[wtxstryker]

I have been told that you have to break the engine in for the first thousand miles. Is this true? and How exactly would I "break it in"? Do I need to take it pretty easy for the first thousand or just ride?

Just thought Id ask some much more experienced people, thanks!

 

[Hotsocket]

Break in is achieved by varying engine speed, working all the gears, and avoiding high RPMs. You can usually accomplish all three of those by doing some leisurely back-road rides. Avoid freeways if possible: it is harder to vary your engine speed and work all the gears with a speed range of 55 to 65.

The manual says to keep it below 1/3 throttle for the first 600 miles and below 1/2 throttle the next 400 miles. That is a really conservative guideline. It is okay to goose it past 1/3 or 1/2 occasionally - just don't do it a lot and don't do it for sustained periods. You don't want to go looking for redline till you have that first 1 k in.

 

[mn stryker]

Use a little common sense and you'll be fine. The biggies are to avoid driving the same speed/RPM for long periods of time for the first few hundred miles. By that I mean don't leave the dealer and go for a 100 miles cruise at 60 without any speed variations.

The other biggie is to avoid any wide open throttle for any extended period of time (more than 5 seconds). After a couple hundred miles you can continue to baby it less and less.

Personally...those are about the only two break-in rules I follow. Other than that drive it like you would normally. Maybe not the old "ride it like you stole it" mentality but certainly you can be much more aggressive than the owners manual says.

Enjoy your new ride! It's a great bike.

 

[Silkentek]

Don't forget to change your oil and filter at 600 miles... that first oil change is important. I was pretty careful about the first 600 miles, just did local rides and on our roads it was easy to go thru the gears and vary the rpm. She goes really nicely now and is finally starting to feel 'broke in' after 3k miles

 

[mikoloe]

the answer to this is easy....
drink beer then
ride.
drink beer then
ride