break in

Discussion in '2012+ CRF250L Tech Talk' started by shiredevon, May 24, 2014.

  1. shiredevon

    shiredevon Member

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  2. cowboy

    cowboy Member

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    I do think 600 miles to first oil change is quite a long time on this bike, especially if it's used much off-road which could take more hours running time to get there than a road bike.
    The quantity in the sump is small and filters inexpensive - it's easy to DIY.
    Not sure about the more extreme break-in ideas, to be honest I rode mine fairly normally, but avoided letting it labour and tried to do more varied riding rather than doing most of the miles droning around on longer road trips at 60mph
     
  3. shiredevon

    shiredevon Member

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    I agree cowboy, think i'll just take it easy, vary the revs without going too far, i like the idea of changing the oil and filter frequently to start with, and i'll go synthetic when enough miles on the clock.
     
  4. shiredevon

    shiredevon Member

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    Slightly off topic but as i live in philippines i was watching old re runs of top gear on cable,(i'll watch anything in english hehe) and they were doing an article on oil, not only was the old oil full of crap under a microscope but it was also thinned down and 15% gas!,

    They ran a car a few times from a standing start to 100mph with the old oil in it and then changed the oil and repeated the test, can you believe it shaved half a second off the time!, this was down to the new oil being more slippery,

    So on an engine with a small oil reservoir its seems good sense to change frequently eh!.
     
    Last edited: May 24, 2014
  5. cowboy

    cowboy Member

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    Some modern engines are reducing emissions by separating any unburnt fuel and somehow dumping it in the oil.
    Isuzu (I have one) have been noted for doing this so much that the oil level gradually rises!
    Can't be good for the oil's lubricating ability.
     
  6. shiredevon

    shiredevon Member

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    Really that's frightening, wow i'm stunned, what's the world coming to eh,
     
  7. hockeyrick

    hockeyrick Member

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    Just ride it for Pete's sake!
     
  8. shiredevon

    shiredevon Member

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  9. shiredevon

    shiredevon Member

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    When i read this article again it don't really make sense, quote...
    How Do Rings Seal Against Tremendous Combustion Pressure ??

    From the actual gas pressure itself !! It passes over the top of the ring, and gets behind it to force it outward against the cylinder wall. The problem is that new rings are far from perfect and they must be worn in quite a bit in order to completely seal all the way around the bore. If the gas pressure is strong enough during the engine's first miles of operation (open that throttle !!!), then the entire ring will wear into
    the cylinder surface, to seal the combustion pressure as well as possible.

    As an engineer i don't accept that the gas pressure gets behind the ring to force it out, In fact an easier route would be to blow past between the ring and the bore!, obviously this can't be the case or engines would never run successfully,

    When i used to race many moons ago(2 strokes) we used to use a flat top hepolite piston with a dykes "L" shaped ring, this did and was designed to force the ring to the cylinder, it was very good but restricted the engines ability to rev, So this was abandoned and replaced by a domed piston with 2 thin rings, Irrelevant i was just reminiscing hehe,

    So to summarise i'm less than convinced that i should cane the ass of it as a break in method.
     
  10. shiredevon

    shiredevon Member

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    Further googling it seems i was wrong and indeed gas does push the ring outwards, so maybe there is something in the hard break in method.
     
  11. cowboy

    cowboy Member

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    It's difficult to do properly in real life though, unless you live by a race track!
    But it does imply not much to be gained by being over cautious.
     
  12. shiredevon

    shiredevon Member

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    For sure cowboy, i've got a 100 mile ride back from the shop so i'll drive it as hard as traffic will allow, should be pretty much broken in by then!.
     
  13. TTOversteer

    TTOversteer Member

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    Certain car manufacturers (Porsche, for example) don't have a "break in" period. They recommend just driving the darned things. And Cowboy's research echos stuff I learned years ago. (Damn, I sound like an old fart!) Engines today have much tighter tolerances than engines of 30 years ago and there really isn't all that much room left for breaking things in.

    When I have new vehicles, I drive them as though I would normally. The only thing I consciously change for the early miles is I try not to bounce off rev limiters and/or bring them to red line every time. I do drive them "hard" with plenty of WOT acceleration, and I make sure to work the engines through the rev range frequently and often. Also, I make sure to let the vehicles get up to operating temperature and stay there for a while ... no short trips to the store if I can avoid them. It helped when I had 60 mile commutes with 30 miles of twisty backroads. :p

    To date, I've never had a problem and two of the cars I had from new for a combined 350,000 miles.

    To throw my humble opinion into the ring, I would tend to agree with the folks above to just drive them and have fun, and don't worry about babying the motors. Obviously make sure the tires and brakes are scrubbed and bedded before doing anything too "sporting" but otherwise let 'er rip. :)

    Of course, having said all that, it'll be my luck that I nuke my CRFL engine tomorrow. :p
     
    shiredevon likes this.
  14. Alex

    Alex crf250l.org dude

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    Nah, you'll be fine. :)