mateyboy
Guest
Well, it is here, 36 miles after an hour tootling round Rotherham & Sheffield rush hour I've not gone much above 4000 rpm and gone up and down gears, up and down hills and it feels as smooth as u like. Another very happy bunny!
Rong
Registered user
Motoman has it spot on, the first couple of hours are the most critical and the most critical part is the 'bedding in' of the rings, so loading up to get the pressure behind the rings is very important.
GSband
Registered user
You'll find lots of opinions on the subject, and it's up to you which one to follow.
But almost everybody seems to talk about the high rev range.
My dealer demonstrated the following with my brandnew bike as it stood still with running engine : if you accelerate the engine from idle to about 3000 rpm, it does so while shuddering (at least when it's new). Accelerate from about 3000 rpm onwards, and the engine picks up smooth, without shudders. His advice was to stay away from low rev range untill completely broken in. It's the best advice I've ever heard.
To be frank, boxers need some time to loosen up. I'm on my second 1200, and they both started revving freely around 30000km/20000miles.
But almost everybody seems to talk about the high rev range.
My dealer demonstrated the following with my brandnew bike as it stood still with running engine : if you accelerate the engine from idle to about 3000 rpm, it does so while shuddering (at least when it's new). Accelerate from about 3000 rpm onwards, and the engine picks up smooth, without shudders. His advice was to stay away from low rev range untill completely broken in. It's the best advice I've ever heard.
To be frank, boxers need some time to loosen up. I'm on my second 1200, and they both started revving freely around 30000km/20000miles.
Well here we are nearly a year later, approaching the first of March and I guess there will be quite a few people here picking up a brand new bike. (Including me 
).
I ran my current job bike (RT) in by the book, and with 4.5K on the clock it spectacularly blew its right piston whilst doing 120 on the motorway. A new engine and complete new exhaust system later (which I couldn't be arsed to run in so thrashed it from day one) it's running fine.
Work bikes are work bikes, they're not your own pride and joy. But my own bike is different, and I am definitely tempted to sensibly warm it up then work it very hard on its journey home in a proper thought out 'sensible' way and then change the oil and filter as soon as get home.
Anybody else??!
).I ran my current job bike (RT) in by the book, and with 4.5K on the clock it spectacularly blew its right piston whilst doing 120 on the motorway. A new engine and complete new exhaust system later (which I couldn't be arsed to run in so thrashed it from day one) it's running fine.
Work bikes are work bikes, they're not your own pride and joy. But my own bike is different, and I am definitely tempted to sensibly warm it up then work it very hard on its journey home in a proper thought out 'sensible' way and then change the oil and filter as soon as get home.
Anybody else??!
As I bought my 7000mile 2005 1200GS 2nd hand, I can't tell how it's been run in.
BUT, It's had a right good thrashing since I bought it (trying to keep up with GSXR1000 riders). I ALWAYS make sure ANY engine is warm before thrashing it.
It doesn't use ANY oil, unless it's parked on the sidestand for long periods i.e. overnight.
I reckon, run it in as per the book. Do at least 1000 miles. Then thrash the pods off it.
BUT, It's had a right good thrashing since I bought it (trying to keep up with GSXR1000 riders). I ALWAYS make sure ANY engine is warm before thrashing it.
It doesn't use ANY oil, unless it's parked on the sidestand for long periods i.e. overnight.
I reckon, run it in as per the book. Do at least 1000 miles. Then thrash the pods off it.
Just ride it normal, just don't labour the engine.
I bought my first 1200GS second hand, with 5k miles on it, off a chap who said he’d run it in gently as per the book. That bike used to burn oil like it was fuel.
I then bought a new GS and ran it hard from the shop. It was a peach, and burned hardly any oil during the 22k miles of ownership.
I’ve had my current GSA almost a year and 10k miles now, and its also been run-in the Motoman way. The engine on my GSA is also a peach. Smooth, eager to rev and I haven’t needed to add a drop of oil between services.
The Boxer engine can be sensitive to too soft run-in, which can result in the piston rings not bedding in right and therefore burning oil.
I bought my first 1200GS second hand, with 5k miles on it, off a chap who said he’d run it in gently as per the book. That bike used to burn oil like it was fuel.
I then bought a new GS and ran it hard from the shop. It was a peach, and burned hardly any oil during the 22k miles of ownership.
I’ve had my current GSA almost a year and 10k miles now, and its also been run-in the Motoman way. The engine on my GSA is also a peach. Smooth, eager to rev and I haven’t needed to add a drop of oil between services.
The Boxer engine can be sensitive to too soft run-in, which can result in the piston rings not bedding in right and therefore burning oil.
snerkler
Registered user
Just thought I'd share my twopenneth worth. I've had several new bikes (FZ-6, Sprint St 1050, GSX-R100 K6, and Tiger 1050), and always ran them in by the book. I stick to the rev range they state, and vary the speed in which I reach this limit, I don't necessarily molly-coddle it. I've never had a problem with any engine and only had to put the smallest amount of oil in the Sprint. I will run my new GSA in by the book.
What I can't get my head around is that people go against the recomendations. I don't know much about the mechanical aspect of cars and bikes, I just love to ride/drive them. But surely the people who build them know what's best for them? They spend a small fortune on R&D to find out what works, and what doesn't. Obviously not everyone shares my opinion, but I will continue to do what I've always done, and go by the advice from the developers.
What I can't get my head around is that people go against the recomendations. I don't know much about the mechanical aspect of cars and bikes, I just love to ride/drive them. But surely the people who build them know what's best for them? They spend a small fortune on R&D to find out what works, and what doesn't. Obviously not everyone shares my opinion, but I will continue to do what I've always done, and go by the advice from the developers.
GSband
Registered user
chipsonfriday
Registered user
I remember as a kid seeing many a motor with the sign "RUNNING IN _ PLEASE PASS" in the back window. 
Haven't noticed any similar signs on the GS's...
Or any cars...
For years...
Haven't noticed any similar signs on the GS's...
Or any cars...
For years...
+1
http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm
Of course I understand that. I often use the same argument to people who muck about with their brilliantly engineered, say, Fireblade, and tell them exactly that - 'Honda have spent billions of pounds researching and making this so why stick that crappy exhaust on it and muck up its air flow, fueling etc etc'.
I guess the answer to your question is the massive can of worms that you would open, telling people to drive / ride their new machine hard for the first thirty miles. Any breakdown, accident, incident in an unfamiliar vehicle en route home from the dealer would instantly be bounced back to the manufacturer as their fault. Can you imagine the litigation that would follow - 'but the book said do this ....'. So much easier to write take it easy for the first so many thousand miles.
The motoman stuff makes perfect sense to me. I can exactly see how bimbling about for weeks on end is going to glaze yer bores and pistons, make a poor seal etc etc.
Feck it!!! I'm going to buy oil and filter from the dealer, and sensibly, logically and with a degree of purpose and forethought, work the engine hard in a smooth controlled no mega high revs way.
I'll let yer know if it breaks!!!!!
Woooodentop
Registered user
+1, give it some stick, it'll love it.
But it does depend if your a polisher or a rider.
NorthernBoy
Registered user
Interestingly, a couple of years back when I picked up my car with a pretty highly stressed (100bhp/litre) complex (modern V8) high revving (8k redline) engine, the official advice was to not rev it when cold. That was it. In my first drive home, once the display told me that it was warm enough, which happened 100 metres out of the dealership, (as it had been warming up during my walkaround with the dealer), that was it, I could rev it and load it as hard as I wanted.
I'm not sure what it is about the GS that suggests that it really needs babying so much for the first (suspiciously round number of) 1000km.
Deleted account 190920001
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GS is an air cooled engine so the dimensions aren't particularly stable. What your describing pretty much goes for any car water cooled engine for the last 10 years.
As for running in I would say keep the revs down but do load the engine a bit as that is what beds the rings in. Never ever sit on the motorway steady 70 to run an engine in as you will just glaze the bores and end up with an oil burner. If its your only option then slow down and then accelerate to keep loading the engine.
snerkler
Registered user
http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm
Of course I understand that. I often use the same argument to people who muck about with their brilliantly engineered, say, Fireblade, and tell them exactly that - 'Honda have spent billions of pounds researching and making this so why stick that crappy exhaust on it and muck up its air flow, fueling etc etc'.
I guess the answer to your question is the massive can of worms that you would open, telling people to drive / ride their new machine hard for the first thirty miles. Any breakdown, accident, incident in an unfamiliar vehicle en route home from the dealer would instantly be bounced back to the manufacturer as their fault. Can you imagine the litigation that would follow - 'but the book said do this ....'. So much easier to write take it easy for the first so many thousand miles.
The motoman stuff makes perfect sense to me. I can exactly see how bimbling about for weeks on end is going to glaze yer bores and pistons, make a poor seal etc etc.
Feck it!!! I'm going to buy oil and filter from the dealer, and sensibly, logically and with a degree of purpose and forethought, work the engine hard in a smooth controlled no mega high revs way.
I'll let yer know if it breaks!!!!!
The exhaust thing is mainly due to euro regs, I'm sure manufacturers would love to fit stock exhausts that allow the engine to breathe. And the reason the best gear (shocks, calipers etc) is not fitted as standard and thus making people want to mod their bikes is to keep the cost of bikes down, otherwise bikes would cost a few more grand. Non of this however relates to how to best look after your engine, especially in the early stages.
mechcanico lee
Registered user
If you read motomans way of running in its not saying to scream it into redline its more work the engine hard then let it unload, so squirting it threw the gears and making the engine work wont harm anything.
If you do happen to over rev or miss a gear or whatever it aint gonna break and if it does it would of broke sooner or later anyway.
So you treat it with kid gloves for a 1000 miles then when you have done a 1001 miles the engine goes through " a strange transformation period" and then its ok to scream the nuts off it............yep for sure it all changes in that last 1 mile
Manufacturers will always err on the safe side, race engine builders who build engines to make maximum power and endurance will tell you something else.
Oh i missed a bit.. ..it will probably break sooner rather that later anyway even when its been run in
If you do happen to over rev or miss a gear or whatever it aint gonna break and if it does it would of broke sooner or later anyway.
So you treat it with kid gloves for a 1000 miles then when you have done a 1001 miles the engine goes through " a strange transformation period" and then its ok to scream the nuts off it............yep for sure it all changes in that last 1 mile
Manufacturers will always err on the safe side, race engine builders who build engines to make maximum power and endurance will tell you something else.
Oh i missed a bit.. ..it will probably break sooner rather that later anyway even when its been run in
Greenthinker
Guest
Have just read the owners manual for the 2010 GSA, Bmw now encourages you to ride it hard from 200km and redline it from 600km, but the dealer told me to forget that and run it in just like my 2008 GSA, so who is right and who is wrong.
snerkler
Registered user
Is that true what the new manual says or are you taking the mick? If it's true then maybe that's something to do with the new DOHC engine? Like I said before I'll follow whatever the manual says as BMW have spent a small fortune on R&D to know what's best.
If it's true then great, much more fun running in
snerkler
Registered user
So you treat it with kid gloves for a 1000 miles then when you have done a 1001 miles the engine goes through " a strange transformation period" and then its ok to scream the nuts off it............yep for sure it all changes in that last 1 mile
I agree, as I wrote in another post, you shouldn't molly-coddle the bike in the running in period, but I believe you should still follow the manual's guidelines, ie not over rev it. There's nothing in the manual that says how quickly you can build those revs up though, and I think it's best to give it some
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