Breaking in!

Just a couple of the other threads for more info.. Its split 50/50 for the most part..

http://www.kawasakininja300.com/forum/8-ninja-300-general-discussion/90-break.html
http://www.kawasakininja300.com/forum/8-ninja-300-general-discussion/53-break-period.html
http://www.kawasakininja300.com/forum/7-new-members-introduction/313-another-break-thread.html

The salesman at my dealership explained to me that you don't need to baby it as much as they say. He said it was important not to redline, but you also need to get the engine completely broken in before the 600mi service so that you're not still breaking in the engine between that and the next oil change.(7500mi I believe).

Hills up and down are good ways to load and unload (engine braking) the engine to help breaking and going through the rev range, probably not full throttle, are also good ideas.

I've been babying it never crossing 4500rpm up to now, but after that conversation with him I plan to be a bit more flexible and gradually work my way higher.

Honestly after I bought the bike I had to take it on the freeway to get it home and I was easily crossing the 7k mark on the odometer. I believe in a somewhere in the middle break in between the manufacturers reccomedation and riding it like you stole it. When I took it in for the 600mi service the service tech said that my bike was broken in completely and I always kept the rpms somewhere between 6-8k before the service. I also have a lot of hills on my commute to work so I was able to up shift and down shift through the entire gearbox as those other threads recommended. I feel that keeping it under 4k rpms as the manual suggests is ridiculous especially since its the same procedure in the 650r manual. Do what you feel is best for the bike but I personally wouldn't baby it too much.

im still breaking mine in to the owners manual says stay below 4k rpm but the dealer told me to just ride it just not to redline it but ride it aggressive from time to time

Good for new engine: Lots of hard acceleration and engine braking keeping the RPM under half of redline. This forces the rings hard against the cylinder walls and makes them seat better.

Bad for a new engine: Getting out on the freeway and riding a sustained constant high speed for 500 miles. Even if you did this at exactly 5000 rpm it would still be bad.

For my two stroke racer break-in consists of two 15 minute practices. 500 miles is time to rebuild the engine!

For the Ninja after 200 miles of hard city driving under 4 to 5K I've started to let it go up to 65mph once in a while, but not for a long duration. You want to act like a squid accelerating up on the car in front of you and then slowing down with engine braking.

When I first got the bike I smelled gas in the exhaust blowing by the rings, no more. so I think its pretty well set at 250 miles, so I'll keep taking it a little faster each time until I'm riding it full out at 500 miles.

Breaking in is all that have to do with your adrenaline rush. Yes, you need to tame yourself nicely while munching miles on the highway. For some miles lets say 500-600 miles, it is wise to ride under 5k rpm. This would be reflected nicely in the form of return figures, yes you got it right. You may call it fuel efficiency or mileage. So, babying or pampering, this thing really makes the engine smooth. Though many people pamper it long for lets say 1000-1200 miles, it is advisable for occasional bursts till 9-10k rpm. In that case, the engine gets really exposed to the power bands. This is the reason why many prefer a 50-50 break in method.

It is like the more care you take of your babe, the more smiles you gonna get in return.