How did you break in your FZ1?

A

andrewclaycomb

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I'm doing mine a little different than most people I think. I took the ride home from the dealership pretty easy. The total trip is about 15 miles, but I decided to take surface roads across town instead of highways. This was so I could get used to the bike's clutch and shifting points. I made a conscious effort not to stay in a single gear too long. I also engine braked every chance I got which isn't abnormal for my riding style anyway. About halfway home I saw a friend so pulled over and let the bike cool completely while I talked to him for about an hour. I then rode the rest of the distance home conservatively this time spending a little more time in each gear, but still not sitting at a steady cruise.

Each time I ride I let the bike warm up past "low" and then easily ride through my neighborhood until I feel like it's warm enough.

Every ride I've been giving the bike more and more throttle. At first I was worried about my tires not being scrubbed in but now I've almost got the whole back tire scrubbed and almost as much of the front as the back.

I'm sitting at about 85 miles now and what I'm going to start doing is on the highway do smooth sweeping throttle rolls in 2nd and third gear. After maybe 4 or 5 of these sweeping rolls I'll cool the engine off completely and then do it again. I'll probably do 5 or 6 of these cycles before I change my oil for the first time. I'm guessing I'll be at about 100 miles by then. I'm still not holding steady at an RPM above 6k, just letting the RPMS sweep, I'm also not getting above 10k at all yet.

After the first oil change I'll take the bike up to redline a few times and pretty much ride normally for another 250-300 miles before I change the oil. I'm still not going to hold a steady cruise but try to vary my RPMs.

I will then change the oil again at 600 miles and do eveything the manual calls for.

After that I'm basically going to call the bike broken in. I'll still try not to stay cruising at a single RPM for too long but I'm also not going to act like I'm still worrying about break in stuff. After 1000 miles I will be ready for long distance stuff while maintaining a single rpm. I will also change the oil then.

After that everything by the book.

I really haven't read about a method like this on the web but a lot of the local bike guys have been breaking in their built 200+ hp busa engines this way for about 10 years now, so it seems to be reliable.

It's sort of in between the hard "break it in in 20 miles" method you read about a lot and the owners manual way.
 
Hey Andrew,

My bike is at about 80 miles also. My break in is not so thought out. I'm riding as much as I can (the seat is pretty hard), keeping it for the most part below 6K rpms and always varying the rpm (shift up, shift down, engine break, etc...)

I was going to do this until August 16th. My FZ6 was scheduled for it's 4000 mile check. I'm going keep the appointment, and have them change the oil on the new FZ1 at whatever the mileage is (should be less than 600, I'll bet maybe 400). Then I was going to change the oil again at 600 miles.

Then proceed to 1,000 miles, same way except keep the rpms below 7,200.

It's all black magic any way.
 
So I was over at the "other" Yamaha dealers shop yesterday and Iasked about the FZ1 break in.

Their mechanic said vary speed and rpms, stay below 6K and change the oil at 100 miles.

My bike was at 140, so I decided even if, I would only be out the price of the oil change. Plus I decided to do it myself and learn a little about my bike.

The oil I drained was black. It looked way older than 5 days and 140 miles. Today, I swear the bike is running 5 degrees Fahrenheit cooler.
 
i am also running in my new FZ1N , the best way IMO is to load up the engine . loading up doesnt mean thrashing the motor , but letting it run under load . this way the pistons / rings & bores mate up & dont glaze over , i constantly vary my speed & change gears continually . on highways i vary the speed also , i dump the oil @ 500km & then again @ 1000km . after 1600km , i'll ride the FZ1N like i stole it .. :D

p.s. i am @ 320km presently
 
Hey Mean 1

Do you do anything extra special/less special between 600 and 1,000 miles?

I'm doing something similar, constantly varying speed, and gradually increasing the demand on the motor. I'm now at 340 miles. Today we briefly hit 9K rpms
 
Johnnylane said:
The oil I drained was black. It looked way older than 5 days and 140 miles. Today, I swear the bike is running 5 degrees Fahrenheit cooler.
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Wow, you're not kidding. I have 230 miles on my new 07. After reading your message I looked at mine. It's black too, I better change it.
 
motorcycle engine's thrive on fresh clean oil , but be sure to change the oil filter with each oil change . not to change the oil filter with every oil change , is "like having a shower & not changing your jocks" .. :eek:
 
OK, here's where I'm going to sound like a real noob and ask an embarrasing question.
I've never changed my oil on the only other bike I owned. It was usually part of the servicing at the dealer. But I'm not going to pay a dealer to do this for me. He'll charge me a fortune for something that's obviously easy.

So here's the dumb question. Do you guys actually use a torque wrench on the drain bolt and filter? Or is just "tight but not too tight" good enough?
 
Steve F said:
So here's the dumb question. Do you guys actually use a torque wrench on the drain bolt and filter? Or is just "tight but not too tight" good enough?
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No you don't need to torque those things. The drain plug is "just tight". Does not hurt to change the washer every few go oil changes. The oil filter is wedged in there. I'm going to get the recommended oil wrench.

Speaking of, I have an idea for a post......
 
Steve F said:
Do you guys actually use a torque wrench on the drain bolt and filter? Or is just "tight but not too tight" good enough?
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i dont use a torque wrench , with the drain bolt . once i hand tighten it , i then give it a 1/4 turn with a ring spanner . the oil filter i spin on by hand , as tight as my hand grip can go ..
 
Wanna hear something strange? I was going to change the oil myself today. Then 3 things came up which left me no time this weekend, including my wife's uncle passing away. So I called the dealer to see how much they'd want to do it just so I could get it over with. They wanted $75. OK, I expected about that from a dealer so I figure what the heck. I rode there with family behind me in the van all ready to drop it off. I went into the service department and explained I only have about 270 miles on the bike and I wanted to do an extra oil change before the 600 mile servicing which the manual recommends. He tells me "Don't waste your money. 600 miles is fine. Really, don't worry about it until 600 miles."

Who ever heard of a motorcycle dealer that didn't want to take your money?

Like I said, I was in a rush today so I just said thanks and took off. I'm still going to change the oil myself soon when things quiet down here. I mean everything else I've read says to do it earlier than 600 miles. But assuming he really believed it's not needed I guess it's pretty cooll he turned down the work rather than just take my money.

One more thing, they were going to use an oil called "Bel" something. Any of you hear of it? It was a new name to me. $7.00 a quart.
 
^^
the oil that is in your FZ1 from the factory is a special blend used just for the break in period , so the Yamaha mechanic is correct to say leave it in until the 1st service interval is due . "Bellray" will be the oil he was refering to , its used by the Superbike teams here in Australia also .
 
Steve F said:
Mean1, I don't understand. Then why are you dumping the oil at 500km (310 miles) on your new FZ?
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its more a habit really , in the past it was recommended to change your oil @ approx 500km (intermediate) & then do the 1st workshop service @ 1000km . as to prevent micro metal shavings from clagging the oil filter & getting in the oil & causing possible premature engine wear etc .
but modern motorcycles use top quality oil / oil filters these day's , this precaution maybe not be required anymore .
 
Steve F said:
Who ever heard of a motorcycle dealer that didn't want to take your money?
.
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I have never heard of this either! No I take that back, my neighborhood dealer turned me down when I asked him how much to change out the rear tire. He is a dirt bike guy though, and pretty lazy to boot.
 
So, the break-in saga continues.

I'll be a little over 600 miles come Saturday. I bought the stuff for a second oil change. Then it's off to the 1,000 mile mark.

I don't think I'll make it this year, I have foot surgery scheduled for September 4. That will slow me down. So the bike will be put up for the winter.

Next spring, at about 1,000 to 1,500 miles, I'll take it in and let Yamaha inspect it. That's my plan.

So, let's talk about wintering bikes.........
 
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