The basics are the same for any new motorcycle, but the Bullet will need probably lower speeds than most other 500cc bikes. Very the throttle a lot-no cruising at the same rpm for long periods. Accelerate and decelerate a lot. Lots of shifting up and down through the gears. Keep the very first rides fairly short-especially if you break it in in warm weather. You don't want even a hint of an overheat. I did my early break in in late December and early January here in western Wa. State, so it was pretty cool. Don't "lug" the engine at all. Basically, tooling around town or residential streets might be about perfect. My dealer said keep it at 36mph or less for the first 300 miles-then 40mph or under for the next 300 miles. First service was at 300 miles at the dealer. I did a 1000 mile oil and filter change myself. Check you oil level a lot, and do it after a ride. Don't check it cold, as you very likely will get a low (and incorrect) reading. I'm at 1800 miles and still have never run it at "full throttle" yet. I've read some messages here, and at other forums, that the Bullet break in can be from 1500 to 2000 miles. Here's a couple of quotes:
"To break it in right can be either very tedious, or completely relaxing. I took about 1500 miles and then gave my self another 20% on top of that. While you're working your way up to a heart stopping 60 mph, you can really learn the machine, and ponder all the performance and touring mods you'll be spending your money on in the near future.
It can be a long courtship, but it'll be worth it. "--Stipa, whom I had the pleasure of meeting.
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That 50mph is TOO much. At very best you are significantly cutting engine life. The idling through town isnt helping. If you are not moving you are not cooling. My suggestion would be to use the bike for pleasure instead of commuting needs until at least 1000 miles. That way you can properly break it in. Then you can use it in the way you are now. I have never found a way to short circuit the break-in. Do it complete and do it right or the bike will not be what it should be in terms of ride-ability or reliability."---Vince, whom I had the pleasure of buying my Bullet from.
"There is a chart in your owner's manual for break in speeds and servicing. Follow it EXACTLY. you will be glad you did. Most of my warranty issues can be attributed to improper break in."--Again, from Vince.
"During the break in process, I've noticed that my iron engine runs noticeably better with increasing miles. The first 100 miles it felt very rough, and I kept it under 30. After 300 miles it was noticeably smoother and pulled better. I increased mph to 40 for short spells. After 500 it felt like it wanted to run faster than 40 mph, so I ran it up to 45 for short spells. At 800 it would climb to 50 almost on its own, so I let it. I'm at 1000 miles now, and let it run up to 55 for short spells, where it's quite happy and pulls strongly, but I keep it under 50 most of the time. All of these miles were driven in mild weather (under 85F). My overall experience with breaking in the iron engine is that if you pay attention, it'll tell you when it's ready for a little more (provided the ambient temperature isn't too hot)."--From Huffer.
"You are going to have to use a little common sense cause I'm here to tell you that you will have a hard time running 60 kph in top gear without lugging the engine. I think the best advice I've seen is in the Snidal manual:
Mileage Max Throttle Opening
300 Mi / 500 Km 1/4
500 Mi / 800 Km 1/3
1000 Mi / 1600 Km 1/2
1500 Mi / 2400 Km 3/4
2000 Mi / 3200 Km Full When Necessary"--From Leonard.
Judging from the way my bike behaves, I think by 1500 miles, it was about broke in. Another thing is, as you reach a certain mileage, say, 600, and had been keeping it under, say, 40mph, you need to work the bike into the increased speeds carefully. So don't just go out and wrap it up to 50mph for 50 miles or something. Go on a ride, and accelerate up to 50, maybe for a mile or so, and decelerate back down for a while. Do that several times. Again, the goal is to not generate excessive heat, and to splash some lubrication on the cylinder walls (by decelerating). At 1800+ miles, I've run mine at 50-55, and once, I ran it up to 60 briefly. But I don't intend to run mine at 60 for any length of time-probably ever. I didn't buy it for freeway riding, and back roads are way more fun anyway. When I took my 2007 into Vinces for the first service, he told me mine was one of the best running Bullets he's had in. Maybe he was humoring me, but it does run well (not in a high horsepower way). It runs well, and is relatively quiet.
Now, if you go to the Aussie Enfield forum, you will read a lot about broken pistons, main bearings going out, broken con rods and such. Read there for long, and its scary. Maybe its because they have more wide open spaces, and its more tempting to flog the bike a bit? I don't know. I'm just trying to balance the Bullet fun factor and my hopes for longevity for my bike. I'm hoping for at least 20,000 miles, and hopefully over 40,000 (as some are getting). Whereas 40,000 on my old 1976 Honda CB750K was nothing (I've seen those with 90,000 miles still running strong), on a Bullet thats quite a few miles if you did it without having to split the cases.
Like most of us here, I'm very much still learning about my Bullet.
Take care, Jon in Puyallup, Wa.
Topic: Help me decide - New rider - Electra or Classic?? (Read 5097 times)