Well I am no expert but since I started going around on 2 wheels, I never had any engine problems ever. So far I have had from new; Vespa LX50 4T (2005), Derbi Mulhacen 125 4T Cafe (2008) and now Honda CBR250R (for four months now).
The Vespa has no 57,000km on it. No engine trouble at all, valve rocker arms adjusted once at around 40,000km (no shims in this engine).
Derbi Mulhacen 125 was traded in to Honda dealer with 27,000km on it. No shim adjustment done on this bike either. At 20,000km I measured the clearance between shims (exhaust and inlet) and camshaft and the clearance was spot on what it should be, so no wear at all.
My CBR250R is still quite new, but have done 1200km on it with no problems so far.
My advice is;
A) When you get your new bike, buy some top quality oil and a new oil filter from the dealer straight away. I NEVER wait for 1000km for the first oil change. I ALWAYS do it at 100km. If the break in period is several hundred km according to Honda, then that means you are still shaving off some metal in places during this period. This metal ends up in the oil. Don't forget that over a certain rpm, the oil filter by-pass valve open and lets that metal loaded oil around the engine.
B) During the first 100km ride around for a few km then stop but let the engine idle a bit. At idle when the engine is hot, the oil filter bypass valve will be shut and the filter will be doing its job, filtering out the metal you have just shaved off the inside of your engine while riding around.
C) Always allow the engine to warm up for a few minutes (2-3 minutes) before setting off. I now that the user manual says stuff like to be environmentally friendly, drive off immediately. Think off it this ways, how much does a badly worn engine pollute compared to a well broken in engine that you idle for a few minutes every time you start it up? I never put load on a cold engine and always set off when the first bar of the temperature indicator appears.
The Vespa has no 57,000km on it. No engine trouble at all, valve rocker arms adjusted once at around 40,000km (no shims in this engine).
Derbi Mulhacen 125 was traded in to Honda dealer with 27,000km on it. No shim adjustment done on this bike either. At 20,000km I measured the clearance between shims (exhaust and inlet) and camshaft and the clearance was spot on what it should be, so no wear at all.
My CBR250R is still quite new, but have done 1200km on it with no problems so far.
My advice is;
A) When you get your new bike, buy some top quality oil and a new oil filter from the dealer straight away. I NEVER wait for 1000km for the first oil change. I ALWAYS do it at 100km. If the break in period is several hundred km according to Honda, then that means you are still shaving off some metal in places during this period. This metal ends up in the oil. Don't forget that over a certain rpm, the oil filter by-pass valve open and lets that metal loaded oil around the engine.
B) During the first 100km ride around for a few km then stop but let the engine idle a bit. At idle when the engine is hot, the oil filter bypass valve will be shut and the filter will be doing its job, filtering out the metal you have just shaved off the inside of your engine while riding around.
C) Always allow the engine to warm up for a few minutes (2-3 minutes) before setting off. I now that the user manual says stuff like to be environmentally friendly, drive off immediately. Think off it this ways, how much does a badly worn engine pollute compared to a well broken in engine that you idle for a few minutes every time you start it up? I never put load on a cold engine and always set off when the first bar of the temperature indicator appears.