Break In Break-in? should I stay under 15mph...

[GearNut]

As brand new parts get familiar to each other, certain areas will bear down harder than other areas and create hot spots. These hot spots can distort the wear surface and a distorted wear surface will not marry with another wear surface properly. Also the hot spots can get hot enough to exceed the material's operating heat range and dis-temper the material rendering it too soft or brittle to provide a long service life. The effect depends on the material at hand. Steel can become soft, aluminum can become brittle, ect. The action of properly heat cycling the individual internal components can also toughen them, leading to a longer lasting wear surface.

I really want to leave references for you all to read, but I am just repeating what I learned at school and what I learned from my elders.

 

[Turtle Tedd]

HT Engine best break in procedures...read above posts by Gearnut two or three times...make sure you have a high ratio of oil in your premix , a little smoke wont hurt anything..you can go to 30 to 1 if you want after break in..get some extra plugs and change them out during break in often...nuff said

 

[RedBaronX]

GearNut-- you sound like you REALLY know what you are talking about, so I'm going to ask you about BEST oil:gas ratios for both break-in and post-break-in... Every owner's manual I've looked at gives different information, and it drives me nuts!

The woman I bought the motor from said that running oil-rich all the time won't hurt anything... (extreme amounts would get expensive and very very smoky) but the two sets of instructions don't agree on ratios.

So, I defer to you, GearNut... what do YOU recommend?

 

[GearNut]

Speaking for quality pre-mix oils ONLY:
24:1 for break in.
32:1 for the rest of the engine's life.

Any oil bought from Walmart, Kmart, Fedmart, Lowes, Home Depot, ect. is JUNK!

Use Maxima, Spectro, BelRay, Motul, and other quality oils made for motorcycles.

Do not use weed wacker or leaf blower oil.
The stresses and strains that an MB engine goes through are different than that of a yard tool. It does not matter if the engine was originally made for a yard tool, you are not using it as such, so do not treat it as such.

Certain high end synthetic oils such as Opti2 are designed to run at 100:1.
That is what the oil was designed to mix at, so follow ratio as instructed.
Other synthetics run at 50:1 or 80:1. Read the bottle and follow the instructions for the oil you are using.

Only as a last resort will I use a cheap brand (Poulan, ect.) oil to get me out of a bad "I have no oil, DARN IT!" situation if I am out on the road somewhere and out of gas.
I try to plan ahead, but nobody is perfect.

 

[Lazieboy]

Give her the Gusto

As soon as i got mine going I took her for all she was worth. I must not of read that chapter. Engine still runs awsomly.

 

[RedBaronX]

I picked up "2-stroke outboard motor oil" from the hardware store... I figured outboard motors are run basically as rough as a MB, but if you think it would not be good enough, I'll either save it for an emergency day or take it back.... would I find higher quality at an auto parts store? At this moment, I have no transportation except for the bus, so my shopping choices are limited.

 

[GearNut]

Oh HECK NO!
Do not use outboard marine oil!!!!!!
That is designed for a water cooled boat engine. They have very different requirements than an air cooled engine.
Consider that the cooling water of a boat engine is at the temperature of the lake that you are floating in, therefore it runs alot cooler.
An air cooled engine runs much hotter than that.
Even a modern water cooled dirt bike engine runs hotter than that. That is why oils for modern motorcycles are still compatible with air cooled motors.
Marine oil will greatly reduce the life of your engine!

 

[GearNut]

There are no motorcycle stores near your place?
Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki "factory" oils are better than the cheap stuff.

Do you live in an agricultural area? I know that years ago Farm and Fleet used to sell Honda dirt bike oil. How about Tractor Supply? I never go there much, it is on line only for me.

 

[RedBaronX]

then I am REALLY glad I asked (and really glad that I didn't finish my bike on Sunday...) I wasn't thinking about air- versus water-, I was just thinking about the weight of workload... I picked this stuff up because I was at the hardware store anyway picking up some more paint, hardware for mounting my bigger tank... and this was all they had besides weed-whacker oil. If the label had specified air- versus water- I would have known better

as for finding a motorcycle shop-- it's a matter of finding one that I can actually get to on the bus (and then finding one that isn't all Harley, Harley, HARLEY!).

 

[crowvise]

hey gear nut,
what's the ratio for motul? Break-in and after? One shop I went to carried only motul. $17.00 a qt. Is that price the average for it? Is it average for the other quality MC oils?
Oh, and with that break-in info you gave me, after that third 1/2 hour run how long is a long run?