Break-in Bunk?

Anyone who installs new rings and doesn't at least ball hone the cylinders has wasted their time and money PERIOD

Kendal GT, Castrol GTX are both great oils for break in. There are others as well. If you can afford it, get 4 quarts of Joe Gibbs Beak In Oil. If you have new cams as well, it's advised to pay the extra and get the J.G. Break in oil anyway.

Very important to wash out the cylinders with a good grease cutting detergent like Dawn dish washing liquid, using hot water.

Using clean oil on a Bounty Paper Towel or an old white T Shirt, swab the bores and rub until the rag stops discoloring.

Lightly oil the piston skirts and about the first inch of the bottom of the cylinders.

Install Block.

Turn motor over several times bringing each pair of cylinders to BDC & wipe out all excess oil you can with paper towels. Clean excess off the piston domes as well.

Excess oil left in the cylinders will coat the combustion chamber, exhaust valves & exhaust ports causing carbon build.

Torque head to spec.

Make sure the bike is ready to ride.

Fire it up, check for leaks & get it off choke as soon as you can....head out the door.

If breaking in new performance cams, DO NOT LET IT IDLE for at least the first 20 -30 minutes of operation. Keep RPM above 2000RPM.

Go put some miles on it. Avoid cruising at steady RPM. As it warms up, run it up there to 6000RPM. Put 50 miles on it if you can. Roll on the throttle...bring the RPM up....then let off and let the bike coast under engine braking.

Once back home, let the motor get STONE COLD. Then retorque the head at this time.

Put another 50 miles on it using same roll on - let off procedure, then change the oil and filter. While you're there...doesn't hut to go ove the head torque one more time.

Many guys wait too long to do a retorque on the head. If the gasket has started weeping...it's probably not going to seal from a retorque because oil had gotten on the composite material and it probably will never bond.

I've done them this way for years and it's never failed me yet...

PS - you should be able to get the Joe Gibbs Break In Oil at any automotive speed shop. Ask some of the stock car guys in your area...they'll know where to get it.

Larry C

Yup, just what Larry and Plum taught me....

One more thing to add... If new head work, engine pre-lube the hell out of it! Cam lobes, buckets, cam bearings, under the cam caps, over shims etc....

I almost forgot this important fact until I received two size 10 boots in my ass from those two.... :ohmy: :laugh:

OMR

I did not forget to lube all the nice moving parts. But unfortunately I got over zealous with the type of lube and now i have to replace my clutch plates. Even a little Molly in the lube will screw them up.

Head-torque question.

After initial reassembly of head to cylinder block, with new head gasket, and head nuts torqued per prescribed tightness and pattern, and engine having received its first run to reach normal operating temperature, with engine being allowed to cool overnight and now being stone cold ---

When performing the re-torque, using same pattern, is each nut backed off slightly, say 1/4 turn, before then re-torquing it to prescribed tightness? Or is the better practice to NOT back off the nut at all before re-torquing it?

Seems like without the slight back-off, the nuts just don't move any tighter under the same prescribed torque wrench setting.

Wondering how the pros do it.

Good Luck!

"is each nut backed off slightly, say 1/4 turn, before then re-torquing it to prescribed tightness"...

Good question... Same I asked of my two mentors and the reply was no... Just torque from where they are...

OMR

Patton wrote:

Head-torque question.

After initial reassembly of head to cylinder block, with new head gasket, and head nuts torqued per prescribed tightness and pattern, and engine having received its first run to reach normal operating temperature, with engine being allowed to cool overnight and now being stone cold ---

When performing the re-torque, using same pattern, is each nut backed off slightly, say 1/4 turn, before then re-torquing it to prescribed tightness? Or is the better practice to NOT back off the nut at all before re-torquing it?

Seems like without the slight back-off, the nuts just don't move any tighter under the same prescribed torque wrench setting.

Wondering how the pros do it.

Good Luck!

Some guys do it that way bit I don't. When I assemble the head, the studs, bottom of the nuts and the washers all get assembly lube. I've found that using it helps no only to get the proper initial torque but also the retorque.

I have seen copper base gaskets that weeped a little. The head nuts were loosened & then torqued again. The gasket leaked much worse..... Just my personal experience.

If you have success another way, then by all means continuye with what works for you...

Old Man Rock wrote:

"is each nut backed off slightly, say 1/4 turn, before then re-torquing it to prescribed tightness"...

Good question... Same I asked of my two mentors and the reply was no... Just torque from where they are...

OMR

although no pro, i concur....backing them out defeats the whole purpose.....crank em down from where they are...the heating and cooling cycles did all the loosening for ya...

as far as break in goes with my street motors i usally run them up a few times to operating temp then i take a nice lesurly ride for about 50 miles come back to the shop dump the oil and pull the filter out and inspect it. then it get's flogged hard for about 20 or 30 miles i dump the oil again and when it cools i retourque the head. after about 500 miles on this batch of oil ireplace it with the oil i'll be using and replace the filter i then cut the filter apart looking in the pleats for filings and crap left over in it. my drag motors i fire them up and idle them up around 2500 to 3500 rpm for about 20 min. but only if i'm using a new valve train set-up new cams and buckets i always run a large fan in front of the motor so it run's reasonably cool. the i let it cool down check cylinder head tourque then off to the track i go i do 1 or 2 easy check out passes not so much for the motor but to check out the transmission and make sure every thing feels right then shes ball's out i normally check valve clearances and tighten motor mounts and ignition components after every race weekend just to be on the safe side.

Yep, the Mototune guy knows his stuff.

Possibly worst thing you can do to ANY engine is not let it warm up first, second worst thing as already mentioned DINO oil only NO SYNTH!.

Rride gently, no more than 2500-3000 rpm till engine is at operating temp than cane the snot out of it for 10 Mins...... making sure to use the entire rev range ( well up to 80% of peak) and the whole range of gears many times and NEVER hold a steady rpm,

go home, park Bike

Drink Beer.

Next day do same again,

Change oil

Job Done!!

Martynbiker wrote:

Yep, the Mototune guy knows his stuff.

Possibly worst thing you can do to ANY engine is not let it warm up first, second worst thing as already mentioned DINO oil only NO SYNTH!.

Rride gently, no more than 2500-3000 rpm till engine is at operating temp than cane the snot out of it for 10 Mins...... making sure to use the entire rev range ( well up to 80% of peak) and the whole range of gears many times and NEVER hold a steady rpm,

go home, park Bike

Drink Beer.

Next day do same again,

Change oil

Job Done!!

Ok, but I think the original question was, what KIND of beer?

Most all reports that i have read say do not use synthetic for the 1st 1000 to 1500 miles. there have been numerous reports of oil leaks after switching to syn. in older bikes.

larrycavan wrote: Anyone who installs new rings and doesn't at least ball hone the cylinders has wasted their time and money PERIOD

Kendal GT, Castrol GTX are both great oils for break in. There are others as well. If you can afford it, get 4 quarts of Joe Gibbs Beak In Oil. If you have new cams as well, it's advised to pay the extra and get the J.G. Break in oil anyway.

Very important to wash out the cylinders with a good grease cutting detergent like Dawn dish washing liquid, using hot water.

Using clean oil on a Bounty Paper Towel or an old white T Shirt, swab the bores and rub until the rag stops discoloring.

Lightly oil the piston skirts and about the first inch of the bottom of the cylinders.

Install Block.

Turn motor over several times bringing each pair of cylinders to BDC & wipe out all excess oil you can with paper towels. Clean excess off the piston domes as well.

Excess oil left in the cylinders will coat the combustion chamber, exhaust valves & exhaust ports causing carbon build.

Torque head to spec.

Make sure the bike is ready to ride.

Fire it up, check for leaks & get it off choke as soon as you can....head out the door.

If breaking in new performance cams, DO NOT LET IT IDLE for at least the first 20 -30 minutes of operation. Keep RPM above 2000RPM.

Go put some miles on it. Avoid cruising at steady RPM. As it warms up, run it up there to 6000RPM. Put 50 miles on it if you can. Roll on the throttle...bring the RPM up....then let off and let the bike coast under engine braking.

Once back home, let the motor get STONE COLD. Then retorque the head at this time.

Put another 50 miles on it using same roll on - let off procedure, then change the oil and filter. While you're there...doesn't hut to go ove the head torque one more time.

Many guys wait too long to do a retorque on the head. If the gasket has started weeping...it's probably not going to seal from a retorque because oil had gotten on the composite material and it probably will never bond.

I've done them this way for years and it's never failed me yet...

PS - you should be able to get the Joe Gibbs Break In Oil at any automotive speed shop. Ask some of the stock car guys in your area...they'll know where to get it.

Larry C

I came across this post while browsing the forum for break-in advice...
Larry has yet to let me down.