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Break in your NC700X

Naked_Duc

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I've heard 2 school of thoughts on breaking in your engine. One is to follow a strict RPM limit and slowly increase it for the first 600 hundred miles. Others argue that the tolerance of the engine is built so precise and that the engine had been ran in the factory for testing, there is no need for "break in". So it's rock 'n roll right out of the box.

What are your thoughts and what did you do to break in?
 
I have always ridden my motorcycles pretty much as I would anyway during break in, but with the adherence to no lengthy highway trips, no steady droning at one targetted RPM, and I don't intentionally redline it or flog the nuts off it for the first 1,000 km's.

The exception to this was my CBR125R, which you pretty much need to flog straight away if you are not going to be punted off the road by little old ladies in Camrys etc. lol

So it got the 11,000 RPM full throttle every gear beat down right from the dealer's parking lot, 5 years ago and counting.

It doesn't burn a single drop of it's 1 litre capacity between oil changes, and it's one of the most wonderful motorcycles I've ever owned in 40 plus years and over 20 bikes. Zero problems. 100% happiness. :D

If my NCX is only half the bike my 125R is, I'll count myself blessed.
 
Ride it like you stole it. Well not quite, but I always run my new bike harder then recommended and have never had an oil burner or any problem with the engine. I've had over 50 bikes.
 
Honda is saying give the engine a breakin of 300 miles. That seems like a pretty quick and easy thing to live with. I've looked at the youtube video about rapid and hard breakin and it just is not logical. Saying you get increased cylinder and ring to cylinder wall pressure with increased rpms, totally untrue. What you do get is heat, and this is why Honda says to take it easy during breakin.

My 2cents
Art
 
Since i read Motorman's 'break-in secrets' i've tried to follow a middle line. I give a new bike some hard acceleration, then let it rev down with no throttle, then again, usually up a twisty mountain road (no shortage of that here). I don't redline it however, and listen to what it tells me. Two new bikes i've applied this to (not counting the NC) and very good engines, lots of power, no oil consumption, so i guess it makes sense.

Very good text about this here (where i got the info about early oil change too, by the way) :

New Motorcycle Check list, Break in
 
I've heard 2 school of thoughts on breaking in your engine. One is to follow a strict RPM limit and slowly increase it for the first 600 hundred miles. Others argue that the tolerance of the engine is built so precise and that the engine had been ran in the factory for testing, there is no need for "break in". So it's rock 'n roll right out of the box.

What are your thoughts and what did you do to break in?

I don't know about the NC700X specifically, but I watched Honda build Goldwing 1800's at the Ohio factory. At the end of the line, they start the 'Wing and drive it up on a dyno. The tester runs it through the gears. It rolls off the dyno and, if all was well, it ships. That engine was assembled a short while before, ran for 3 or 4 minutes, then goes off to the buyer.

I'm not suggesting that their manufacturing process is lacking in any way, but simply stating that there is nothing you might call "break in" done by the factory.

Greg
 
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My personal opinion…..it more a matter of having several heating and cooling cycles to allow metal and gaskets to stabilize than it is the miles. I like to get a few shorter rides in with occasion trips to redline before I go out and thrash it.
 
Ride it like you stole it. Well not quite, but I always run my new bike harder then recommended and have never had an oil burner or any problem with the engine. I've had over 50 bikes.

That's what Harley Davidson told me when I bought my first Sportster. Ride it like you stole it!
 
That's what Harley Davidson told me when I bought my first Sportster. Ride it like you stole it!

Of course they did, that way they can sell you rings and a hone job later, everyone has an opinion on this but if you follow the recommendations of the engineersrs that designed it and the company that built it you'll be fine.
 
I read the Motorman theory but was not brave enough to do exactly as he said. Instead for the first 25 miles I would accelerate to 4k revs and then let it drop to 3k. I did this constantly through 2nd, 3rd and 4th gears. The acceleration was smooth and not banging open the throttle. After the 25 miles I rode it at up to 4- 4.5k revs making sure the throttle was opened smoothly and never letting the engine labour and I did not restrict the upper speed in any way. Only after my first service I have given the bike full throttle.
I can not say if this running in method has had any benefit but the bike picks up speed real well and engine runs smooth as silk :)
 
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I think that everyone has their own opinion on this subject. My break in is not really so parts can seat and wear in as much as it is just to make sure everything is tightened and set up correctly from the factory. I took it easy for the first tank of fuel, short shifting and not pushing to hard. After that it has been game on. Like what has been said already, I do not ride this bike like a maniac anyway, I find it more fun to try and get the best gas mileage and to keep the revs low. It is a game for me. I think that it is true, the bike revs so low, that as long as you were moving air across the radiator, it couldn't hurt itself. It just does not have enough power. There used to be a bike blowup at the shop I worked at, every year for new years eve. We had a 1980 something Goldwing run wide open on the rev limiter for 20 minutes until it ran out of gas. They then piped in nitrous. It was shooting a 3 foot flame out of the exhaust and still ran for another 10 minutes until it finally shut off. The next week the bike was brought in the shop and the only thing wrong was a melted CDI. The exhaust flame had gotten it to hot. Replaced it and the bike fired back up. We all hear noises from time to time that make us question the reliability of our machines. We also tend to over maintain and worry about what types of oil we use. I know, I am one of them. At the end of the day though, our bikes are built by a company that puts reliability and perfomance first. When a seed of doubt begins to take root in my head I just tell myself that and do another 100 miles. No worries.
 
I've heard 2 school of thoughts on breaking in your engine. One is to follow a strict RPM limit and slowly increase it for the first 600 hundred miles. Others argue that the tolerance of the engine is built so precise and that the engine had been ran in the factory for testing, there is no need for "break in". So it's rock 'n roll right out of the box.

What are your thoughts and what did you do to break in?

Hi, welcome to the den.
Do you also own the NCX besides your listed Duc Monster?

This break-in topic has been discussed before, but I agree it is not simple to search for it.

What I do is: do not over-rev constantly, but ride it as normally as possible, but keep it under 5000rpm. Occasionally, I do rev it up once or twice above 5000rpm, just to let the cylinder rings "bed in".
With modern motors, I think it is not that critical anymore.

I cannot say for other brands like Harleys traditional engines, etc.
This is a forum for NCX, so I'd refrain from talking about those brands too much here.
Thanks.
:D
~Joe.
 
Hi, welcome to the den.
Do you also own the NCX besides your listed Duc Monster?

I was the "formerly known as the undecided buyer" who turned "convinced NCX believer". I hope to turn into a "new NCX owner" here shortly. Asking the break-in question is part of me getting ready for the new delivery.
 
I was the "formerly known as the undecided buyer" who turned "convinced NCX believer". I hope to turn into a "new NCX owner" here shortly. Asking the break-in question is part of me getting ready for the new delivery.

:p
Yes it is break-in, instead of break-down for many Ducati's.... (ok ok it is just a joke).

Welcome again.
 
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Heck, the first week I had the NC I hit the limiter at least half a dozen times. Until I got use to the shorter shifts. I like GK's answer "Ride it like you stole it"! ;) At $7,000 with all these great features it felt like I stole it!

Naked - NC get's much better after break in around 1k miles when fuel consumption gets better and you ass gets use to the seat. :rolleyes:
 
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