[deoveer]

I am planning to purchase my new bike this week. Are there any specific care one should take in riding a new bike? I remember that new car needs to be driven on 55 mph for few thousand miles.

My dealer is 50 miles away from home, so I will be riding back home 50 miles on expressway or local. I want to be prepared and would like to know if somethings I should keep in mind riding the new bike the first time.

Thanks,

Deo

 

[Louis]

Watch for the tires. Brand new tires are pretty slippery because of the stuff they put in the mold to extract the tires. Be extra careful.

At least, that's what I've heard...


Other than that, there are two theories on engine breaking. One is to follow the recommended procedure. The other one is to drive the engine hard. I'll try to find the link to the website later tonight, unless somebody beats me to it. Anybody?

 

[ion54]

I'll stick with the country roads and try to follow the bike's manual. Do not speed, do not stay at the same speed for long periods of time, do not accelerate hard and for the first few hundred miles do not use more than 1/3 of acceleration.

 

[deoveer]

It is good to know that my concernes are appropriate. Thanks for your response.

I wouldn't have think of tires conditions.

Thanks for your help.

If anyone has more detail please feel free to write.

 

[caveman66]

Saw a fellow drop his Valkyrie yesterday pulling out of the dealers lot after getting a new tire. He wasn't happy.

 

[Steve B]

According to Moto Tune USA's website, you must make sure that you seat the piston rings right off the bat. This is done by gradually accellerating to high rpms, and then let the motor decellerate with pressure on the motor. This will force the rings against the cylinder walls. Not doing this, according to them, is a surefire way to decrease engine life and performance. Most engine builders will tell you to break in a bike, or any four stroke motor, by riding/driving it like you intend to drive/ride it on a regular basis. This doesn't mean to go out and beat the snot out of it right off the bat, but you should run through the gears with a decent amount of throttle.

They also express the importance of running the engine through "heat cycles". Run the engine for 10-15 minutes, letting the engine get up to temperature, then shut it down, and let it cool off for an hour or two, and repeat this cycle four or five times. Your engine is now broken in correctly.

I've used this program on my last five four wheelers, and they don't burn a drop of oil, and they seem to run stronger than friends that have the same quad, and babied them for the first two tanks of gas.