well... shiny bits in first oil change

[amamet]

just did the first oil change after the 500 mile break in on my 77 lemans after full engine rebuild.  was a bit dismayed to say the least when I noticed teeny tiny shiny bits in the oil.  non magnetic.  im assuming its the aluminum timing gears that ive discussed in the past with good feelings. especially since they been on the bike fo many, many miles already.  mike rich even mentioned they looked fine when we reinstalled them (we helped me retime the new cam together in his shop).  any who I assume thats what the bits are from and I guess I gotta go back in and switch to chain and sprockets or steel gears. obviously I guess, little bits of metal are not a good thing to see in your oil
Allen

[Rough Edge racing]

 Does the bike have an oil filter? If so cut it open to see what's inside .......I have found a few tiny specks of non magnetic junk in the oil in my race bikes and after rebuilding bike and car engines...It doesn't necessarily mean engine death...Could be a bit of flashing off a piston or gear.It can be a bit of bearing material .  A few tiny specks that were confned to the sump in one thing, more than that might be trouble.
   

[jwinwi]

Many years ago one of the highest mileage Guzzi riders in the WMGR installed aluminum timing gears and was surprised at how much noise they made on initial startup. Rode the bike somewhere and on the return trip had to outrun some heavy weather so he was definitely riding that bike like he stole it. When he got home he was surprised at how quiet the gears had become. IIRC he put LOTS of miles on with no problems at all.  YMMV
I've wondered if problems with the aluminum gears stem from the rider lugging the engine - anything below 4K...

[amamet]

well, I fitted a new set of gilardonis also with the rebuild,  ill try to cut open the oil filter (without making any more debris) to see what's in there

[kballowe]

I don't know what size bits those are, but every time I change the oil on a new bike, then the oil has a definite aluminum swirl and I can see little aluminum tiny floaties.

[Dave Swanson]

I cant provide a clean bill of health, but like others I have always seen that metallic cloud swirl in dropped oil if you look at it in the sun - every time. 

[SIR REAL ED]

just did the first oil change after the 500 mile break in on my 77 lemans after full engine rebuild.  was a bit dismayed to say the least when I noticed teeny tiny shiny bits in the oil.  non magnetic.  im assuming its the aluminum timing gears that ive discussed in the past with good feelings. especially since they been on the bike fo many, many miles already.  mike rich even mentioned they looked fine when we reinstalled them (we helped me retime the new cam together in his shop).  any who I assume thats what the bits are from and I guess I gotta go back in and switch to chain and sprockets or steel gears. obviously I guess, little bits of metal are not a good thing to see in your oil
Allen

Since this is the first oil change with a "new engine" I would not worry about it.  New engines are machining themselves to correct tolerances when running.  Amount of engine wear in the next 500 miles should be much less.  The 500 miles after that, even less wear.

I make it a point to change the oil on a new engine after 100 miles.  Then change again at 400 miles.

Probably not necessary, but hey, its all about treating your new baby right, isn't it?

[amamet]

I guess ill ride it a little bit and do another oil change when it get too cold to ride.  I can also take off the timing cover and have a look-see. ill drop the pan and look at whats on the bottom too. I have a harpers outsider on the bike.  looking into steel Caruso gears but they're kinda pricey or if Im really worried ill switch to sprocket and chain but I like the gears and they're already custom timed

what could possible go wrong...

[moto-uno]

"what could possibly go wrong"  or my other favourite "how hard could that be" .Peter

[Old Jock]

I've experienced this as well like all the others

When I first started my LM 1000 after a rebuild the amount of Aluminuim in the sump really scared me there was a lot and I mean a lot. After cleaning out everything during the rebuild and being super careful to steam clean then jet wash all the casings and passages within.

From experience with power plant and seeing a lot of pipe flushing I know there are few things better at descaling and loosening particles than very hot oil coupled with vibration. So I wouldn't go nuts or be too down just yet.

For what it's worth I'd drop the pan and have a look in there, check it out and clean it all up. If concerned about the timing gears I'd remove the timing cover and have a look in there and at the gear condition.

Nowadays I certainly wouldn't panic over it unduly.

As far as gears I prefer steel, but others have had good experience with Agostini gears.
My personal take on the whole gear fiasco is that there were a lot of distributors out there selling all sorts of Al Gear sets and no doubt some were good and some were very bad. Get a bad set and you wreck the engine, so unless you are 99% certain that you have a properly machined and toleranced set, I wouldn't go near them

[Mike Tashjian]

Metal finish on modern engines is better than ever and break in almost a thing of the past.  On rebuilds and older engines the finish is not that good so break in is much more important.  You want parts to wear in but not wear out.  I like to change oil on rebuilds after a 100 miles too and then at short intervals for the next few.  Conversely on my Honda Pilot I purposely waited for the engine minder to tell to change the oil.  The V-6 motor has a reputation of burning some oil.  On a motor with such good finishes I felt leaving the oil in would help break it in better.  So that car only get oil changes at 15K miles(Mobil one extended life oil) and I am burning less than a quart between changes.  I am at 75K miles and just changed it last week. 

[SIR REAL ED]

Metal finish on modern engines is better than ever and break in almost a thing of the past.  On rebuilds and older engines the finish is not that good so break in is much more important.  You want parts to wear in but not wear out.  I like to change oil on rebuilds after a 100 miles too and then at short intervals for the next few.  Conversely on my Honda Pilot I purposely waited for the engine minder to tell to change the oil.  The V-6 motor has a reputation of burning some oil.  On a motor with such good finishes I felt leaving the oil in would help break it in better.  So that car only get oil changes at 15K miles(Mobil one extended life oil) and I am burning less than a quart between changes.  I am at 75K miles and just changed it last week.

Very true, or at least I used to have specific knowledge.  I was a bit stunned to learn while working at GM in the early 80's that some engine had the cylinder bores honed and some were polished to a mirror finish.  But that only affect rings, pistons, and cylinder walls.

the other thing that used to be true (may still be?) was don't try to break-in an engine on synthetic oil.  too slick, retards or prevent proper finish machining...... at least on the non-polished surfaces.