Here's my quick write-up after the initial 500 mile engine break in:
500 mile update--first servicing. Break in should be done at this point--YAY!!!!! I've ridden 15-30 mile intervals with 2 hour cool downs repeatedly for the past 6 days to hit 500 miles. Constant yo-yo-ing accel to engine breaking--not normal riding at all. All gears 50-75% throttle for the last 200 miles. All under 6,000 rpms until the past 100 miles, then some accel to 7,000 rpms for the last 50. Probably never had it at a constant rpm for more than 10 seconds of riding. Bike feels awesome. Great power, good sound, easiest gearbox i've ever shifted, and couldn't be happier. I did one oil change at 100 miles (as much of the initial wear-in happens then), then oil and filter today at 500. Using 10w 40 motorcycle oil (non synthetic) and the oil looked dark and used both changes, but no chunks of metal. Some sand-sized metal particles around the filter, but nothing bigger than that. I'll switch to synthetic oil at 1500-2000 miles and stay there for the life of the bike. Really looking forward to just riding it like normal and finally going to full throttle, higher RPMs starting tomorrow.
At 500, I changed the oil, adjusted the drive chain slack (it was just a little too much at 1 1/4" slack), and Adjusted the valves. Both exhaust valves gaps were too big out of spec, but not terribly. So far the only issues are the stupid clutch lever bolt which has come loose like 4 times now--even after lock tite. I added a nut and washer to the underside of it today, and lock-tited everything. I'm hopeful that this will fix the issue. I also had the left mirror come loose. Retightened it down with lock-tite and it hasn't moved since. Last bolt to come loose is the rear side stand/kickstand bolt was loosening up. I should really just go over most of the bolts on the bike with a torque wrench tomorrow.
Lesson learned on oil changes with this bike: Really only refill 1/2 a quart at a time, and screw the dip stick back in before turning over the engine with the kick starter every time or it'll squirt oil all over the place
I'm really looking forward to enjoying this bike for years to come. Future mods wish-list will move more in the scrambler direction: DS tires, high pipes, Engine bash-guard/skid plate (the oil lines under the engine in particular look vulnerable), and maybe fabricate up smaller side covers out of carbon/fiberglass to shrink them a bit and save 5-7 lbs of weight. Most of those things won't get started until the fall.So far I'm completely satisfied with this bike and very glad that I got it
Stephen
