Break-in method?

The bores are honed to have a slightly course surface from the factory. That honing is designed to wear the rings into the exact shape of the bore to get a good ring seal. The honing lasts a very short time and once gone there is little point in the running in process at all. The 600 miles is partly cos the manufacturer wants you to ride gently till you know the bike and partly to flush out all assembly guff before the first oil change. Also telling you to go back to the dealer after 2 hours riding for your first service wouldn't go down too well with dealers or new owners.

In truth your bike will have run at the factory before you even got it reducing the honing life anyway. The ring/bore seal will still happen but not as quickly and rely on natural wear processes instead.

I can only go by my own experience of running in many bikes and 2 rsv's that those done by the book drank a bit of oil/made less hp initially and those that were done with a bit more spirit did not. My current Rsv never uses any between services.

You don't have to be a nutter just use all the gears and 90% of the revs for the first few hours but without labouring the engine. The rings/bore need to go through decent heat cycles as part of the process which won't happen properly at half revs.

That's just my opinion. Plenty of happy owners either way.

Definnately agree. Spoonz...if you want the engine to pull well later, then use 80-90% revs thru first 3 gears, then discretion thru the rest of the box...never hold a rev range for too long...and as Spoonz says, don't labour the engine...find a road where you can keep rolling the throttle on and off when in the higher gears, stretch it out, roll it back, and cycle this. Pull over and start up through the gears again...i do this numerous times during a session. Each time i push the first three gears intelligently harder 90% (never redline)...feel the motor, it will tell you if its still tight...if so, don't push the revs thru that point. Constant throttle changes and scaling across the rev range has always produced for me an engine that pulls really well when all is bedded. My experience & opinion only. There is a difference by working the engine hard early i feel gives you an engine that goes hard later...some say it won't last as long (is ********)..i have never had one go off with the run in method described. Regards, Aj

* Never hold a high fixed rev range in any gear early on in the process...keep it moving about

I agree with spoonz and ausrsv. Most of the factory break-in recommendations are for liability reasons. They don't want you fragging the engine & their having to rebuild it early on.

During break-in the pistons travel up and down in the cylinders and "seat" to the walls. Under "easy" throttle conditions the pistons don't go all the way up the cylinder walls (simplified) and literally build a "lip" at the top of the cylinder. This can lead to lower compression ratios and limit performance of the bike. "Aggressive" throttle helps send the pistons higher and doesn't allow the "lip" to form (too low). More fun too!:doug

Don't use a synthetic oil until the rings are well seated!! The newer synthetics are so good that they will greatly hinder the ring seating process and I've heard horror stories. I'm still fairly new to the Aprilias in particular but I'd guess 5000 miles to be safe. The other guys may have more specific numbers.

Definately use only a semi synthetic..not a full for running an engine in....@ 5K miles i would have been well on the throttle no problems...the key is not to over rev it, not to lag it low and not hold a constant throttle position while freeway riding...runs up the gears & roll ons and eases. By 5K miles that engine should be raring to go.

agree with above, just be vigilant look over her after a ride, check oil levels, check seals and gaskets, check for signs of unusual heat and wear

all should be ok though, just enjoy