Running In
Hi everyone. I'm a newcomer to motorcycling and have just bought a new 350 Classic Bullet which to date has only done some 60-odd km. So, according to the handbook, I've got another 90km at a max 40 - 50 kph. This is the first time I've ever run-in a vehicle in the old fashioned way, though I'm old enough to remember it being the norm. It's just that at the back of my mind somewhere I seem to remember that you shouldn't let an engine labour during this period, and even on the flat lands round here (Spalding) 4th gear feels pretty high at these speeds. Presumably this speed limit is set to keep the revs low, so riding in 3rd defeats the object. Am I worrying unnecessarily? Thanks for any advice, Mike Robinson

Running in
Hi Mike, I am sure others with a lot of experience will offer you good advice,but if you want to read a good article on running in a bullet, go to Google and type in The Bullet: Mysteries and Myths- Running in a new Bullet I ran in my Bullet by this method and found it very satisfactory. If you think it's labouring in top gear,change down so that it 'feels' smoother,but change up again when you increase your speed .As long as you don't try chasing fireblades and use your instincts you'll be alright. Have alook at that website,it's interesting.Derek(Woods).

Running in is an age old art which sadly has been forgotten by most people. The secret is to keep the piston pushed against the bore and not use a too good an oil in the first few miles. Steady running can cause many problems on a new engine. The biggest problem is bore glazing. This happens if you keep the speed or load on the engine constant for too long. The oil gets hot and coats the bore and ring lands of the piston. Oil is very good at lubricating these days and it eventually stops the rings from touching the bore. The idea of running in is to take off the uneven surface of the bore and match it to the rings by rubbing one against the other, thus over a period of time they become perfectly matched and a mechanical seal is created. What you need to do is mark your twist grip roughly half open so that when you are riding you know not to exceed this point for the first 500 miles or so. The next thing to remember is never to keep your speed constant but to vary it, by doing this as you throttle on you push the piston into the bore one way and as you throttle off the piston is pushed into the other face. Start off at say 30mph for the first 50 to 100 miles and gradually increase your speed but still not exceeding that halfway mark on you twistgrip. As time goes on the bike will free off and you will be able to increase your speed past this mark. Remember to change the oil after 500 miles because it will have particles of metal in it. Never rapidly open the throttle and if it feels like it is loosing power pull the clutch in and stop for a while. It is best to run the engine slightly rich when running in but not too rich as to dilute the oil, some people put a drop of two stroke oil in the petrol tank to help the top end a bit. Too much of this will soot the plug and make starting difficult. This would have to be trial nad error as these oils vary quite a bit. Good luck and i hope this helps. Jim Allen

Running In
Thanks for that, Jim. Blimey, this running in business is a lot more complex than I thought As far as the quality of the oil goes, I guess that during warranty I'm stuck with whatever's in there. How does bore glazing affect performance? It almost sounds like a good thing, rather than bad. I take on board your recommendation about varying the speed. Do you mean more or less continuously? Perhaps riding in town is a better place than in the fens for the first 100 miles. I hesitate to start putting oil in the tank. I think I'd rather avoid trial and error at my novice stage if poss! Thanks again, Mike Robinson

Where are you?
When you've logged in to this forum, there's a “Profile“ button to the top left. Press this and your details come up. If you enter your location ( a bit further down the page), there may be someone quite near to you that you could meet up with for a chin wag. Maybe you could pop over to Jim's emporium for a natter. Id ask everyone to enter their location so we've all an idea where other forum members are.

Bore glazing is something you definately DONT want. You loose compression and the rings will not bed in correctly and will become sticky and tarnished.You will get high oil consumption and smoking. Running in around town with all the stops and starts and no temptation for prolonged throttle opening is ideal. We use Morris 20/50 oil in our classics for servicing but most any 20/50 will do for topping up while running in. Jim Allen

I'm a firm believer in running in any new car or bike but when your chosen steed has a cruising speed of 50 odd mph when fully run in it does raise some practical issues about where to do it. On most of todays roads (even rural lanes) bimbling along at 30 with the odd burst up to 40 is just going to cause a road block. How have others managed to achieve the running in long term investment? My local dealer suggests 1000 miles :shock: