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breaking in a brand new 500 4x4

1981 Views 5 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  eric
Any tips on breaking-in a brand new Foreman 500?I never bought a new one before,always got used stuff.Anyway,I'm planning on babying it for the first 200 miles or so,avoiding high revs and hard pulls,hill climbs,etc.A guy I work with says to run it hard when new.It'll run better when broken in and run faster than one that was "babied".Any truth to this?
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I did mine kind of like that rode it nice as I could for the first 10 hrs then changed the oil and did the break in service, then I rode it like normal. BUt that was a hard ten hours

Others beat the heck out of it and then change oil with in the first 5 hrs of running

I did mine like honda suggested figuring they put those words in the book for a reason

But what ever you do enjoy the ride and have fun congrates on the new machine
well ive heard to baby it, and keep the rpms varying, instead of a constant speed.. then ive heard to run it like a rental... when i got mine, i ran it kindof easy the first hour then it got to go on the creek, and thats the worst place for a bike, because i rode wide open for 11miles, skipping across the crossings, and never got under 45mph... but the grizzlys and rubicons couldnt keep up. and so far ive adjusted the valves and on the next oil change im goin to check them again, but she is still running good with bit over 1200 miles on it...and the last 250ish have been with the 26" MSTs and mud, instead of the stockers and sand/water.. but its your choice on how you want to break it in, i really dont think you can hurt it, just dont check the rev limiter until you have changed the oil the first time... hehehe..
Have fun on your new bike!
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The manual says "During the first 15 miles avoid full throttle starts, rapid acceleration, and constant RPM operation" Page 204
I was talking to the Honda guy when i got mine, and he said to ride it like you would as if it were broken in after the first few miles. Ride it hard ride it easy, rev high, shift fast and hard, shift easy. Do it however you are going to be riding, just don't be stupid. let it warm up just like anything else.
I've always broken in like I ride them, if not harder, and have never had an engine problem.
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