first 1000 km on Bulldog - what throttle?

[Tik]

After 3 months of hard phone talk to German dealers I finally bought the BT1100. Why from Germany? Because in Romania they ask for it (a Greek company is representing Yamaha as distributor here) 13500 EUR including 19% VAT. Why 3 months? because noone wanted to look for the EUR1 certificate, so that I'm excepted from the normal 30% custom tax on any product made outside EU.

Now I have the bike, like A LOT.

But in the manual says I should use it in the first 1000km at 1/3 of full throttle. What is that? Do not go over 2500rpm or what? Thank's a lot for your answers.

[JörgG]

yes you must drive the first 1000km not so high with the otational speed.

[Tik]

I know I have to be careful with rpm and full throttle but 2500 rpm in 5-th gear means 75km/h. As I drive usually 30-40km in suburban free roads, is a little bit slow.

Great forum, lots of useful information and, from what I read from other posts, seems to be populated with lots of friendly and helpful people. I understand also German, my mother insisted 35 years ago I should learn a little in private, but I'm I'm not able to reply fluently.

off topic:
My bulldog is the first in Romania, I know this for sure because I have to make the paperwork for type-approval.

[JörgG]

you dont must drive exatly this rotational speed but
not more then 4500 its ok.

[Tik]

Well, for me 100/hour is ok during first 1000, meaning about 3500 rpm.

I feel that I shall spend more time on this forum than I initially thought.

All the best from far East EU. No place on the map yet, I put my coordinates but no place for the flag.

[Axman]

Hi Tik,

you should be perfectly ok if you ride your Bulldog "normally" that is, in the first 1000 Km´s don´t exceed 4.5oo rpm´s. Try to avoid revving it up to the limiter but forget 1/3 throttle....it´s not feasable in normal traffic..

That´s the way we do it here and if you are an avid Forum-reader you´ll notice, that we haven´t had a single engine failure in the time this Forum exists !!

The Bulldog engine is extremely de-tuned an thus very hard to damage..

have fun with the dog and keep the rubberside down

greets

Axman

[Tik]

Thank you, Axman, so happy I have some nice people to talk to. Another question for those who look to my thread: I estimated an average 7.0l/100km, is this normal? Yes I'm reading the threads but because I'm lazy with german/romanian direct translation I'm using babelfish.altavista.com manually, meaning slowly, slowly.

[Axman]

Hi Tik..

7,0l/100km´s seem to be a little too much...but...there is light at the end of the tunnel..
A new engine always uses more gasoline in the break-in time (due to higher internal friction) as the engine gets "looser" the gas consumption will go down.
Always make sure that you return your Choke-Lever copletely to the "off" position as soon as possible..

Have you got a Yamaha dealership in Romania ?? If yes try to get the original Yamaha tuning kit for the Bulldog...if no, call Yamaha Krause in Dortmund/Germany, speak with Holger Krause an he´ll send you the parts you need....this "uncorks" the engine (it won´t make a screamer of it - it was never meant to be - but it raises horsepower to ca.75 and, more important, torque to about 94Nm !!) and on top, lowers fuel consumption..

Any more questions ?? Feel free to ask.

Greets

Axman

[Tik]

Hi Axman..
I have some guests at home this weekend so I'm not so present online. Actually I have lots of questions, here are some of them:
With the tuning kit, I already red some other of your threads, I visited the krause-technik web page and I've seen they have two kits, 1 and 2, on both of them writing that can be put up by the owner of the bike. But you also say that they have a special stand for testing the tuning and it was some knoledge used in order to find the right setup. We have Yamaha dealers here but new ones, their business is slow so they cannot pay skilled personell. I cannot expect much more from their side than to stamp my Yamaha service book so that I'm keeping the warranty alive.
So, the question is, can I tune myself kit #2 with reasonable results? Or should I stay with kit1? The cost of each kit is not that high to determine the choice.
Then, how many km can I use a pair of tyres, I want to buy them from DE, and what brand would be your preffered ones?
That's it for today, I have I have to leave.
Thank you again. Titus

[Axman]

Hi Titus,

if I were you I wouldn´t try to install the Krause-Kits I or II myself without the help of a good mechanic (exept if you yourself are a good one)

You would have to install a new Airbox-Cover (easy) then you would have to dismantle the Carburettors to take out the stops on top of the slides (easy) and install new jets (easy)...then, and that is not easy at all, you would have to modify your Exhaust, that is, cut off the rear, protuding part of the exhaust and then weld on the new Endcaps provided by Krause.... (In his Shop, Krause has a Contraption where the welding is done..) Just call Holger Krause and ask him, whether he´s got an idea how best to help you (oo49 231 31999)

About the Tyres : there is a lot of discussion about that, but the best allrounder Tyre (best grip - in the dry and in the wet - , best handling, longevity and best suited for the Bulldog) has to be the Michelin Pilot Road.. we all agree , that the Metzelers or the Dunlops with wich the Bulldogs comes from the Factory are no good at all..

Any more Questions..?? Just ask

Greetings, Axel

[Tik]

I was so busy theese days that I had no time to write. I've drove already 1200km with it, the bike goes much easier now, fuel consumption is much lower. I shall look about the Michelin tyres then.

[Tik]

Dear all,
My bulldog has now 10000km, just changed the tyres with Michelin Pilot Road. I like the bike even better than when I bought it, fits with what I'm expecting from a bike. The tyres make the difference, maybe the old ones were to worn out.
All the best,keep this site running, it is crowded with nice people, sad my g language is poor.