New TE 510 2010 Break in duration and tricks

[pholm]

Hi all,

Got a new New Husky TE 510 2010. A few questions about break in?

1. How long should I "baby" the bike? I've heard 4 hours or 200 miles? For break in, I've left the smog stuff on the bike; is this necessary or recommended? When should the initial oil change happen?

2. I've heard some recommend a NON Synthetic oil for a period of time during breakin; is this a good idea?

3. Any other recommendations for a good breakin?

Thanks, Paul

 

[pvduke]

everyone has their own routine and theory. see the OM or call george @ uptite for some excellent insight.

 

[Coffee]

I had some permissions incorrect, I will move this to the 4st forum. The Tech Ref forum is more of a collection of the best of the best threads on cafe husky.

 

[Slowpoke]

Hi all,

Got a new New Husky TE 510 2010. A few questions about break in?

1. How long should I "baby" the bike? I've heard 4 hours or 200 miles? For break in, I've left the smog stuff on the bike; is this necessary or recommended? When should the initial oil change happen?

2. I've heard some recommend a NON Synthetic oil for a period of time during breakin; is this a good idea?

3. Any other recommendations for a good breakin?

Thanks, Paul

Do you want the bike to put out as much power and last as long as possible? If so, then break it in by riding it like you stole it, for the first 20-30mins.
This is the only dyno proven way to get the best out of an engine. You've got to get those rings seated and you only have one chance to do it.
After break-in, do an oil change and enjoy the bike - no further breakin req'd.

 

[glangston]

That should make it easy for you. You have two choices. Ride it like you stole it right out of the box or do a break-in at moderate (5-6000 rpm) for 20 hours.

My instructions were the latter with a change of factory oil to petroleum oil at < 100 mi, then at approximate 250 and 400, then semi-synthetic at 600 for power up....gtg then.

George did build,maintain and race bikes that finished and won various Baja 500 and 1000 races from the 70's through the 2000's. Oh yeah, he rode them too. Raced and won with buggies too. He' a go-to guy for fixing engines so he's seen it all.

If you like what you read and see on the site about the "fast break-in" then go for it.

 

[Fast1]

I followed the latter method also and now have 7800 miles and 290 hrs on my 510. Valve lash has never required adjustment. You can also seat the rings when using engine braking, no throttle, when slowing down. Use heat cycling also, so that you only ride short period of times during the first 50 to 100 miles allowing the engine to cool completely between short rides.

 

[Mr. Huero]

Agree with Fast1 that the latter method (moderate break-in, heat cycling) is the best way for late model 4 strokes. Did the 310 per George's instructions and it purrs like a kitten... got a little rambunctious on the 510 and now I'm paying the piper. I've had a change of opinion and truly believe Huskys require a break-in period.

/ron

 

[Slowpoke]

Agree with Fast1 that the latter method (moderate break-in, heat cycling) is the best way for late model 4 strokes. Did the 310 per George's instructions and it purrs like a kitten... got a little rambunctious on the 510 and now I'm paying the piper. I've had a change of opinion and truly believe Huskys require a break-in period.

/ron

Care to elaborate?
I have broken in several new bikes including 2 new husky 4ts the fast way & all have put out noticeably good power & still had respectable service lives. The difference in results suggests that your 510 problems maybe aren't related to break-in methods.......

 

[ray_ray]

The oil type should not matter but changing it quickly might as U can easily have much crap in a new engine ...what ever is spent there will just get flushed down the toilet quickly ..

 

[HUSKYnXJnWI]

Pholm and all who are making this decision: this is a point of contention or debate really. Its like what oil is best and such...
Its your new bike so you must choose for yourself. I suggest reading about it and coming to your own conclusion. Here is some info:

• Husky related (Hard- break in) <HERE>

which is largely based on infomation from Mototuneusa <Here>​

• Husky related (Easy-Break in) <Here>

This is the other side of the coin- Supported by George from Uptite​

 

[Slowpoke]

Pholm and all who are making this decision: this is a point of contention or debate really. Its like what oil is best and such...
Its your new bike so you must choose for yourself. I suggest reading about it and coming to your own conclusion. Here is some info:

• Husky related (Hard- break in) <HERE>

which is largely based on infomation from Mototuneusa <Here>​

• Husky related (Easy-Break in) <Here>

This is the other side of the coin- Supported by George from Uptite​

Fair enough.

If it's my bike, there is no way I'll ever have the patience to put around for 600 miles(1000km). That's a couple months of riding for many guys & not why I spent the money on a dirtbike. Especially when there's pure incontrovertible dyno evidence that shows why modern engines need a fast breakin(after a decent warmup of course). I don't waste any time 'heat cycling' these engines either, as they don't respond to that from a metallurgical stand point like the old cast iron Auto engines of yesteryear. Warm it up, ride it like Mototune describes, change your oil, break in done, have a beer.
If there are clearance/tolerance/parts defects issues with other areas in the motor such as the rod/pin/crank etc. due to improper assembly, no amount of break-in will cure that. The motor is either built properly from the start, or it isn't. If it isn't, it's going to give you problems at some point and in my opinion, it's much better to find that out close to home, hard on the throttle while it's still under warranty, not many months later out in the bush/desert somewhere. Funny thing is that often a maintenance/assembly/defective parts issue is misdiagnosed as a breakin issue, when it shouldn't be.
There are 2 machines sold to the public that generally have the crap ridden out of them; Dirt Bikes and Snowmobiles. Ride the crap out of them, maintain them properly - that's all that's needed. No point in worrying weather the thing is made out of delicate china........IMO.

 

[Mr. Huero]

Care to elaborate?
I have broken in several new bikes including 2 new husky 4ts the fast way & all have put out noticeably good power & still had respectable service lives. The difference in results suggests that your 510 problems maybe aren't related to break-in methods.......

Certainly... in the last 9 years I've been responsible for breaking in 5 new bikes (2 Hondas, 1 Yamaha, 2 Huskys) and prior to purchasing the Huskys I subscribed to the 'ride em like you stole em' theory for break in and had no related problems due to this (the CRF was a bit of a pain, the WR was great). We purchased the 310 from George and he advised on the break in... and since it was my GF's to ride and she's a bit of a stickler for following the rules we did the break in as George had explained. I purchase the 510 a few months later and put about 150 miles on it fully restricted until I couldn't take it any longer and changed it to the 'power' mode. The feeling on the bike was that it was tight... and by that I mean the empirical feel of the bike through engine vibration, heat and compression felt totally different than the other 4 break ins.

We took both bikes on a ride out of Mammoth Lakes area (7500 - 10500 ft) and the 510 blew a lot of coolant out the overflow. I of course refilled the radiator but the cap on the overflow had gotten so hot that it had melted the pressure relief hole closed. I appears that I then developed a couple small leaks in the coolant hoses and didn't realise I was slowly losing fluid. On subsequent rides I ran the bike out of fluid and cooked the top end a bit.

Was this caused by my inattention to the fluid levels... YES. Would it have over heated if I had done Georges method for break in... I don't know, but I do know that given the opportunity again I'd be patient during the break in period and follow the advice of someone that knows alot more about Husky requirements than I do.

This is just the experience and opinion of one rider. To date the 310 rides/runs excellent, the 510 runs very well but still has a strong engine vibration... don't know if this will ever be resolved.

/ron

 

[firebolter]

I guess I am old school, I followed the manufacturers reccomendation in the owners manual of my 2010 TE310. No issues, the bike runs like a champ. All emission crap removed from day 1 and power up done at that time. Broke it in per manual.

 

[Slowpoke]

We took both bikes on a ride out of Mammoth Lakes area (7500 - 10500 ft) and the 510 blew a lot of coolant out the overflow. I of course refilled the radiator but the cap on the overflow had gotten so hot that it had melted the pressure relief hole closed. I appears that I then developed a couple small leaks in the coolant hoses and didn't realise I was slowly losing fluid. On subsequent rides I ran the bike out of fluid and cooked the top end a bit.

Was this caused by my inattention to the fluid levels... YES. Would it have over heated if I had done Georges method for break in... I don't know, but I do know that given the opportunity again I'd be patient during the break in period and follow the advice of someone that knows alot more about Husky requirements than I do.

Jus Sayin', but that issue is completely unrelated to breakin procedures and has everything to do with what I referred to either here (below, from post #11), and/or the specific riding conditions.......

Funny thing is that often a maintenance/assembly/defective parts issue is misdiagnosed as a breakin issue, when it shouldn't be.

If it was an overheating issue related to the type of riding/conditions, it would have still overheated during or after breakin, no matter how the engine was broken in.

 

[glangston]

http://baseballtips.com/watermethod.html

Breaking in a baseball glove the fast way. Cows do go out in the rain.

 

[attyharv]

What is "George's" way of doing break in? Ride it like you stole it?

 

[rajobigguy]

What is "George's" way of doing break in? Ride it like you stole it?

Georges way is a moderate break in routine. In a nut shell, you keep it under 5000 rpm, frequent short bursts of the throttle, frequent heat cycling, and many oil changes during the first few hunderd miles.
Many will say that ridng it hard is the only way to seat the rings but there is a lot more to breaking in a new motor than just the rings. Frequent heat cycling (notice I didn't say "heat treating") allows parts such as gears and chains to establish better wear patterns.
BTW I have yet to see anyone that broke their engine in the hard way come up with cylinder pressure that is higher than someone who broke their bike in useing a moderate method. Not saying that it couldn't happen but I work on a lot of engines and I haven't seen it yet.

 

[attyharv]

Thanks for the info. Is heat cycling, riding it for, say, a half hour, then letting it cool down completely, say, one hour then on again off again in the same day for a few times?

 

[firebolter]

YES, but you do not have to wait for the motor to completely cool. 20-30 min of moderate riding, 15-20 minutes of cooling and do that 3 times or so in a day etc.

I have broken bikes in both ways, I still to this day prefer the moderate method as described in the owners manual with a few heat cycles of my own for the first hour of motor time. Frequent oil changes based on hours of use (not miles) is the key IMO. Also in George's method, he uses Dino oil at first and then switches over to full syn.

After 3 hours on my 310 putting around basically, I went to more aggressive riding till 8 hours, then I changed the oil/filter, checked all of the nuts/bolts and then it is RACE MODE and I took the bike to it's first Enduro. at 13.5 hours (after the race) my oil still looks clear like new and the bike runs awesome.

 

[attyharv]

Firebolter,
Thanks for info. Sounds good to me. Also what dealer recommends. By the way, you have a new 2011 310TE? I am planning on buying that bike. Did you do your break in before switching to power up mode?