07-14-2017, 06:35 AM
There are 2 schools of thought on this from what I have read online. One is to take it easy as recommended in the manuals. The concern some have with this method is glazing on the cylinder walls that could prevent the rings from seating properly. The other school seems to be a methodical rev-ing of the engine up to a couple thousand RPM's short of the red line and easing the engine back down. Then repeating this a few times in between letting the engine cool down a bit. The risk of this method is running the engine too hard and seizing the engine. Both methods are intended to seat the rings properly. Both can go wrong. I have tried both methods on different new bikes. I tried the more aggressive method on my CB1100. I'm at 20k miles and it has never burned oil, has had consistent gas mileage, and plenty of power. It has been put on a dyno so I have a measurement on the power (93hp with mods). If you dig around online there are some knowledgeable techs that have written some detailed articles on all of it and I found it to be interesting to read. I would stick to the OEM procedure unless you are willing to do some research. You do have to wade through the anecdotal content to find the articles written by people with real experience. One of the best articles was written by a guy that broke in two motorcycles using both methods and then disassembled the engine heads to examine the rings and valves to see the difference. I wish I could find that article again but a quick search didn't come up for me. It was his article that inspired me to use the more aggressive method. But it was a method with some specific guidelines and procedures.