[webmost]

Read Motoman's explanation. He certainly does not say "ride it like you stole it". Not in the least. He does say make it breathe hard. There's a big diff between making the engine work and spinning it round fast. My take on what Motoman says is, make the mill work. Throttle on, throttle off. That's not revving the engine. That's putting pressure on the rings so they seat against their cylinder walls. You do this right off the bat, you get good power and you will not use oil.

Make torque; not horsepower.

 

[Fuzzy]

I feel like I've been overly cautious with my Scout. This is the first bike I've owned and had to break it in. Only had two chances to ride it and they were little putts around in the 45 mph range. I feel like I was lugging the motor or doing harm not going out of 4th. I read the break-in procedures and my take away was to jump on the interstate and rack up the miles once the weather breaks. Glad I read this before I did just that.

What I was doing was making it breath like Webmost said. I think I'm on the right track, but it's nerve racking.
I'll get some magnets to throw on the oil filter to try and catch some break-in floaters.

 

[builder]

Just ride like you ride. If you like to blast around all the time.....take it down a notch for a while.

 

[raysred1]

I feel like I've been overly cautious with my Scout. This is the first bike I've owned and had to break it in. Only had two chances to ride it and they were little putts around in the 45 mph range. I feel like I was lugging the motor or doing harm not going out of 4th. I read the break-in procedures and my take away was to jump on the interstate and rack up the miles once the weather breaks. Glad I read this before I did just that.

What I was doing was making it breath like Webmost said. I think I'm on the right track, but it's nerve racking.
I'll get some magnets to throw on the oil filter to try and catch some break-in floaters.

You were in 4th at 45mph?

 

[Fuzzy]

You were in 4th at 45mph?

Probably, maybe. Not for very long. I deny ever owning a Scout. [bag]

 

[JackProspect]

So now that more people are riding, how are you all going about breaking in? I know I'm a little nervous about it just cause I've never broken in a motor before. Trying to vary RPMs but in town it's a little hard. Thinking of going on a ride to the next city over that's about 45 minutes to an hour away, but I'm concerned about the break-in ramifications of the trip

 

[Dirty Nic]

I wouldn't be nervous. The manual says to not operate for extended periods above the particular throttle settings. It does not say that you should not go past those throttle settings, just not to keep it there for a long time. I agree with the statements above that you should ride like you normally ride and just not do anything stupid on it for a bit.

I break in engines all the time... both piston (air and liquid cooled) and turbine. You got nothing to fret about. Go enjoy yourself (have fun with it) without getting too freaky with the engine.

 

[webmost]

Eggs Ackley

 

[Silverhorse]

Most important thing I did when I got the bike home from the dealer was to check the oil. Make sure it has not been filled too full. Most are and it will very quickly cause you problems! Also, ensure you put the bike through plenty of heat cycles, and allow to fully cool. They say it takes around 30 heat cycles to properly seat engine parts!

 

[Alpal]

Most important thing I did when I got the bike home from the dealer was to check the oil. Make sure it has not been filled too full. Most are and it will very quickly cause you problems! Also, ensure you put the bike through plenty of heat cycles, and allow to fully cool. They say it takes around 30 heat cycles to properly seat engine parts!

Or, in my case, not enough oil. Picked up the bike, rode 8 hours home and discovered the following morning the oil level was just a couple of mm above the fill mark. Oh, yes, check your coolant too. Mine took heaps to fill. Ride home temp was 85 to 87*C After filling it runs at 79*C all day.

 

[JackProspect]

So for a freeway trip you would say to just not worry about the RPMs? Or just vary them a bit and it'll be fine

 

[Dirty Nic]

So for a freeway trip you would say to just not worry about the RPMs? Or just vary them a bit and it'll be fine

I would suggest keeping the rpms on the bottom half of the range during most of your cruise (4200 rpm and below), but be sure to vary the rpms every five minutes or so. You can do this by shifting. Near the end, take her on up to 5500 rpm for a bit. Don't peg the throttle wide open and don't lug the engine during your cruise (don't go below 1500 rpm).

 

[Jack Cactus]

I'm doing a combination of all that, it hasn't broke yet. Actually sounds pretty good. 400 miles.

 

[Basto]

I know this is a really old thread but was curious as I am planning to buy a new Scout this weekend and drive it home to Ut from Boise (about 370 miles). Was planing to just vary speed and RPM and shift up and down now and then. Wasn't planning on any prolonged stops other than gassing up.

Was thinking I would change the oil asap after I get home.

My first bike many years ago was a Honda Shadow 750 and I babied it to the extreme for the first 500. Never had any problems with it.

 

[Brian Meyers]

Sounds like a plan.You stated:
"My first bike many years ago was a Honda Shadow 750 and I babied it to the extreme for the first 500. Never had any problems with it." but how many miles did you put on it?

 

[Basto]

I put 20k miles on it before I sold it. The kid I sold it to took it up to 60k before he sold it and I lost track of it.

No engine problems. After the break in I souped it up and rode it like the young maniac I was.

 

[Brian Meyers]

I never have babied Scout, just do the recommend service from day one, no more no less for the past 47,000 miles and my baby is just as healthy and playful as the day I picked her up. just sayin.

 

[Basto]

Excellent. Was a little worried about the prolonged freeway driving during the break in period.

 

[Brian Meyers]

Excellent. Was a little worried about the prolonged freeway driving during the break in period.

At some point between the first three hundred miles and the 500 mile oil change just couldn't help myself and watch the speedometer touch105mph while riding in Death Valley. Since then my top speeds been 110mph. I retired 15 years ago from skydiving and missed the adrenaline rush, than along came Scout.

 

[litos]

Thread resurrection, but I know enough about forums to do a SEARCH for things to avoid getting roasted (16 years on multiple forums)...

Bought my bike yesterday with 0 miles...

Had a 22 mile ride home on a long and pretty straight road...

When I left the dealership, I “probably” took it up to @ 4k rpms in 1st, 2nd and 3rd, and @ 3000rpms in 4th, 5th and 6th...hit a stop light within 3/4 of a mile...

When I left the stop light, I did the same exact acceleration cycle and merged onto the freeway...for the next 20 miles, I was in 6th gear going from 85mph down to 70, then back up to 90 and back down to 70, etc etc...

Basically rolling on and off the throttle in 6th gear all the way home from 70mph to 90mph...

So, the bike has @ 21 or 22 miles right now and the Houston weather is going to keep me off of the bike for about a week...

Next time I get on it, I’ll stick to short bursts through the first 3 or 4 gears and try not to linger at any rpm for a long time...

This break in is brutal...