Namby-Pamby break-ins are a relic of the past. Sort of like 3000 mile oil changes on cars. Just ain't necessary any more...

 

Well, maybe I'm the only one, I broke my bike in just like the manufacture recommended. I've got around 2400 miles with no problems. It's your bike, do what you feel comfortable with.

 

I tend to run my new bikes like I do after rebuilding an engine.
A few runs loading and unloading the engine at different rpms and gear changes. then pour on the steam after maybe the 10th lap. Do an oil change (with inspection) and plug check, then just nail it. I do not change to synthetic oil until after the rings, cylinders are matched.

 

I have broken in a few bikes in my time & always do a ladies/road version of the Mototune break-in technique. I think the first 100km (70miles) are the most important & like to do three full heat cycles. example three 20mile runs with smooth throttle & keeping revs under 5000rpm then let cool down over night & same again for 3 days. Then change the oil/filter as any metal due to bad tolerances will be in the oil after the third heat cycle.

The next 500km (350miles) i will, once fully warmed up go up & down the rev range like a ****** knickers, slowly & briefly inching my way towards the redline! Never sit on a highway at a set speed for hours just clocking up the miles as this will not seat/bed in the rings properly. This section of the break-in is more like the Mototune method. I'm not running it like i stole it but it's quite energetic compared to a normal break-in.

This has worked very well for me in the past.

 

From what I'm reading it doesn't matter how you break-in your bike. The end result is everyone's bike runs fine after the break-in regardless of how it was done.

 

I broke in my 351 by taking it to an off-road 60 mile loop filled with rock gardens, crazy hill climbs, and some logging roads.

Basically beat the snot out of it.

That was about 6k miles ago and the bike is perfect, cylinder walls are perfect, compression is perfect, etc.

 

any idea what the compression ratio is now with the 351 kit?

 

^^^ +1

That's exactly how I did mine. Lots of variation. 1400+ miles on it now, and it runs perfect. Time to pipe and jet this summer...

 

I would disagree a little with that. Over 15 years while working at a motorcycle shop as a mechanic, we saw more issues of low compression and failure of the rings to seat on newer engines that had been broken in according to the amazingly low rpm recommendations laid out in the manual. I think many believe a new engine to be a fragile "glass slipper" kind of thing. It isn't. Some of the best running bikes sold out of the shop that showed power and longevity were those bought by younger guys who had no compunction about "getting on it" right out of the box. It sounds counterintuitive, but that's the pattern I've seen for most of my life. That doesn't mean that some of those young bucks didn't break something occasionally, but it was clearly not due to break-in issues.

 

I did the moto tune on my klx and my cfr 230 ... Drive it like you stole it and then change the oil at a 100 miles