How do you warm up the engine?
I start the thing and ride ...
Are you suppose to start the thing and leave it running for a couple of minutes before riding???
This is a serious question.
Also how do you best do mixed load on the engine when riding on regular roads? If you ride small roads, you are merely running constant at lower revs .. isn't that the same as riding on motorways?
I am really confused by the conflicting information on this thread. Is there not just a definitive SCIENTIFIC answer? It's a mechanical piece of equipment so there must be an absolute RIGHT and WRONG answer.
Just start the thing and ride it. Ride it moderately at first. That's what BMW advise, with the justification that if you let it "warm up" standing still, it'll take longer for the oil to get up to temperature, therefore a longer period without full protection.
I kept mostly under 4000 for the first 1000km and didn't find it a problem. You have nearly the maximum torque at 4000rpm, and can do 110km in top. It's not like you're being asked to run a 250cc I4 at 4000. I barely ever redline it even now, it's just not a bike that needs it. Call me Dr Slow if you will.
Varying the load is as easy as just shifting gears a lot as you go along, and short-shifting under 4000. Ride for a minute one gear too low, then one two high. It is a good chance to get used to the bike and how it feels, particularly coming from something other than a boxer.
The reason there is no clear answer is that every person posting has observed one or a handful of bikes and there's a lot more variation between individual bikes and riders than the influence of running-in procedure. You can have perfectly treated bikes that blow up, and abused ones that last for ever. Consider also that the running in period is only a couple of percent of the typical life.
Pages like the one above make a fuss about the piston rings bedding in or not, but there are plenty of other parts that have to settle in, both oil lubricated and otherwise, and with more important consequences than a bit more or less compression or oil use.
My GS, at 5500km, just needed a second top-up of oil, so about 150mL per 100km. It's more than previous Japanese I4 bikes. Maybe it will stop at 12000km as others say. But anyhow it's a trivial cost - $8 of oil compared to hundreds of dollars in petrol, $400 for a tyre, and more than that in depreciation of the bike.
Manufacturers have a good idea what works, having seen thousands of the things. This becomes a fine art for leased heavy equipment, where the manufacturer/lessor is responsible for service costs. The onboard computer tells the operator, or even dobs them in, if they're using too much/too little engine braking, and so on.
I'm not sure about the bikes but bmw cars at least are redlined at the factory in their final test. So, if you ignore the instructions they probably won't blow up. But if following them might help and is no burden why not do it?
) and if that happens compression and oil use is compromised. The only cure is to remove the barrels and use a glaze-busting tool, then start over again.
I know these are car engines, but the components and manufacturing principles are the same.
