New 1200 gs running in

[SMD]

Hi All,

I've just purchased a new GS and the dealer reckons keep it to 4k revs for the first 200 miles and then only extend slightly as you complete each further 100 until after it's had it's first service. I've also heard that it's good to rev the nuts off 'em after the first 200 miles but I don't know why - anyone got any views on this?

SMDonyack

 

[oblertone]

Common question ...

... partially addressed here, it's your bike, unlikely to break, so do what you will

And welcome to the site

 

[GSwadd]

I tend to agree with the views on that site. I rode mine normally (like I stole it) right from the start as I had heard that the boxer engines like a hard run in for the rings. It has never missed a beat and uses stuff all oil, unlike some.

 

[bbbvito]

First 600 mile get out on some roads with plenty ups , downs starts and stops and get it up and down the box as much as possible . Book and dealer will tell you to keep it under 4k, I did and had no probs with it (so far) . Plenty time to thrash it when its ran in mate

 

[Big Lee]

If you want to thrash your £10k bike feel free I ran mine in as the book says and 4 1/2 years later it`s still running great I did most of the miles over the Lake District passes so the engine was working rather than just spinning along with no load

Can of worms this subject, do a search on here for it and you`ll see what I mean

For ****s sake don`t ask about oil

 

[alimey4u2]

Don't load it, spin it....Gears I mean, up & down, use em. Forget 6th until at least 50-100 miles. The engine will tell you when she's ready.....

 

[Duchess]

Welcome to UKGSer .... I've moved your 1200 thread over smd.

http://www.ukgser.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=92

 

[Navy Boy]

First 600 mile get out on some roads with plenty ups , downs starts and stops and get it up and down the box as much as possible . Book and dealer will tell you to keep it under 4k, I did and had no probs with it (so far) . Plenty time to thrash it when its ran in mate

Good advice above.

Going slightly over the 4k won't harm it but make sure it's only whilst going through the gears and don't sit on the motorway if you can help it.

That's what I did with my RT and now, after 7200 miles it's running beautifully.

 

[Engineer]

Hi All,

I've just purchased a new GS and the dealer reckons keep it to 4k revs for the first 200 miles and then only extend slightly as you complete each further 100 until after it's had it's first service. I've also heard that it's good to rev the nuts off 'em after the first 200 miles but I don't know why - anyone got any views on this?

SMDonyack

Follow the instructions in the Manual and all will be fine - DO NOT rev the nuts off it!

 

[cookie]

ran mine in more or less by the book, except it's one of it's first real journeys was 200 miles on a motorway broken up by an hour or so in gridlocked london in blazing heat.

nearly 17K now, runs fine, uses little or no oil and never really has. i've added no more that a litre in it's whole life, probably less.

 

[Slowdown]

I ran mine in as per the book. 23000 miles and just under 2 years later it's still using ~a litre of oil every 6000 miles.

Some do and some don't....

 

[Davel]

Just on 500 miles with mine now.

Kept mostly up to 4,000 rpm except for the odd change slightly above that.

100 miles to go till the first service and then will build up the revs slowly after that.

Personally, it ain't worth the risk of pushing it too much, too soon.

Plenty of time for that!

 

[Dahoum]

If you want to thrash your £10k bike feel free I ran mine in as the book says and 4 1/2 years later it`s still running great I did most of the miles over the Lake District passes so the engine was working rather than just spinning along with no load

Can of worms this subject, do a search on here for it and you`ll see what I mean

For ****s sake don`t ask about oil

wot e sed

except the Lake District bit

 

[Eastriding2002]

Ran my GS in as Rainbow suggested, " ride it normally" I did tend to stick to 5000rpm as max most times, but occasionally went past this when accelerating. I also chose shorter rides on A / B roads to get up and down the box. It hardly used a drop of oil aside from one leg of a trip in Italy in searing heat when it used about 200mls, otherwise it never used any between services.

I'm now running in my RT in the same manner.

 

[mateyboy]

I'm collecting my new 12 GSA on Thursday 9th and I plan to run it in nice and steady for 200 miles then gradually increase the load/revs to 600 miles, 1st service then slowly build up to full whack around 1000 miles..........

well that's the plan any how, I hope my discipline will hold out as I gave the test ride bike a cracking work out with 200 miles on and it never flinched!

 

[elefantmanshawn]

just read motomans advice to running in and it seems I've run all my bikes in really well over the past 10 years and not just abused them and flogged them on,cool

 

[pistonbrokescooby]

running in

hi all
motoman has the right method,do yourself a favor ,thrash it in short bursts and let it cool down, then go do it again. i took a ktmsm 950 back to a dealer for a problem to be sorted out , it had 80 mile on the clock.they had it a few days ,when i got it back the back tyre was all ruffed up .someone had took it out for a spin,more like a thrashing .the miles were 50 extra on the clock.
well you can all imagine how i felt with the c-----. then i saw motomans method of running in ..THEY DONE ME A FAVOR.... that bike never used any oil and went like a bat out of hell compared to a mates . so doing long rides on steady throttles kill the rings ,they need pressure on them ,wind and hills and 3/4 throttle .... take the little glow plug cars ,they get full throttle runs and then cool downs .
pb

 

[MickF]

I was told by my dealer not to cross 5k rev limit for first 1000kms / 600 miles. Suggested I drove it hard from early on to run it in properly. had it in for 1000km. service today and was told it was ok to thrash it from now on.

 

[theop]

The only serious cause of injury to a new engine is putting high stresses when cold. (btw I have a MEng Mechanical Engineering degree and a dissertation on the subject from Imperial college so I do feel I have researched into it extensively for a year or two.)

Engine overstressing originates from mainly 2 actions: Overrevving (banging on and beyond the red line for extended periods of time) and underrevving (asking the engine to drive in too high a gear where every unit of work produced is shared by fewer cycles).

In normal life, either of the above actions have no significant effect on the life expectancy (in hrs of op rather than miles)of the engine (lifing). In the beginning due to manufacturing issues and bedding of materials and bearings, stresses from the above two actions could overcome the safe limit of fatigue free operation, hence the "running in " limits.

manufacturers design those limits with a hefty margin (called safety factor in engineering), so they won't have to pay for warranty claims and brand demotion.

Safety factors (not only) in engines have dropped in the last 20 years as a result of more precise design calculations allowing closer modelling of situations, manufacturing tolerances that can follow the design more closely and obsolescence (the fact that any mechanical product is designed to last less than in the past).

A typical engineering example they tell you at uni on day 1 on stresses and safety factors is that the Tower Bridge in London was designed with a rough safety factor of 100. That is, it can take up to 100 times the loads that it normally has (thus making it technically indestructable bar a meteorite strike). At the time, this was the only way they could make it. They were not 100% sure how much is too much, so it was a concept of "lets make it as tough as possible as you never know".

Modern bridges by comparison operate in safety factors of around 4 or 5. That is, their regular loads are 20-25% of capacity.

Back to engines, the bottom line is that even if you do not keep the exact recommendation at running in, you are more than likely to be safe from mechanical failures.

The current lifing issues manufacturers face (bar badly designed engines from the paper down like TVR's 6 cyl) are not mechanical anymore as much as they are electronic. And thats a different can of worms altogether (that I do not know much about). I know that current drivetrains are much likelier to fail through electronic/controlling issues, rather than mechanical. Its a big issue out there and one that no one has come up with a solid answer (bar designing multiple circuits esp at aircraft apps)

 

[Pukmeister]

Theres nowt thats flat, round or square......

Let it settle in for a bit before asking too much from it.