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For those of you lucky enough to already have your R3, is there a break-in period/procedure? If so, what is it?
R3 Break-In Procedure?
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axif86 started a thread for the owners manual.
The owners manual dropbox link here was provided by axif86:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/j6eja7f7stkfksr/2MSF819970E0.pdf?dl=0
In a nutshell, first 600 miles avoid prolonged operation above 7,000 RPM then have 1st service. Next, between 600-1000 miles, avoid prolonged operation above 8,400 RPM. Beyond 1,000 miles, good to go!!
The owners manual dropbox link here was provided by axif86:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/j6eja7f7stkfksr/2MSF819970E0.pdf?dl=0
In a nutshell, first 600 miles avoid prolonged operation above 7,000 RPM then have 1st service. Next, between 600-1000 miles, avoid prolonged operation above 8,400 RPM. Beyond 1,000 miles, good to go!!
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It would take me over a year to break in my engine following the manual--with three bikes and only 1-2 days per month to ride...
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I am torn between which way is better. Everything the article says I can believe and logically must be true. Yamaha have been making motorcycles for quite a while now and must be using the newer machining techniques. The only question is, why with all this technology would Yamaha and other manufacturers still show the old ways of breaking in if an easier, more efficient way is better? The manual says the way Yamaha recommends and they have the knowledge to know what is best. Is it a warranty thing just so they cover themselves maybe?
I would love to find out.
That's a very good question. Every motorcycle and car manufacturer right the same break-in routine more or less. They don't really want to bother writing anything else maybe.I am torn between which way is better. Everything the article says I can believe and logically must be true. Yamaha have been making motorcycles for quite a while now and must be using the newer machining techniques. The only question is, why with all this technology would Yamaha and other manufacturers still show the old ways of breaking in if an easier, more efficient way is better? The manual says the way Yamaha recommends and they have the knowledge to know what is best. Is it a warranty thing just so they cover themselves maybe?
I would love to find out.
The last few time i bought a new car the dealer recommend just drive it like you normally would.
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Theres nothing I've seen in this procedure that breaks from the advice for break-in from the owners manual, did I miss something? This procedure just says to throttle the bike up and down a lot loading and unloading the engine with revs and then engine braking. This is possible without revving the bike past the 7,000 RPM / 8,400 RPM break in rev limit. I think the article is just making it clear how important it is to put pressure on your rings, don't drone out on the highway but instead crack the throttle open on some hills. I don't see anywhere in this article where they advise you to run it past the break-in rev limits.
EDIT:
here's the specific advice from http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm
On the Street:
Warm the engine up completely:
Because of the wind resistance, you don't need to use higher gears like you would on a dyno machine. The main thing is to load the engine by opening the throttle hard in 2nd, 3rd and 4th gear.
Realistically, you won't be able to do full throttle runs even in 2nd gear on most bikes without exceeding 65 mph / 104 kph. The best method is to alternate between short bursts of hard acceleration and deceleration. You don't have to go over 65 mph / 104 kph to properly load the rings. Also, make sure that you're not being followed by another bike or car when you decelerate, most drivers won't expect that you'll suddenly slow down, and we don't want
anyone to get hit from behind !!
The biggest problem with breaking your engine in on the street (besides police) is if you ride the bike on the freeway (too little throttle = not enough pressure on the rings) or if you get stuck in slow city traffic. For the first 200 miles or so, get out into the country where you can vary the speed more
and run it through the gears !
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The Manual doesn't say you can't go above 7,000rpm. It just says not to do it for a prolonged period. But most people will just see 7,000rpm and think they can't go any higher until there 600miles. I'd say the highest you would want to go is 11,000rpm, I wouldn't Readline it until you're over your 600mile mark.
Also to Answer the question about why the manufacturers have these very liberal break-ins is all up to $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.
There is a reason why your brand new bike only has a 1year warranty.
Because most major problems are going to show up after that.
Ex: Like say you do a very easy break-in and your piston rings don't seat properly. Now you are getting alot more gas blowing through than normal and your piston rings are now wearing unevenly, causing lose of power and burning of the piston on whichever side has the leak. Most people would not notice if this is happening, because the power reduction would not be enough to notice unless you really pay attention(like say Racing).
So now you've been riding your bike for over a year and you have done everthing the manual says. But for some reason your bike is feeling alittle slower than it use to. So what do you do, you take it in to the shop and they tell you that your compression is crappy in one or both cylinders. now the engine has to be re-honed and new pistons put in, which is not covered under warranty. As you can see this is More $$$ for the Dealer and More $$$ for the Manufacturer. You also do not think twice about it cause its a motorcycle and the reliability is far less than a car, Right!!!!
Also to Answer the question about why the manufacturers have these very liberal break-ins is all up to $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.
There is a reason why your brand new bike only has a 1year warranty.
Because most major problems are going to show up after that.
Ex: Like say you do a very easy break-in and your piston rings don't seat properly. Now you are getting alot more gas blowing through than normal and your piston rings are now wearing unevenly, causing lose of power and burning of the piston on whichever side has the leak. Most people would not notice if this is happening, because the power reduction would not be enough to notice unless you really pay attention(like say Racing).
So now you've been riding your bike for over a year and you have done everthing the manual says. But for some reason your bike is feeling alittle slower than it use to. So what do you do, you take it in to the shop and they tell you that your compression is crappy in one or both cylinders. now the engine has to be re-honed and new pistons put in, which is not covered under warranty. As you can see this is More $$$ for the Dealer and More $$$ for the Manufacturer. You also do not think twice about it cause its a motorcycle and the reliability is far less than a car, Right
!!!!
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I don't think the owners manual describes a "very easy" break in period. It gives some very basic and sound advice on breaking in a new engine.
The gears on a new engine are not perfectly meshed and polished enough to handle higher RPM's. This is why the owners manual tells you to change the oil at 600 miles. The engine has not polished itself to the proper operating clearances. The 600m oil change is to remove the metallic debris from the gears meshing and polishing themselves to perfection.
Owners manual pg.6-4:
http://www.r3-forums.com/forum/289-yamaha-r3-general-discussion/3665-owners-manual.html
"Since the engine is brand new, do not
put an excessive load on it for the first
1600 km (1000 mi). The various parts in
the engine wear and polish themselves
to the correct operating clearances."
The Tach light on this bike has an adjustable setting, set it for the 7,000 RPM rev limit then the 8,400 rev limit when the engine is ready. Yes, the owners manual STATES that you can exceed this rev limit, but not for a prolonged time. It also states, and as CptNight pointed out, do not redline it during break in!
In my opinion, the best way to break in this engine:
-Follow the owners manual rev limit recommendations
-Follow the owners manual oil change intervals
-Vary your speed and load your engine during break in according to http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm
and while doing this..Follow the owners manual advice also on pg.6-4:
"Any condition that
might result in engine overheating
must be avoided".
The gears on a new engine are not perfectly meshed and polished enough to handle higher RPM's. This is why the owners manual tells you to change the oil at 600 miles. The engine has not polished itself to the proper operating clearances. The 600m oil change is to remove the metallic debris from the gears meshing and polishing themselves to perfection.
Owners manual pg.6-4:
http://www.r3-forums.com/forum/289-yamaha-r3-general-discussion/3665-owners-manual.html
"Since the engine is brand new, do not
put an excessive load on it for the first
1600 km (1000 mi). The various parts in
the engine wear and polish themselves
to the correct operating clearances."
The Tach light on this bike has an adjustable setting, set it for the 7,000 RPM rev limit then the 8,400 rev limit when the engine is ready. Yes, the owners manual STATES that you can exceed this rev limit, but not for a prolonged time. It also states, and as CptNight pointed out, do not redline it during break in!
In my opinion, the best way to break in this engine:
-Follow the owners manual rev limit recommendations
-Follow the owners manual oil change intervals
-Vary your speed and load your engine during break in according to http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm
and while doing this..Follow the owners manual advice also on pg.6-4:
"Any condition that
might result in engine overheating
must be avoided".
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My Forum Brothers and Sisters,
Yes, the manual and the dealer are on the "conservative side" of our break in periods..... Nothing to be confused about, and I know we all want it to be done as correct as possible.
But know this: The Pistons' Rings and the wear to cylinder walls are what we are primarily concerned about.
Our secondary consideration is our cam break in to the lifters/valves.
The initial engine break in was already performed at the dealer during build up and test. It's a laborious procedure and also has to be done when we overbore or modify the Engine Piston(s) and related parts.
How each one of us breaks in the engine is completely up to you.....
Case and Point: Some racer's and their teams will immediately throw these machines on Dynameters and void the warranty immediately by establishing the baseline "STOCK" Horse power or HP!
My opinion and humble suggestion is to follow the manual, and periodically increase the RPMs to a higher Rev as you slowly approach the final Mileage requirements. This will ensure proper scoring throughout the torque ranges of the Cylinder's and assist with ring to wall compression values.
ONE FINAL BUT VERY IMPORTANT NOTE****** Change the machines OIL and Oil Filter to remove all the metal shavings of Break in that you just produced! Don't be alarmed, this is break in period.
Enjoy your new R3! I am! woot woot!
Cheers
Yes, the manual and the dealer are on the "conservative side" of our break in periods..... Nothing to be confused about, and I know we all want it to be done as correct as possible.
But know this: The Pistons' Rings and the wear to cylinder walls are what we are primarily concerned about.
Our secondary consideration is our cam break in to the lifters/valves.
The initial engine break in was already performed at the dealer during build up and test. It's a laborious procedure and also has to be done when we overbore or modify the Engine Piston(s) and related parts.
How each one of us breaks in the engine is completely up to you.....
Case and Point: Some racer's and their teams will immediately throw these machines on Dynameters and void the warranty immediately by establishing the baseline "STOCK" Horse power or HP!
My opinion and humble suggestion is to follow the manual, and periodically increase the RPMs to a higher Rev as you slowly approach the final Mileage requirements. This will ensure proper scoring throughout the torque ranges of the Cylinder's and assist with ring to wall compression values.
ONE FINAL BUT VERY IMPORTANT NOTE****** Change the machines OIL and Oil Filter to remove all the metal shavings of Break in that you just produced! Don't be alarmed, this is break in period.
Enjoy your new R3! I am! woot woot!
Cheers
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Heat cycling is more important,
Run it to the max, all gears and loads and allow to cool down fully to room temperature a few times.
then drop the oil at 100km and its good to go racing.
I used to baby new bikes by the book for 30 yrs till the last one,
a cbr250 ridden hard straight from the showroom, and never spent any of its life not bouncing off the rev limiter
It pulled a higher top speed than anyone reported, plenty of power with no complaints, hesitations, or dips in the curve (for a cbr) , had zero problems whereas babied ones reported engine noises, stalling etc, and the all too common USA 'My 250 cant go on the highway, how to I mod it?' posts.
It was so free reving, noticed it when I rode others how effortlessly mine built revs, and how responsive and crisp it felt.
My R3 will get same treatment.
Its not grandpa's 1960's Oldsmobile.
Run it to the max, all gears and loads and allow to cool down fully to room temperature a few times.
then drop the oil at 100km and its good to go racing.
I used to baby new bikes by the book for 30 yrs till the last one,
a cbr250 ridden hard straight from the showroom, and never spent any of its life not bouncing off the rev limiter
It pulled a higher top speed than anyone reported, plenty of power with no complaints, hesitations, or dips in the curve (for a cbr) , had zero problems whereas babied ones reported engine noises, stalling etc, and the all too common USA 'My 250 cant go on the highway, how to I mod it?' posts.
It was so free reving, noticed it when I rode others how effortlessly mine built revs, and how responsive and crisp it felt.
My R3 will get same treatment.
Its not grandpa's 1960's Oldsmobile.
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234 Posts
I think I'll do the combination owner's manual/break-in article as mentioned above. And yes, I do also believe manufacturers design engines to be money makers for the dealerships. Come on, a 12 month warranty? A bike is barely broken-in at that point, unless you take lots of long road trips.
As an example from the automotive world, in order to make the cost of ownership seem lower, BMW extended the service intervals (for their cars, at least) way out. I still have my oil changed every 5000 miles, rather than the 7500-10,000 that the manual recommends. BMW also says that the transmission fluid NEVER needs to be changed. Right. They don't even put oil dip sticks in their cars anymore!
A healthy dose of common sense needs to be mixed with the manual and dealership advice.
As an example from the automotive world, in order to make the cost of ownership seem lower, BMW extended the service intervals (for their cars, at least) way out. I still have my oil changed every 5000 miles, rather than the 7500-10,000 that the manual recommends. BMW also says that the transmission fluid NEVER needs to be changed. Right. They don't even put oil dip sticks in their cars anymore!
A healthy dose of common sense needs to be mixed with the manual and dealership advice.
I live in Denmark and for some reason Yamaha give us 2 years full warranty and 3 more years on the motor, gear and electrics. That's a total of 5 years on the motor.The Manual doesn't say you can't go above 7,000rpm. It just says not to do it for a prolonged period. But most people will just see 7,000rpm and think they can't go any higher until there 600miles. I'd say the highest you would want to go is 11,000rpm, I wouldn't Readline it until you're over your 600mile mark.
Also to Answer the question about why the manufacturers have these very liberal break-ins is all up to $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.
There is a reason why your brand new bike only has a 1year warranty.
Because most major problems are going to show up after that.
Ex: Like say you do a very easy break-in and your piston rings don't seat properly. Now you are getting alot more gas blowing through than normal and your piston rings are now wearing unevenly, causing lose of power and burning of the piston on whichever side has the leak. Most people would not notice if this is happening, because the power reduction would not be enough to notice unless you really pay attention(like say Racing).
So now you've been riding your bike for over a year and you have done everthing the manual says. But for some reason your bike is feeling alittle slower than it use to. So what do you do, you take it in to the shop and they tell you that your compression is crappy in one or both cylinders. now the engine has to be re-honed and new pistons put in, which is not covered under warranty. As you can see this is More $$$ for the Dealer and More $$$ for the Manufacturer. You also do not think twice about it cause its a motorcycle and the reliability is far less than a car, Right
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Yamaha must think Danes are more responsible (less likely to be hard on the bike) than US owners? Or maybe its the crappy ethanol that the US puts in all it's gasoline. The rest of the world doesn't ruin their fuel supply with corn alcohol as the US does.
So many opinions about what is best. Hard break-in, by the book, heat cycling. I don't know, but i am fairly sure the bike will run the same no matter what you do. Warming the bike up before riding it hard is probably pretty important though. I always do a hard break-in taking the bike to redline the first day several times and going up and down the rpms, but really I am just following the motoman break-in. I change oil early...about 50 miles after the hard break-in. Again, I don't know if that matters except the oil is dirty by that time. It wouldn't be dirty with a break-in by the book. Who knows? The manual break-in seems reasonable though. You might need to stay off the interstate for the first 600 miles is all. I usually break in the bike in the parking lot of the dealership, then hit the interstate.
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I know folks that are racing their R3s this weekend with less then 100 miles on it at the track. Just ride the bike as you normally do with in all reason is my advice. The only time i have ever seen a new bike blow up is when the rider missed the first oil change by 1000 miles. I have been riding my R3 for the past week on the street and freeway like I normally would with out doing nothing dum I go up and down the RMP range as you normally would. Im sure no one here is going to hurt their bike durning the break in period so dont worry about it too much I have broken in my other bikes this same way so cheers
Because "riding it hard" can be understood as "revving it hard"; which are 2 totally different things.I am torn between which way is better. Everything the article says I can believe and logically must be true. Yamaha have been making motorcycles for quite a while now and must be using the newer machining techniques. The only question is, why with all this technology would Yamaha and other manufacturers still show the old ways of breaking in if an easier, more efficient way is better? The manual says the way Yamaha recommends and they have the knowledge to know what is best. Is it a warranty thing just so they cover themselves maybe?
I would love to find out.
ride it low RPM, and normal acceleration.
the stock way of doing things is still the safest.
when riding it hard, flakes or pieces of metal may get stuck between the rings and scar the cylinder walls.
Even though the method explained on the webpage would accelerate the break in period, it is not the safest method, and the factory method is preferred.
even if it takes 1/3rd longer to break in the engine.
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In my 30+ years of riding, I tend to always have broken my bikes in hard. I have always started with Non-Synthetic oil for the first 1000-1200 miles, then switch to synthetic after that. vary from Red line, to normal riding, and work the tranny in good as well.
I always put a very Strong Neodymium Magnet to my Oil Filter, to attract any and all micro ferrous metal shavings from floating around too much in the crank Case.
I do a hard break-in too and go to full synthetic at the first oi/filter change sometime before 200 miles. What's better, a soft or hard break-in? Amazingly, nobody seems to know for sure. That is, nobody has done both kinds of break-in on the same engines in a controlled study, then followed the results for performance and engine longevity. It would have to be done in a laboratory since everyone breaks bikes in a little differently.
The idea of not switching to full synthetic is a good point. The idea is that full synthetic is so smooth it doesn't allow the bike to break-in properly. But if that were true, why would you have a bunch of new cars and bikes that come with full synthetic? Almost everything we do with regard to hard and soft break-ins comes from anecdotal evidence. I don't have strong feelings on the subject because both methods seem to work just fine.
The idea of not switching to full synthetic is a good point. The idea is that full synthetic is so smooth it doesn't allow the bike to break-in properly. But if that were true, why would you have a bunch of new cars and bikes that come with full synthetic? Almost everything we do with regard to hard and soft break-ins comes from anecdotal evidence. I don't have strong feelings on the subject because both methods seem to work just fine.
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