KymcoForum.com
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: Luckyword on June 01, 2022, 01:15:54 PM
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I know this issue has been widely debated online about various bikes...
What are the recommended breakin procedures for an AK550? I've looked through the Owner's Manual and the Service Manual and don't see any information.
I've been mostly keeping it at or below 4000 or 5000 RPMs for initial driving, not driving long distances, and plan to follow the Service Intervals in the Owner's Manual.
Anyone been able to find any documentation online indicating what the manufacturer recommended breakin period / procedure is?
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Say keep below 55 mph for the 1st six hundred miles, then get oil/filter changed and then you can begin to go at faster speeds. Follow schedule in the back of the owners manual
I just finished my 1st 600 mile maintenance and I am good to go. The bike is a lot of fun,,,it just wants to go faster
Dean
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Here you go. The official word from the USA owners manual on page 58:
Run-in period (break-in) is 300 km (180 miles) keeping the speed under 80 km/h (just under 50 mph) and avoid speeding up rapidly.
I also read elsewhere for this AK 550, though I don't remember where I read it, to keep the rpm under 4000 and also vary the rpm and speed for the first 180 miles.
This is very consistent with what I've read and been told for any new bike including my Suzuki Burgman 650 and Honda CTX1300. I've seen the range for break-in at 100-200 miles in these bikes and all my other bikes owned.
600 miles is rather long for any bike that I've known about, and 5000 rpm is much higher per any other bike I've owned new. But the 4000 rpm limit is almost universal for any bike I've known about.
The dealer where I bought my AK also told me the same as the owners manual states.
When I bought my AK I had a 406 mile ride to get home with it. I admit that I fudged a bit with the rpm limit and sometimes allowed it to creep up to 4500 but never for an extended time. I did vary my speeds and tried to keep off main highways making the trip home in 2 days. The first day was about 220 miles so I only needed to ride carefully and conservatively the first day.
The big controversy stems from the idea that manufacturing processes are so much more advanced these days compared to so long ago that engine parts tolerances are so close that excess conservative riding to run-in a new engine is not really needed. That's not entirely true however. There is still the matter of the new owner becoming accustomed to a new bike, and then there is still the matter of mistakes can still be made and you don't want to be screaming down the Interstate highway when something breaks, and then there is still the matter of the existence of some metal flashing and burrs that are worn off during the first many miles of operation even with the better build quality of modern engines. That's also why the the first oil/filter change is at 600 miles and not 6000 miles. And the European service manual that I have for the Euro 4 version (which the USA version still is) says the first service checks and oil/filter change should be at 180 miles.
There is also the point that some riders make supporting running in a new engine by running at high rpm and fast speeds as soon as possible since that is what is done with racing bikes. The those riders seem to forget that racing bike engines are typically rebuilt after every race or so. They are at least torn down and rebuilt after replacing any marginal parts within. So unless you want to rebuild your engine often then I'd keep to much more conservative riding for the first 180 miles.
Here is a pic of that owners manual page with the related content circled in blue...
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I found this very interesting...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpoglovyy_8 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpoglovyy_8)
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I found this very interesting...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpoglovyy_8 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpoglovyy_8)
I remember that video from a few years ago..interesting stuff..love Ari! The answer to break in probably lies somewhere in the middle of super gentle riding and full throttle redline.
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I found this very interesting...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpoglovyy_8 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpoglovyy_8)
Fascinating!! Not what i expected for sure...
I asked the salesman when i bought my AK about the break in period and he told me the same thing...dont sweat it. I thought he was full of it. Guess not
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Have seen that video before. Conclusions are what they are... for that one engine. And that may be the same for many high end engines that don't work hard in the bike they run at any time, as stated by this guy. There are a great many different engines in many different bikes. Some never work hard in the bike for which they are made and others are maxed out just running normal speeds. Engines and engine parts ARE better made these days compared with many many years ago. The last half of this video is actually more relevant to the discussion than the first half. Testing one engine, as in the first half, gives one result. Testing a dozen of the engines out of the best bikes in the industry, and then also a dozen of the engines out of the worse bikes in the industry, may very likely give different results than this one engine did. While I agree that most likely the top end components may not give different results regardless how that engine was broken in there are a great many other parts that were never compared in this test and possibly would benefit from an easier break-in. Ari Henning didn't look at those other parts. He also did not mention how the ring gap differed, only that it did. He did mention some really good reasons to follow the break-in process recommended by the manufacturer. Making sure there are no mistakes in assembly or defective parts that will show themselves in the first few hundred miles. And also giving a new rider of a new bike the time to become accustomed to their new ride before going crazy and wiping out due to lack of familiarity.
So I still hold that the break-in recommended in the manuals is the right way. I also don't sweat it if those limits are slightly exceeded momentarily for a few miles. Ari didn't mention anything about warranty but that is likely because how you broke in your bike cannot be proven one way or the other. You're on your honor about that... except that IF a problem does show itself in the first few hundred miles and you left the dealer burning rubber for the next few hundred miles you only have yourself to blame for that... and wondering if taking it easy at first might have prevented that issue. Of course, if there is a defect that shows up in those first miles I totally agree with Ari that it would be far better to experience that at more conservative speeds than tearing down the super slab at break-neck speed... possibly resulting in breaking your neck. So we're back to: If it doesn't matter then being conservative won't hurt. And if it does matter then being conservative will be better.
There will be those who only listen or watch the first half of that video and ignore or take a pass about everything else.
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I've always tried to break in bikes and cars according to mfg recommendations in the owner's manual. My takeaway from the video is to find a happy medium: watch what you're doing, but don't get too hung up if you don't/can't follow the recs all the time. My dealer told me to just ride it, and that's what I've been doing while not worrying about it. Of course, I'm not a hotrod rider anyway.
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Most people do not keep the scooter long enough where break-in would matter.
That is not an original idea of mine.....
Stig
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I suppose 50,000 + miles isn't really all that long to keep a scooter. I don't keep all my bikes for that many miles but some of them come very close to that. I had over 49,000 miles on one recent bike. 40,000+ miles on my CTX1300. 27,000+ miles on my Burgman 650. So not unusual for me to ride a single machine somewhere between all those numbers of miles.
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I always understood break in to be a few heating up to operating temp and then and cooling cycles
I'm gonna have the oil changed this coming week on the new motor I put my k-pipe, about 400 miles on it
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Having purchased and ridden over 75 new motorcycles and scooters, and ridden them over 1.5 million miles since 1955, I say follow what is in the book=less trouble down the road. Suzuki as I recall had the lowest speeds.