Break-in for new motor

I picked up a 2009 TE 250 last Sunday. I've got to say I'm a bit surprised by the inordinate amount of oil changes necessary for the break-in period. According to the dealer, I'm supposed to replace fresh oil and filter ever 100 miles until the first service at 500 to 600 miles (when again fresh oil and filter are changed). Does five oil changes prior to the first service seem somewhat excessive to you? Also, would appreciate any comments on the horsepower change on the bike after the PU kit is installed. In stock form it reminds me of my Dad's Honda 90 from the '70s. Hope the kit makes a big difference. Thanks.

Well it seems like a lot of oil changes to me. Does the dealer say why? Is it due to the fact the oil capacity is small? Some engines have break in oil and then normal oil. I am kind of suprised if you are supposed to change so much presumably due to things wearing in and metal debris there is probably some logic as to using different products. John Deere ag tractor manual I have calls for break in oil for 100 hours then normal oil. I have heard BMW owners taking about not putting in synthetic oil too soon or else things don't break in. You might read up about the fuel pump issue due to debris in the gasoline tank, maybe there is debris in the engine as well.

Fran

did you read the OM??? i doubt it say's same.

failing that do a couple of idle to warm up then let cool cycles. then cruise it around less than half throttle for a half tank...then a half tank or two 3/4 throttle max....letting it cool now and then and not letting it get hot. dont lug it or over-rev it. just be nice for a while. change oil after two hours and clean screens and mag plugs.

use specto off-road 4-cycle moto oil.

The dealer gives no explanation for the frequent oil changes. The break in procedure is listed in a booket they give to all their customers who buy bikes. The break in procedure calls for the first three hours of operation not to exceed 4000 RPMs preceeded by three heat cycles and gentle driving at 2000-3000 RPMs and then not to exceed 5000 RPMs until 500 to 600 miles completed. Oil changes, according to their procedure, every 100 miles/three hours. The OM makes no mention of heat cycles or RPMs, only driving slowly for two hours avoiding sudden acceleration or lugging and no wide open throttle--just like pvduke stated. In the stock set up (low power) the '09 te 250 will only do 26 mph at 4000RPMs in the tallest gear! For the record, OM says to use AGiP 4T racing oil (10w-60) and change at three and then every eight hours.

Here's what works;
(don't waste your time with the dealer or manual suggestions)
When the bike is brand new, start it up & let it warm up fully before riding. Then hop on, pull out on the street and pretend the cops are chasing you for about 20 minutes or so. Accelerate hard thru each gear up to about 80-90% throttle, then downshift thru the gears, slowing down using lots of engine braking. Then back up thru the gears, and back down again. Repeat this a bunch of times for about 20 min or so.

When you get home, change the oil and go have a beer.

Use a good full syn oil and change at 10-15 hr intervals from there on.

funny- but not adviseable.

proper engine break-in is not a joke. follow the OM recomendations or as close to it as practical. it only takes a couple or few hours to do same and it's a lot better for engine longevity than flogging it from brand new.

look... hi-perf, tight tollerance, factory new engines develop a lot of friction the first few runnings. there are a lot of sharp edges on sliding surfaces that like to be eased into service. you guys do what you want. i've been machining and buliding race engines since '78 and unless i made it im doing what the maker says to or as close to it as practical as they already did all the theory, design, engineering and testing for me and me just hopping on and flogging it pretty much negates all that esp when the OM says something completly opposite.

be nice to new engines and you'll be rewared in the long run.

change the oil after 1 run then do whatever they recommend, my 09 te250 had alot of metal pieces in it from the factory. looked like leftovers from a wire connector that went through it.

50 mi. for the first
200
350
500
600-650 and do power up and check valves

That's what my dealer asked that I do.

I was told to change the oil after 250 miles, then 1,000 miles and then bring it in for the 2,000 service. He also told me not to take it over 5,500 RPM's for the first four hundred miles. But mine is used as a street only SM610.

Actually, I wasn't joking.
(how long is the 'long run' on a high perf. dirt bike engine ?)
You may have your way of building engines and experience, which is fine, but it appears (based on a growing body of supporting evidence and from personal experience) that breaking them in fast is harmless and the best way to get the most power for the long term.
If breaking them in fast was absolutely the wrong way to do it, all my vehicles' engines should be wore out or junk by now.
Just for arguments sake Id happily compare apples to apples dyno runs from my TE 250 at 305 hrs vs. a similar bike with similar hours that was broke in the 'slow' way. I'd be willing to bet that the 'fast' method will produce 5-10% more power at several hundred hours vs. the 'slow' method.
If I turned out to be wrong, I'd buy the other guy a beer, eat humble pie and never chime in on the subject again.

Ultimately it's up to the owner to do what they feel best; take the 'safe' way and give themselves 'peace of mind' or use a 'controversial' method that is shown(dyno proven) to improve power output and long term run quality.

suit yerself, it's yer engine.

maybe you should send the factory a TSB/OM ammendment with you findings and logic. personally? i just follow the directions that came with my engine if i didn't build it. with dirt bikes dyno numbers do not matter to me. oil use, cleanliness of same, limiting wear and reliability is.

and when you compare something, make it the same exact thing/conditions. not "similar".
do two break-in's, t/d, inspect/measure, then reassemble then t/d, inspect and measure at a given hour interval of two exact identical engines under exact controled conditions. otherwise the data is incomparable.

again- totally up to you how you want to break-in an engine. whether it's deemed "correct" or not is subject to the factory/maker.

Is this booklet something the dealer prints themselves? Is it for specific bikes, or just something generic that they hand out?

I'm puzzled why you would follow this procedure when the Husqvarna manual recommendation is quite different.

If you followed the dealer instructions, you wouldn't have a 'broken in' bike until you had ridden it for close to 24 long, painfully slow hours. Even then, it's questionable whether it would be properly broken in.

I agree with you and have chosen to follow the OM which does not limit engine speed or mileage specifically. An experienced rider can tell when an engine is humming and is not under stress. The 250 is certainly capable of greater than 10,000 RPMs at near peak so motoring along in tall gear at only twice idle speed is clearly not good. The "booklet" from the dealer is not engine or model specific but is allegedly for all 2009 Husqvarna bikes.

Jeez. This is not rocket science.

Heat and cool cycling is very important for the first two hours,
After that just run it normally - I've never experienced high wear or engine failure due to break in's.

We've actually rebuilt engines in the motel room prior to the Baja 250, 500 and 1000 the night before WITHOUT BREAK IN PERIODS - never had a DNF due to the engine or abnormal engine wear because of it.

We sometime become so caught up in what the manual say that we think it's the absolute truth.

Kind of out of text, but when I visited the BMW automotive factory in Germany I saw a brand new 335i come off the line. They poured oil and gas in it and put it on the factory dino. The dyno tech started the car up and w/ absolutely no warm up ran that thing through the gears like a bat out of hell, red-lining the car through each gear and then engine breaking it through each gear.

Every single BMW gets that done to it right off the line.

That's part of the reason I question the slow method. I think it's recommended in the OM to give the factory bean counters peace of mind, believing lots of bikes are spending a good chunk of the warranty period just puttering around at slow speeds.
With modern materials, metallurgy and assembly practices, if the engine was built properly, it will handle the fast break-in method just fine- and be better off because of it. These things aren't made out of thick shoe leather......

Oddly enough- I've seen and heard tons of people carry on about the slow method, spreading fear and rumors against the fast method, yet they never provide actual documented proof- only hearsay. However, when you compare the 2 methods on the dyno, guess which one puts out more power at measured intervals in the life cycle? (hint- it's not the slow method)

widely varied rpm, easy shifts, high rpm without any real load on the engine, shut down, let cool completely, repeat 4 or 5 times, running the bike around 20 minutes each time and putting more and more load on the engine. Change the oil as much as the dealer told you and you'll be golden.

There is a ton of crap in these engines that you can only get out by changing the oil, filter, and cleaning the screens. When the screens finally come out clean, then you can change it however you feel is best but you really must get the solid matter out of the engine.

Oil is cheap, engines aren't.

Keep in mind that the OM only recommends a two hour break-in. It was a dealer supplied booklet that recommended the unusually lengthy break-in period that martin was questioning.

Bombardier do the same with their snowmobile on the assembly line, if the engine as to go bad it will no matter what ever you do so better to find out sooner than later(after your warranty is gone), here a link the engine worth a couples bike ($) on a dyno and i'm sure they did not break in the engine for 20,000 miles before the dyno, fresh built and go. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkglxJH6jGE

My Triumph dealer also recommends to just ride the thing like you're going to ride it after break-in regardless. The factory winds the engine waaaaayyyy up during testing on each bike before releasing it from the assembly floor. Has held true so far for us. Not an apple to apples comparison but the idea holds true.