1199s "break-in" period..

For those that believe the "go hard or go home" break-in style is the ultimate solution.

I suppose the imposed rev limit on the BMW S1000RR's and HP4's during the early break-in period, is for no real benefit because they're already broken-in at the factory

So what's it all about?

I would think the engineers that designed these machines would have the most say on the matter, and that is clearly reflected in the owners manuals of every piece of machinery that has ever been made.
From my recollection, there's never been any indication that the recommended break-in procedure can be disregarded.
With the only exception of Piston Aircraft engines and heavy commercial Diesel engines that are definitely run-in on an engine dyno with a strict sequence at the factory before being put into service.

Racing bikes typically use hand built engines where strict tolerances are observed. Any good engine builder runs the engine to make sure it will start and continue to run. By doing this they have confidence it will get out of the showroom. Ducati hand build their engines and stick them on the dyno to give them an initial 'confidence' run. They are starting the running-in process which you get to finish. The bike at 'this' stage is not run-in.

A good indication of correct running-in is continued smooth running with low oil consumption. The rings are not the only things that have to bed-in.

The racetrack is the ultimate proving ground where things are stretched well beyond limits. Manufacturers are happy to find and exceed previous limits in order to make something that you will want to buy and will provide you with reliable service. If you get a 'good' bike you are likely to be a repeat customer. There would be loads of engines going up in smoke if engineers didn't use such sophisticated vibration analysis. Software now sorts out at the design stage many of the problems that they used to find at the track. Thank you CAD.

If everything is bulletproof and you can flog it from the time you get it - how come engines are still disintegrating at the track? Was your bike built on Monday, Wednesday or the Friday of a long weekend? Always remember the 'human' factor.

A loose hose clamp on a radiator hose can cause premature failure...as can any of innumerable things. I've been around engines for too long to take them for granted. As much as I believe Ducati do their best to build excellent bikes....... happens! Maybe expecting absolute perfection from Ducati is like expecting Microsoft to fix all the bugs in their software. We have high expectations of both companies, but they can only do their best. Keep your ears and eyes open. If you see or hear something amiss - fix it before it does terminal damage...or get your local expert to look at it. Happy trails!

NOLA said:

NO doubt that five minutes on the dyno to ensure that it doesn't grenade itself is a sufficient "break in" period. That makes perfect sense. In that amount of time the rings fully seat, cam paths are worn, valves seat….sure dude.

And what about the amber bar on the tach that stays low till 621 miles ? Thats just for show, or to taunt you ? I am SURE that a bunch of guys on a web board have WAY more info on the Panigale engine than the engineers with Doctorate's in engineering and that BUILT THE ENGINE….What the hell could they know.

Silly.

NOLA.

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Exactly.

I would still follow the manual. The dyno seats everything in properly so we can't screw it up. No need to punish a new bike on the street and risk vaporizing yourself on the side of a Dodge Caravan.

But even though the dyno is complete. The cam chain, gears, and tensioner are still flinging off chunks of flashing, or whatever, from production. As mentioned above, the dyno will seat the rings, and stretch the rods good, but there are other things in the engine running in, that will take time. IMO, unless you're an expert, it's impossible to stretch the rods and seat the rings all the way up on the street. Any race engine I build goes straight to a dyno, or better still, a load bank.

I think the lower RPM is a good idea until all that goo, and assembly plant dust gets flushed out of the engine on the 1st oil change. 600 miles is only a month or two anyways.

As for new engines blowing up. Any engine can blow at the track at any time. Miss a gear and boom. There are no promises of durability made on the track. Not Ducati, Honda, KTM, or Ford. Anything can happen above 10,000 rpm. One of the things I liked about the Ducati, is it's engine is built well and to my standards. Ducati did what they could, things still fail. Never going to change, especially with giant pistons. I don't like all the specialty tools needed to get it back together, but maybe in the future that'll be solved.

BAIBAICOP said:

The Panigale Owner's Manual has a major typo that should be noted: replace "break-in period" with "throttle strangulation" and you'll understand it. As Buliwyf said, the engine gets dyno'd in QC before the bike is fully assembled. It's good to go. Break-in is for lawyers writing motorcycle manuals who don't want new-to-bike riders to die due to the power.

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Twice! The engine is ran at 3000 rpm by an electric motor on a bench after engine assembly and then ran through all the gears on the chassis dyno once the entire vehicle has been assembled.

High pressures from large throttle openings and decels from high rpm at zero throttle load the parts well causing the parts to wear in and mate properly. 195HI and EBC OFF.

i say break it in by the book, avoid stop and go traffic and long idling, first miles are the most important. as someone mentioned earlier, every engine has been tested at the factory.

I did 200 miles of max 7000 rpm and continuously riding through the gears and loading the engine. After that I went straight to track and took the motor to the max. Never had any issues and bike is actually stronger than a mates who ran in to the book. Bike also hardly uses any oil.

"The Manual?"

"The Book?"

What are these items being spoken of?

It's sort of the DUCATI equivalent of the Marine Corp Manual

These Forums & posts, you have have laugh many times, I put money on it my R makes more power throughout its whole RPM range than one that's been babied by a nervous or concerned owner. Sure my statement will drum up a some negative comments.

The bottom line is to avoid high traffic areas so you can modulate throttle - load / rpm range & gears including reverse engine load, engine breaking.

Wasn't there an R for sale only rode on track 3500 or was it. 5k miles Zero problems ?

sean999r said:

These Forums & posts, you have have laugh many times, I put money on it my R makes more power throughout its whole RPM range than one that's been babied by a nervous or concerned owner. Sure my statement will drum up a some negative comments.

The bottom line is to avoid high traffic areas so you can modulate throttle - load / rpm range & gears including reverse engine load, engine breaking.

Wasn't there an R for sale only rode on track 3500 or was it. 5k miles Zero problems ?

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Long term reliability would be my concern . If your going to keep it short term flog the crap out of it like this guy .
Claiming your engine makes more power is laughable .

Quite right

Quin1199 said:

I did 200 miles of max 7000 rpm and continuously riding through the gears and loading the engine. After that I went straight to track and took the motor to the max. Never had any issues and bike is actually stronger than a mates who ran in to the book. Bike also hardly uses any oil.

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X2. I've had many friends who buy brand new SBKs and give them a run around town before trailering for the track the next day. And then from a trackday go to their AFM race the following day. With no issues ever. I think it's a good idea to run her a few miles before pinning the throttle constantly. Ducati has to do some CYA in the owners manual otherwise every yahoo would say Ducati says it's ok to go straight to redline, which would not be a good thing for them. With the extreme tolerances Ducati now has, break-ins are minimal IMHO. Race bikes with new motors with the similar tight tolerances don't go putt around town for 621 miles. My $.02

wilkson said:

Long term reliability would be my concern . If your going to keep it short term flog the crap out of it like this guy .
Claiming your engine makes more power is laughable .

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Wilkson, I broke my 'R in just as sean999r stated. What part of his statement is considered "flogging"?
I've added .75 liter of oil between 2 miles when I took possession of the bike and the first service which I had done at 700 miles. Since the 700 mile service I've not burned oil, seen no smoke, and had a 176hp dyno run which appears to be in the upper part of expected for an 'R. I'm now approaching 3,000 miles (not much) on her. The bike runs amazing and has been extremely reliable.
At what point should I expect to see the long term reliability start to play out? Please don't take this as an arguement against you, as tone doesn't translate in typed form on a screen very well IMO. I'm just trying to characterize and to keep an eye and ear out for when to expect things to change with my experience with the bike.

First of all thank you for all the comments/responses to this thread. As I read all the different opinions, I have come to a conclusion regarding the whole "break-in" process on this particular bike. I believe the end result is going to be the same for the most part.(of course we will have those rare cases but thats another topic to be discussed) From what I gathered Ducati already starts the break in process on the motor from the bench testing to actually putting the vehicle on the dyno. The break in process is complete. I also strongly believe these engines have tolerances that are forgiving. In other words they are made for us to get on the bike and just enjoy whether It be track time off the bat or conservative street riding. Its your bike do as you please. Its not going to break.

Pilot said:

Wilkson, I broke my 'R in just as sean999r stated. What part of his statement is considered "flogging"?
I've added .75 liter of oil between 2 miles when I took possession of the bike and the first service which I had done at 700 miles. Since the 700 mile service I've not burned oil, seen no smoke, and had a 176hp dyno run which appears to be in the upper part of expected for an 'R. I'm now approaching 3,000 miles (not much) on her. The bike runs amazing and has been extremely reliable.
At what point should I expect to see the long term reliability start to play out? Please don't take this as an arguement against you, as tone doesn't translate in typed form on a screen very well IMO. I'm just trying to characterize and to keep an eye and ear out for when to expect things to change with my experience with the bike.

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Long term reliability ? Dunno depends how long you want to keep your bike .
I'm sure most bikes will be fine if owners turn their bikes over regularly like I do some may clock up 20,000 miles +.
Like I said as race bikes we pull the motors down quite regularly so running in a motor for a race bike is much different . My bike has already had the front sleeve replaced (it was marked ) due to running it as a race bike .
I am sure the motor would have been fine for some time but eventually it would have failed how long I'm not sure .
We have also noticed premature wearing of the oil pump bearing which will be a issue for some motors in the future two have failed resulting in massive failure.
The 2014's have been improved so will see how they perform .IMO and my tech's opinion the sleeve and piston design needs to be treated a little different than a normal motor but everyone has different opinions on the subject which is obvious by this thread .
I am about to head out on my bike in a minute and do some run in miles I do not baby the bike but I also don't "flog" it either .
All my other bikes I have always just run them in on a dyno I am only going from the advice from a Ducati tech who's opinion and advice I respect .
Just remember this is only advice I am sharing and not "gospel" so take from it what you want .
Every motor is going to be different there is no firm rule as to what will happen maybe nothing I just think it pays to be a little cautious if you can .

Sergio1199Panigale said:

X2. I've had many friends who buy brand new SBKs and give them a run around town before trailering for the track the next day. And then from a trackday go to their AFM race the following day. With no issues ever. I think it's a good idea to run her a few miles before pinning the throttle constantly. Ducati has to do some CYA in the owners manual otherwise every yahoo would say Ducati says it's ok to go straight to redline, which would not be a good thing for them. With the extreme tolerances Ducati now has, break-ins are minimal IMHO. Race bikes with new motors with the similar tight tolerances don't go putt around town for 621 miles. My $.02

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Most race bikes go from new bikes to race bikes so running a bike in is rarely a option . I don't think putting around town will be great for any motor I am not sure where you get that advice .

Pilot said:

Wilkson, I broke my 'R in just as sean999r stated. What part of his statement is considered "flogging"?
I've added .75 liter of oil between 2 miles when I took possession of the bike and the first service which I had done at 700 miles. Since the 700 mile service I've not burned oil, seen no smoke, and had a 176hp dyno run which appears to be in the upper part of expected for an 'R. I'm now approaching 3,000 miles (not much) on her. The bike runs amazing and has been extremely reliable.
At what point should I expect to see the long term reliability start to play out? Please don't take this as an arguement against you, as tone doesn't translate in typed form on a screen very well IMO. I'm just trying to characterize and to keep an eye and ear out for when to expect things to change with my experience with the bike.

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Hey pilot . Went down and had a bit of discussion with my tech regarding running in and engine life . I have taken some pics of some scuffed sleeves of a motor that was run in o a dyno they are fairly badly scuffed .
His opinion and of corse its just a opinion is the rings will eventually stop sealing resulting in drop of compression how long is a guess .
We were also talking about motors run in "by the book" one that was used as race motor to replace the damaged one with the oil pump issue the sleeves in this motor were like new .
IHO the short skirt and size of piston require a little extra care when running in . I am not trying to argue just offer some real world observations .
I will try and post up pics of the scuffed sleeves to show you what the issue may or not be .Cheers

Arctic1199 said:

So I bet this question has been asked prior. Regardless, here it goes once again .. As far as a engine "break-in", how do I go about a proper one? I have about 80 miles so far. First ride was about 8 miles, then 10, then 20 etc. I have been twisting the throttle and getting up in the amber/orange rpm ranges quite frequently during my last few rides. Am I being to hard on the engine this way? Feedback is much appreciated!!

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My first Ducati and am old school so I did what is in the manual.

Pilot said:

Wilkson, I broke my 'R in just as sean999r stated. What part of his statement is considered "flogging"?
I've added .75 liter of oil between 2 miles when I took possession of the bike and the first service which I had done at 700 miles. Since the 700 mile service I've not burned oil, seen no smoke, and had a 176hp dyno run which appears to be in the upper part of expected for an 'R. I'm now approaching 3,000 miles (not much) on her. The bike runs amazing and has been extremely reliable.
At what point should I expect to see the long term reliability start to play out? Please don't take this as an arguement against you, as tone doesn't translate in typed form on a screen very well IMO. I'm just trying to characterize and to keep an eye and ear out for when to expect things to change with my experience with the bike.

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Just added pictures of sleeves from dyno run in bike .