Hey Guys Just bought an 07 Vfr that has 351 miles on it. It is about 400 miles from my house. Have not picked it up yet. the owner told me that he has put synthetic oil in there. Is there really a break in any more and should I put the recommended oil back in befor I put 400miles on it gettin it home. the manual says avoid high revs until 300 miles. Is that really it?
welcome! Yes sir I would at least do that. One thing to observe is that there are certain valves that only engage above 6-7k rpm. When I got my Vtech lightly used, I remember the first few times I rode it hard there was definitely a funny smell. Turns out it was the extra set of valves seating in because I was using Vtech! Just sayin
Yeah, there isn't much break in on motors these days. The machining tolerances are so precise anymore there isn't much to break in. It isn't a bad idea to take it easy for the first few miles, same goes for the new brakes and tires. Rollins got it right. Ride it home, and put your choice of oil in it. Then ride, these motors solid as a rock. Worry about the charging system if your looking for something to worry about.
First off, congrats on the new bike! I found myself in a very similar situation. Just over a week ago, I picked up a (barely) used '07 VFR800. It had only 412 miles on it. I found mine at a dealership and they told me they had changed the oil and filter, put in a new battery and checked all the bolts and fasteners. When I read the manual, I found it hard to believe break-in was only 300 miles (all my other bikes had 600 to 1000 mile break-in periods). And the break-in directions were to take it easy for 300 miles?! I guess old habits die hard and I couldn't bring myself to accept that the break-in period was over on a bike that had barely been ridden in four years and looked absolutely spotless. If for no other reason than peace of mind, I kept it below 6K, ran it through all the gears, avoided lulling the motor or staying at the same rpm for any significant amount of time until I hit 600 miles. At 600 miles, I changed the oil and filter, re-checked all the bolts and lubed the chain. I've been riding it "normally" (without any thought of break-in or taking it easy) since then. Hopefully, it's as Davis5g says and engine technology nowadays doesn't require much of a break-in. That same school of thought probably supports running synthetic oil in a new engine (you'll have fun reading about that debate). Also, I'm not too sure what constitutes "nowadays." Our bikes, with few changes, are the same engines that were designed for the 2002 model which, if I'm not mistaken, means they were probably developed in 2000 at the earliest. Does that qualify as a modern engine not needing a traditional break-in? I don't know. Personally, I decided to play it safe. I say, change your oil and filter regularly, do whatever gives you peace of mind, and just ride! It's an amazing bike and you have a lot of good times ahead of you.
With Rollin on this one.......ride it like you just freshly stole it and change the oil as recommended (or early and often as we say at work) and you will be fine.
Personally.... I think the only reason they (any bike manufacturer) states to keep the revs below a certain RPMs is for safety reasons. If people think they are doing it for break-in reasons, they are more likely to take it easy. We've all known of situations where people hop on a brand new bike, can't control it and total it, thereby hurting themselves REALLY bad. If the manufacturers tell peeps to keep the revs low, it gives them a chance to get used to the bike a little bit before they hit the real power where they can be dangerous. If nothing else, they will get out of the parking lot before hurting themselves. Break-in on these engines nowadays just doesn't seem necessary at all...
Though the official "break-in" period is short, I've noticed that the engine smooths out some over the first 5,000 miles or so, and the power seems to increase slightly. The idle speed will tend to creep up, and you'll have to adjust it down.
According to this website you're already too late to break it in, but it makes good reading for the next new bike or car that you buy. I broke my Spyder in using his recommendations and although I only have 22,000+ miles on it, she runs like a dream. Break In Secrets--How To Break In New Motorcycle and Car Engines For More Power
