Running in a new Voge: the limits for the first 1,000 km

The first 1,000 km determine how much of its designed life an engine will reach, and the manuals are specific about them. Their instructions are not the ones most riders anticipate: the requirement is not gentleness but variety.

The rev limits by model

Model	First 500 km	500 to 1,000 km
DS900X	5,000 rpm and 50 km/h	7,000 rpm
500R	5,000 rpm	7,000 rpm
500DS	5,000 rpm	7,000 rpm
300DS	5,000 rpm sustained	6,000 rpm sustained

The DS900X is the only model in this group to add a road speed to the engine speed: 50 km/h for the first 500 km, which rules out motorway use during that period rather than merely discouraging it.

The 300DS states its limits as sustained running rather than as absolute ceilings, and permits the throttle to be opened fully for two to three seconds at a time, provided a period of low-rev running follows so that the engine can shed the heat.

The instruction most commonly reversed

A constant speed is not to be held. The manuals ask for the gear and the engine speed to be changed frequently, and state plainly that running at a fixed low speed under light load produces poor bedding-in and greater wear.

A motorway commute held at a steady 4,000 rpm appears considerate and is precisely the wrong treatment. Piston rings bed against the bore under varying cylinder pressure; a constant load presents them with one pressure and one temperature, and they glaze rather than seat. The 500DS manual makes the same point from the other direction by prohibiting the same speed for more than 50 km at a stretch.

The rest of what the manuals require

• Warm the engine before setting off, whether the weather is hot or cold, so that the oil reaches everything that needs it. The 500DS asks for three to five minutes, the 300DS for two to three.
• Avoid hard acceleration and hard braking except in an emergency.
• Do not labour the engine. A lower gear is selected before slowing rather than pulling away in too high a gear.
• No heavy loads and no long climbs, which the 500DS manual names explicitly.
• No long journeys during this period. The engine is to be given rest.

Tyres and brakes have their own running-in periods

These two are separate from the engine and are frequently overlooked.

Tyres: the first 200 km. A new tyre leaves the mould with a smooth surface and, on some, small moulding pips still on the tread. Until that surface has been worn away the grip available is well below what the tyre will eventually provide, and the edges of the tread have not been used at all. The manuals ask for low speeds through bends over the first 200 km so that the tread is worn in across its full angle, and for sudden acceleration, sudden steering and sudden braking to be avoided during that distance.

Brakes: the first 500 km. New pads have not yet transferred a layer of friction material onto the disc, so they do not reach their designed efficiency. The manuals instruct that greater lever or pedal force be applied to compensate during this period, and that stopping distances be assumed to be longer.

At the first service

The first oil change matters more than any that follow, because it removes the metal particles released while the components bedded in. It is not to be extended, and the filter is not to be omitted.

Capacities and grades for every model are in engine oil grades and capacities, and the procedure in the oil and filter change guide. The 300 Rally manual sets out its own rhythm: the first change at 1,000 km, then every 4,000 km, with the level checked every 500 km.

After 1,000 km

The key fasteners are checked against the model's torque table. Everything on a new motorcycle settles during this period, and it is when a chain adjuster nut or an axle is most often found loose. The chain itself will also have taken its initial stretch and generally requires adjustment; the figures are in chain slack, adjustment and lubrication.

Related pages

The full service plan that begins at the end of this period is in what Voge asks for at each service, and the pressures the new tyres require in tyre pressures by model.