This article refers to everyone who has just bought a pit bike online and is wondering what to do after assembling it!
Most manufacturer’s manuals and other sources will tell you the same thing about running your engine for the first time:
Don’t run your bike at more than two-thirds of its full throttle and avoid high revs for the first two hours of operation. It is often recommended to drain the oil AFTER these two hours and use 10W40 quality semi-synthetic 4-stroke engine oil.
As I just bought two new ssr pit bikes, I was browsing a highly respected pit bike forum (pitbikeclub.co.uk) looking for information on set-up and running in and came across VERY valuable information. This article is a short summary of a newsletter article I found written by Motoman. Motoman is a very experienced superbike tuner who has his own newsletter (Power News Magazine).
This article “Intrusion Secrets” is very controversial.
“Links to this article now appear on hundreds of motorsport discussion boards around the world. The reason is that over time, a large number of people have made a direct comparison between my method and the manual method of the owner, and news of his success is spreading fast. “
“The results are always the same … a dramatic increase in power at all RPM. Also, many professional mechanics have disassembled engines that have used this method, to find that the condition of the engine is much better than when the owner’s manual. owner The intrusion method has been used. What makes your page so controversial is that there have been many other intrusion articles written in the past that will contradict what has been written here. “
Motoman wrote “Break-In Secrets” after successfully applying this method to approximately 300 new engines, all with excellent results and no problems of any kind. So I advise you to consider their advice!
According to Motoman, just by following the manufacturer’s instructions, you risk a permanent loss of power of about 2 to 10 percent. The direct result of running too smoothly will be leaky piston rings. This will allow pressure to flow into the crankcase when accelerating and draw oil into the combustion chamber when decelerating. In other words: loss of power and permanent contamination of the engine oil. The only solution to a bad break-in will be: re-polish the cylinders, install new piston rings, and start over. In other words … you will have to disassemble the motor!
You only get ONE chance to start your engine properly! I will explain why and how.
Proper braking of your engine has to do with the piston ring seal. Correct break-in will result in a better fit of the piston ring against the cylinder surface. This will prevent the pistons from leaking. The new rings should be used enough to seal the entire hole. If the gas pressure is strong enough during the first few miles of operation (open the throttle!), Then the entire ring will wear on the cylinder surface, to seal the combustion pressure as best as possible.
So what is the problem with an entry too easy?
The sharp cross hatch pattern on the cylinder bore acts like a file to allow the rings to wear away. The rings quickly wear away the “peaks” of this roughness, regardless of how hard the engine is operated. If the rings are not forced against the walls soon enough, they will wear out the roughness before fully seating. Once that happens, there is no solution but to readjust the cylinders, install new rings, and start over.
SO … the best advice I found on how to break the engine is
1) Run hard! (for specific methods: entering a dyno, on the street or on the race track … see Motomans 14 page article!
2) DO NOT use synthetic oil! Renew your oil immediately when you receive the bike, BEFORE you ride, as you cannot be sure of its quality. Use Valvoline, Halvoline, or similar 10W40 PETROLEUM CAR OIL. Change the oil and oil filter after the first 20 miles! After two days of hard racing, you can switch to your favorite brand. Check out the article to find out why.
