Abandoned traditional break-in

[sb666]

I too believe in following the manufactures recommendations for breaking in
Have just done so on my 2 month old 1200GS (1150R gathering dust for now)
Oil level hasn’t moved since first service 2,000 klms

[Harry]

Hey, I'm NO BMW technician and therefore have been following the recommendations of the people that know much more about these bikes than I do; you guys.

Now with these new contradictory postings on the topic of break-in, I'm confused as to the correct approach.

I'm not anxious to be done with the break-in process. My goal all along was to stop my brand new Roadster from burning oil. That's all.

I did my first 220 miles strictly following BMW's guidelines. Then switched to the quick break-in from 220 miles to 450 miles to try to stop it from burning oil. For my last fifty miles, I've kept it under 4k RPM's and will continue doing so until I hit 1,000 miles.

I'll happily tolerate some smoke if that means NOT doing damage to the piston rod bearings.

I guess that I'm kinda splitting the difference. (who the hell knows)

[Jax]

Harry, it's your bike and you have to do what makes you comfortable. Keep one thing in mind. Dean (Dean's BMW) owned a successful BMW dealership in California for many years and has seen a lot of Beemers. My own personal experience and those of others who have also used his methods are first-hand and not myth or old wives tales. I have also used this same method when breaking in two, brand new Porsche's in the late 80's and 90's, which also used Nikasil lined cylinders and were air/oil cooled.
Good luck with whatever you decide.

[R90rider]

I've used these methods for break-in for my last 3 bikes.

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

[sjbmw]

When I bought my R in 2003, I asked the dealer about the usual RPM limits during break in.

He told me to ride it HARD from the start.

"Don't beat it, but be sure to use the entire powerband often."

It turned out to be good advice.
I twist the throttle hard, and venture into the party zone a lot.
The bike LIKES it. It runs better, has more response the harder you run it.
5500-7000 RPMs is where you can really feel what makes a boxer a boxer.

My R stopped drinking extra amounts of oil by 6K and now I don't have to add any oil betwen changes.

[Harry]

At 500 miles, my critical break-in period has come and gone.

My bike's running great, smoking little and sounds damn good too. Now I'm just gonna enjoy RIDIN' THE BASTARD:)

See you guys on the black-top!!

Later, bros!

[The Velvet Monkey]

I didn't partake in the accellerated engine break-in procedure and wish I had. I pretty much ran it in as the manual suggested. The result is that my engine has consistently required two to three fills per 3k miles (bringing it from nearly the bottom of the glass to slightly past the center point) and it is still consuming oil at 11.3k miles. I feel like I drive it hard, shifting normally between 4-5k, and on spirited runs at 5-6k, but maybe I'm doing something wrong.

Is my ride destined to a lifetime of carbonized lethargy, or is this perhaps normal?

Thanks to all. I've really enjoyed reading this thread.

[MartyWadd]

Mine seems to be sucking down oil pretty bad. It runs smooth, and really strong, but I do seem to be adding oil about every tenth ride. (600 mi or so). Sometimes as much as half a quart. Whatever. I don't care. I ride all the time, and after 16k miles of redline-bouncing, I'd say it's smoother, and more powerful than it was when I bought it. BTW, I followed the mfr's recommendation for break-in. (sort of)
I did kinda go easy on her for the first few hundred. But ever since about 1k, it's been no mercy. And I don't think she minds one bit.


Harry,You'll probably have this bike 15+ years, even if you buy another one. Don't worry about the engine failing you. The R1150 VERY rarely does.

[Paul Mihalka]

Harry, I'm real glad that your great new bike is making you happy. A lot of good advice in this thread, and you know I fully agree with them. And Harry, I know who you are and you know who I am

[boxermania]

Let me say that I had the pleasure of meeting Robbie personally, he has developed his skills working on and racing bikes and has amassed a tremendous amount of information on the sbject matter...........although he speaks thet truth, i sometimes wish he would be a bit less pesimistic with his writing style.

Regarding the break in issue.....one has to assume that everything mechanical with the bike is in perfect order, that one is not running at WOT for long periods of time and that the objective is to vary the load across the rpm range to induce temperature cycling so as to accelerate the wear in or "honing" of the metal surfaces.

From the word go, anything mechanical wll sustain wear, actually the most wear on an internal combustion engine occurs when the engine is first started, those few revolutions without full oil pressure are the most damaging to an engine from the standpoint of wear.......one can make the point that temperature also brings about wear, excesive temperature that is, because it breaks down the ability of the oil to "wedge" and support a load.

In all instances, and I think Robbie will agree with this statement as well, an accelerated break in done under the right conditions will yield a better performing and a better running motor and I'm taking specifically about the air/oil cooled BMW boxers.

[Deans BMW]

One of the things that you will for all practical purposes never see is a rod bearing, either end, or a main crank bearing failure in a BMW boxer engine. The only time I have seen such failure in over 30 years of playing with Beemers is failure to add oil on a Airhead after an oil change and riding off.

[leno]

I did not get mine new so the chance to run it in as I would like was missed. But counter to what some people suggest I like to treat the bike softly for the first few miles. Let the stresses in the engine block work out first. But each to his own, I've read more running in methods than there are members on the board.

But one thing I can't agree with is the running the engine as low as 1500rpm. I tried it last night and again this morning. apart from first gear that's way bellow the comfort zone. If you ride like that you might as well buy a dumper truck or HD. I would never subject the poor thing or me to the stress of running so slow. Where is the pleasure in that?