Running in

[Richard Biddulph]

ride it

Just get on the bike & ride the piss out of it. The rest of the bike will wear out before the engine does.

 

[heathy]

be very careful !

The consensus seems to be that you can take it higher (5000 - 6000 revs) for short periods as long as you keep an eye on the oil level to the first service. Will try this tomorrow I think.

i tried this today and wouldnt recomend it. Firstly that sight glass is a long way down the bike and my helemt is now totally knackered from a gentle left hander (although no problem on right handers). to get a good look you need to grab the left bar grip with your right hand and pull yourself down to the sight glass - engine bars would be a godsend here but unfortunatley i only had the plastc thingy's so got a bit burnt. I had to stretch my right leg over the top of the tank so I could operate the throtle with my right boot - i found this a little awkward to begin with but started to get a good feel through my Sidi's and was soon rolling on through the turns and working that Dunlop.

oh and finally if you do try this its probably better to tell your pillion first. mine was a bit taken by surprise but found that a 75% angle of lean nicely counterbalanced me. Photos to follow when i learn how to post them.

 

[Dahoum]

Bwa ha ha ha ha

 

[Engineer]

I strictly followed the running in procedure in the Owners Manual and my 1200GS uses very little oil. In the last 2,000 miles it has used approximately 250ml of 10W40 which equates to 1 litre every 8,000 miles! I don't understand why some bikes apparently use 8 times as much? The bike is an April 05 model and has done about 14,600 miles - must have got a good 'un - (fingers crossed, press the thumbs etc).

 

[cookie]

I have used this method on all my bikes and have found the
engine seats very well, everything the man says sounds logic. http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

...but his method only seats the rings in the bore. maybe.


the other 90% of the engine gets no running in at all

 

[Engineer]

...but his method only seats the rings in the bore. maybe.


the other 90% of the engine gets no running in at all

I agree, there are many other moving parts in the engine that might need to 'adapt' to one another - which is why I followed the 'gentle' official BMW procedure - seemed to work just fine on my bike.

 

[SilverBobGS]

I am currently running in the bike work permitting and tend to agree that the 4000 rpm limit is sometimes unavoidable to keep to. I have adopted a TRY to keep it to 4000 rpm but if it goes over then so what. If an overtake needs more rev`s then I will use them but not hold them afterwards.
I do agree that every mechanical device does need a period of bedding in but likening a jet engine to a motor cycle is beyond me. The motorcycle is a mixture of differently functioning parts each needing to bed in in different way. I would treat the motorcycle with a certain degree of symphathy until the first oil change but then its game on.
By that time the tyres, brakes, chassis, suspension and engine should be bedded in and checked by the dealer. Any immediate initial manufacturing faults would have become apparant and would be dealt with. Thats what I think that the running in period is. A test to see if they have got it right. If the machine survives this period it is proberly ( looked after properly ) going to last its service life, whatever that is.
I would suggest to people running their bikes in, is to use this initial period to get to know it, enjoy it, and dont get hung up about over revving it for brief periods. Check it often, ride it lots, get it out of the way as quickly as possible.

Bob

 

[Sgt Bilco]

I did what zxrcy did on my 1200 adv but did the oil after 250 miles. Not too much rubbish in there but there was enough "silvery bits" to make me think it was the right option.

But lovely mineral (20/50) back in and requested the same at the first service as the factory use semi synthetic . Now covered 1400 in 3 weeks and not used a drop of oil yet and I don`t hang around....!!

My old 1150 adv never used oil except for a litre or so 500 miles after service but I always change oil after 3000 miles. Did 24,000 miles in 15 months so maybe the more you use the bikes the less they use oil.

It`s my theory and I`ll stick to it.

 

[newman7096]

Don't Worry!

I thrashed my 1200 with in a inch of its life back in August whilst on a track day. 1100miles on the clock!!!

Just ride it, abuse it, love it, hug it and clean it (occasionally)

5000 miles later its running better than ever, just keep an eye on the oil level but even that dosen't compare to the useage of the 1150!

 

[JayGee]

I think I was too gentle on the run-in, it wasn't untill I began to thrash it that the engine began to loosen up, feel smoother and stop using oil. The 4000 RPM limit is utterly stupid, OK don't red-line it all the time but a few more revs over 4000 or 5000 ain't going to hurt and too gentle means it won't be run in untill a lot later. Don't make it labour but give it some work to do when warmed up and it will respond, start to smooth out (well a bit) and be much more pleasant a bike. They are really, really tight when new treating it gently untill the first service and then giving some stick just doesn't make sense. A quicker and gradual run-in will I'm sure be much better, never let it pull below 3000 is a better rule (IMHO) than never go over 4000.