When I bought my M109R new in 2008, I very carefully broke it in according to Suzuki recommendations. At about 45,000 miles, after an extended high-speed run, it acted funny and I pulled over and shut it down immediately. The oil level was very low; it had been blowing by the rings and out the left air filter, a "not uncommon" trait of these bikes. I was fortunate to be fairly close to a gas station, so I walked for oil and added it to the correct level, then limped home, but the damage was done. It needed a front jug and piston, so I also had the transmission "upgraded" and the gears undercut to resolve a known second gear issue. Anyway, my mechanic told me that it was obvious that there had been blowby for a long time.
When I got it back, I chose to break it in by the Motoman method. I warmed it up thoroughly, then went back and forth down a back road in the country, doing as he recommends. I did this for an extended period of time on two consecutive days. I figure that it cannot be any worse than what I experienced. 45,000 miles is not acceptable!
I use Rotella T4 conventional oil in all of my bikes (high in zinc, great protection against shearing forces from the transmission) and have never had a problem before this. I guess I will find out, in the future, if what I did was beneficial or harmful to the bike. Since it is not a daily rider, it may be a long time until I get the verdict!
All my bikes get broken in the same way. The ex AMA crew chief (Superbike crew chief) told me probably 17-18 years ago.
1. Heat cycle the engine a number of times. When you turn it off, leave it off until the motor completely cools down
2. First 100 miles set a rpm limit, say 5k or 6k RPM’s.
3. Never let the throttle sit at the same place during the first 1000 miles. Constant accel/decel
4. No WFO
5. Next hundred miles same, but go up to 1k rpm’s.
6. Every hundred miles go up 1k RPM’s, follow all the above.
7. When going to your set rev limit, take it up there then back it back down. Do not hold it there for any length of time.
8. At 1000 miles take it to redline, drain the oil to get the metal out of it, and ride it normally.
I’ve followed some semblance of this for almost 20 years with my autos and motorcycles. Obviously 1000cc literbike have much higher rev limits than autos do so just followed the same philosophy, just with lower rev ceilings in truck/autos. Never had any issues, never burned oil and on the dyno they always are at the top end of highest HP of that model. Always ended up being strong motors without any real issues other than regular interval maintenance. I have marveled at the bikes after multiple track days, then maybe a twisty session, beating on them like step children and they don’t burn any oil. If I’m on one I’m up to no good at all. I’m not commuting or doing Iron Butt. Knee down or puck grazing. Same for my STI’s as it relates to the motors. The above is somewhere in the middle of Motoman, and the granny nanny OEM recommendations some mfr’s state in the manual. The debate is as old as the internet + another 50 years and will rage on. You can count on oil type, oil change interval, and break in methods being debated for many years to come. At least until the millennials take over and all that is offered is electric vehicles with AC/DC synchronous motors. You’ll be back in black then. I actually loathe breaking in motors, it’s a bit of a chore, and I’ll admit Motoman’s deal is much easier than varying throttle for the first month to couple of months depending on the use. But it has served me well. It really only matters if you keep things long term anyhow. Most people are just gonna trade it in or sell before high mileage occurs anyhow.
Your experience with your bike is exactly why I send lab samples of oil off. It’ll tip you off that something is wrong. Your oil is like a polygraph test for the motor. If something ain’t right oil analysis will tell you every time. I’ve talked to a number of track rats that got a bad lab report, tore it apart and found the culprit. Pretty beneficial to catch stuff early and fix vs. being on the track banging away at 12 or 14k rpm’s and have the motor grenade on you. Low slides are no fun at all and high sides will most likely be a trip to the ER or worse.
Rotella is good stuff, and deals can be had. I’m sure you are running the weight with no friction modifiers in it. I‘ve been running Amsoil in everything, even my lawn equipment, for 20 years. Lab samples are always stellar and until that changes I ain’t changing. I even caught my carb going on me before my mower busted and replaced it. Didn’t miss a single of week of cutting the crass. I change my bikes oil out every 2 years since mileage is split between them. Was wasting time and money prior. YMMV.