Breaking in a new Softtail

I've broken in a couple of new Yamaha water-cooled 4 bangers and did the simple stuff like changing speeds periodically to not sit at the same rpm too long, but never a big air-cooled bike. My friend Kim just bought herself a new '06 Softtail Deluxe..pretty as a picture with it's black and white paint. Any way..I was wondering if there were any particulars about the big air-cooled twin I need to tell her about?

BTW..Sleepy, good choice on the Softtail Deluxe you were telling me about when we were on the Bike Talk ride last Labor Day. It's the perfect bike for her. Being height challenged at 5' tall, she's never had a bike she could put her feet flat on the ground before without lowering the bike. She had the seat cut down some (they did a good job on the stock seat to keep it's match with the bike). The only problem was some idiot at the dealer in Pueblo, CO put those high non-adjustable handlebars on the bike like her ole '97 Lowrider she had (Sleepy remembers those as he rode that bike up in Sturgis years ago). Why did they do that to her? It's a nice install with the wires hidden in the bars, but the grips are about 2" below her shoulders now and we can't adjust it. I told her we have to change em out as soon as we can. Still..she's gonna love this bike. I told her it's gonna ride like no bike she's ever ridden because it's the first bike she's ever had where the suspension wasn't lowered, plus the bike being a little heavier is gonna ride nicer on the open road.

I'm taking the bike for a nice long putt this afternoon in the Rockies..probably over McClure Pass towards Paona, CO. Have to get it down her long gravel driveway and past town before I have her get on it. She's not used to the extra weight and want her to ride it some before dealing with parking lots in town.

Man..what a sweet ride though!

SK,

Vary the RPM, do not run at one continuous RPM for any extended length of time, keep the RPM reasonable and work it up slowly. Heat cycle it and don't get it overly hot until it is broken in.....i.e. extended idling or heavy stop and go traffic. I usually change the engine and primary oil out at about 500 miles to help get the clutch debris of of the primary and the metal shavings out of the engine. After that, I drop the hammer some until 1k then I figure it is as broken in as it is gonna get.

For example, we will change the oil in all three holes in the FXR-SFFF at 500 miles, go with Redline and twist the wick from then on.

Break in period

Follow the manufacturers recommendations in the owners manual. Best way to go if not certain, that way the warranty is not voided. Enjoy the ride and Colorado. Lived there some 27 years ago... I LOVED IT!!! Peace...

Oil changes

The factory says wait til 1000 miles to dump...I changed the oil in all three holes at 500 then again at 1000 been doing it that way for better than 35 years and ain't gonna change it now....I mean compared to a new motor whats a filter and some oil? When a motor is being broke in ya get all these little bits of metal in the oil.. get rid of them faster than a new girlfriend with a frequent visitor card at the health clinic.....
Enjoy the new ride......
Ride Free

congrats on the new bike and hi to Kim

hope school is going well for you...break in on the bike? fluids at 500 miles. no extended idling or sustained high speeds. heat cycle the motor as previously mentioned. There are lots more knowledgable people here than me. I would make sure that you do not lug the motor..they don't like that at all. I don't think the Deluxe has a tach but I wouldn't let the rpms go below 2000 while in motion while trying to accelerate...I just go by the sound of the motor. They sure have a thing for funky handlebars out that way. I remember the setup on her Low Rider....not the best setup for her I think the stock setup on the Deluxe would have worked fine for her..did you get out to Laughlin?

I too think the stock handlebar setup on the Deluxe would've been fine for her there Sleepy. I don't know how she authorized that one.

No tach on the bike..so you have to go by sound as far as rpm's. I've only had a chance to ride it for a 25 mile roundtrip to the hardware store as I've been too busy working on my 12 day vacation between semesters. Climbing back up the hill to the house (a 1500' climb in 7 miles) I had to keep the r's up as to not lug it. Sure rides nice. I'm getting ready to take Kim down the hill and ride out to Redstone and back so she's finally getting to ride it for the first time. She's scared of her driveway as it's steep, winding and gravel..so I'll ride it down to the street for her. She's fine on her V-Star 650, but the controls on the Deluxe worry her until she's ridden it a few times.

Thanks for all the info. I'm gonna wait until Sunday morning to drive back to Las Vegas (even though school starts again on Monday). Kim has to drive to Denver in the morning..so I'm taking the Deluxe out for about a 200 mile ride through the Rockies. Down to Paonia and through Crawford (where Joe Cocker's Mad Dog Ranch is) and ride the Black Canyon of the Gunnison..awesome ride full of twisties.

School's going fine Sleepy. Got through my first full semester of nursing school ok, but it wasn't easy. The second semester should be better as I understand how it works now. Just not looking forward to full-time school in the Las Vegas heat (commuting that is on the bike..it's usually fairly cool in the classrooms and hospital clinicals.