What's the REAL break-in mileage for a Guzzi?

[JohninVT]

I have a hard time believing any modern engine, air cooled or otherwise, requires thousands and thousands of miles to break in.  That being said, I've only bought one Guzzi brand new.  My 1200 Sport used quite a bit of oil when I first bought it(new).  I babied it during break in and changed the oil three times in the first 2,000 miles.  It went through almost a quart of oil every thousand miles during the first 3,000 miles.  It wasn't overfilled and blowing out the breather tube.  The level was correct.  It continued until I rode to the Vintage Days at Barber Motorsport.  On the way down my friend and I ended up racing(he was on his ZRX1100) from Knoxville to Birmingham.  We made it in a hair over 3 hours.  I don't know if my engine ate oil because the ring gaps were aligned or if the rings hadn't been forced out against the cylinder walls because I had been so gentle during break in but holding the engine basically WFO for 260 miles seemed to do the trick.  I topped it off in Birmingham and it never used a drop of oil after that. 

I wouldn't get on a brand new motorcycle and just flog the hell out of it but I do think there is merit to generating pressure in the engine by increasing the throttle opening going up hills and accelerating briskly during break in.  Gradually increasing the loading in an engine to bed it in makes sense(to me) and I don't think that takes 20k miles.  More like 1-2,000.               

[pete roper]

Ride it *Normally* for the first couple of hundred miles and then cane it like a bastard child.

[Rough Edge racing]

  There is no break in on modern auto engines...The rings are seated before the new owner sits behind the wheel. the bearing clearances remain the same for years of use....
   Are new Guzzi's machined to a few ten thousands of an inch tolerances?

[pete roper]

Well yes, of course they are, where it counts.

Pete

[Rough Edge racing]

Well yes, of course they are, where it counts.

Pete

  And after let's say 30,000 miles,with proper maintenance, the crank and bearings generally show no wear?

[mechanicsavant]

Being a returning Guzzi type I'm not too familiar w/Guzzi/Piaggio programing. I do know @approx 25k Mi. BMW fuel maps change . I've had two factory trained techs explain that @about that milage a couple things happen . first they(BMW) figure it hasn't blown up ,so it was probably was assembled OK,and can take a bit more fuel & timing advance . most importantly its considered a "used " vehicle & is subject to slightly lower emission regs. By tuv. I wouldn't be surprised if Piaggio doesn't do similar.Those engineering types can be quite clever when not restrained by bean counters !

[pete roper]

  And after let's say 30,000 miles,with proper maintenance, the crank and bearings generally show no wear?

That of course depends on numerous factors but as long as it has been well maintained and hasn't had endless stop/start cycles wear will be minimal. It's the bearings moving in relation to the journal on which they run with no oil supply at start up that promotes wear. As long as there is oil flowing bearing and journal shouldn't ever touch and therefore wear will not occur.

Pete

[JohninVT]

Being a returning Guzzi type I'm not too familiar w/Guzzi/Piaggio programing. I do know @approx 25k Mi. BMW fuel maps change . I've had two factory trained techs explain that @about that milage a couple things happen . first they(BMW) figure it hasn't blown up ,so it was probably was assembled OK,and can take a bit more fuel & timing advance . most importantly its considered a "used " vehicle & is subject to slightly lower emission regs. By tuv. I wouldn't be surprised if Piaggio doesn't do similar.Those engineering types can be quite clever when not restrained by bean counters !

The US only requires motorcycle manufacturer's to insure that their bikes pass EPA emissions for 18,600 miles.  After that it's unregulated.  Most states don't require motorcycles to be tested during annual inspections like they do cars.  If they did there wouldn't be many Harley's on the road. 

[Roebling3]

A few years after retirement I tossed all my records for miles driven on everything (except  motorcycles I've owned), for nearly 70 years. While not as succinct as Pete Roper, my bromide is: Keep them wound up and change the oil. Total miles were 8.3 million, most with big trucks/buses in North America and Europe. I've had a few flats, run out of fuel 2X, almost smoked a clutch climbing a hill I had no business being on.

Bromide #II: If you want to be anywhere, on time and return home when expected, with clean hands and clothing, ride/drive Japanese. - Ducking & Running.

A long time friend, concert pianist, truck driver, asked me to drive his GMC 920 (turbo & supercharged 6 cylinder 2 stroke diesel, grossing close to 80K #. He had a noise he could not identify.
I couldn't hear it after several hundred miles. Turned out to be a lost, or never installed, wrist pin circlip.

BTW: I acquired my first vehicle with an automatic transmission 8 months ago. The dog out grew my coupe.  YMWV.  R3~ 

[Texas Turnip]

Around a 100K they start to run real good.

Tex

[Chuck in Indiana]

A two stroke runs the best it ever has right before it seizes up. 

[Huzo]

A few years after retirement I tossed all my records for miles driven on everything (except  motorcycles I've owned), for nearly 70 years. While not as succinct as Pete Roper, my bromide is: Keep them wound up and change the oil. Total miles were 8.3 million,

Well you would have picked up a few tricks.
500 ish km a day for EVERY day of your life from the age of 20 to 90 !

[Hugh Straub]

“Breaking in” the rider to a new bike is a significant element in the rider’s perception of how the bike is performing.  And some bikes take longer for the rider to feel competent and comfortable.  Case in point: I found my first generation Kawasaki Concours top heavy and intimidating...it took me a couple of years before I felt truly at home on the machine.  In striking contrast, I was immediately comfortable on my BMW K75 S. 

Every motorcycle has a learning curve; “breaking in” the rider to the bike certainly colors the rider’s opinion of the bike’s performance.

[Denis]

I bought my SP II new in 1990. After around 15,000 miles it took less time to warm up and was much less finicky. Since then it's been easy as hell to deal with and it has almost 80,000 miles on it now. Even the dealer I bought it from noticed that.

[SmithSwede]

Mechanicsavant:

That is fascinating information about possible changes in ECU programming.  Had not thought of that one.   

Personally, I believe they do get smoother and slicker after a while.  Transmission and engine felt noticeably better on my small block after 15,000 to 20,000 miles.  I do not think it is psychological, at least not totally.

My analogy would be to old Smith & Wesson carbon steel revolvers.  If you find one that has been shot a LOT, but not abused, the action and feel is noticeably smoother than a less used revolver.   I suspect that has to do with mating of parts at a level that would be hard to measure short of electron microscopy.   But maybe that analogy does not apply to engines.