Break In

For new rings? What should I do?
Thanks
Tom

Others will chime in here with more wisdom then I have, but be sure to use a good break-in oil, something with lots of zinc and phosphates in it. Ride it around town first instead of the freeway, so it gets plenty of different loads on it, and change the oil after the first few hundred miles (or less).

Ditto the warning about making sure the oil has ZDDP. If you are not sure, STP oil treatment still has it. One can supposedly raises the ZDDP levels up above 1000 ppm.

Ride the bike easy on the throttle mostly, city riding so the revs go up and down.

Observe a redline limit of about 1/2 whatever the redline on the tach is for the first 500 miles.

On each outing when fully warmed up, do a few run ups in a lower gear where you open the throttle full and take the revs up then let off the throttle and let the revs go down. Doing that a little helps the rings seat.

I am a believer in dumping the first break in oil at about 100 miles but some say you don't need to.

If you only changed the rings (and de-glazed the cylinders) brake-in is nothing special. If you had a re-bored engine with new pistons, and new head components it would be different. Especially with new cams. for new rings just use a Diesel Truck oil like Rotella-T and ride it normally and you will be fine. The secret to a good brake-in is to do it in the same way as the way that you plan on riding the bike. If you ride like an old woman than brake it in like an old woman if you ride hard than brake it in that way. Change oil after first five hundred miles. Stay with a truck oil like Rotella-T or with a racing oil that has plenty of ZDDP in it. Rotella-T can be bought at WalMart for about $22 for a 2.5Gal jug. The problem with STP oil treatment is that it may make an old clutch slip like crazy. If you have not done so in the past I would also replace the clutch springs with a new set of aftermarket ones for about $20. Clutch springs go week after about 15 years just like valve springs.

I recently re-ringed re-cammed and did some other random headwork on my bike. I used the O-mans suggestion on breaking in and used the rotella mineral oil and added some of the Lucas zddp stuff. I rode it around town, then hit the backroads for a longer ride where I switched between 3rd and 4th constantly revving from between 3000-6000. It was not much of a cruise, but now after less than 100 miles I have no smoke at all, and the compression is better than ever.

The Lucas engine brake-in additive is great stuff. It is a must with new cams. Just with new rings, Rotella-T is more than good enough. Run the engine at lower RPM for only a relatively short time just to prevent them from chattering on the sharp edges of the de-glazed cylinders. Once those edges are gone, "Let her have it". On my bike, because I used new and sharp stones when I Honed the bores, the groves were quite deep and I am just now seating. I have about 800Mi on the engine and the smoke is starting to go away. Now is the time to run her hard to seal the bores. Because of the NEW .420 lift cams I am running Rotella with 4oz of Lucas "Engine Brake In Additive".

Advanced Auto parts has it in stock. Part #10063
shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/sto...2049_T%7CGRP60033___

As of this month Rislone has also introduced a new product. I just found this product and it is part #4401. The nice part is that it will be much simpler to find at most of the local stores. The Zinc content in a 20% to oil mix is 1720ppm which is good enough for drag racing. you will find it on page two of the link that i provided in the preceding post.
www.barsproducts.com/4401.htm

I have bored the cylinders and new pistons and rings but I am useing the same cams as last year. Should have given more info.
Thanks for your help.
Tom

Use the Rotella-T with about 8oz of the Ryslone or 3oz of the Lucas and that is it.

I used BR oil by Joe Gibbs racing. It's a break-in oil for their NASCAR engines and has a high ZDDP content. NAPA has it. So far, so good.

I believe that all racing/off-road oils have good ZZDP content as do the Diesel truck oils. Question is cost. I hate to pay $5+/-@qt for something I will be removing in 500Mi, when the Rotella will do just as well.