Break in of new engine

I understand that this subject is only second to tires and oil to generate a lot of opinions.
But, I now have a GRiSO with 14 miles on the clock. I have broken in a few engines but thought I might get
some more info just to be safe.So, what are your methods to seat those rings and have a long happy
engine life?
Thanks!

I will now sit back and watch...

Don't ride it like you stole it for a least 350 miles. Ride it under load and vary the revs. Got a mountain nearby? Ride up it. Don't race up it.

go run it in the hills full power pulls all the way up and full enginge braking back down, don't do either for more than about ten minutes at a time. do this for a few hundred done....clear the fucking display so the dealer doesn't see 120-130mph as the max speed when you take it in for the first service.

Uzidzit wrote:

clear the fucking display so the dealer doesn't see 120-130mph as the max speed when you take it in for the first service.

They can do that? Or is there a screen which has this info available via the speedo display?

  Just hit the menu/enter button on the controls to display top speed. Or average or fuel consumption or time last reset....

yep max speed is one of the scrolling screens, in the menu along with the lap timer and stuff  the manual tells how to run the menus it may be when the switch is in the trip positions but it is easy to clear, I never bother just do not leave it up top it will pop up 1st when the ign is on...you never know when you may get stopped by the one slightly less stupid cop that notices it.....

I got needled about it when I took an aprillia in for a first service (the tech in this case knows me well and was just screwing with me) but when you hit the ign the display popped up "MAX 138MPH"  I still hear about that.  the GRiSO does not default to that screen unless you leave it there but it is in there some where our display is the same as the aprillia, the stelvio though Does default to the max speed screen when the ign is turned on.

Pete had a great picture of the screen when the comp value in one of his maps was wrong....He posted the worlds fastest GRiSO his was reading max300kmph    I am pretty sure terminal velocity for a GRiSO is less than 186mph...pushed out the back of a c-130  

Ran my ute in (SUV), in about 60km.
Rule #1. Don't load the engine (hi gear lo revs).
2. Don't rev the engine hard (lo gear hi revs)

Initially you want to be rolling the throttle on progressively, then shutting it and letting engine braking bring you back down. Acceleration = loads on top of piston, expansion and forcing rings outwards against the bore. This is micro machining as it squares the edges of the rings (bedding in) as well as knocking off the hi spots from the cross hatch hone marks. Creates heat as well.

Deceleration = allows everything to regather back to its unloaded state and actually sucks oil up the bore to cool and clean both bore and piston rings etc.

The technique, get out of town onto back country roads with a bit of room for speed.
1. 2nd gear, roll on the throttle and accelerate from 3,000rpm to 4,000rpm then shut throttle and let it drop back under engine braking to 3,000rpm. Do this 10 times.
2. Repeat step 1, but in 3rd gear, 3k to 4k. x 10 times.
3. Repeat step 2, but in 4th gear, 3k to 4k. x 10 times.
4. Repeat step 1, use 2nd gear but roll on from 4,000rpm to 5,000rpm and shut ............ x 10 times.
5. Repeat step 4, but in 3rd gear, 4k to 5k, x 10 times.
6. Repeat step 5, but in 4th gear, 4k to 5k, x 10 times.

Change your oil and filter. But don't use full synthetics yet, most engines are run in on mineral oils.
If that's too much hassle, change oil at 1,000km.

Now go ride 200km of hilly country with lots of twists and turns, don't be afraid to roll the throttle on a lot quicker than before, gradually using higher revs. Don't do long hard pulls up long steep climbs without letting it decelerate to clean and cool, this is where the corners help - allow the engine to do the braking.

Change your oil and filter again.
Don't be surprised if you let the old oil sit a bit, you catch a shimmy of shiny particles floating on the top. If that scares you don't drop the sump at the 1,000km oil change.

Now go enjoy your bike, ride it like you normally would, occasionally canning the piss out of it thru the gears, when it is safe to do so.

Actually, just read this;
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Just ride it normally. Don't lug it, don't thrash it. Don't change the oil too early.

Uzidzit wrote:

yep max speed is one of the scrolling screens, in the menu along with the lap timer and stuff  the manual tells how to run the menus it may be when the switch is in the trip positions but it is easy to clear, I never bother just do not leave it up top it will pop up 1st when the ign is on 

Ah! Thanks guys. I always have the switch in the bottom setting (so I see the battery voltage) so didn't realize the other settings showed different things.

Read the manual?   

uhhhh, yeah.

I use trip 1 for filling my gas tank
and trip 2 to track oil changes.

DM

How often do you change oil? My trip odometers have always reverted to zero after 999 miles.

Steak wrote:

How often do you change oil?  My trip odometers have always reverted to zero after 999 miles.

mine too granted it has been a struggle getting that many miles between breakdowns,   

yeah.....
I was non-plussed by that but I do write down my odo readings for every Point of Care I commit so I can work out the math.

DM

ghezzi wrote:

Actually, just read this;
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Interesting advice: He says to run mineral oil to start with. I assume the engine comes with synthetic.
Anyone here done this? Run mineral oil for brake in?

Get this. My new Ford has 5w/30 synthetic as the specified oil to be changed at 7,500km intervals.
From the factory it has mineral oil for running in, I get that bit.
But the running in oil is 10w/40, and they don't change it until 15,000km. Go figure!

If you are a pussy with a new engine, using full or even semi-synthetics, you'll most likely glaze the bore.

My GRiSO had dino oil in it for the running-in period. The dealer who did the pre-delivery put the dino juice in and was adamant that I must replace it with full synthetic at the first service.

Interesting, will check with Pro Italia.

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I have been braking in track/street bikes for years using this method.
I have used whatever oil was in the bike/car on delivery.

heat cycles, and loading the rings on decal or loading them on acceleration up hills, and change the oil after 25 miles of aggressive riding and couple of heat cycles.

pretty much to the above but bedding in of the parts is complicated, the thing is really as far as the engine is concerned, 97% of its ring bedding has been done before you get it. the factory has the luxury of putting every engine on the dyno...and they do 5-10 mins of run the hell out of it. The complicated break in is really for the other parts of the drive line and the heat cycling that also helps with strain relieving heat treated components and allowing them to shift into favorable running geometry.

the long drawn out processes that a lot of engine builders use is because they do not have a dyno to test on. My formula extreme engines really had little break in before their track life, but they were all proved on the dyno and water cooled.

Constant routine RPM is what you want to avoid during break in.
Not letting it rev on its own is a mistake also.
When I picked up my new bike, it had 6 miles on the Odo...

I flew to Atlanta where a buddy picked me up and we went to the Dahlonega dealer the next day to pick the bike up, rode around a bit then rode to Orlando a day after that.
During that trip, I made sure to not fall into a routine being stuck at 65mph for hours because by the time I get home the bike would have about 700 miles and be broken in.
When you reach central GA, it's flat and pretty boring with no traffic on Country roads so every 5 miles, if I didn't slow down for some reasons I'd come to a complete stop in the middle of nowhere (don't give a fuck), let it idle for a few seconds and then go through the gears again with shifts at no less than 5000rpm.
I noticed that when the bike hit the 200 mile mark, it started to rev more freely and the engine/tranny felt smoother.