My SV is the first and only new bike I've ever owned. I followed the break-in instructions in the manual (they weren't all that difficult and I burned through the mileage requirement in the first week).

I broke mine in by the book.
Since I didn't ride for a year, getting on a 170hp missle and just cranking it would be nuts, so I kept it under 5500rpm for the first 1000kms.
That is still 114hp, so it is not like it was slow or anything.

I don't remember my break in period but I know I tried to follow the recommendations. :idk:

I always go slow now. I think that mototune or whatever it's called hard breakin method is BS. An engineer friend was talking about it last weekend and he said all their data was based on lawnmower motors.

The previous owner of my husky broke it in hard and the motor was worn out very quickly--I rebuilt it and broke it in soft and the difference is very noticeable. I'm hardly getting any junk on the drain plug even with ~70% of the miles that the last motor lasted in total.

The owners manual is dumb......They are more concerned about parents suing them due to kids over-riding their ability than they are about product longevity.

The factory already tests the engines before shipping them, and I can assure you they rev them above the limits specified in the ghey owners manual.

Here is what I do:

1) Don't sit around "warming it up" for more than 30 seconds.....Your engine wants to work, not sit around idling.
2) Ride around gently for the first 15 minutes, before putting significant loads on it.
3) Once it has warmed up, start doing a lot of acceleration & engine braking runs.....Not WOT to redline like the "Mototune" article recommends, but more than the ghey owners manual allows.
4) Don't cruise at one RPM........that's bad for break-in.
5) Don't lug the motor (let the motor drop to 2K and then try and accelerate.....it's bad for it)
6) Your first few trips should be at least 20-30 minutes, and after each trip you should park it and let it cool down overnight......Not just an hour or two.
7) Change the oil after the first 100 miles.

here is the mototune website, fwiw.

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

I've read that site before. I'm not sure beating the piss out of your engine is the way to go either.

You need to heat cycle the motor until the metals harden. Beating the piss out of it might give more power right off the bat but it's gonna last half as long.

I've argued this a thousand times and I still stand by that link. It's way closer to what you should be doing than what's in the manual.

NO! YOU'RE WRONG!



(I honestly don't know but someone had to do it :lol:)