Brake in

[FerrisB]

Hello all,
I just bought an 09 Uly and so far think it is way nicer then my 93 ST1100. I was wondering how many miles to do need to go easy on the bike before it brakes in?

Also, does everyone elses Uly cooling fan kick on when you turn the bike off?

Cheers,
Adam

 

[theoctopus]

You picked a topic to which there are almost as many answers as there are people who ride motorcycles.

I break my engines in hard. Always have, always will. I ride the bike real hard when it's young, and slowly ease up as it gets older. Never stay at the same RPM for too long for the first 1000 miles. Other than that, screw being gentle...with modern machining tolerances, it's not necessary. I'd put money down that the Buell break-in procedure as noted in the manual is more about legal protection than engine life extension.

I know a lot of people argue that to maintain warranty you should follow break-in guidelines, but that's just BS in my opinion.

 

[kfxb12r]

I totally agree with octopus.Dont thrash it but you can open it up. I stayed below 5k for the first 500 miles then slowly went up from there.No problems yet.Have 8265 on the clock.Runs great except the Tps is allways jacked up.Needs a reset every 400 miles or so.But anywho, allways liked the Uly.[up]on the bike!!

 

[afinley]

I would trust the team of engineers who built your bike to know what the break in should be. Everyone has an opinion, but few people have a spare motor for you in case they were wrong.

Yeah, the fan is a Buell thing. I just tell people that my bike likes to vacuum for awhile after I shut it off. You can get the full rider comfort kit package for the Uly, which would include a reflash at the dealer that supposedly takes it away.

 

[bolt08]

My 08 Firebolt fan kicks on when I turn the bike off, no big deal, in fact when your hands are cold put them on the front side of the back tire (fan discharge area) and it acts as a heater I only say that cause it was 29 F tonight when I came home from my afternoon ride.
As far as break-in; after the first 100 mi. you can run up and down through the gears and FULL rpm range, just don't stay at one rpm constant until after 500+ miles. yes full rpm range does include full throttle, just hang on congrats on the new uly

 

[theoctopus]

I would trust the team of engineers who built your bike to know what the break in should be.

Are you also taking into account the team of lawyers that limits what the engineers is allowed to suggest? Think about it. They don't want engines to eat **** in the first little bit, so a gentle break-in prolongs the time period in which damage would appear--hopefully after warranty is over. It's a money thing. On top of that, think about the danger of telling people to break their engines in hard from a legal standpoint: having a bunch of new riders on new bikes running through the full RPM range after picking up the brand new bike is sketchy, regardless of performance gains.

 

[LionBuell]

Are you also taking into account the team of lawyers that limits what the engineers is allowed to suggest?

[up] LMAO

 

[agfish18]

The owners manual should have everything in it that you need to know for break-in. I was told to keep mine below 5k by the dealer, but my book said below 6k, so there really isnt a "standard" for break in. Just vary your gears, and try not to go up a hill in a gear that is too high for it. Dont lag the bike, but dont ride around at 7k RPM either. and yes, the fan thing is, as afinley stated...a Buell thing.

 

[afinley]

Think about it. They don't want engines to eat **** in the first little bit, so a gentle break-in prolongs the time period in which damage would appear--hopefully after warranty is over.

I don't know when you bought your bike, but they come with longer than 500 mile warranties now.

 

[FerrisB]

Can anyone tell me what RPM the bike likes to run best in. I only have 60 miles on the bike due to snow and have not been able to find the sweet spot.

Cheers,
Adam

 

[afinley]

pg 51 from the MOM:

first 50 miles, under 4k. do not lug the motor

first 500 miles, vary engine speed when possible, keep it under 5k

avoid starts at WOT (no ****)

avoid hard breaking

After that, I think 4-5k is where it needs to be, but to each their own. on pg. 49 it also says that the maximum rpm for an extended periods is 7100 for 900s and 6800 for 1200s

 

[bbletterin]

Congrats on the new Uly! I love mine, & the reprogram from the rider comfort kit stopped the fan from running after shut down. Haven't ridden in high heat after reprogram. I did give my bike a 700 mile break, to break in, now I will put it on the rev limiter every so often. The power range remindes me of a 125 dirt bike, keep the revs up if you want power,but pulls great from 3k up.

 

[FerrisB]

Thanks, Its killing me that there is 3 ft of snow on the ground keeping me from riding.
I bought a cabon fiber right side intake and planned to get the reprogramming. How much did that cost?

Cheers,
Adam

 

[Thorivola]

The right-side intake doesn't actually put any air into the air-box for the engine to use, it only pushes more air to the external surface of the rear cylinder for cooling purposes.

I've found my power band is from 3.5k to 5.5k rpms, and I need to rev up to about 2k before it wants to move when it's warming up. If the bike is warm, I can often just ease the clutch out at idle and let the torque walk it away. At idle it rolls across a flat surface at almost 13 mph. This is with the Buell race kit (muffler, ecm, filter) though, so my low-end is a little flatter.

Basically, once you are over 2k RPMs you are in the live zone for power.

 

[afinley]

The rider comfort kit is a package: right side scoop, heat shield for the rear cylinder header, revised fan duct tray, and software.

I don't know if you can/should do just the software on it's own. Maybe the right side scoop is all you need, though.

 

[FerrisB]

I noticed the bike does not like to be under 2k rpm's. Plus it feels like you got power in every gear.

I plan to put the air scoop on and get the software upgrade. Ill look into the heat shield and fan duct tray.

Cheers,
Adam