Running in - opinions pls.

[Wombat]

I'd be interested hear opinions on how best to run in a new motor.
Here's what I was advised last week:

Start the bike and keep running until motor is hot; turn off and allow to cool.
Repeat this process ten times allowing motor to heat and cool fully each time.

Seriously, is this a viable option? I'd never heard that one before.

[Oldrodder]

The info below was for a 2 stroke and included doing a plug chop and read so as to set correct mixture.
Also ensure correct fuel mixture is run and a decent brand of oil.
This is from CT Racing, I have found it works well!

RUNNING IN YOUR NEW MOTOR

CT Racing in the US has this proceedure listed on their website as a recomended running in proceedure for new engines or new piston/bored & honed top end. I followed this after I rebuilt my engine, it takes quite a while but these guys know what they're doing so if it saves you some grief in the long run it's worth in i'm my books.

http://www.ctracing.com/

Break In Procedures

1. Start your engine and let idle occasionally blipping the throttle for four to five minutes. Allow the engine to cool completely. Repeat this "heat cycle" process four more times.

2. Warm up the engine again and ride the bike for five to seven minutes at a very easy pace, vary the rpm, don’t ride at one speed. Don’t ride at more than 1/3 throttle or more than 1/3 rpm. Let the engine cool down completely and repeat the initial break in ride. Let the engine cool down.

3. Check the base nuts and head nuts for proper torque, check the coolant level and add coolant as necessary.

4. Ride the bike for five to ten minutes at a moderate pace, vary the rpm, don’t ride at more than 3/4 throttle or more than 3/4 rpm. Let the engine cool completely and repeat this secondary break in twice more.

5. Replace the spark plug with a new one. Ride the bike for five to eight minutes at a moderate pace, vary the rpm and shift up and down the gears. Once the engine is up to operating temperature you can make a jetting pass. Start in second gear and ride at full throttle through fourth gear, fully revving out fourth gear. With the throttle wide open in fourth hold the kill button down, pull in the clutch and stop. This is called a "plug chop"

6. Read the spark plug. With a pocket flashlight and a magnifying glass look at the porcelain part of the plug only, as you view the plug from the center electrode look down the length of the porcelain to its base, at this point there should be a dark chocolate colored smoke ring. There was not sufficient time to thoroughly color the whole plug, so the nose of the insulator may still be white, as long as there is a visible dark ring at the base everything is OK. Remember we want break in jetting so the plug should read rich/dark. Richen the jetting as necessary. If your having a hard time reading the spark plug, after the jet pass put the plug in a vice and hacksaw around the plug at the washer. Break the threads off with vise-grips, and the porcelain will be easy to read.

7. Complete the break in by riding at an aggressive pace for fifteen minutes, vary the rpm and don’t cruise at part throttle, ride hard without revving the engine too high. At the end of this final break in session do another jetting pass/plug chop as described above. Check the spark plug for the correct dark/rich condition. Wiseco Piston equipped engines will require another one or two break in cycles, ride at a recreational pace not revving the engine hard, full throttle should only be used for very short periods, fifth and sixth gear should only be used to cruise, ride one tank of gas through the engine in this manner to complete the break in. We feel it take about two gallons of gas to break in a motor equipped with a cast piston and five gallons for a motor equipped with a Wiseco.

8. Replace the spark plug with a new one, ride the bike aggressively for eight minutes and do a jetting pass/ plug chop in fifth gear. If the porcelain color is still dark/rich, lean the main jet size one at a time until the smoke ring at the base of the porcelain is a light brown. If the porcelain base is white, don’t run the engine and contact CT. If the plug color looks good, continue riding at a race pace for ten minutes. Stop and let the engine cool. Check the torque on the cylinder base and head nuts.


9. More on jetting. If you generally run your engine flat out in sixth gear then make your jet pass/ plug shop in sixth. Motocross jetting is checked in fifth gear, therefore it is not safe to run MX jetting in the desert or down a road wide open in top gear. Desert jetting is richer than MX jetting. When running an engine at full throttle for extended periods be sure to chop the throttle decisively to slow down, just rolling out a little can seize a well jetted engine.


CT racing 11805 E. Slauson Ave. Santa Fe Springs, Ca. 90670 ph. 562.945.2453 fx. 562.945.7006

[Rosco400]

All of the above but probably change the oil after step 2 & 9, just to make sure no steel filings are floating around in the oil as it is difficult to get them out of every nook/cranny and orifice after machining, its like what you say to your missus when driving there car, OIL is an integral part of the engine

[All Things 414]

1. Start bike
2. Let 'er warm up
3. Couple of easy laps (more so to check out the track)
4. Ride as quick as underwear normally allows
5. At end of day drop the oil while she's still warm
6. Throttle dog for eating goggles when you arrive home.....

[Tim754]

Shite on my old Hodaka Super Rat ,the Dykes single ring would be rooted after about 3 warm up ,cool down efforts. REAL world, get out there and ride it! Drop oil after a little while if a four stroke, (good practice to follow for whole life) or new /rebuilt two stroker gear box. Most of us want to ride if we can, not bloody pedantically procrastinate over whether this VMX engine will take us to the moon and back.

[YSS]

A little story comes to my mind about this subject. I always followed the oldtimers advice about running in an engine until I travelled to the EML factory many years ago to picup my new EML Jumbo. 820
We done the tour of the factory , bought some spares , asked about maintenance and things to look out for. One question was , if it was run in a little ? " Do want us to run it in for you? " the chief mechanic and designer Fons  asked me with a cigar hanging from his lips. I did not answer straight away and so he kicked  and held it half throttle for 30 seconds. "there you are , run in for you " .
I was so shocked seeing my new $30000.00  outfit screeming like this .I did not know what to say . I have to say , I never hade any trouble with this engine to this day. So I can not dispute his actions , but it does put a different light on all previos advice. 

[Maicojames]

If ya did all that crap-ya need new rings by the time yore "run -in"

[Tony T]

I've never followed any sort of running in procedure, either.
I also remember reading about one of the top tuners (Donny Elmer maybe?) and he was of the same opinion. If an engine was built correctly with correct specs, there's no reason it should need it.
However, I agree completely with many, frequent oil changes.

[firko]

At last some brothers! I read that CT Racing break in schedule and decided that if I went on the forum and said that it's a load of crap, the forum tuning wizards would jump down my throat. Thank you Rossco, 414, Walter, Tim, James and Tony. It seems that my three or four cruise speed laps around Nepean dirt track, change the oil and then go racing philosophy isn't as disasterous as CT Racing probably thinks.

[vandy010]

i used to work for an earthmoving company and had the opportunity to "listen" to a group of diesel fitters argue about the best way to warm-up/run in an engine. they all had different theories but each persons idea's had merrits and at the end of it all i arrived at my own conclusion,
 just warm the bugger up with steady reving building up to riding like normal.
remember, we're running in a gearbox and clutch too, so if they ain't workin then we'd need to consult the so called experts on the best way to do that as well and we still havn't run in the suspension yet have we?
if it blows-up in the first few minutes, then chances are it wasn't put together properly anyway.
my 2 bobs worth...

[YSS]

I am glade other people share similar opinions, like Vandy said with suspension , you dont run that in either. But there I know what I am doing and can have an opinion thats backed . What we do there ,is calibrate guides and piston +.02 to ensure trouble free movements at the point of preassembly.I would imagine with todays materials and knowledge  that should apply to engines too . Like I said , I never hade a problem with that .

[Tony T]

In a similar vein, Rick Sieman was telling me about assembling top ends on a two stroke and how it should be done dry. It does make sense that once the fuel gets there, obviously the oil has too, but I've always put a bit of oil on the cylinder walls before assembly.
He told me of a particular tuner that proved it to him with 2 Husky engines on the bench. One he assembled dry, one wet. Fired them both up and went straight to full throttle for 1/2 an hour or so. When pulled down, the dry one looked perfect and the wet one was glazed and the rings a little sticky already. The details might be a bit out as I was driving in peak-hour Melbourne traffic at the time with Rick's wife, Tina in the back telling him to shut up cos she thought I was going to get us lost.    
But that's the gist of it.
How many of you still oil your top ends before assembly like me?

[Wombat]

Wow, variations ranging from Tony Ts' no run in required to Oldrodders' nine step procedure over the life of a full tank of fuel!
And everyone says each differing process works for them!
Thank you all for the replies; they're much appreciated.

[Maicojames]

Firko. I run in more slowly the bigger bores, forged pistons etc.-so a440 Maico takes usually 3-4 laps-then I rest, check for loose stuff, jetting etc...really more concerened with jetting readings and tightening head bolts etc. To really break one in quick, run in lower gears, open throttle , let engine pull speed down in low gears-this gets some pressure under the rings. Also, I am more careful again with those hard to find Mahle pistons than with a 125 or 250. On Jap 125s nad 250s I just race it with no run in.

I put my 74 KTM together one night 10 yrs ago- started it up in the truck on the way....well I was supposed to follow some plan like above-and forgot-it idled all the way( about 2hr drive)-was running when I got to the gate -yes I felt stupid, but it ran great anyway. I won too.

[Tony T]

Thank you all for the replies; they're much appreciated.

Didn't help much, though did we??