Mechanics: Your breakin procedure?

[Eli]

Do you guys have any 'rituals' you go through when breaking in a new engine? I know it's a little different for a car engine, bigger scale.. But still..

Just got my Honda GXH50 today. Been purring along at 2100rpm for 2 hours now. Going to change the oil in another 3 hours. Then again in another 5 hours.

The manual says to change the oil once after the first 10 hours.. I'm going to be extra careful though, lol.

After that, in goes the AMSOil Formula 4-Stroke 0W-40

On another note, in that 2 hours.. it's hardly used any gas at all. The tank still looks full.

 

[Mister T]

whats the engine for?

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: Mister T
whats the engine for?

lol, good question. I'm going to be putting it on my scooter. The old 2-cycle engine died, so I'm putting this one on it.

 

[Mister T]

should have got the 3hp one

How fast you think it will go with the engine you got?

 

[d33pt]

you should be fine.. those things last forever it seems.. try to keep from revving it really high until you hit about 10 hours.. you should've varied the speed instead of a steady 2100rpm though, but that's ok..

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: Mister T
should have got the 3hp one

How fast you think it will go with the engine you got?

Honda doesen't make a 3HP engine.

Besides, their other GX-series of engines are too big. They redline at 3900rpm, while the GXH50 redlines at 7800rpm. Much more suitable for a scooter.

I'm not sure. The old engine got the scooter up to 25mph @ 9000rpm with an 11.54:1 gear ratio. The new gear ratio will be 7.07:1, 36% lower. The engine develops 44% more torque(2.31ftlbs @ 4500rpm, compared to 1.30ftlbs @ 5000rpm)..

I'm hoping to hit 35+..

 

[Mister T]

Honda doesen't make a 3HP engine.

http://www.smallenginewarehouse.com/product.asp?PN=GX100QA

I see your point though on the rpms though

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: d33pt
you should be fine.. those things last forever it seems.. try to keep from revving it really high until you hit about 10 hours.. you should've varied the speed instead of a steady 2100rpm though, but that's ok..

Why do you think I should have varied it? I think the lower the rpm you can let it break in, the better... less stress. I did rev it a little here and there, not above half throttle.. It has no load right now, It's just sitting on the bench.

It's so smooth, it's unbelievable. Most small 1 cylinder engines, if you start them without being bolted down, they'll hop all over the place. Not so with this one. It just sits there, purring along.. happily converting my oxygen into CO2.

 

[RU482]

How much horsepower does a moped have?

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: redly1
How much horsepower does a moped have?

It probably depends. Mopeds are almost always 50cc.. so probably somewhere in the 2-4hp range.

But the advantage a moped has is.. they multiple gears, these type of scooters only have 1. :frown:

 

[Evadman]

For small engines like that, I rev them to 2000 rpm for 20 minutes. Then change the oil. Then for 30 minutes, I vary the RPMs between idle and 75% of the limit, then change the oil.

After that, I do not go above 75% of the limit for 2 hours of use or so. Then chnage the oil and call it broken in.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: Evadman
For small engines like that, I rev them to 2000 rpm for 20 minutes. Then change the oil. Then for 30 minutes, I vary the RPMs between idle and 75% of the limit, then change the oil.

After that, I do not go above 75% of the limit for 2 hours of use or so. Then chnage the oil and call it broken in.

That seems pretty thorough. Most other manufacturers recomend an oil change after the first 2 hours, and then the normal change interval after that. I think the initial 10 hour oil change is a sign of Honda quality. Recomended oil change after the first 10 hours is every 50 hours! Most other small engines(Briggs, Tecumseh, etc) are 25. With the synthetic oil, I hope to be able to go 100hours plus without an oil change. Of course, only oil analysis will be able to tell me when I really need to change my oil. I'll change it after the first 50 hours, and have it analyzed. If it's still okay, I'll go 75 hours.. and have it analyzed, etc..

 

[amdskip]

Using Amsoil is a very smart move

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: amdskip
Using Amsoil is a very smart move

Yes... Yes, I know...

 

[Eli]

Welp, got my Digital Tachometer/Hour Meter today..

She's now been running for about 9 hours. After 9, i'll change the oil for the 3rd time.

I think I'm going to go to 15 hours, and 2 more oil changes before I put the AMSOil Formula 4-Stroke in. At 6$/quart, I don't want to have to change it before the recomended 50 hours.