Another cam-breakin question

[sly400ex]

I did a search and couldn't find an exact answer....I just purchased a 416 kit and stage 2 cam (thanks C&D!). Well I want to break in my motor the motoman way. I want to break it in the way I will ride it! But, the one thing you have to do in order to break it in that way is to let the motor warm completely before riding aggressively. BUT, how am I so suppose to let the quad warm properly when the cam requires NOT to be run at idle and says no excessive rpms?

So what is the absolute best way to break this thing in???

[zeppelin]

when they say not to let it idle they just mean dont put it on a stand and let it idle for 30-min and consider that your break-in, if it were me id do it the right way and just baby it for a half of an hour then ride it like i normally would, but w/e

[sly400ex]

I've always been easy on a motor for break-in, but after reading the motoman article and all the other positive results, I'm going to give it a try.

[d kelley]

dont let your bike idle for the first 30 minutes of running your new cam! the reason they told you DO NOT IDLE your engine is to get enough oil spash lubrication on the new cam and rocker arms. you are not going to hurt the engine to run it at high rpm while it is sitting in your garage. its when you put heavy load on it (riding) while not warmed up that causes problems.

[NacsMXer]

Make sure you put plenty of assembly lube (I use Belray assembly lube) on the lobes and journals of the cam before you start it up for the first time. This will ensure that it will be properly lubricated under initial start up before the oil has a chance to be flung up to the head ;) It also helps to take the tappet covers off the valve cover and pour a small amount of oil in each one (again, this will ensure the head stays lubricated on initial start). Once you have this taken care of, you will not have to worry about wiping out your new cam the first time you break it in :)

Definitely use the Motoman method, this lets the rings make a positive seal to the cylinder wall and not let crankcase blow-by gases through the rings with each stroke. The first 20 miles is the key period to break the rings in. If you baby it for those first 20 miles, then your rings haven't seated properly and you just lost a bunch of power you would have already had if you didn't go easy on it. Warm the engine up by letting it idle for 5 minutes or so. Then, go out and ride at an moderately aggressive pace (i'm not talking WFO) while going through the gears and constantly accelerating and decelerating. So go out in like 2nd gear and let it rev up and then let off the throttle and decelerate (no clutch, just let the engine decelerate on its own). Then shift into third and do the same thing and so on and so forth.. Constantly varying the RPM's up and down will break your motor in the right way and guarantee that your motor is producing the most amount of efficient power possible.

[sly400ex]

Originally posted by NacsMXer
Make sure you put plenty of assembly lube (I use Belray assembly lube) on the lobes and journals of the cam before you start it up for the first time. This will ensure that it will be properly lubricated under initial start up before the oil has a chance to be flung up to the head ;) It also helps to take the tappet covers off the valve cover and pour a small amount of oil in each one (again, this will ensure the head stays lubricated on initial start). Once you have this taken care of, you will not have to worry about wiping out your new cam the first time you break it in :)

Definitely use the Motoman method, this lets the rings make a positive seal to the cylinder wall and not let crankcase blow-by gases through the rings with each stroke. The first 20 miles is the key period to break the rings in. If you baby it for those first 20 miles, then your rings haven't seated properly and you just lost a bunch of power you would have already had if you didn't go easy on it. Warm the engine up by letting it idle for 5 minutes or so. Then, go out and ride at an moderately aggressive pace (i'm not talking WFO) while going through the gears and constantly accelerating and decelerating. So go out in like 2nd gear and let it rev up and then let off the throttle and decelerate (no clutch, just let the engine decelerate on its own). Then shift into third and do the same thing and so on and so forth.. Constantly varying the RPM's up and down will break your motor in the right way and guarantee that your motor is producing the most amount of efficient power possible.

Thank you for the info!

So I guess this is what I will do, when I first start it, after a new cam and piston, is sit there and just rev the motor at, at least 3K RPM (for the cam) for five minutes of so to ensure proper engine warmth (to get it ready to break-in) and then go run it through the paces the motoman way, correct?

I'm just a little confused as to these two issues....

Let it idle to warm up before breaking in motoman way...but I'm not suppose to let it idle due to the cam.


Run it at at least 3K RPM after initial start up to ensure oil thrown up to the cam. BUT I should let it warm properly (at idle) before running high RPM due to the new piston.

Sorry it sounds confusing, but I'm a little confused!:scary:

[K_Fulk]

I wouldnt let it sit right at 3k rpm blip the throttle some to vary up the rpm's. When the jug and head get warm go ahead and take off.

[NacsMXer]

Originally posted by sly400ex
Thank you for the info!

So I guess this is what I will do, when I first start it, after a new cam and piston, is sit there and just rev the motor at, at least 3K RPM (for the cam) for five minutes of so to ensure proper engine warmth (to get it ready to break-in) and then go run it through the paces the motoman way, correct?

I'm just a little confused as to these two issues....

Let it idle to warm up before breaking in motoman way...but I'm not suppose to let it idle due to the cam.


Run it at at least 3K RPM after initial start up to ensure oil thrown up to the cam. BUT I should let it warm properly (at idle) before running high RPM due to the new piston.

Sorry it sounds confusing, but I'm a little confused!:scary:

The idling warning for the cam is only telling you not to let the engine idle with a fresh cam for extended periods (this would not get enough oil to the cam like you said). It is perfectly fine to let the motor idle a few minutes to warm up a bit. You should also blip the throttle lightly now and then to speed up the warm up some and help to induce oil circulation to the head.

So if you put that assembly lube on the cam, and pour some oil into the head, everything will be cool on initial start up. It will protect everything while the motor warms up. Then go rip the motoman way..:macho

[sly400ex]

Cool, thanks guys!:D I'll let you know how it turns out!

[bradrenea]

I am going to disagree with NacsMxer on the warm up part. I would not let it idle at all. As stated previously, you can warm it up by reving it up a little and varying the rpm's in nuetral. Keep any load off it during the initial warm up, but DON'T let it idle. I have always been told and read that most cams that fail due to improper break in was because of the first 5-10 minutes of run time. With that being said, I would not follow his guideline that "letting it idle for a few minutes to warm up will not hurt it". The only oil the cam lobes and rockers get is oil that is splashed up, and higher rpm's splashes more oil.
I know cars and quads aren't the same, but the cams are made out of the same materials and require a similar break in. With that being said, I just installed a new Lunati cam in a BBC for my pro street camaro. Lunati's break in instructions state to NOT let the engine run at less than 1500 rpm's for the first TEN minutes. Pretty much every cam I have ever installed came with similar instructions, and I usually vary rpm's between 2,000 and 3,000 during cam break in.

[F-16Guy]

Originally posted by bradrenea
The only oil the cam lobes and rockers get is oil that is splashed up, and higher rpm's splashes more oil.

The cam has an oil galley in each lobe. Oil pressure from the pump is routed through the hollow center of the cam and out the lobes.

[bradrenea]

Originally posted by F-16Guy
The cam has an oil galley in each lobe. Oil pressure from the pump is routed through the hollow center of the cam and out the lobes.

Your right, I guess was thinking about one of my old quads or bikes. Since it has the oil holes, you can pretty much disregard my whole post.:D

[F-16Guy]

Originally posted by bradrenea
Your right, I guess was thinking about one of my old quads or bikes. Since it has the oil holes, you can pretty much disregard my whole post.:D
I still wouldn't let it idle. I think you need the higher pressure and volume of oil from the higher rpms to flush away the metal particles caused by the break-in. Reguarding break-in in general, I don't know how good it would be to ride hard. People say "break it in like you normally ride it", but the break-in period is when you are going to see temps much higher than normal operating temps. If you ride it hard and allow it to get hot with the tight initial clearances, you'll end up with looser clearances when everything is broke in and back to normal operating temps. I say break in the cam in accordance with the instructions, and then ride easy, no lugging or high reving, but shift and vary the RPMs. Ride progressively harder through about two tanks.

[rneal]

I have a simple solution. Break in the piston with the old cam. After the piston is fully broken in, install the cam. This way you follow the propper procedure for each and compromise nothing.

Break in procedure is a whole other topic. I prefer to use the standard method for an air cooled motor for the reasons already stated.

Motoman is dealing with water cooled 4 cylinders..... Air cooled motors are very different in my opinion.

[bwamos]

I always use break-in grease on my cams etc.. when I first break them in. Give's it a little saftey margin when first running them. You can get it at the auto parts store.

[NacsMXer]

Originally posted by bwamos
I always use break-in grease on my cams etc.. when I first break them in. Give's it a little saftey margin when first running them. You can get it at the auto parts store.

Exactly. This is what I'm talking about, it's called Assembly Lube. Like I said, I use Belray assembly lube, and you brush it on the lobes and journals of the cam before initial start up. It is a thick, greasy like lubricant that will provide PLENTY of protection when you start the motor for the first time. I like to pour a small amount of oil into each tappet cover into the head, to protect the valves and anything else in the head so that it isn't "Dry" up there when you first start it. Using that assembly lube is KEY. It will gradually wash off into the oil as the motor is run and will come out in the first couple of oil changes.

I still stand by what I said about blipping the throttle occasionally while the motor is idling. If you did what I said above, then the components up in the head will be ok. I didn't mean to just start the motor and let it idle on it's own for a couple minutes. I also think it is not good to just fire it up for the first time, start revving it a lot and just go take off on a cold motor. There's a happy medium in between those two extremes :) So fire it up and let it idle for a couple seconds, then blip the throttle lightly occasionally about every 5 seconds (an interval of idle...blip...idle...blip for a few minutes until warm); once the the fins on the jug and head are warm to the touch, then go take off and start varying those RPM's up and down. It is hard to describe how to do this properly to not create excessive heat which will increase tolerances once the motor cools like F-16 guy said. I just don't go super easy on it, and I don't rip on it really hard either.

If you think that using this method trashed my new HRC cam, then I invite you to line up next to me with your 400 or 450 and find out for yourself ;) I'm not stupid enough to trash a $2500 race motor with improper break-in so I consulted with Lazarus at GT Thunder, the guy who built my motor, before I broke it in.

[bwamos]

Originally posted by NacsMXer
Exactly. This is what I'm talking about, it's called Assembly Lube. Like I said, I use Belray assembly lube, and you brush it on the lobes and journals of the cam before initial start up. It is a thick, greasy like lubricant that will provide PLENTY of protection when you start the motor for the first time. I like to pour a small amount of oil into each tappet cover into the head, to protect the valves and anything else in the head so that it isn't "Dry" up there when you first start it. Using that assembly lube is KEY. It will gradually wash off into the oil as the motor is run and will come out in the first couple of oil changes.

Thanks!

I couldn't remember exactly what it was called. ;) Had a brain fart. And for some reason I missed it in your previous response. :eek: