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This guide instructs on the proper break-in of a two stroke scooter. Many of the principals here apply two four strokes and small displacement engines in general.
There are two methods that people commonly use to break in a new scooter or motorcycle, the old "easy" breakin, or the new "hard" breakin. There is much debate on which is better to use, I will let you make your own assumptions and go with whichever method suits you.
The Easy Breakin Method Explained
1) Let it warm up during the break-in period to allow the engine components to expand to normal operating temperature (many say this is essential, 10 minutes or longer isn't an abnormal warm up)
2) Observe the level of 2-cycle oil in your reservoir to make sure it's going down during the first 50 miles or so. You can mark the current level with a pencil, if it's going down then you don't have to worry about premixing future tanks of fuel (this means that your oil pump is primed and functional).
3) No more than 1/4 steady throttle for the first 45 miles
4) No more than 1/2 steady throttle for the first 45-90 miles
5) No more than 3/4 steady throttle for the first 90-135 miles
6) Vary your speed between 20-40mph for the first 300 miles, speed isn't as important to vary as engine RPM. Speed up, then let the scooter slow you down on it's own. Then speed back up. This part of the break-in is probably the most irritating, but it is a must if you want to do it right. Don't drive over 40mph during the first 300 miles!
7) Between 0-600 miles, don't keep a constant speed or engine RPM, keep varying your speed & rpm.
8) Once you get past 300 miles, you can gradually increase your speeds, but between 300-600 miles, don't run wide open (or keep constant speeds or engine RPMs) for extended periods of time (ie: beyond five minutes).
The Hard Breakin Method Explained
The main trick here is to make sure it's completely warmed up (5-10 minutes) and then "drive it like you stole it" as some riders say. This means hard acceleration, and run it wide open for a bit, then hard deceleration, hard acceleration (WOT), repeat. Doing this is sometimes as simple as driving around a city, coming to stopsigns, curves, etc. Nothing special. After 30-60 minutes, you should be fully broken in (engine wise at least). From here I would recommend varying your speed and not running WOT all the time at least for the first 300 miles.
More detailed information on this breakin method is explained here:
http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm
Notes: At 250-300 miles you should change your transmission gear oil and you can OPTIONALLY (you don't have to drain it!) drain your oil reservoir of all the regular (non synthetic) 2-cycle oil and replace it with some high quality synthetic 2-cycle injector oil. Amsoil and Fuchs are some good name brands. You can find good synthetic oil at most motorcycle shops, or order it by the gallon off the internet (cheapest by far). Blue Marble in my opinion is the cleanest burning oil out there, and users report that it give you gains in HP and top speed (to the tune of 5mph). Blue Marble is actually not synthetic, but a highly refined mineral oil. After tearing the top end off of my engine at 7100 miles, the only discoloration was from heat, not from carbon, so Blue Marble will also keep your engine clean, in addition to the possibility of added top speed. Before draining the existing 2-cycle oil, you want to make sure the scooter is almost out of gas, and you have a gallon of gas premixed with the synthetic oil so you can fill it up after you're done. To drain the existing 2-cycle oil you will need to remove the oil line from the bottom of the reservoir (can be done from the underside, just use your fingers on the clip and pull the line off) and then replace the line and refill. If you decide to drain your oil reservoir, you want to fill the next tank of gas with the premixed fuel (premixed with the new synthetic oil, not the old stuff). The reason you are premixing this tank is because when you remove the injector oil line you are likely to get air in the line, which can cause the oil pump to lose its prime, which could result in a seized engine due to the lack of oil in the system (no risk if you don't drain the tank and just let it cycle out). Discuss this article on the forums. (0 posts) |
