Timewise, I would imagine it will be the usual 600 - 800 miles. As far as what you will discover about the machine at it's early age, Ducatis generally come to life after the first couple of thousand miles. Somewhere around 2k, my Multi really loosened up, and came into it's own. As far as how to break it in, don't even ask that question, as there are so many different theories about the best way - kind of like asking the dreaded oil question.

 

don't even ask that question, as there are so many different theories about the best way - kind of like asking the dreaded oil question.

I agree and would generally avoid chiming in, especially on the oil issue.

I will offer up, only as a data point to consider, what I tell customers when they pick up their new bike. It's pretty simple.

Don't lug it and don't bounce it off the rev limiter. Try to vary throttle as much as is practical.

Here's why I tell folks this...
-Accelerating hard from very low rpms(lugging) will create high friction in a low oil pressure situation. That's bad

-Trying to routinely ride past maximum RPM should be reserved for the track by teams with 12 spare engines.

-The goal of breaking an engine in is to prolong engine life, minimize oil consumption and maximize power and fuel economy. Varying the throttle and, therefore, pressure in the combustion chamber (high pressure at wfo and low pressure on closed throttle engine over-run) facilitates the piston rings flexing, bedding in, and ultimately sealing properly against the cylinder wall.

Riding too gingerly can be as bad as riding too agressively.

In the end dgilmore is right. Others will have different opinions. Before you choose a path, just understand the long term effects of the approach.

 

I would stick to the 600 mile, 6000rpm rule. Then it's open season. I am still within my 600 miles on both of my bikes and I am just dying to open them up. Maybe in the next four weeks.

 

Even tho some will tell you differently, I fully agree with krampus - good advice there. I wouldn't "baby" the bike tho, as too easy can be as bad as too hard.

 

i'm not saying this individual or method is correct, but it's definitely an interesting read. i'm sure many of you have already read it.

Break In Secrets--How To Break In New Motorcycle and Car Engines For More Power

 

Thats interesting and makes sense, Thanks for the link!

 

Don't lug it, baby it, or thrash shit out it. As mentioned.
The 'running in' of new bikes is not as critical as the running in of freshly rebuilt engines. Even though the bike is 'new', I believe new bike engines have already had some initial running in done at the factory.
Definitely do some steady winding out, and rolling off, in 2nd and 3rd gear though as soon as you get it, (as that article mentions). Just wind it up to 6k, staying in gear, and then chop the throttle, let the bike engine brake until it drops down to 3k, then repeat. This really works at bedding in rings. Do this several times during each ride over the first 600 miles and your done. Get your first service done and that's it.

 

Kawasaki takes every sportbike motor they build in the factory, they put it on a Dyno, add oil and things and then run it to redline to see what the power output is.

Just ride it moderately for 100 miles or so, to get used to it, and then just ride it and don't worry about it.

There is no real break-in procedure today.

You know what Honda's is for their CBR's, as stated in the user manual?

"Don't run excessive RPM for extended periods of time for the first 300 miles".

That's it.

 

D.A., Ya better hurry with the "break-in"........winter is coming soon to Dublin. Don't forget the Battery Tender and Stabil. Riding days may be few and far between ! Bexley grad now living in Bowie, Texas. :>)) Ride safe ! It's a beast !! Paul

 

lol, thanks man but im not buying one untill march/april because of stupid ohio weather, maybe I should follow your lead and move to texas,haha. So have you ridden the Diavel?

 

D.A., Advanced Motor Sports here in Dallas unveiled it at the Grand Opening of their Performance Center. Then I saw it again at the Dallas International Motorcycle Show. I've sat on it but not riden it yet. But with the HP figures and the weight...it should be a BEAST ! I've got a Streetfighter S but the new Diavel reminds me a bunch of my '95 V-Max...but, with more power and lots less weight. Enjoy ! It'll give you a new reason to look forward to spring....besides the Ohio weather. Paul

 

I agree, easy but not too easy,, vary the throttle

 

BRINGING THIS ISSUE TO LIFE!

Why has nobody referred to what THE DUCATI MANUAL STATES!!!

PG 135 in the Manual States:

Running-in recommendations

Up to 1000 km
During the first 1000 km, keep an eye on the rev counter. It should never exceed 5500 - 6000 rpm.
During the first hours of riding, it is advisable to run the engine at varying load and rpm, though still within the recommended limit.
To this end, roads with plenty of bends and even slightly hilly areas are idea for a most efficient running-in of the engine, brakes and suspension.

It also has a small picture that shows the the gauge cluster.

That picture states first 1000 km you should never go over 6000rpm, and the next 1500 km (2500 km total) you should never go over 7000rpm.

After that running-in (break in) period, then it's free game.


You guys obviously are well off in life to be able to afford a Multistrada, but yet none of you decided to follow the MANUFACTURES recommendations.

I can not believe some of the stuff i've read in this thread.

In my opinion, Ducati's Owners Manual is GOD. Everything stated in that book is for the bikes own good and to preserve it for many years of enjoyment.

I've attached pictures of the Owners manual pages on this topic.

 

I sincerely believe that the one and only perfect way to break in any motorcycle motor is for the owner to let me do it for them.

 

I break mine in with a hammer. Back in Russia, a hammer could fix anything. As long as you had enough vodka.

 

My dealer told me when I purchased my Multi that the most important thing to do was to vary my speed and RPMS. Don't take it out on a long ride at 70mph. He really didn't say much more than that!

I wouldn't redline it right off the bat but after a few hundred miles rev it on up there then back her down.

Bill

 

So nobody cares about what the manual says?

Has anybody actually followed it?
Im at 300 kms on my Multi PP following the manufactures break in sytle.

 

Fratecat, I was being facetious of course.

I would say I followed what the manual says about 80% of the time. Varied RPMs, stop and go traffic, no lugging, no constant RPMs. So on the freeway I would change lanes and gears often to vary the RPMs. As others others have stated, no lugging from down low. We don't have canyons here in Florida, so I had to get creative. When I broke in my 748S in California, it was all canyon riding and stop and go traffic.

As for my Diavel, I kept it under 6k most of the time, but occasionally when passing someone, I'd take it higher for a brief moment (never exceeded 8k or so the first 600 miles). After the first service I let it rip.

My Diavel had the first service almost a year ago and I am at roughly 4000 miles now, just completed my annual service a few weeks ago. The bike is perfectly fine, according to the service tech. Maybe too early to tell for some, but I am happy with it.

Many people have different opinions on this topic that it can get almost religious with the various schools of thought. So you are not likely to find a concensus, but following the advice most have given should work just fine.

 

A Buddy babyed his ford 3/4 ton truck it uses oil, has from day one...

Heat it up and let it cool , rev it and engine break with it up hills down hills , don't lug it EVER... Putt around town with it SOME and let it run freely open her up but not tooo high RPM...Weight it up fill the bags up and take another person for a ride and make it work...

ALWAYS beat on it just before the first oil change , Don't go crazy but open her up...
Then the mechanic can see the bits and pieces in the oil screen....

Cripes it is not a KIA ...
Have fun Don't worry...
You don't slap your gramma so don't beat up your bike...

 

Break-In

ddk632 used the recommended method. Every Ducati engine is run-in for ten minutes or more on the dyno using a prescribed rpm and temperature sequence. The piston rings seal is mostly complete after this initial test run. The follow-up part of the break-in that you read in your Owners Manual has little to do with piston ring sealing. It’s meant to accommodate the time it takes for normal wear to occur to thousands of mating parts.

The initial break-in period is actually the final finishing step in manufacturing an engine. At the factory, Ducati hones the cylinder walls to a fine finish, grinds cams to accurate, smooth profiles, and makes connecting rod journals to high standards of roundness and accuracy. But, metal surfaces are still microscopically rough, consisting of tiny peaks and valleys. When you start a new engine, these surfaces must slide over each other and wherever the peaks stick up higher than the local oil film thickness, metal hits metal, welds momentarily from the intense local pressure, and then tears away. The oil flushes away these bits of metal, and the oil filter removes them from circulation.

This process works quickly at first, then more slowly as break-in proceeds. Once the high spots are knocked or pushed down, the roughness of the surfaces no longer sticks above the oil films. Piston rings have filed themselves into a fine fit to their cylinders. Bearings spin without metal-to-metal contact, on full oil films.

If you decide to ignore Ducati’s recommendation that engine rpm be limited for the break-in period and instead you run at high RPM and heavy throttle, the wear process may generate more heat and metal debris than the system can handle. Then the result is destruction of contact surfaces in some parts of the engine.

If you use Ducati’s break-in method and gradually build up to higher revs and throttle, the washing action of the oil will keep up with the generation of wear particles, and the surfaces will bed into each other in such a way that the oil film can carry the load.

Finally, the initial period of moderate operation needs to be followed by some hard acceleration and brief trips to the red line. Sustained, high-speed operation is not a good idea because it provides no wash time at low load, during which the oil system can flush away any wear particles.

 

ddk632 used the recommended method. Every Ducati engine is run-in for ten minutes or more on the dyno using a prescribed rpm and temperature sequence. The piston rings seal is mostly complete after this initial test run. The follow-up part of the break-in that you read in your Owners Manual has little to do with piston ring sealing. It’s meant to accommodate the time it takes for normal wear to occur to thousands of mating parts.

The initial break-in period is actually the final finishing step in manufacturing an engine. At the factory, Ducati hones the cylinder walls to a fine finish, grinds cams to accurate, smooth profiles, and makes connecting rod journals to high standards of roundness and accuracy. But, metal surfaces are still microscopically rough, consisting of tiny peaks and valleys. When you start a new engine, these surfaces must slide over each other and wherever the peaks stick up higher than the local oil film thickness, metal hits metal, welds momentarily from the intense local pressure, and then tears away. The oil flushes away these bits of metal, and the oil filter removes them from circulation.

This process works quickly at first, then more slowly as break-in proceeds. Once the high spots are knocked or pushed down, the roughness of the surfaces no longer sticks above the oil films. Piston rings have filed themselves into a fine fit to their cylinders. Bearings spin without metal-to-metal contact, on full oil films.

If you decide to ignore Ducati’s recommendation that engine rpm be limited for the break-in period and instead you run at high RPM and heavy throttle, the wear process may generate more heat and metal debris than the system can handle. Then the result is destruction of contact surfaces in some parts of the engine.

If you use Ducati’s break-in method and gradually build up to higher revs and throttle, the washing action of the oil will keep up with the generation of wear particles, and the surfaces will bed into each other in such a way that the oil film can carry the load.

Finally, the initial period of moderate operation needs to be followed by some hard acceleration and brief trips to the red line. Sustained, high-speed operation is not a good idea because it provides no wash time at low load, during which the oil system can flush away any wear particles.

Dude. Wow!

That's the best explanation of this process I've ever read. I actually had visualized the interior of the engine internals as I read this post. Thank you!

:yeah:

 

That's a brilliant explano, Shazaam, as always.

I'd add that's why I'm not too keen on buying demos, since nobody rides them with respect for their eventual owners

I followed the manual for my SP, broke it in on mountain twisties, and saved the hard acceleration for freeway on-ramps (yahoo!). Like others have mentioned, the engine 'loosened up' and felt perfect (louder, stronger, quicker) at about 1200 miles. Noticed the same thing on my previous S4RS. (Never felt that on any bikes other than Ducatis ...)

 

I went to my local Ducati/KTM dealer on the weekend and had a 20 minute talk with the service manager.

He said to ride the bike like I stole it for the first 500 kms (he also said the usual "no lugging" "no snapping throttle" "bring the rpm up and down the full range"), then bring it in for the first oil change and then it's good to go.

I figure the 300 km of moderate riding that i've done so far and not
reving over 6000rpm should be suffice break in for the "6000rpm manufacturer" limit mark.

I've started using the full RPM range now, but I'm still taking it easy on any snapping of the throttle. But I am being more aggressive.

I'm at 405 km and I'm going to follow this method until 800-1000 km.

I'm going to bring the bike in for its 1000 km service and then after that.....

LET'ER RIPPPP HARD!! Lets see this traction control work!

 

Ahhaaa. I know who you spoke to. The owner said to ride the bike as suggested by the manual, yet somebody else says ride it like you stole it. No wonder there is so much confusion out there.
I went with the recommendations in the manual.