Controversial engine break-in technique

GoldenMotor.com

Venice Motor Bikes

Custom Builder / Dealer/Los Angeles
Mar 20, 2008
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Los Angeles, CA.
I've read that quite a while ago & I agree!
Many of the guys here (as well as I) say the best way to break in one of these engines is "just ride it normally"!! Don't be scared to run it at WOT after it's properly warmed up. ;)
 

r00t4rd3d

New Member
Aug 2, 2010
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Internet
An old man ran a engine shop that bored out a ATC top end for me over 10 years ago. I asked him if I should take it easy on it for a while when I was picking it up. He told me "Break it in fast and it will be fast"

Ive always remembered that.
 

tire

New Member
Sep 29, 2010
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College Station, TX
my chinese motor is shoddy and mostly crap, so i think that that argument doesn't hold true for my particular motor due to (i'm very confident of this) bad tolerances which would pay to slowly break it in.
 

paul

Well-Known Member
Dec 23, 2007
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Kalamazoo, MI
my 2 stroke i knew to speeds. full speed and stop. something that i did notice with the 2 stroke was when the motor broke in. all of a sudden this rattling bucket of bolts smoothed out and took off. it wasn't some small change it was big time change. the 4 strokes i have not noticed any change to speak of once the were broken in. motorized bicycles are just great fun and great rides. a 2 stroke engine think of a week-eater or a lawn mower. both are always run at full throttle and no babying to break the motors in. only thing i do is use more oil during break in. this is all my thoughts on the matter and not sure if right or wrong but makes sense to me
 

tire

New Member
Sep 29, 2010
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College Station, TX
could we get more people to chime in? i'm afraid WOT initially (after warming up) could cause catastrophic failure of god knows how many parts, not the least of which are the rings and pistons, possibly a wear/stripping of the gears.
 

NunyaBidness

Active Member
Jun 29, 2008
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memphis tn
This subject has been discussed many times here. A lot of people, myself included, have run motors like you want it to run from the start. I believe, as was stated earlier, if you break it in fast it will be fast, and if you break it in slow, while it may not be slow, it will NOT be as fast as it could have been.
 

Venice Motor Bikes

Custom Builder / Dealer/Los Angeles
Mar 20, 2008
7,266
1,797
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Los Angeles, CA.
could we get more people to chime in? i'm afraid WOT initially (after warming up) could cause catastrophic failure of god knows how many parts, not the least of which are the rings and pistons, possibly a wear/stripping of the gears.

One thing to keep in mind is that a brand new HT engine run at WOT still won't reach it's full RPM's until it breaks in.
 

Drewd

New Member
Jul 25, 2008
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Colorado
Nothing controversial about the break in technique discussed in this thread. Its what I use for all of my vehicles and motored bikes.
 

Hammond Egger

New Member
Oct 23, 2010
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Tucson, AZ
I've spent the last two days researching how to break in a 2 stroke. It sounds like the most important thing is to warm it up, run it normally varying the speed for 15 minutes, let it cool down completely. Rinse and repeat three times.....then ride it like you mean it.
 

Bike Monster

New Member
Jun 4, 2010
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Conneticut
I have a two stroke and i just cant resist opening it to full throttle... i have noticed after it has warmed up it will take off much better... though the other day i was hearing a clanking in the engine like a piece of metal was lose inside it also was vibrating alot more... so i had to cut my ride short... but ya this engine hasn't got it easy and it is doing good!!!.bf.
 

Mr.Gadget

New Member
Nov 9, 2010
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South Carolina
Hammond Egger,

When you say "Rinse" what does that mean? I have not heared that one yet.

I have a new chrome kit that I have been breaking in slowly. But this one is cool, it has tons of low end torque, and I actually enjoy ridding it around at 20mph max. A low growl, and hill climbing torque. The MotorKike accelerates uphill with a 235 pound cargo/passenger (me)
Our other bike is second hand and WEAK!!! I am looking into rebuilding the top end,,, and I think I will try to break it in for speed,,,, Just to see what happens.
 

WildAlaskan

New Member
Sep 30, 2010
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alaska
this is how i see it when u first start that baby up take it easy for about 7 to ten minutes then ride it like you would normaly ride it for me if it was a single speed i would ride it 3/4 to full throttle but for someone like my dad who like to go easy just average riding speed break it in for where you like to normly ride it most people like it fast some like to take it easy

as for a shift kit i would warm er up and run thru every gear working on the low to mid range more if i lived in hilly country or going for better acceleration but if i lived in flat land and wanted higher top speed i would break in each gear at mid to high rpms

so to sum up warm it up taking it easy then ride it like you want normal, agressive, fast,

i would think a person who breaks in a motor for slower speeds and actually rides like that would have a longer lasting motor

as they say just my 2 cents
 

bairdco

a guy who makes cool bikes
Aug 18, 2009
6,537
264
63
living the dream in southern california
the first motor i had, i broke it in more or less per factory instructions. it was the slowest motor i've had. took a month to break in using cheap oil, smoked, and got all oily.

all the motors after that (6 bikes total) i run opti-2 at 100:1 and run full throttle the second they hit the street.

i never let them warm up, i only vary the throttle if i'm in traffic, and i don't worry about them at all.

all the bikes are still on the road, they all go fast, and the main bike i ride is still going strong after a year, and at least 5000 miles.

my method is port match the intake, exhaust and transfer ports, make sure there's no extra metal chunks floating around, pour a capful of oil on top of the piston so it soaks in while you're building the bike, then fill it with Opti-2, pedal it long enough to know the chain's not gonna fall off, then kick it in the guts and hold on.

i figure if it's gonna blow up, i might as well get it over with the first day.
 

Mr.Gadget

New Member
Nov 9, 2010
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South Carolina
OK, Now I feel like our motor is already doomed!!!!!
I found this site after I bought our kit and bike. First I read to run 16:1 and real slow for 500 miles. Then I read that 16:1 is too rich and should break it in at 24:1. After 2 gallons of gas I switched untill I get to 500 miles and drop to 32:1.
Now I read this thread, and suddenly I am thinking that this bike will only be the cruiser that it is. That in its self is not all that bad though. Our Motor bike sound very low and gowly!!!!! And with my 235 weight it will climb all the hills around here and accelerate uphill without assistance. But only a top speed of 26 mph.

Like I have read here, break it in the way you want to ride it. Cruising at 20 to 23 is not bad, especialy since the amount of low end torque it seems to have, and sounds way cool. I guess the only way I will ever see faster speeds, is to use the lowend torque to drive a smaller sprocket gear, like a 30 something.

Still because it was for the kids and I, I do like the fact that is strong and slow instead of a speed deamon. Maby on my next build, I will try just going B***Ls to the wall and see what happens... Not to mention, I could just build up a spare motor and swap it out when I feel the need.