Two Questions: Tires and Break-In Period

 
First, for a new, 250 cc air-cooled street bike, could you offer
opinions/guidance on what would constitute a reasonable number of
break-in miles? It's my understanding that during the break-in period,
you're not supposed to exceed a certain moderate speed... What is that
speed and are there any other "rules" important to properly breaking in
the engine? My manual offers little to no informaton on the subject.

Second question: How important is it for the front and rear tires to
match (manufacturer/style)?  I'd like to remove the stock tires my bike
came with and save them for back up and put a set of higher quality
tires on. Everywhere I"ve spoken to so far, either doesn't carry the
size i need, or they have the front tire in one brand and the rear in
another.

Two exceptions, one place said they carry a tire called Cheng-something
(never heard of it) and they do offer a matching set in the right size.
The price is $116 delivered, for the set. The salesperson, when asked
for an opinion on quality, described them as "alright", hesitated-- then
corrected himself and said "we sell alot of them".

Another place offers two Dunlop brand tires, but they're not the same
design/style: One is called the Dunlop D404 and the other is GT501. My
bike, btw, calls for 110-90-16 on the front and 130-90-15 on the rear.
I am more familiar with the Dunlop name and quality. That set would cost
about $170 delivered. Would mixing the two styles front and rear be
safe? Any problems with doing so?

Does anyone know of another brand (and source) that would have both tire
sizes avail?

One last question, about how much would you generally expect to pay a
mechanic to put your new tires on a bike and balance them? Just curious,
so I don't get sticker shock... lol


Thanks in advance,

Joe

 Remember My Name wrote:

  Those are probably Cheng-Shin tires.   They've been around for decades.
They're inexpensive, but don't expect a lot of performance.  Of course, on a
street 250, you probably won't require a super sticky high performance tire.
I've used them before (when I was too broke to afford a better tire).  I
would describe them as the salesperson initially did.  There "alright" but
nothing to write home about.


   I get my tires at a bike tire store and usually have them mount them on
the bike while I wait.  They charge $60 to mount and speed balance both tires
on the bike.   Of course, I buy the tires there.   If you buy the tires
somewhere else (like on the Internet), expect the local shop to charge a lot
more to mount and balance them.  

John

--
Message posted via MotorcycleKB.com
http://www.motorcyclekb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx/bike/200803/1

 On Mar 6, 11:08 am, Deep-Purp...@webtv.net (Remember My Name) wrote:

Your owners manual or dealer should be able to tell you
about breakin proceedures if any are required. With new
rings, I'll stay in the 4000-5000 RPM range for a couple
hundred miles and run dino rather than synthetic, but you
really need to know the mfrs. specs.

Since you're going to be riding the bike conservatively
for at least an initial period, you might as well stay
with the original tires until they need replacement or
you find real problems with them. Cost of a mount and
balance is about $30 per wheel.

If you do a google search on

 motorcycle tires 110/90/16

and

  motorcycle tires 130/90/15

you'll get some hits but I think you'd be unwise to
swap tires at this point in time. Since you bought
the bike already, run it a while as is and see
what you like and don't like. Find a shop where
you'll get it serviced and ask advice on some of
these questions.

 On Mar 6, 1:08 pm, Deep-Purp...@webtv.net (Remember My Name) wrote:

Everything you need to know about motorcycle engine break-in can be
found here:

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

Cheers,

Tim Kreitz
2004 ZRX1200R
2003 ZX7R
DoD #2184
http://www.timkreitz.com

 On Thu, 6 Mar 2008 12:12:28 -0800 (PST), Tim Kreitz


One thing that's implicit in that link, but not blatantly stated is
the necessity to vary engine speed a lot. Running an engine up to a
certain RPM and keeping it there ain't good for break-ins.

--
Turby the Turbosurfer