How to ride to break in a new F3L

[GWHIZZ]

Getting a bran, new (2022 out of the box) Spyder F3L.

I am a 26 yr. veteran (female) rider of motorcycles and have owned / ridden spyders since 2020.
Just never had a bran, new one before!

How should I ride it to ensure breaking it in correctly? I understand about oil and oil changes. Just...how to ride it. Should I use ECO? Should I baby it shifting at certain RPMS per each gear? Where can I find this kind of information? etc.

 

[Ex-Rocket]

Do not ride at a constant speed like on a interstate Hwy. Proper break-in should be at variable speeds with no heavy accelerations.

 

[ARtraveler]

First 250 or so miles...no hard braking. Let them get set in.

I don't recommend ECO. Savings of about 1 mpg if you are lucky. Learn to shift by sound going up...3500 is a sweet spot. Let the Spyder do its thing on the down shifts.

:congrats: on your new Spyder. :2thumbs:

 

[brian10x]

That brings to mind another question. (Just as reference, I'm a former mechanic, long since retired, though) When they say don't drive for extended periods at the same speed, I agree. HOWEVER, everyone has a different opinion of extended periods. 15 minutes might seem too long for mechanic "A", yet 30 minutes might seem just fine for mechanic "B".


Opinions welcome!

 

[Adventurer]

First 250 or so miles...no hard braking. Let them get set in.

I don't recommend ECO. Savings of about 1 mpg if you are lucky. Learn to shift by sound going up...3500 is a sweet spot. Let the Spyder do its thing on the down shifts.

:congrats: on your new Spyder. :2thumbs:

I agree with ARtraveler’s advice. Also Shawn Smoaks (google him if you don’t know who he is) says never, no not ever, use Eco mode and I follow that advice myself. One other thing I do, is I do not use the cruise control at all until I’ve got at least 500 or more miles on the bike. I do not worry about running extended periods at the same speed/RPM if I’m using my wrist and not cruise control as you will naturally vary your speed, when going up and down hills, around curves, traffic, etc.

 

[AE2WM]

Rev. 1

The object of "break-in" is to allow parts that are freshly machined to gently wear off the machining high-spots. The easiest way to do this is to avoid any extremes: accelerate gently, keep the revs in the lower mid-range, brake gently, vary your speed and shift points. Give it some moderate acceleration periodically to help seat the piston rings in the cylinders. Don't let the engine overheat, and don't lug it by riding around at too low an rpm. (Keep it between 2000 and 5000 rpm, more or less.) In other words, baby it for the first 500-1000 miles. I would change the oil and filter after the first 1000 miles, just to get the tiny worn bits out of circulation. I like to let the engine idle from a cold start for a few minutes before starting to ride, but don't overdo it. Let the adjacent moving parts of the engine get to know each other under low load conditions, and you'll get the best break in.

There is a school of thought that says, "Ride it like you stole it." In other words, ring it out, ride hard. I disagree with this idea, and so does every manufacturer that I've seen.

Use the break-in period to get to know your ride. Listen to its sounds. Feel its vibrations. You'll get a feeling for where its sweet spots are, and you'll know if anything suddenly sounds or feels unusual. Use this time to calibrate your inputs to the machine so that you know how it will respond to different situations. After all, you're breaking in the rider, too.

Enjoy your new toy!

Bill McGrath

 

[blacklightning]

All of the above is good advice. I have now owned 6 spyders total. During this time, I have purchased a 2014 RT and a 2016 F3T new. On the second day of ownership on the 2014 RT I took it on a 500 mile day trip to the NC mountains. On my first day of ownership of my 2016 F3T, I did the tail of the Dragon and the Cherohola Skyway. I put 1500 miles of hard mountain riding on it within the first 5 days. I did make sure that I did not rev the engine above 6,000 rpm on both. But other than that, I rode them like they owed me money. Both of them had about 28k miles on them when they were sold, and were in top condition. But that is just my experience.

 

[fatboy]

ride it like you stole it if its gonna break get it outa the way early

 

[brian10x]

ride it like you stole it if its gonna break get it outa the way early

Or, "Ride it like you stole it" and get a little bit of premature engine wear that will show up several years down the road. Just my 2 cents, and worth every penny.

 

[Bartender]

Brand new 2022 Sea to Sky. First 500 miles I rode conservatively, never running at high rpm's and varying speed as I drove. After that rode it like a rented mule but never quite to red line as far as rpm's is concerned. At 5000 miles now and everything is fine. I have conducted break in on the last five motorcycles that I have purchased new using the same procedure and never had a problem with any of them but always ended up with motors that performed well.

 

[brian10x]

Great report. Highly informative. However , there is no apostrophe in RPMs. I know, I tend to be a grammar NAZI. Sorry.

 

[Steve W.]

If you want to get THAT picky, there should be no "s" at the end of "RPM", either. The "R" is for Revolutions, which is already plural.

And, "Nazi" is not done in all-caps. Sorry.

A lot of those typos bug me, too, but after pointing out a few of them many years ago on other forums, I just learned to keep silent, shake my head and move on.

.

 

[brian10x]

Good points! I always thought it was spelled in all caps. I stand (or sit, in this case) corrected. And you are right! I just said it out loud to myself. It always helps when I'm stymied.

Its revolutions per minute, NOT revolutions per minutes. What a breath of fresh air.

 

[troop]

Don't be afraid to downshift and let the bike compression brake. This loads the rings and aids in ring sealing.

 

[GWHIZZ]

First 250 or so miles...no hard braking. Let them get set in.

I don't recommend ECO. Savings of about 1 mpg if you are lucky. Learn to shift by sound going up...3500 is a sweet spot. Let the Spyder do its thing on the down shifts.

:congrats: on your new Spyder. :2thumbs:

When to shift in Gear 1? I don't believe I should have RPMS of 3500 in that gear. Then gear 2, 3, 4, 5? Long ago, I found an article about shifting properly, but that was LONG AGO...are there any current articles on shifting?

 

[ARtraveler]

When to shift in Gear 1? I don't believe I should have RPMS of 3500 in that gear. Then gear 2, 3, 4, 5? Long ago, I found an article about shifting properly, but that was LONG AGO...are there any current articles on shifting?

Have not heard that about different rpm than others for 1st gear. The older spyders with the 998 engines liked 5500 rpms. We were told to run them up to 5500 to shift and keep them there. I had 4 of them. Never blew an engine or had engine issues. They had a red line rpm limit of about 9500. The 1330's like 3500 and cruising at highway speed in 6th will give you about 5500 rpm. They have a red line of about 7500. :bowdown:

 

[Dasmoetorhead]

As a lifelong mechanic I totally agree with AE2WM on this. Now if I could just get my new F3S Built. It's still in a crate and won't be done until the 17th of June. I'm chomping at the bit, but I guess it gives me time to read threads like this.

 

[baxter]

If you have not paged through the owner's manual at least once... do so.

 

[GWHIZZ]

If you have not paged through the owner's manual at least once... do so.

I have read the manual for both bikes...several times, with notations on blank pages.

 

[JohnRuckus]

The info you're looking for is actually in the manual. Page 63. A lot of what has been stated is pretty spot on.

https://www.operatorsguides.brp.com/public/tmp/219002183.Spyder.F3.Series (MY22).WEB.pdf