Running in

[Deleted account 211025001]

Right so far i have done 42miles on my new 1200gs...........i haven't got a handbook.. i know that the first service is 600 miles so how do i run it in...............? and be gentle cos i'm a girlie.....

Whilst we'll all bicker amongst ourselves as to the 'finer' points of how to run in an engine the fundamentals are pretty much set in stone and you won't go wrong by following them.

Up to the the first service you do not want to place unnecasary loads on the engine. Use the gears (both up and down the box) and allow the engine to rev freely rather than using the engines low down 'grunt'. Set a max rev ceiling of say 4500rpm but don't stress if you go over that, just don't keep it above that for extended periods.

As you get nearer to the first service don't be afraid to gradually increase the amount of revs you give the engine.

If possible, up to the first service, try to keep to twisty and 'up and downy' roads and try to avoid prolonged stretches on constant speed roads such as M Ways.

After the first service then pretty much ride as normal.

HTH
Andres

 

[Big Lee]

Right so far i have done 42miles on my new 1200gs...........i haven't got a handbook.. i know that the first service is 600 miles so how do i run it in...............? and be gentle cos i'm a girlie.....

No problem, just find some nice twisty hilly roads & enjoy yourself riding round them You`ll then be using positive throttle, accelerating, engine braking, deccelerating & all or most of the gears thus making the bike work & bedding everything in including scrubbing the tyres to their edges Keep on doing that until 600 miles then take it in & get it serviced. Just ride it normally & it`ll be ok thats unless riding normally to you is thrashing it to the redline from cold & full throttle in every gear all the time

I ran mine in doing all the Lake District passes many times it was hard work I`ll tell you!

The bottom line is don`t worry & just ride it

 

[Dahoum]

Right so far i have done 42miles on my new 1200gs...........i haven't got a handbook.. i know that the first service is 600 miles so how do i run it in...............? and be gentle cos i'm a girlie.....

why no handbook? another weight saving from MBW

Handbook says

0 to 1000km

- max 4000rpm and no full load acceleration

first inspection between 500 and 1200 km

1000 to 2000 km

gradually increase engine speeds

avoid lengthy perioids at full load until 2000 km have been completed

 

['Nuffsaid]

Now I am really confused ......

FFS ......... I only have a small brain .......

 

[carsqhere]

The bottom line is don`t worry & just ride it

Worked for me

 

[Eastriding2002]

I stuck to approximately what the book says. Coupled with the "ride it normally" advice from the Service manager at Rainbow. I have always run my new bikes in like this, sticking to what the book recommends with the odd foray higher up the rev range in 1st and 2nd gear for short blasts. I've done nearly 2000 miles on mine now, used no oil that I can see and once the weather gets a little friendlier I'll use a lot more of the revs available.

At the end of the day, it's your machine and you can run it in as you like and take whatever consequences that arise from how you do it.

 

[MIKE-SA]

IMHO - just take it for a nice gentle ride for first 1000 km with occasional burst of rev's then slowly increase from then.

As previously said - you need to bed in brakes, tyres, etc and that can take 500 km - so just 500 km more for the mechanics

The GS is not a high reving superbike - twins are designed to be lower revving with more torque low-down (so why over-rev the engine in the first place?)


MIKE SA
2004 GS 1200
1999 CBR 600 F4
125 Scoot

 

[Fanum]

Ring the nuts off it

 

[Janie]

so up to 4000revs and steady away, untill 600miles..........and 100 odd for me tyres to scrub in..............what about the brakes?

 

[jonothan]

...what about the brakes?

Use them normally.

Erm, the one thing that I have been told by my dealer (Astle, Grimsby) about running in is this. Don't start the engine and leave it ticking over happily on the side stand while you're putting gloves and helmet on. Start it when you're on the bike, ready to go, and ride away immediately.

Apprently, the uneven warming in this period causes higher oil consumption later in the life of the bike. Dunno if this is true but I followed this advice and mine uses no oil at all, never has.

J

 

[Robbo1200ADV]

Ran my GSA12 in as the book says but after 300 miles let it rev a bit up to 6000 rpm result .......no oil used so far and used none in the run in period ,unlike my GSA1150's both of which used loads on the run in period and for the first 5000 miles

 

[Pukmeister]

My early 2004 R1200GS was a dealer demonstrator and it used oil up until 15,000 miles. It racked up most of its mileage very early in its life, and is now at 24k and running sweetly with only the odd tiny oil top up (Motul 300 semi).

Dealers I know get their employees to ride the demo bikes until the first service to get the basic running in completed safely, then the public can be let loose on them with confidence both for the sake of further mechanical wear and rider safety.

No doubt my bike was ragged hard from new as it was the bike of choice for bike magazines at the time and generated a lot of new interest in BMW, especially from the curious sports bike enthusiasts who'd seen LWR and wanted a go on a GS.

So much for ragging it and saving oil.....

As I was told in my apprenticeship, there's nowt thats truly flat, square or round...... Run the bloody thing in properly.

 

[ovenpaa]

to be fair, i'd say many were the result of clutchless gearchanges

I seldom use the clutch on up changes if I am on my own - a practice I have adopted since my first bike over 30 years ago, I will use the clutch with a pillion and if the road conditions call for it and I have had no issues yet. This includes full throttle clutchless changes on the limiter on Fireblades before I built a power shift circuit.

I will however always use the clutch to go down on the BMW and I also use the back brake more on the BM as it smooths out the downshift considerably in the lower gears.

 

[The Bede]

... Ran my jan '06 in according to BWM book and dealer advice, 5000rpm till the first service at 600miles, gradually increased over the next 600 miles or so, blatting from 1350miles (ish)

... I was told you need the longer running in period for boxer engines because they're air-cooled and therefore built to lower tolerances so they can operate over a greater engine temperature range. It is also why BWM won't use anything but mineral oil until the 12000 service (changed to semi-synth)

... 15K miles coming up, low oil useage (180ml in 3000 miles), power has developed with miles and she delivers a much punchier response now than she did at 5000 miles. But I'll try full-synth from the next service, 18Kmiles should be enough running in!