Rifleman

Yea, heat up at the light is common, there is little or no air flow over the radiator when the new bikes arn't moving forward (all that pretty plastic). Some of the big bikes have a back up fan that will kick on and pull air through when you?re at idle. 230'F shouldn't be a problem, that is oil running through the cooler, not water. If you peg the indicator, that is trouble. If you are stuck in traffic on a hot day, it is wise to pull over and shut her down for a bit (face into the wind if you can) and let things cool down. But even 5 or 10 mph of forward motion should keep things cool if you arn't reving to the limiter. The bikes have to be moving to be cooled properly. Even if you are running it for over a minute or two in your shop, put a fan in front of it on high. Good to hear that the blasting technique worked as advertised. If you can, keep me posted as the number of miles on the bike goes up. I'd like to know if your oil ever starts to get dark (black) as time goes on Rman

Well, the term "broken in" most likely includes a few more things then simply piston ring seating but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that piston ring seating is the largest percentage of "break in". Yes, a few runs as Motoman described means that the rings and cylinder cross hatching are now polished. remember that the piston goes up and down once for every RPM. That means at 10k the rings and cylinder wall are polishing each other 20,000 times a minute. I always wondered how the race teams ever found the time to race if they needed to put 1200 miles on a rebuilt engine before it was race ready. The answer is they didn't. Other things to look at during "break in" include brake rotors and calipers, chains and sprockets and clutch slipage. Actually you should be looking for all kinds of loose stuff, bolts and nuts that have fallen off. If they were not tight at the factory they will be on the road somewhere behind you. The best time to do this is when you are washing and cleaning. Look at the machine and if something doesn't look right, investigate further. A clutch can be adjusted quick and easy and usually is at the factory, but if something wasn't set right and you continue to run on a loose clutch you will be buying one in the near future. Change your oil and filter soonest. Then I would change it at 1000 miles, 3000 miles, and then every 3000 after that or in the fall at the end of the riding season if you don't put 3000 miles on in a season. The big thing I'm looking for is how dark the oil gets after 3000 miles if the rings are seated using the blasting technique. thanks and good luck. Rman

Joe, There are some break in suggestions on this BBS under the setup & handling section. There is a site called Mototune that is worth taking a look at before you go any further in your engine break in activities. Yes, stop running the bike, read the web site. There is a point at which none of his advice will work (the engine will be broken in) Here is the site http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm sign up with the page, there are about three or four articals about break in secrets and you need to read and understand them all before you make a decission on what you are going to do with your $10k investment. Keep us posted on what you decide and what the results are. Rman

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Man o man, I'm gonna have to revisit the advice I give about "break in's" on new bikes. I've got a fairly good background in mechanics, hydrodynamics, fluid flow. But this, this puts the knowledge into play. I don't know if I have the "Sacajewa" to put a blast to a brand new Gixxer 6 engine but my Tuna makes oil so black you could use it as ink. It has to be due to blow by and picking up carbon in the oil. I bought the bike used so I don't know what the break in was like but it only had 800 miles on it and of course I was gentle with it for the first few thousand. thanks again for the info

question already answered, just needed to read the second page

so this board has a great more seasoned riders then the young chompin at the bit cycle jocks. Hummm now isn't that interesting... I've asked this question other places but never here, how old is to old to pilot cafe' racers? ... Perhaps the young and stupid have been transformed into the old and wise..... well maybe the wise part is still in the works. I really think that for kids the ability to climb the learning curve is much easier, not so worried about taking a tumble, things seem to heal better at 15 then they do a 40 and oh, lets not forget the money to purchase as well as, to fix the machine will most likely not be comming out of their pocket. The bike isn't their primary mode of transportation to and from work..... ..... a great many more factors go into drawing "the line" at 40 then went into the decission making process at 17. Hell the decission making process at 17 was "do chicks dig it?" Kneeing down is proof that one has acheaved the skill to put on significant lean angle, more lean then the normal street rider. It becomes a rite of passage, if you can do that you are in the club. That is why so much time and plastic fairing pieces are spent trying to acheave that moment. For those who have, that moment becomes simply a foot note on an even longer quest. The "negative lap time", to go so fast that you arive at the finish line before you left or so Einstine would have us believe. The knee down is an obtainable goal (one of many), the negative lap time isn't *LOL*

79?!?!? suddenly I don't feel quite so old *S*. You are basically in the exact same situation as I, several decades of experiance but never really pushing it all the way to the edge. My fear was street tires that wouldn't hold as advertized, seems that is not the case for todays street sport compositions. Good to have you aboard, now I don't feel like the only "seasoned vet".

I think one other thing that has been said somewhere on here before is to also push your knee back as well as out when you are hangin and leanin. Maybe this just makes you stick your knee out farther but it has been said more then once. The other thing I will say is not to look down in the turn, don't look down to see how far you knee is away from the ground..... ....look down, go down. My goal this summer is simply to use some of that rubber out near the edges before it gets old and rotted *S*. The straight poop seems to be, improve your technique, increace your speed for a given turn...... Viola', what was that tugging on my sliders, well lookie there, dun scraped em all up. I will of course use the belt sander as a last resort ONLY!!! *LOL*

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Go ahead and get a bike, I started riding when I was 18, absolutly love it. I'm about to go over 100,000 miles on two wheels. A few suggestions. Get a low cc, used older model. DO NOT start off with a 1300 busa. You will drop it, you will. You won't be nearly as mad at yourself if it already has a few scratches and a bent clutch lever already. The older low cc models will be cheaper to insure (still gonna put a dent in your wallet). In my day the line of demarcation was 750cc. Bigger and they really hit you hard for insurance. My first was a GS550, plenty of zip and yes I dropped it, a few times. Secondly, here are the danger signs. You have already passed the first test, you were smart enough to ask instead of just charging into it. You will ride the first month or so (depending on how often you ride) Like an old grandma, you will be aware of everything, you will do your head checks every time, you won't get into the throttle to often/never in traffic. In a sentence you will be the "perfect cyclist". From a month to say 6 months (or a year) you will think you know how to ride but you will still be "think riding" that is you will think about pulling the clutch in, you will think about shifting, you will think about how you are braking. This is fine so long as nothing unexpected happens. however a car pulls out, a turn comes out at you to fast, it rains, the sun is in your eyes and you will have to think about it, instead of automatically pulling in the clutch while braking hard and anti-collision counter steering. Avoid the temptation to get silly in that first year. The best way to do this is not to get into a crew and start stunting. Two guys can roll down to the pizza place, three or more and someone will jump out in front and then someone else will have to prove something. Half a dozen bikes and a bike is going to get wadded up sooner or later. hope that all helps, good luck, keep your eyes open for everyone, take the classes, avoid testostarone over dose and keep the painted side up and the rubber side down. Rifleman

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Thanks for the insight Mr. Code. This just further proves that it is an inferior craftsman that blames his tools instead of aquiring more skill. I'll see to it that I post a pic later this year with the chicken strips properly removed from those Metzlers... and no, it won't be done with a belt sander!!!

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