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Sounds kinky.

Fuck rain.

When I bought the Ninja 400, I broke it in exactly by the manual. It took self-control, which I typically lack. It ran perfectly, didn't burn a drop of oil, etc. That said, I think the motor breaks in (rings, etc) within the first 50-100 miles. If I broke it in harder, I'd bet it also would have ran perfectly. Some new motorcycles (Ducati) are limited to a low power mode that the dealer will disable at the first service.

I've said it before...I think the RT is the best 1-up tourer on the planet & quite sporty in the corners. I would own one if Kelsey liked the passenger accommodations (she's only ever sat on a 2012).

I have limited seat time on the new GW, but when I rode Paul's I spooked myself with the lack of ground clearance. In the first corner my foot scraped the pavement pretty hard...I wasn't expecting it & didn't feel like I was going all that fast. There are def some things I liked about it, but not sure I could live with one.

Amanda is leaning toward letting the Wing go in favor of the RT. She likes it a lot and thinks I should keep the RS as a spare BMW. Everyone needs a spare BMW, right?

That's a whole beef tongue. Just in case you wanted more than just the tip.

The problem with that is it lightens up the front too much to make the quick left/right when you are bouncing out from behind the car in front of you. Plus it has a similar power dip although most likely won't be affected by it because 1st gear will put you fairly high up in the RPM range. ^One day this will be the answer.^ I have a GS or RT in front of it though. Hopefully by the time I'm done with this current bike BMW will have backlit controls, Apple carplay or android auto plus horsepower to at least equal the HD Pan America. Once that experience is completed I should be a very old man and ready to slow things down with a Goldwing.😉 I kept my last two bike eight years each so that Goldwing purchase might be an 80th birthday present to myself.

That R1200RS @Pauly is selling is a great backroads brawler....and about 300# lighter than the Wing.

Goldwing

Well, you could always drop to first. Bike prolly pulls well past 70 MPH before it hits redline. 😱 ☠️ That dyno comparison does say it all though. Really surprised Ducati didn't do a better job of smoothing the throttle response. With a tune, you'll definitely have a more user friendly experience.

Wow! I wanted a rowdy bike because I felt the '16 was too restrictive and for now I have gotten more than I bargained for. I rode yesterday for around 325 miles, the last 175 miles of which had no restrictions so I was able to use the entire 14,600 RPM range. The bike seems so fast that I am actually using the built in electronic restrictions that are allowing me to comprehend the speed which things are happening. The last 2,500 to 3,000 RPMs in the rev range are indescribably more powerful than any bike I've ever ridden and I've had a ZX12R, Hayabusa, CBR1000RR plus spent a lot of time riding a ZX14R. I usually ride a pace that doesn't require a lot of braking into corners but this bike builds speed so easily that I found myself using the brakes entering corners way more often than anticipated. The extra bodywork with the downforce wings have a negative side effect of giving the bike a bigger side profile that allow the bike to be blown around an uncomfortable amount at high speeds on narrow county roads. I am going to have to find out better setting for the suspension because it's currently too jarring at high speeds on bumpy roads. This is going to sound dumb after I said all that but I definitely need to have this bike tuned. Not to get any extra power but to remove the HUGE power loss in 2nd gear. This is where most of the passing occurs on back county two lanes and it feels unsafe to pull out to pass in 2nd gear to be met with no power until you are halfway past the vehicle you are passing. It's unnerving when there is traffic approaching from the other direction. Also this is going to be expensive to maintain. 1,183 total miles and it has maybe 250 to 300 miles left on the rear. It's a 200/55ZR-17 tire at round $300. I was getting anywhere between 1,800 miles to 2,200 miles on a set of tires with the CBR1000RR. When I got the S1000XR I started getting 3,000 to 3,500 miles on sport touring tires. This is going to be worse than the CBR for replacing tires plus the stupid wheels are carbon fiber so I'm going to be paying for tire changes instead of doing them myself and taking the chance of messing them up.

Jen, as most have said already, break-in guidelines are more for protection of the manufacturer than the consumer. I agree that it makes sense to follow them if only to avoid nasty surprises should you encounter an issue with the engine on your new bike. I think what you are remembering about break-in rules dates to many years ago (back when I was a young rider 😕) when the machining and clearance specs were not as well controlled and consistent as they are now. The mantra was to run the engine at less than WOT and especially, to vary the RPM for the first few 100s of miles. Theory is (was?) that under closed throttle/deceleration conditions, the engine created a high vacuum in the combustion chamber which helped "draw" oil up the cylinder walls, lubricating the piston(s) and upper cylinder(s) and thus, ensuring break-in without damaging the bores. The more precise machining in modern engines coupled with metallurgical advances and the fact that many manufacturers use a Nikasil coating for the bores has kind of made the old rules unnecessary. The other point is that modern motorcycles all have an ECU that likely records events like throttle plate position, over-revs, pre-detonation, coolant and exhaust temperatures, and a few other data points that could be used against you in a warranty claim. Likelihood is that you could probably "run it like you stole it" and nothing bad would happen, but this way, you get to enjoy the anticipation of that first WFO blast to redline when you hit the magic number!

We leave Wednesday morning. This might be the WORLDS BIGGEST epic trip.

Nine days on the road (so far). Touring Barber Vintage Motorsport Museum tomorrow then heading to GA. Next up, cherahola skyway, deals gap, BRP, the snake and back of the dragon

Ok, I will putt my way to 500 miles. Thank you

Bad parts/assembly happen. From a self preservation standpoint it makes sense to ease into it rather than smash everything with full force and a bonus gives you less chance of having to deal with lawyers. My one new bike (2-stroke) was not broken in as my dad's friend who's pick-up we used to get it took off on it saying they break them in at the factory.

Amanda and I had our maiden voyage on the RT. We took OH-212/93 to Roscoe Village for BBQ and then came home via 60/62/83 into Smithville/OH-21. Good weather. Good roads. Good food. Good day.

If you aren't going to 100% adhere to break-in, at least refrain from extended runs at the same RPM. (highway) I'm one to tend toward the break-in, but with a few high-revs mixed in on occasion. My advice is purely anecdotal.

Voting....do the break-in. Then change the oil at 500- 900 miles...YRMV.....

I vote break it in. It sucks, probably a waste of time, but it can't hurt.

Don't know if it's a myth or not. Some get by just fine ignoring the manufacturers recommendations and some have troubles getting engine replacements because of not following the recommendations. My new bike had some limitations, under 7K for 200 miles, under 9K for four hundred miles, under 11K for four hundred miles, no full throttle for the first 600 miles. I adhered to those limits except for the no full throttle recommendation. This allowed me to get comfortable with the new bike and discover it's capabilities progressively. I certainly found new limits in handling and setup for corner entry during each advancement up the RPM scale. I'm not saying that I'm right following the recommendations but I'm certainly not wrong. This has been a shit show among the BMW folks.

So, if I remember right break in period is a myth.... The 300 was rode normal, not too hard but not super slow or low rpms. I have 57 miles on the new bike now. Trying to stay under 4k rpms is not easy ( 45 is max speed). It is recommend to stay at 4k until 150miles then 5k until 300 and 6k until 500. Thoughts?