Hi all,

Well, first of all this is a post to say I've bought myself a new '08 XT660Z Tenere - being delivered this weekend! Very happy about that, heh.

However, there is a slightly more relevant question to ask, which I've also put up in the XT660.com forums. How do you properly wear in a new engine? I was intending to follow whatever instructions came with the manual, but then I found the site below:

Break In Secrets--How To Break In New Motorcycle and Car Engines For More Power

I have no particular mechanical skills as yet, so I've no idea whether this is good advice or not. Any thoughts, opinions, etc on the matter would be appreciated.

thanks,

Alex

The Motoman guy is probably correct BUT and I repeat BUT, look at the website and what he writes about. It's flame front this and bearings that. He makes no allowance for the rest of the bike. He's a dyno junkie interested in getting the last few HP out of race engines. If you are an F1 team this would make you happy, as it would if you were a privateer and the more powerful motor went all season. He has no section about how nice your gearbox will be in three years time when half filled with Mongolian diesel because they had no EP30.

Best advice is take the new bike out and ride it on sane side of normal. No massive, full speed motorway runs and stay out of the red zone until the first oil change, but otherwise don't do anything special.

Andy

When I got my bike I had the same question. I decided to follow manufacturer recommendations, these seemed more logical.

Motoman web site is not very convincing -- there is a lot of talk but no real answers to questions plus there are no any comparison tests done in controlled environment. If anyone shows me comparison test done in controlled environment then I may change my mind. We need proof, not just talk. There is a lot of snake oil around, so be alert!

Aye, I'd had the same thoughts re. the reliability of it all.

I'd listen to the guys that designed and built it if I'd just spent five grand on a new bike; that's what I did with my last bike and it worked just fine.

S

You need to think a little about what the manufacturer wrote. The worst running in disasters I've seen (one full sieze, one partial) have been Enfields where (usually retired) owners have more time than sense. They do the 500 miles at bang on 30 mph, and the second the odometer hits 501 they crack it open until they hit 40 and carry on up to the oil change. Might as well have used rollers in a garage. The ability to run in a Bullet in a fortnight on the local ring road is not a good thing, far better to ride it to work in the rush hour and if you need to do half a mile at 45 because some tailgater is late that morning don't worry about it, just get out of their way as you can.

Common sense over some running in table IMHO, although I'm betting the Yam run in is not really restrictive.

Andy

just ride it gently using a little throttle, engine braking and all the gears. The owners manual ought to be a good guide. One of the reasons for misconceptions now is often the choice of materials has changed over the years. However some basics are still true. One is that fresh cut/machined surfaces are soft and inclined to clag (seize) running them lightly work hardens the surface. This is really crucial with cast iron or cast steel bores. You need to build up to full bore full revs slowly as they start tight and soft. This is why you have to glaze bust old steel bores as they get so hard and slippery they do not provide enough grip to bed in piston rings. With chrome plated or nikasil bores ( like the new Enfields mentioned above) the material is much harder and smoother so the bores need little running in. They do however need to hone them to give a little roughness for the rings to grip so they can bed down. (also to hold a little oil as unlike cast iron they are not porous) Although there is much less to do running in nikasil bores because they are smoother and harder it takes longer to do it. Hence the problem of old advice/experience with older riders on new Enfields. Typically it now takes +3k miles to free up a new Enfield ( BMW quote up to 10KM before proper ring seating).
One thing I would advise is to change the oil/filter at about 50 to 80 miles ( use running in oil) as most of teh metal and other detritis that will ever come out of your engine until it fails will be in that time. It might seem like a waste, but I believe it to be cost effective.