading.

I just stick with the manual, I think Yamaha should know something considering they developed bike.

I agree with the varying of the rpm and shifting through the gears. I try not to load bike by lugging it, i don't ride in traffic at the moment. i do plenty of engine braking, this is why i don't go into heavy traffic.

I am shifting quick, but keeping rpms under 7000, i try not to pull away too hard from start. I also wait for the engine to warm up before i start to use the throttle. I dont idle bike too long, i just go and ride, slowly at first to warm things up.

It is irritating not going very high rpm, so that is why i am trying to get this whole break in process done asap.

 

[bigbayr3]

Hi

Regarding sliders i wanted them at first, but when they started talking about maybe drilling in fairing or that it is very long slider needed, i just left it.

In the beginning i was worried i will drop bike as i am an absolute beginner tit . I have not done it yet. It is very light, I am glad for that, i dont see it being a problem. I am careful, but i think bike is very easy to move around and it is stable.

 

[YamahaR3]

I'm no longer sold on break in procedure. I know a guy who bought a 2011 Ford Fiesta. He drives all night as an independent contractor hauling medical supplies. He has surpassed 700,000 miles and still has the original engine. He did nothing special for break in, he just drove the car. I know he's not lying because over the years he's posted pics of his odometer slowly going up to 700,000 miles. And this is pulling a small trailer, with a vehicle that is not rated to pull anything. I know, I own the same vehicle.

 

[torrid_pace]

i believe a hard break in is primarily used on racing engines so so if you plan on just street riding and not racing competitively then i would follow what the manual says

 

[Stirz]

New rider - go with recommended break-in procedure, but don't get all anal about it. The key points (vary RPM) have been hit - for most 'normal' riding, that's going to happen naturally - just don't get on the highway and cruise at a steady speed for the first 100 miles. The key to long life is staying on top of oil level and oil changes.

 

[2k4_8]

I haven't even been on a bike in 10+ years until I got my r3...and even then it was dirt bikes. I do ride sleds in the winter so I'm used to a hard pull on the bars. That said, I did a hard break in for the first 15 miles. This bike doesn't have a lot of torque, and I'm a bigger guy at 230 lbs. I made sure to run a few miles to get the tires sccuffed up a bit, then I just got on it in second year and made sure to let it engine brake down. I repeated this in various gears over the next 11-12 miles. Its a truly beginner friendly bike, but I also have a lot of rural roads to do this on here in Wyoming. Imo, either way will do you fine...and if you aren't comfortable doing it that way just take it easy. Either way, be safe and enjoy the new ride! Make sure to let it engine break though! It's the most important part of seating the rings.

 

[R0b0tN1nja_BKNY]

Hi guys

I read tons of literature on the net, it is such a controversial subject it will give you a headache after all the reading.

I just stick with the manual, I think Yamaha should know something considering they developed bike.

I agree with the varying of the rpm and shifting through the gears. I try not to load bike by lugging it, i don't ride in traffic at the moment. i do plenty of engine braking, this is why i don't go into heavy traffic.

I am shifting quick, but keeping rpms under 7000, i try not to pull away too hard from start. I also wait for the engine to warm up before i start to use the throttle. I dont idle bike too long, i just go and ride, slowly at first to warm things up.

It is irritating not going very high rpm, so that is why i am trying to get this whole break in process done asap.

Yeah man, just do that. Follow the manual. Don't stay at one gear or throttle position for extended periods.. Use like 60% of the power for each gear and vary shitting and throttle position constantly. It sucks because getting up to 600mi takes a while when you are using a fraction of the bikes power, especially on a 300. It is one of the harder bikes to break in since, obviously, you can do more and stay with traffic better on say something like a 600.

Yes, it's controversial. There's basically a 50/50 split between break-in and break-in is a bunch of bullocks camps. It's a brand new engine with small pieces of metal in the engine and hasn't been brought up to temps and/or strained. I liken it to a long warm up before a marathon. You want to condition the engine and stretch it before you can put it through the gauntlet. 300's have higher redlines, so once you get past the break in and change the fluids, then you can letter rip.

I am dropping down to a 300 from a 600. I can't wait for the higher redline. I love the screaming banshee redline's of 300's! I was thinking of buying a used but didn't know if it was broken in so I am selling my CBR600RR next week and picing my R3 up right afterwards!

 

[mgfchapin]

300's have higher redlines, so once you get past the break in and change the fluids, then you can letter rip.

I am dropping down to a 300 from a 600. I can't wait for the higher redline. I love the screaming banshee redline's of 300's!

Have you looked at the R3's redline? It's 12.5k. Isn't your CBR 16k?

 

[R0b0tN1nja_BKNY]

Have you looked at the R3's redline? It's 12.5k. Isn't your CBR 16k?

No, haven't actually. My CBR600RR's redline is 15. Rarely rev it that high anyway since it's such a beast. I thought the R3 redlined around 15-16? I had a Honda Interceptor 250 as my first street bike that redlined high-forgot the number - think it was like 14. I had my 1992 Yamaha FZR600 from 1996-2008. Rode it for 20,000miles. IIRC the redline was like 11.5rpms. I know newer bikes are tuned differently. My CBR600RR is a 2003. I was assuming the R3 had a similar variance in the rpms like the ratio between my Interceptor and FZR, though not as high given the RR's higher redline. The CBR500, for example, goes around 9ish I think. I thought with modern tuning, the different bores/strokes they extracted more from these smaller engines, and higher RPMs. People freaked at the 350 Interceptors high redlines. Anyway, guess I was wrong. Thanks for letting me know. Even if it is lower RPMS, the smaller engine will scream louder. Still a pretty high redline.

Doesn't matter though in my final choice though. I have gotten older and want a lighter and more comfortable and versatile bike. Except for the 250, I have always been a 600 guy except for when I inherited my brother's GSXR 750 when he passed. I like all the bikes in the 300 class-CBR, Ninja, KTM RC390, and especially the R3. I think the R3 is the most refined. The RR is too race bike-ish. Not really comfortable for commutes.

 

[Kojiiro]

I voted hard break in. Did that on two previous bikes. This bike had 94 miles on it when I bought it, and had no idea how the lady prior to me rode it, but I would imagine she didnt rev the piss out of it. I absolutely did as soon as I got the bike.

You want a high revving bike? Get a Baluis 250. That I4 absolutely screams, at 20krpm. As for the R3 at readline, I would hardly say it screams. Its pretty quiet lol.

I also came from a 600. This bike feels amazing with how light it is. I wish I had the power of my ZX6R though. Having that roll on power is awesome when you need it, or just want to go fast. I also miss the suspension of that 09 ZX6R.

 

[Warriorhd]

I believe in following the manual to a certain degree. Ride it like you would drive it without beating on it. No obsessive red lining either. With that said, once it starts to loosen up, no reason why it can't be pushed a little with some moderation.

 

[quiksilver723]

I have been pushing the bike up above the 7000 rpm range while accelerating on several occasions. And I once rode it on the highway at around 7500 rpm in 6th gear. But that was only for about 10-15 minutes tops. Other than that, it's been mostly cruising around at between 4000 and 6000 rpms at road speeds. I think feeding any engine some speed during break-in is a good thing personally, as long as you don't constantly pound on it.

 

[mikiee]

Break in and highway

I will be picking up a new R3 next week. I will have to take it on the highway to get home from the dealer. I know that you're supposed to keep it around or under 7000 RPM and not to keep it at a steady speed. Could you give me some pointers such as: at 7000 RPM what speed would I be doing? Also, how long can I keep it at a particular speed, say 60mph? Is 10 minutes OK? 20 minutes? I plan to do the break in according to the manual, not the hard break in. Is going from 55mph up to 70 (assuming it's still under 7000 RPM) enough of a variance for the break in?

 

[Stirz]

Refer to this thread: http://www.r3-forums.com/forum/289-yamaha-r3-general-discussion/5529-new-rider-r3-break-frame-sliders.html