First Ride/Break In Ride on r2

Silly me never rode the new bike before I tore it apart. Did the AIS, EXUP, major airbox surgery, used the 7.5k ohm resistor thing (thanks SheWolf), fusebox, relay, Highway Dirtbikes full monte, heated grips, Safari tank, Seat Concepts Seat, moded the tail light myself, all new l.e.d. turnsignals, radiator guard, bash plate, and Fmf Q4, and FMF FI programmer. Nope.... never even started the bike!

Today I took it for the maiden voyage doing the "motoman" break in. It was a nice sunny 50 degrees in Bozeman today so I thought "what the hell" lets give her a go.

What I noticed is that it seemed like the bike has a rev limiter so to speak, as it would reach a certain rpm and just kinda cut out. I never touched the programming on the FI programmer yet, so maybe that's it. It seemed to get better the longer I rode it, be never went completely away. I have no experience with little bikes like this but it seems like it should rev higher. Without a tach, I have no idea how high I was revving it. Just didn't seem that high to me. It would just get to the point where it started making decent power and then cut out. The altitude here is around 5,000 ft, so maybe that's got something to do with it. New gas, mid grade.

Rode it 25 miles, came home and changed the oil and filter.

I'll do the programming on the FI tuner tomorrow a.m. and try it again.

Is there a question in this post?

njbill wrote:

Is there a question in this post?

No, were you hoping for one to answer? Just a posting of observations from a first ride. Didn't know posters had to write in a question format, I'll be sure to pay more attention to that from now on. Thank you for saving me from further embarrassment.

How about some pics of your accomplishments?

The bike has a secret tach in CO mode

more info:

https://wr250rforum.forumotion.com/t1141-wr-taco-in-diagnostic-mode
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q98ARDWEnUY&feature=related

Yes....there is a rev limiter. Keeps you (people) from destroying the engine and/or it's favorite moving parts.

Especially when there is no tachometer, there's a rev limiter.

I don't know of any 4 stroke street legal motorcycles that don't have a rev limiter.

If you come from a background of 2 strokes this may be new to you.

If you were banging up against the rev limiter on your initial break-in ride, you may have been pushing things way too hard.

motokid wrote:

Yes....there is a rev limiter. Keeps you (people) from destroying the engine and/or it's favorite moving parts.

Especially when there is no tachometer, there's a rev limiter.

I don't know of any 4 stroke street legal motorcycles that don't have a rev limiter.

If you come from a background of 2 strokes this may be new to you.

If you were banging up against the rev limiter on your initial break-in ride, you may have been pushing things way too hard.

I was afraid of that. Lets just hope the motoman break in where he states to "run it hard" means "run it f'ing hard", because I think I just ran it really really hard. Ha ha.... oh well no take backs now. Changed the oil after 28 miles, put new oil and filter in and it started right up, no weird noises

Relax. Don't let fear mongering get to you.

You don't have to worry about damaging your engine doing the motoman break-in and running the engine right up to the redline, as long as you're following the process he outlines.

Motoman isn't exactly the first instance where a new engine is run right up to the redline/rev limiter - and beyond. He didn't invent the concept, and it isn't exactly radical.

If you allowed the engine and oil to warm up first, if you didn't run in one RPM range for any length of time, and if you took the RPMs up and then backed off and let the engine idle right down in that 28 miles or whatever, unless the laws of statistical probability bite you, you are right on track with the process motoman describes and all will be well. You are not the first person in this forum to use the "Motoman" break in - not even close.

I talked the Motoman method over with my brother after somebody referred me to it while I was awaiting my bike's delivery. He's been a journeyman HD mechanic for 35 years now and worked on everything from the Terex Titan, to Challenger MBTs, to light duty cars and trucks, to wrenching for local racing teams. He said "what's so new about that?" and gave it the big thumbs up. Just said just never run the bike at any one RPM range for any period of time and change the oil lots for the first bit - big expense on these bikes.

So I warmed it up when it came out of the crate, took it up and down the rev range successively higher and higher until I was banging off the rev limiter, and then changed the oil at 20 miles. Changed it again at 60 miles. Then again at 200 miles. And after that on what I use as my normal oil change interval.

Bike runs good and strong, awesome mileage, one and only problem I've had with it is the gas tank is too small. And that doesn't have anything to do with the Motoman/industrial break in.

Jäger wrote:

Relax. Don't let fear mongering get to you.

You don't have to worry about damaging your engine doing the motoman break-in and running the engine right up to the redline, as long as you're following the process he outlines.

Motoman isn't exactly the first instance where a new engine is run right up to the redline/rev limiter - and beyond. He didn't invent the concept, and it isn't exactly radical.

If you allowed the engine and oil to warm up first, if you didn't run in one RPM range for any length of time, and if you took the RPMs up and then backed off and let the engine idle right down in that 28 miles or whatever, unless the laws of statistical probability bite you, you are right on track with the process motoman describes and all will be well. You are not the first person in this forum to use the "Motoman" break in - not even close.

I talked the Motoman method over with my brother after somebody referred me to it while I was awaiting my bike's delivery. He's been a journeyman HD mechanic for 35 years now and worked on everything from the Terex Titan, to Challenger MBTs, to light duty cars and trucks, to wrenching for local racing teams. He said "what's so new about that?" and gave it the big thumbs up. Just said just never run the bike at any one RPM range for any period of time and change the oil lots for the first bit - big expense on these bikes.

So I warmed it up when it came out of the crate, took it up and down the rev range successively higher and higher until I was banging off the rev limiter, and then changed the oil at 20 miles. Changed it again at 60 miles. Then again at 200 miles. And after that on what I use as my normal oil change interval.

Bike runs good and strong, awesome mileage, one and only problem I've had with it is the gas tank is too small. And that doesn't have anything to do with the Motoman/industrial break in.

Right on, I thought it shouldn't be a big issue, I figured that's what the limiter is for once I knew what was going on with the bike cutting out. Seems like it would run a bit stronger and higher rpm's without cutting out the more I rode it. Dialed in the FMF FI today and am heading out for a ride right now. I'll change the oil again when I'm done today. I'm also going to give the Safari a test during the ride and see what happens when the fuel level dips below the bottom of the factory pump. Kinda wish the "well" that the pump sits in was a bit deeper, I'll bet there is a way to accomplish that with some glue (not affected by gasoline) and a similarly shaped round piece of plastic. Even if you could add an inch (thats what she said ) to it to create a well big enough so the consumption of fuel at highway rpm's wouldn't be faster than the refill rate from the vacuum pump.

thinair wrote:

Kinda wish the "well" that the pump sits in was a bit deeper, I'll bet there is a way to accomplish that with some glue (not affected by gasoline) and a similarly shaped round piece of plastic. Even if you could add an inch (thats what she said ) to it to create a well big enough so the consumption of fuel at highway rpm's wouldn't be faster than the refill rate from the vacuum pump.

What do "highway RPMs" have to do with it?

The engine makes max power - on or off the road - at 10,000 rpm. I bet more guys are running at those revs out in the dirt than are doing it idling down the slab. And if the engine at max power reves was consuming fuel faster than the vacuum pump could refill and deliver, you wouldn't need a rev limiter... the pump would do that for you. In fact, you'd never get max power out of it, under any conditions, because it would drop off due to fuel starvation to begin with.

Jäger wrote:

thinair wrote:

Kinda wish the "well" that the pump sits in was a bit deeper, I'll bet there is a way to accomplish that with some glue (not affected by gasoline) and a similarly shaped round piece of plastic. Even if you could add an inch (thats what she said ) to it to create a well big enough so the consumption of fuel at highway rpm's wouldn't be faster than the refill rate from the vacuum pump.

What do "highway RPMs" have to do with it?

The engine makes max power - on or off the road - at 10,000 rpm. I bet more guys are running at those revs out in the dirt than are doing it idling down the slab. And if the engine at max power reves was consuming fuel faster than the vacuum pump could refill and deliver, you wouldn't need a rev limiter... the pump would do that for you. In fact, you'd never get max power out of it, under any conditions, because it would drop off due to fuel starvation to begin with.

I read a post somewhere that stated a guy was having trouble having with his Safari when near empty on the tarmac at higher rev's. Assumed the vacuum pump couldn't feed fast enough for the factory pumps desires, and my solution was (albeit not well thought out) was to increase "cup" size for the factory pump.

no worries with hard break in, just make sure the oil is hot before you start giving it the beans, that is the most important thing. If it makes you feel any better I had mine on a track day by 300 miles where it was WOT banging against the limiter all day long.

twowheeled wrote:

no worries with hard break in, just make sure the oil is hot before you start giving it the beans, that is the most important thing. If it makes you feel any better I had mine on a track day by 300 miles where it was WOT banging against the limiter all day long.

I did let it warm up for 10 minutes or so, then (at 10 miles on the odo) I started giving it to her. When I hit the rev limiter I'd back off. I think it's fine. Oil looked great when I changed it. Thanks for the assurance.