There really is no magic pill, and I have broken in a few bikes, but is there some guidlines that may be specific to the big ZX? For example, don't lug the engine and watch your high rpm rev ranges. Beyond this, for the zx (2012), are there some good suggestions on break in?

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Honestly...I would go by the book and no lugging.I ran mine up a couple of times to about 9K for the ring seating...but I don't think it's necessary really.My opinion only.This is my 2nd 14R...and keeping this one within the ranges has helped to have a smoother operating transmission and low end driveability...comparing to my last one which I broke in like I would be riding.It wasn't as smooth...especially down low in the 2,3K range after breakin.

Hard to not get on her I know...patience...that 1000 miles will roll by really quickly.I think you'll be glad you just took er easy.I would also use that clutch lever for your shifting,at least till she's up a ways in the mileage area of the breakin.

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 3/29/2013 @ 10:32 AM *

I haven't pushed my bike past 4,500 and I can count on one hand how many times. You were way past the required break in procedure and way too long in the higher rpm range. Page 68 ~ Under 4,000 rpm for the first 600 miles. You need to sit down or you'll ruin everyone's warranty with your ring seating ideas... Honestly.

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"Post only how to service related instructions and TIPS to commonly sought-after questions here".....SERVICE RELATED QUESTIONS AND TIPS....as per BG and all of us.

I've said it here before, I've had to do quite a few big bore Kawasaki top ends because the owners broke them in too easy and the rings never seated. You need to stress the rings at lease a little to do that, not droning around at low RPMs. Just my .02

Mad

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TY...Voice of experience....

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 3/29/2013 @ 2:46 PM *

Out of all the years I've serviced new bikes, never have I had to change out the rings because someone did not stress the rings properly like beat crap out of it say? That's close to 30 years of watching new bikes leave the dealer and I've had so many recalls, bad break in's... You've got to be kidding me, right?

5 years at a car dealer and 0h, I had to re-ring so many vettes and trucks... Just poor break in procedures is what caused it... I need taller boots. You are going to have to convince me about poor ring seal and warranty claims or out of warranty.

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Thank you gentlemen, I am assuming our rev rang is between 4000 to 9000 rpm for the first break in period? Thoughts?

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No....4K for 500 miles....6K for the remaining 500.Between there.I didn't suggest you go to 9k...I only said I did...briefly a couple of times.With a first service at 600 miles.

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 3/29/2013 @ 7:08 PM *

I am assuming our rev rang is between 4000 to 9000 rpm for the first break in period? Thoughts?

DISS is wear out my welcome is why the clown needs to bow out of tech related questions. I hope clowntown now sees that he just voided the poor guy's warranty of a 4K limit. "No investigation, no write to speak" no matter how you read that TIP. I got your tip hanging, fella... I gotta bust your balls, greenie. You deserve every stretch of the imagination is your ball sack dragging on the tone wheel like a playing card in a bike spoke = Turn the noise off. Think before you type in some How-To is now how to fill the ram chamber with blowby @ 9,000 rpm. The clown has spoken again. It's like I never left LOLOLOL

Where was I? Oh yeah, the OP!!!!

Wolfy,

The book states that you will have a 'broken down' bike, not a broken-in bike you go listening to [some] others.
The book states that your limit is to remain under or up to 4K or if this exceeds this rpm, then drop the mph.
The book states that your mileage is capped @ 500 miles for the first break-in session and the rpm cap is 4k or under.
The book states that you may now run the bike up to 6k for the next 500 miles or remain under 6k until 1,000 miles are reached.

You do a little break-in math [ between the lines] you can catch some rpm [linear gain] in the rpm vs. miles break-in game. The loophole says WOT to 4k if you need to hammer some ring say? At 700 miles you hammer up to 5k in the lower gears. Hammer from a light. Hammer away from a stop sign. Lots of times you can load the rings in the beginning.

If Mad has seen 'glazing' where you cook the oil on the wall? Is that where you can't scrape that coating off the ring? I've torn down top ends for other reasons and could still see the coating at the low spots of the ring were still there. Rings are hard. Takes miles to wear the gap wider = Years down the road.

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Google motoman break in. You will need to be a little creative to get that done on the street but it gan be done. That is how I will break in any bike from now on. I just prefer that to an easy breakin. Really, I sorta doubt it makes a lot of dif how you do it as long as you don't go wild.

I was easy on my 14. No problems. It had the valve cover leak but no problems otherwise. I broke the busa in/motoman. That one runs good too.

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We are analing over production parts. If you ever see how much time they put into each ring groove to piston ring, they match or polish the ring to the groove so they are square. Now, that's anal work building race engines.

The next one is, which I can state from experience is ring theory. I put a fresh set of rings on a piston, lit it off and it smoked immediately. I placed the oil control ring upside down. That showed me how much oil can be send up or down is that scrape up the wall.

Down the wall it's filling up the gap. That compression ring is showing you a sealed ring. If you removed the compression ring, you'd detonate with the oil ring still in the right position. So the thing here is, do I beat some production piston up thinking I'm going to move metal like polish the ring groove? Wear the high spots off the wall in 20 miles?

The real test is a leak down. And that is static air pushing down on that ring and groove. Can you lift the ring up into the center of the groove and make it float? I don't know? My guess is you need the fast kinetic to push the ring out even harder with the gas pressure blowing down on it to float it at the back, then under it. Will the oil ring receive that much pressure? No.

So are we not chasing that oil control ring more than we are the compression ring? Just thinking out loud.

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Well Hub, I never said to beat the hell out of it, I just stated that burbling around at low rpms ain't that great for it either. I agree it's way less common on the newer bikes but I can guarentee you that back on the ZX10/ZX11s lots of them had bad ring sealing after break in.

Mad

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That's one line I never worked on. Funny, but I bought more K's than any other brand. I would address that to QC before assembly or a bad batch of rings thru some jobber they used. Or did the pitons collapse on the rings? See how it's not break in but parts or machining?

You'd have to keep convincing me that either someone at the shop keep pissing the PDI out of it, and that is more or less the shop's comeback, not the parts or machining. How is it those models kept on showing up on your rack with ring damage, or was this common for both models, every shop was racking 10's and 11's in the country at the time, and oh yeah, the warranty bulletins were flying out from corporate too about these two specific models.

WOT say ye?

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I contacted Kawasaki....e-mail...asked em if the 14R needed to have any ring seating procedure(after purchase)...no answer yet.

It's already seated at the factory. They redlined all the gears. Do what puts your mind at rest. I feel best running through the whole range of rpm but you don't have to snap open the throttle and make the ritr spin ot wheelie right out of the box. That is the kind of abuse to do on a well worn in bike.

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"It's already seated at the factory"...I suspect as much.It wouldn't make sense for Kawi to tell a rider.."don't go over 4k for 500 miles"....knowing that a poor ring seating would most likely occur...creating serious issues down the road.Thanks Rook.Not that they COULDN'T be seated as Hub mentioned...but....

I'm way more inclined to believe the 1000 miles RPM limits are for rider safety(familiarity with the bike)and internal parts...like the trans and such.I changed my oil last night...600 miles...there were NO chunks or debris in there..only a fine mix of lighter colored something...and a sticky mud-like black 'blob' on the Goldplug tip.Replaced with Motul 3000 Dino oil.

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 3/31/2013 @ 10:57 AM *

oh yeah, the warranty bulletins were flying out from corporate too about these two specific models.

Well Kawasaki never officially admitted that almost all their intake valves were shit in 85 and 86 either. They would pay if the owner made enough noise but didn't want to confess that the surface treatment on most of the bikes of that era was bad, they would have had to recall just about every bike they produced those years.

Mad

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I got a reply e-mail from a tech guy there at Kawasaki...he said...the rings are not 'sealed' at the factory...that they assemble the motor and run it up to test it...but the ring seating gets accomplished during the 1000 mile break-in time.Assuming one stays within the rpms limits and mileage limits...it doesn't appear to need to go to high rpms and such to accomplish this thing.

The Moto-man ain't buyin' it Montana... he's saying the inverse.

Who am I supposed to believe?

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He said 20 miles or less. Too late now. And if you believe that, ever try to polish a diamond? So, for 20 seconds, you think you'll cut thru a diamond? 20 minutes of letting the diamond rest there without pressure laid into it... You gonna take a hard finish off in 20 minutes?

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"The Moto-man ain't buyin' it Montana... he's saying the inverse"...yeah,I know.Even though I did like two runs in 3rd up to about 9K or so...I stopped with that...and have stayed at the recommended levels as much as I can.I'm in the 6K range of breakin now...at around 800+miles.She's running extremely strong and smooth.I think better than my 2012.Gonna just keep her as she is....not much further to go.Shifting is turning out to be exceptionally good so far.You know...at legal highway speeds...in 6th...this bike is only turning about 4K or so.5th will bring it up a couple of hundred...hitting 6K...she's well above the posted limits(in 6th).I haven't been blasting fast with my bike this time out.Just hanging between 4K,25oo,and 6K somewhat.Between those.And using the clutch alot...not like before...when I have shifted clutchless....she's snicked right in really sweet.I think this break-in period on THIS bike has gone better than with my other one...I really do.The shift quality is definitely nicer....

My other one did not run in the lower rpm ranges(like tooling in traffic)as smooth as this one.I'm really diggin it.

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 4/1/2013 @ 10:53 PM *

I know this is a break-in thread...but this is a cool little vid about our bikes....

Tim Allen gruntometer to the profilometer tool. Yanni made me do it. The utube algo says you might like this. And this was more or less a serendipity explaining [to me] break-in v. break-off.

It more looks to me like that ring is so hard and the edge is more or less razor sharp is X, and Y is the flat of the ring and that push of the shattered glass.

For argument sake:
Rvk new 11.36 = Broken-in.
Rvk WOT 4.91 = Broken-off.

Whatever legal hoops they have to go thru to name the same silicone based implant, that bore HAD tits. No, you just go and WOThell out of it and oh look, no oil hidden under the valleys, but now exposed and here comes razor to scoop you up and burn you off every third stroke did you jerkoff that break-off.

WOT does that tell you?

Signed,

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And now I Ross'd this website. I said in so many words, it goes together one way, and it only runs one way. You bring out a 101 kind of basics on rings, and I have 3 rings at different positions and only one is it. It wears one way, not three is the abstract stated in the more absolute.

Read an old 1940's auto encyclopedia and said the ring floats between the groove.
Watch someone explain the seal as the ring sits on the flat groove by the compression or piston direction.
Third was the ring is cocked like this / between the grooves.

I said I could see the ring cocked as the piston skirt is only hitting the one side of the wall and that wear angle.
The flat more obvious on the piston's direction.
Then came the bubble abstract using ohm/newton/balance/E/heat created.

I have yet to hear back. And more or less questioning their basic 101 we start talking about reading a tire to pressure, reading a spark plug. Now, how do I read ring wear after all 3 variables are narrows down to one, it only works one way.

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