This is how I’m breaking in my RS. I’ve read everything I could on the subject and this makes the most sense. My mechanic also agreed. Have a read, it’s worth a look. http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm
I just did these side rails for NUDGER Quite pleased with how they turned out and if you zoom in you can see I ended up with a slightly textured finish much the same as yours Slightly worried about tightening up the bolts in case it tears the coating Will find out later when I fit them Did you have any problems
They look great! I was going to mention that it can tear when doing up the bolts, hence leaving it for 24 hours before refitting. They still tore a tiny bit, but underneath the bolt head...so no worries...or use washers My radiator cowls took a bit of stone chip punishment which pierced the paint surface...and it lifted very slightly on the outer edge. All very unnoticeable and as said before, it just peels off and you can do it again. It's not a permanent solution, but easy, safe, effective and looks brilliant.
I'm sorry Steve - it's rude to disagree with your post without an explanation. This is such an emotive subject (perhaps start a new topic to judge reaction). I completely and utterly disagree with the hard running in approach. It goes against all of the research and testing done by the manufacturer, who will have tested on thousands and thousands of bikes (not just 300 with no formalised testing or monitoring). How long have those bikes been running, because issues don't materialise straight away? It might work if you can put your bike on a track and run it in like that from outset - because it needs thrashing from the outset...right? I know that some race schools/club do this with their bikes...but they presumably have the facilities to rebuild and diagnose...and probably don't keep bikes long term (or get attached to them). From the moment you yank open the throttle on your unscrubbed tyres, it sounds like bad news all the way. I have no evidence to back up my opinion - but perhaps ask yourself, if I advertised a hard run-in bike for sale, would you buy it?
Mr triple I'm with you on this one, there's to many variables that can go wrong in time. I just put mine in "running in mode" and went with what the bike said to do and now it's passed I can enjoy all the revs and power knowing I've done it in stages.
I gather that it's all about increasing power, but I don't need a tiny bit more power (if that's even proven) at the risk of running issues either sooner or later. Edit: There I go again, carrying this on when I said it was best moved to another thread.
I totally respect your opinion. My initial thoughts were similar as well. I work with a guy that sold bikes for years and he always performed hard break-ins on his bikes, that was on the advice of the Ducati mechanic at the shop. He told me the bikes he broke in like that have always had more power than the ones without hard break-ins. As far as reliability over the years, he said his bike were very reliable. There are some articles I have read from engine builders that have the same opinion. I truly believe the owners manuals are written by lawyers to protect the manufacturer from lawsuits. Picture a new rider on a Speed Triple and the manual says wide open throttle pulls right from the start . On country roads for the first two days I had no issues doing this with new tires. The traction light did come on a few times, but it still does on hard pulls. Care has to be taken for sure, obviously this is done in a straight line, not in corners. My Street Triple was a demo, and burns oil, about 1/3 of a litre between changes. Is that because of an easy break in, I don’t know. My brothers 4 year old MT09 that was broke in hard, burns no measurable oil and has had 0 issues. There is overwhelming evidence that supports this, but at the end of the day you have to do what you feel is right. As far as buying a bike that had a hard break in, I definitely would. But would I want a bike that has been thrashed and not maintained though, NO. There is a big difference between the two. Cheers.
Hehe, already 700 km on the clock, rev is enough now to speed up a little on country roads here in good old Germany. I'll keep the Speedy in "running in mode" still. Time to call the shop for the first maintenance stop at the end of the week - yeah. Need some tire tips, guess the Supercorsas will be worn out soon enough. They should be superb in summer time - especially when it will be as hot as 2018. But the durability is good for tyre retailers only and the tight temperature range concerns me at spring time. Pirelli Rosso III then...? Some dirt gathered on the Evotech radiator guards...
Those yellow thingys on ya forks are making me feel sickly marra! I never get sick of looking at the speed rs, they're lovely.
Haha, yeah - the fuckin' police down here is keen on looking after them. But who cares, will be removed - mounted tail tidy is against order anyway...
I’m wondering about tires as well. Thinking about Michelin Road five maybe, Or stay with more sport oriented tires like Rosso 3, Metzeler M7 RR and the like. Just don’t know yet.
I put a set of Metzeler M7 RR on my RS this past December (3600 miles on the bike). I've only had 3 rides in very cold weather so far so cannot judge, but they have performed well under those circumstances.
I had Rosso III's on my '13 Street Triple R and really enjoyed those also. Great tires. I went with the M7 because it seemed a lot of Speed owners really enjoy that tire on the bigger bike. So, I'll ride it this year and I'll see what I think.
I ordered black then switched it to white. Why did I do that? Looks great! Such a lovely bike (except for the amber bits)
I respect breaking a bike in however you want. Why? Because it's your money, not mine! That said, I'm a scientist with and electrical and mechanical engineering background/degree. As such, I prefer real evidence and I just don't see it either way as long as you stay away from the extremes. Beating the hell out of the bike at the onset is probably a good way to break something, but riding it within 80% of the allowed limits is likely not going to cause any problems. As engineers we design for this. That said, our marketing department would call us insane if we said, ride it like you stole it. Ergo, my comment about staying within reasonable limits in the beginning. I've had a lot of motorcycles over the years. I've got 3500 HARD miles on my KTM and I road her hard in a race when she had less than 12 hours on the clock. No issues, built like a tank, oil changes and services regularly. I've also pretty much babied my 3RS and it's good so far with 500 miles... So either way works IMHO