Ninety percent of break in occurs during the first couple of hours. After that I ride like I plan to ride it and just vary gear selection and RPM's a lot.

 

I am probably one of a few here that has a different approach. First 40 miles are the most crucial for the piston rings. After a 100 miles the rings are pretty much set. Avoid idling, after I achieved decent oil temperatures I run it with high load thru the gears short spurts into high RPM range 5K plus 1st 2nd and 3rd gear. That allows for the rings to scuff in properly and seal better. In the long run you have less blow by the piston rings. After that I run the bike normal.

 

Same here Revmaster, I follow the MotoTune break-in recommendations, I run RPM drills to load the engine in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd with short bursts of hard acceleration and deceleration to seat the rings then dump all fluids at 20 miles, from then on I ride normally but do follow a frequent fluid change interval for the first 1k miles to be certain all debris is clear. I've always believed the 2 most common reasons for engine problems were owners running the bike hard before it was completely warmed up and an easy break-in not properly seating the rings...

 

At 501 miles I had to see what that Screaming Eagle 110 could do! I was not disappointed! Longest 500 miles of my life!

 

You're good to go.

When I picked up my SGS dealer said not above 80km/h (50mph) for the 1st 1000km (600 miles) to allow it to settle in. Main thing as well as all the rings etc etc is getting your tyres run in. Then I took it on for the1600km/1000mile service and was good to go. That was last week. Have put 400 miles on since then

 

I rode around in town for the first 500 miles, basically avoiding the highway and their constant speeds. And living in a small town, 500 miles takes awhile. After that, it was anywhere and everywhere.

 

Check this out.
http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

 

Im probably close to the Moto Tune procedure, but for the condensed version of my breakin...pretty much run it like you stole it straight from the dealer. I've had many brand new hot rods (and hot rods with new motors) and two brand new Ducati's that saw life as track bikes, and everyone of them has been broken in hard. But, to each his own based on comfort level. I'll tell you this though...HD recommended break in is aaaallllll liability.

I'm gonna miss the 500 mile mark, but will try to change all my fluids before a 1,000. After that, with Amsoil I plan on following the book. There is nothing to gain but lost money by changing any sooner than that.

 

Congrats on the first 1000, go have some fun!

 

I use my own method by going beyond the manual. I follow the not over 50 mph for the 1st 100 miles and not over 3K rpm for the first 1K. then I continue the next 2K with 150 mile runs varying the speeds during the ride but still under 3K rpm. During that time I note the mpg at each fill up.

I have found that the twin cam peaks in mpg gain at around 3,000 miles. For me that has been typically 50 mpg with the TC's from the 96's to the 110's.

I usually keep my bikes but two were traded in for uprades. A 10 Superglide and a 10 Ultra. The techs that test rode them were surprised at the performance. The salesman took my 10 out and then another 10 Superglide with full stage I. He was surprised at the difference that mine will out pulled the stage I bike. Same with the Ultra. The tech told the manager that it was the best performing stock bike he had ridden. The dealer has even mentioned my bikes and how I run them to a couple of HD executives when they stopped by.

The only exception was the 15 Freewheeler. It did not peak until 5,000 miles at 40 mpg. My belief is that it took longer due to the fact that it was run in during the winter and the cooler running motor took longer to wear in.

I have broken in 19 HD's since 2006. All with the same results. A stronger running stock engine, higher mpg than average and zero engine maintenance issues. Collectively since I retired I run 30,000 miles a year. No cam tensioner trouble, no trans main bearing, no wheel bearing, no warped discs, no compensater issue, no noisy top end sounds or anything else.

Last year American Iron Magazine did an article on break in strategies. Their conclusion was the break in by dyno or hard road use did lead to an initial higher performance motor but that the long term easy break in over time leads to a motor that would run stronger and last longer.

Do whatever method that you want. I am committed to my way But then when I park the latest ride I can take out one of the older ones and launch them.

I am currently breaking in my 13 Street Bob as I replaced the engine with a 120R. The first tank was 38 mpg, the second was 40 and the third was 42.4. That was for a total of 400 miles of riding over three days. The mpg was much higher than I expected. Mpg is an indicator of the parts wearing in and loosing up. Some friends want to see dyno numbers. They will just have to wait until after 3K miles.