What is & How to RUN IN/ BREAK IN a New Bike?

Buying a new Bike Always Brings excitement and a large Grin on face. Next Thing that comes to mind is how to RUN-IN/BREAK-IN

BREAK-IN (Mechanical Run-in) is defined by wiki as, " Break-in is the procedure of conditioning a new piece of equipment by giving it an initial period of running, usually under light load, but sometimes under heavy load or normal load. It is generally a process of moving parts wearing against each other to produce the last small bit of size and shape adjustment that will settle them into a stable relationship for the rest of their working life"

or in simple words, it is riding a new vehicle to allow wearing of new parts that are brought together (piston rings and cylinder walls to be exact), and to settle down those wearied parts for smooth movements.

History:

Back in those days, when the engines were Hand Built, each parts were individually made. Thus, resulting in non-uniform make, which would result in lot of issues in engine like breakdown, failure, seizure, etc. So, the experts in Industry came about with a method of Breaking In.

In this way the engine would be allowed to run under less stressful conditions, then making sure that all parts of engine gels together in Equilibrium of sorts, that means parts of Engine like bore, piston heads, rings, valves are all smoothened out & work perfectly without any issues.

Now in today’s date all components are made essentially using automation techniques, means there is high amount of precision and uniformity. That also means all parts fit perfectly. On top of it there are lot of test conducted on the engine prior to fitting it to bike and sold to customer.

Nowadays with all the super bikes and sport bikes, the engines come pre-blast, means most of the running in test have been performed in factory itself making bike capable of red lining from the word go. But still it is not really recommended to do that. Every bike should go through a proper break-in for optimum performance and efficiency.

How To Run-in:

The basic of any break in process for a motorcycle engine is to get it acclimatized with all the real world situations out there. That includes not stressing the engine by revving it hard until the parts begin to function smoothly, but also getting the engine used to the daily cycle which it has to perform. So if you want to properly break in your bike’s engine, it is suggested to not take it out on the highways

The reason being simple, your engine should be able to work smoothly across the entire rev range. And taking the bike on the highway means the engine keeps going at a constant rpm. This means the engine does not get the exposure to city ridding and sudden start and stops.

Secondly it is important to be running a good mineral oil in the bike. Synthetic oils are good in performance situations, but when it comes to actually getting the parts working properly, mineral oils do the job best. Also one has to change the engine oil quite frequently during the breaking in period. Hence mineral oils being cheap are the perfect choice. The frequency of engine oil change for bikes is:

1st change at 500 kms.
2nd change at 1500 kms.
3rd change at 5000 kms.

Do keep in mind that every time you change the engine oil, do change the oil filter as well. At the 3rd oil change, you could either go with the same mineral oil; else you could also change your oil to a synthetic one of the recommended grade of course.


You can Follow my blog by entering your email id at bottom of the page!!