BG could you set one up for us? Responses:
I broke her in easy, just like the manual says.... Mother Kawasaki always knows best!I broke her in hard...ride it like you stole it from the git go!
Neither of the above, I have my own way!
I followed the manuals advice on my new Zx-14 breakin almost to the letter. I thought at the time that I was doing the right thing, after all the manufacturer always knows best, right? Now I'm having second thoughts. KHI most likely specifies an easy break in period so that the rider can acclimate himself to the new bike before he pins it. It's a safety and legal liability issue, I'm almost convinced this came from the legal department, not the engineering department.
They don't really care that a soft break in by the book results in poor ring seating, low compression, gas blowby, low power output and high oil consumption. That's your problem further down the road, not theirs. I'm curious as to how many that broke in by the manual are experiencing high oil consumption. Honda is much smarter on this, my CBR manual says this about breakin: "Avoid redline for the first 500 Km(300 miles). That's it. Notice they didn't say go easy or go hard and leave thmeselves open for legal problems. If they said "Ride it like you stole it so that your rings will seat quickly, thus ensuring a long engine life", they'd be up to their eyeballs in law suits from all the dead bodies piling up on the freeway. Anyway, I'm venting. My 14 appears to be either burning or leaking a lot of oil, 800ml in last 1500 miles. I've babied this bike and followed the book on everything maintenance wise. I just said the heck with it and rode the CBR like a sportbike should be ridden from day one except for redlining. We'll see where this all goes.
Kruz
* Last updated by: Kruz on 6/10/2009 @ 8:55 AM *