Hello all,

This is my first post on this forum. I just bought my first ATV, a Red 2002 P650 on Monday!

It was fresh out of the crate, and I was curious what sort of break-in procedure you guys used. I went through the "idle for 10 mins, and cool down for 30 mins. X 3" as reccomended by a few friends, and I have been riding at 1/2 throttle as reccomended by the owners manual.

Any suggestions?

Also, does the bike get more powerful after break-in? It seems pretty fast, but the "wheelie at will" power doesn't seem to be there.

 

Greg I think you'll find that most the folks on this board claim to have followed the Kaw prescribed procedure. Personally, as an old engine builder, I broke mine in like I intend to run it. Wouldn't recomend this practice to anyone who doesn't believe in it but it has served me well for the last few hundred engines I've built.

 

Dangerous,
Ya know what's funny about that, is that a lot of people frown deeply on that. I personally have never, nor know anyone, that has ever had a problem with breaking in like that. I broke my Lakota in like that, my buddy broke his Raptor, another his 400EX, another 2 Mojave's, and yet another his 400Scram., like that. I have never heard of anyone on here state that they had a problem with doing that either. I know we'll get hit for saying that, but I do believe in it. My friend is a Cert Ford mechanic and he's the one that has always told me to break engines in like that.

However, it certainly doesn't hurt to follow the manu. recommendations.

 

Hiya c5greg, welcome to crew.

When I got my P650 the first thing I did was raced a friends kodiak 400. Ofcourse I smoked him and I also scared the poop out of myslef cuze the wheels came so high off the ground (we raced on asphault). The "traditional" way to break in motors is don't give it more than 1/2 throttle and don't let it overheat. I somewhat followed the tradition way of breaking it in and now with over 800 miles on my machine it's running beautiful so i know i did it right. During my break in I would ride moderatly paced in all speed ranges between 1/2 and no throttle with occasional full throttle blasts. Thats the way they say to break in gas RC car engines and that's how I did my P650. I think you can ride how u like during break in, but they just don't want you riding at full throttle for long periods of time. It's a 4 stroke motor not a 2 stroke so I don't think you have to be that cautious during break in just don't go nutz. Also since your new to this forum don't let a lot of the posts about problems with peoples p650's bother you. We're just a handful of P650 owners out there in the world so not everyone is going to have the same probs.... happy riding

 

Breaking in a new motor is actually pretty easy. Don't run it wide open for more than a 30-40 seconds and (this is actually worse than full throttle) don't baby it. Being to easy on it will allow the cylinder walls to glaze before the rings are ever worn in. Too hard for too long will force the rings to wear the cylinder walls before they have had a chance to conform to the cylinder's irregularities. Moderately sized hills are perfect for breaking in a new engine. Blast up them and coast down. This loads the rings, pistons and cylinders with just the right amount of heat and pressure needed to "wear in" the parts and the downhill allows things to cool before too much heat causes problems.

 

Hi guy's;
I have broken my bike in like i drive it. At first i took it easy in general for about 10 hrs...however an occasional "PUT HER TO THE BAR" blast off was in order just to keep myself believing that i just bought a P650. Actually the first time i got on it was in my buddies dealership lot...i pinned it and closed the ground in front of me in a blink of an eye!!! When i got off my heart was beating out of my chest and i was thinking to myself HOLY S--T what the hell am i buying...man am i ever happy. Congradulations on owning the best...

ROB

 

I see all of the guys here are giving you good advice c5. I took it easy for the first two tanks of gas and then I rode it like I stole it!!!!! Two stroke break-in is critical, but a four stroke is a different animal. Ride it hard, don't keep it wound out for long, and vary your speed, i.e. be off and on the gas quite a bit, don't cruise around at the same speed. Good luck with your new ride. You're gonna love it.

 

Thanks All,

It looks like riding moderatly, mostly at ~1/2 throttle varying the speed, and a few WOT bursts is the prevailing method for breaking in the machine for the first 60 or so miles.

This is similar to the way I've broken in my cars when new, and they all have been fine, so breaking in a four stroke quad in a similar manner is logical.

Again, thanks to every one for the replys.