First couple of rides


Delton100

New member
Bike was delivered on Thursday from Colin Appleyard Keighley all controls explained, Datataged. First ride 50 miles can only compare to Triumph as I have been riding this for last ten years. Triumph has long gears Yam short first 3 need to change quickly to avoid jerks. very smooth on the go keeping under 5000 revs, nice & light. Brakes same as Triumph which was a suprise ( Twin leading shoe on Triumph) Bike looks great in Purple has good mirrors & has a good level of finish. Second ride to-day 70 miles after a long country run approaching junction main road made a mistake thought I was on the Triumph came nearly to a stand in second & when road clear opened up bike stalled & I lost balance & bike went down no damage or scratches apart from pride a passing motorist helped pick it up heavy when on ground. So warning please approach in first with a few revs & ready to stop if required. As I get used to it I think its going to be a great bike.
 

cosmikdebriis

New member
Ouch... Sorry to hear that.

I own a few British bikes including a pre unit Thunderbird and can only say the torque is VERY different. You can quote figures if FT LBS of N-m but it doesn't mean a thing in comparison.

When I got mine I didn't want to "lug" it about as advised by my dealer so kept the revs in a fairly narrow band between three to five grand until first service. Compared to a Brit bike this can seem quite "revvy" but I soon got used to it. Now I find it will "lug" amazingly well. I was out today with some mates, one on a BSA C12, another on an Ariel 650 twin and the other on a Indian V Twin special. I found I could "Lug" with the best of them right down to very low revs. The big difference was that (when circumstances allowed) and they revved out at 5k my bike was just coming to life. Bit of an unfair comparison I know but mention it as I just wanted to say that, as a confirmed Brit bike rider, I still love the little Yam.

By the way. I also own a Kawasaki W650 which I'd say is the most "British" of the modern bikes. Much more so than a modern/retro Triumph.

Anyway. Given time I'm sure you'll come to appreciate the new bike. Mine is the best bike (or more accurately the most fun) I've ever owned.
 

hahapik

New member
Why keep it under 5k when the manual doesn't tell you to break it in that way?
Sory mate, but the O.M. does tell it:

"0–1000 km (0–600 mi) Avoid prolonged operation above 5000 r/min. NOTICE: After 1000 km (600mi) of operation, the engine oil must be changed and the oil filter cartridge or element replaced. [ECA10303]"

This is point 5-3 of the owners manual BTW.

Cheers.
 

KristianJeppe

New member
It doesn't tell you to keep it under 5000 it tells you to avoid prolonged operation above.
So the ups i went to high don't sweat it, you have done nothing wrong doing so.
Also babying bikes from start is not to my liking, of course don't beat it up but occasionally rev it up,
making it work a little bit i dont think hurts the bike at all.
 

jonboy99

New member
Sory mate, but the O.M. does tell it:

"0–1000 km (0–600 mi) Avoid prolonged operation above 5000 r/min. NOTICE: After 1000 km (600mi) of operation, the engine oil must be changed and the oil filter cartridge or element replaced. [ECA10303]"

This is point 5-3 of the owners manual BTW.

Cheers.
As Kristian has said, and you quoted, It says 'avoid prolonged operation above 5k'. It might sounds like semantics, but this is an important difference. There are two schools of thought about break in, and what Yamaha has written allows you to load the engine, vary the revs and not lug, while avoiding long periods at high rpm which might cause hot spots.
Interpreting 'avoid prolonged operation above 5k rpm' as 'don't go above 5000rpm' makes for a boring break-in with a higher risk of leaky piston rings - so why do it?

And you'll notice I didn't mention motoman once. :)
 

sdrio

New member
As Kristian has said, and you quoted, It says 'avoid prolonged operation above 5k'. It might sounds like semantics, but this is an important difference. There are two schools of thought about break in, and what Yamaha has written allows you to load the engine, vary the revs and not lug, while avoiding long periods at high rpm which might cause hot spots.
Interpreting 'avoid prolonged operation above 5k rpm' as 'don't go above 5000rpm' makes for a boring break-in with a higher risk of leaky piston rings - so why do it?

And you'll notice I didn't mention motoman once. :)
I'd argue there aren't really two schools of thought. Most people follow the manual, a few take it out and thrash it straight out of the box. The latter I think is regarded as highly dubious.
 

jonboy99

New member
I'd argue there aren't really two schools of thought. Most people follow the manual, a few take it out and thrash it straight out of the box. The latter I think is regarded as highly dubious.
Well, one school says you should stick rigidly to a predetermined and low max rpm, and however you ride below that rpm does not matter. The other school emphasizes running up and down the rev range with an emphasis on loading the piston rings and not staying at one particular rpm. My point was that the Yamaha advice allows you to combine the two, getting the benefits from both techniques.
Engine development and manufacturing has changed, the advice in the owner's manual has changed, so why stick to a decades old running in technique with known disadvantages (leaky rings, increased risk of lifelong high oil consumption and poorer power) when the only peeople advising this are salesmen regurgitating out of date advice they learnt from their mentor 30 years ago?
 

sdrio

New member
Well, one school says you should stick rigidly to a predetermined and low max rpm, and however you ride below that rpm does not matter. The other school emphasizes running up and down the rev range with an emphasis on loading the piston rings and not staying at one particular rpm. My point was that the Yamaha advice allows you to combine the two, getting the benefits from both techniques.
Engine development and manufacturing has changed, the advice in the owner's manual has changed, so why stick to a decades old running in technique with known disadvantages (leaky rings, increased risk of lifelong high oil consumption and poorer power) when the only peeople advising this are salesmen regurgitating out of date advice they learnt from their mentor 30 years ago?
What is the evidence of leaky rings and oil consumption? If it's just that guy who makes a lot of improbable claims about increased power and various unmeasurable differences, it's dubious.

I'm not arguing against the Yamaha manual, by the way. I'd definitely take the advice of the engineers who built mine and several million other motorbikes over one guy who is taking his bikes racing.

Meantime, I got no advice from my dealer, he just gave me the keys, asked me if I knew how everything works and left me to it! That was the entire handing over process.
 

Phil_B

Moderator
Guys, the break in thing has been done to death since before the Internet was invented! (In fact cave men probably argued about the best way to break in their clubs!). Those quoting the manual are correct, but in terms of implementation can we leave that one down to personal choice?!

Delton, sorry to hear about your mishap, but glad you're enjoying the bike and no harm done.

I went to kick mine into neutral the other day at some lights and it went into a random gear (with no gear displayed) and stalled with a whack when I let go of the bars! I genuinely thought I'd been hit from behind for a second but stayed upright. Cue embarrassment...
 

xt660isgood2

New member
Guys, the break in thing has been done to death since before the Internet was invented! (In fact cave men probably argued about the best way to break in their clubs!). Those quoting the manual are correct, but in terms of implementation can we leave that one down to personal choice?!

Delton, sorry to hear about your mishap, but glad you're enjoying the bike and no harm done.

I went to kick mine into neutral the other day at some lights and it went into a random gear (with no gear displayed) and stalled with a whack when I let go of the bars! I genuinely thought I'd been hit from behind for a second but stayed upright. Cue embarrassment...
yep as above. just don't rev it to death early doors.
 

sdrio

New member
yep as above. just don't rev it to death early doors.
That's the argument though - the 'alternative' method is to do exactly that.

I'm happy to go with Phil. What we should be clear about is that we're talking about our own preference. Neither of us are wrong.
 

Delton100

New member
Im not running around just below 5000 revs all day in one gear. The country roads in North Yorks have plenty of twists & corners & not many long straits, that allow plenty of gear changes that keep the motor working but not stressed. Really enjoying it now.
 

Rouqui

New member
bike wants to rev so I rev her. What isn't so easy is making smooth down-changes. I think it is the high compression - my XT was 8.5 and old so probably 8.0, this is much tighter
 


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