[cataclysm]

Originally Posted by ashis89

I had read a lot about the Classic series and had high expectations. I had a small ride on his bike(my 1st RE ride) and found it vibrating like hell(especially the handle bar) and the engine felt like a generator. Can any RE owner shed some light if it is normal for a RE or there is some issue?

Every RE vibrates but not as much and especially not like a generator! This obviously has to do with your colleagues "running in" technique. Riding constantly at high RPM, no oil change etc is not the best way to ride a new motorbike. The engine oil of new motorcycles contains metal shavings and stuff which is why it is recommended to get the engine oil changed at 500kms! Compare your colleagues running in with mine. I got the 1st service done at 450kms, next at 1900kms and thereby every 3000kms. For 1st 1kms I did not ride it beyond 70kmph in top gear.

So to answer your question, it is not normal. Tell him to get the engine oil changed at least!

[ArizonaJim]

I can add that when I changed the engine oil on my 2011 Royal Enfield 500 EFI at 300 miles (490km) both magnetic drain plugs were covered with steel shavings.
The screen (gauze) filter on the oil pickup tube had many steel filings on it.

A bigger concern was that there was a fiber or cloth like material that had covered much of that inlet screen during the 500km run-in.

Things like this fiber blocking the inlet screen can greatly reduce the oil flow thru the engine leading to premature failure of all moving parts.
Especially at higher speeds.

At my second oil change there were new (but fewer) steel shavings on both magnets but no re-occurrence of the cloth/fiber contamination.

I feel that changing the oil as recommended by the manufacturer is the cheapest insurance against possible failures in the future.
As for cost, even replacing the engine oil with a low cost oil that doesn't meet the manufacturer's requirements is better than leaving contaminated, fouled oil in an engine.

[yatin]

One minor point in favour of being conservative during the break-in period is that the mechanics at service centres tend to rev the hell out of the engine (that too when not in gear). Not being aggressive with the revs yourself might offset the extra load that service people might put on the engine parts.

[Bokky]

Just read through all the comments on this forum and have a related question.

I purchased a new Honda Unicorn 150 bike recently and had to ride it for 57 km from the dealer's showroom to my residence. This is my sixth motorcycle so conversant of the "break in" rules. I did not drive it beyond 4K rpm and kept varying the rpm but most of the time it was on 4K since it was on a clear NH4. The ride was continuous without a break as it was raining heavily and did not wish to halt.

After I reached home, felt the engine, was unduly hot and took quite some time to cool down. I notice now that the bike is not as smooth as what it was when I first started it at the dealer's showroom. I feel the vibration has increased and it makes a "whining" noise when in any gear. The Engine Oil level is proper and has not turned brown. The bike has done only 130 Km so far. Its been almost 2 months and have not even given it for first service though I am aware of the rules, 1000 km or 30 days whichever is earlier.

Would appreciate if members would give me a reason for this noise since Unicorn as I have seen is a very silent bike.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by Bokky

I purchased a new Honda Unicorn 150 bike recently and had to ride it for 57 km from the dealer's showroom to my residence.

Hard to diagnose such a thing over the internet (especially since I'm not familiar with the Unicorn at all).

However, some thoughts:
1) You seem to be correlating a possibly less-than-perfect running-in with the birth of this sound. Don't blame yourself for that. You've not done anything wrong, and if there's a noise its not from your doing, but rather some defect.
2) Could it be that the sound and perhaps harshness always was present, but you didn't notice it since it was raining (which certainly adds a lot of white noise).

[hothatchaway]

Originally Posted by Bokky

After I reached home, felt the engine, was unduly hot and took quite some time to cool down. I notice now that the bike is not as smooth as what it was when I first started it at the dealer's showroom. I feel the vibration has increased and it makes a "whining" noise when in any gear. The Engine Oil level is proper and has not turned brown. The bike has done only 130 Km so far. Its been almost 2 months and have not even given it for first service though I am aware of the rules, 1000 km or 30 days whichever is earlier.
.

Its natural for a new engine to heat up more than usual since the mating parts are yet to bed and friction would be higher leading to the engine running hotter than usual. Also, sometimes our own minds play tricks on us and possibly your concern for your new ride is causing you to feel that its more vibey than what it should be

Just to put your mind at rest, considering changing the oil and filter now and then stick to the prescribed schedule. Should do no harm

[petrolhead_chn]

Originally Posted by Bokky

Would appreciate if members would give me a reason for this noise since Unicorn as I have seen is a very silent bike.

From your post, I sense that you posses adequate knowledge about a new bike and its run-in procedures/maintenance.

All you require now are few answers to convince you that "it is not what you think it is." and let you enjoy your new ride.

I am pretty sure the bike is good. Maybe two options;

1. Take it to a nearby mechanic for his opinion.
2. Drive it back to the showroom again for their opinion.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by petrolhead_chn

1. Take it to a nearby mechanic for his opinion.
2. Drive it back to the showroom again for their opinion.

Or better yet, find another Unicorn owner and compare!

[petrolhead_chn]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Or better yet, find another Unicorn owner and compare!

+1 and finding a new unicorn with about 130km on odo and driven under similar conditions might be challenging for him though.

Be it a roadside mechanic or the SA at showroom, both are going to do away with the bike stating that it is new and under warranty, etc., etc.,

[St. Anger]

Good Evening,

We brought home the Himalayan on the 26th & clocked up 650 kilometres till yesterday. The procedure followed so far has been: Start bike on Choke. Let it idle for 15 seconds under choke, then switch off choke. Continue idling the bike for a couple of minutes, before riding off.

As for the running-in, I kept varying the throttle speeds, although, i did stay under the 4k rpm mark till the 1st service at 500 kilometres. Post which, i have progressively kept stretching the revs till 5k rpm periodically. Have consciously avoided keeping the throttle at constant speeds, while also taking 10-15 minute breaks every 100-odd kilometres.

The bike which felt restrained the first couple of hundred kilometres on the odo, has gradually opened up. The engine now revs freely, though i'm still not going to stretch it much till about the 2-3k kilometre mark on the odo.

Have i got it right? Or do you'll have a better approach on things? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

Cheers,
Tanmay

[petrolhead_neel]

We just brought home a new motorcycle, an XPulse 200 Fi. This is the first time that I'll be running in a new motorcycle, along with my father, who is an experienced rider. I tried doing my research, and the results are very interesting.

I'll be talking about three things in the opening post. Let's further discuss how you have broken in your motorcycles. What do you think is the right way to do it? Why so? All of my knowledge is based off of reading and watching videos on the interwebs, so I would love to hear accounts from people who have broken in their motorcycles.

1. The RyanF9 way

https://youtu.be/u74jYkItdD8

Ryan from FortNine is my absolute favourite. His run-in process (notice that he calls it break in), is very well rounded, and well explained on his part. Like all other FortNine videos, this one is a treat to watch as well, so I would urge you to watch it. But the points that he makes are to keep varying RPMs (upto the redline, even), take frequent breaks while at it and slowly get used to how the motorcycle behaves. This is the method that my father and I are trying to follow.

2. MC Garage

https://youtu.be/xpoglovyy_8

This one is by the great Ari Henning, where he breaks in two different engines on the same motorcycle in ways that are polar opposites of each other. The results are a bit surprising. But it's a Honda, and even he stresses upon the fact that it has more to do with the rider bonding with the motorcycle.

3. Motoman Method

Of course I had to talk about this! You can read more about this very controversial method here.
Quoting a small part from the website itself:

What's The Best Way To Break-In A New Engine ??
The Short Answer: Run it Hard !

Why ??
Nowadays, the piston ring seal is really what the break in process is all about. Contrary to popular belief, piston rings don't seal the combustion pressure by spring tension. Ring tension is necessary only to "scrape" the oil to prevent it from entering the combustion chamber.

If you think about it, the ring exerts maybe 5-10 lbs of spring tension against the cylinder wall ...
How can such a small amount of spring tension seal against thousands of
PSI (Pounds Per Square Inch) of combustion pressure ??
Of course it can't.

The XPulse is close to 300kms, with most of them under my father's belt. The engine seems to be opening up really well, and the gearshifts have smoothened a lot.

Neel

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by petrolhead_neel

I would love to hear accounts from people who have broken in their motorcycles.

Ah! How come I almost missed this controversial post!

Have run/broken in 5 brand new motorcycles so far.

The first one was run-in as per the book being my first ever motorcycle, the funny thing was that within a few weeks of ownership the cylinder kit had to be replaced under warranty due to a manufacturing defect with the batch. Just Hero being Hero.

Ever since I've broken in my motorcycles using my own means;

Stage 1: Ride gently for 50~150 km's varying RPM's and change oil.

Stage 2: Ride normally for 500 km's and nearing the end redline the motorcycle hard as well as engine brake hard to a halt, if I can't redline all the way to final gear I'll at least redline it to 3rd gear, once I bounce off the limiter I'd drop gears hard one at a time making sure to engine brake hard. Then I change the oil.

Stage 3: Ride the motorcycle normally and maintain change intervals of 1.5~2k km's per liter of sump size, and this is irrespective of oil. Keep repeating this for the rest of ownership. Done.

The last stage isn't a stage per say, just said so to emphasize my change intervals, which is critical for motorcycle longevity, the cheapest oil changed more frequently would do more good than the most priciest oil changed at extended intervals.

And you can take my word for it as I predominantly use HDEO and Generic oils that cost anywhere from 200~300/- per liter. Again a debatable topic but I do have the odo figures to back it up, my current P220 being at close to 60k on the odo and my CT100B being at close to 40k on the odo, neither of which have been ridden gently.

Also, the international variants of owners manuals for some motorcycles sold in India did recommend run-in periods ranging from 5~15 km's whereas their Indian counterparts suggested ranges from 1000~2000 km's. The logic of which I've been told is due to considering the time required for the rider to familiarize with the said product.

Which makes sense cause if you ride at 4k RPM for 10 minutes that's already 40,000 Revolutions which translates to 80,000 times the rings have crossed the same path in the cylinder. Food for thought eh?

Anyhow its your motorcycle so go with what you're comfortable with, that is that.

P.S. Do not idle an air cooled motorcycle for more than a minute or two!

P.P.S. Never LUG the motorcycle! Never Ever! There are several moving parts inside the motorcycle and they tend to get noisy at higher revs, but that doesn't mean you should lug it to keep things silent.

Ride Safe.
A.P.

[Red Liner]

All motorcycles are already red lined in every gear at the factory for QC before you even lay your eyes on it.

Just saying

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

All motorcycles are already red lined in every gear at the factory for QC before you even lay your eyes on it.

Just saying

Have heard it to be the case with international motorcycles, but are you certain that it is the case with mass produced motorcycles of the third world?

Asking cause if you take a good look at the casting quality of parts alone the difference is night and day merely from visual observation.

Also I believe until recently there still were motorcycles running on flat tappets over the now universal roller tappets.

Hence you see why I'm skeptical about international claims to be inline with what we get here.

Regards,
A.P.

[WhiskeyTangoFox]

Hello All!

I wanted to know, does revving to higher RPM's (almost to the redline) once or twice during the Run in period affect the engine in any way? A friend of mine borrowed my motorcycle to take it for a test ride and rode a little spiritedly for a couple of kilometres The bike feels exactly the same, no difference really as of now, but I just wanted to be sure. Thanks!