Geoff,

A post I wrote for the Honda Tech section a few years ago:

I know this is an old topic but I thought I would add a point for those people who may be experiencing similar problems or are buying a new bike.
I have heard of, and experienced similar problems in the past and have managed to trace the problem back to the initial run in period.

It had been proven that running in your bike properly when it is new is a hugely important part of determining the engine life. Obviously you take it easy and follow the guidelines given by the manufacturer increasing the revs and use of hard/soft acceleration over a fixed mileage period etc.

HOWEVER, what you dont do is use really high quality synthetic oils (or possibly semi synthetic oils) during run in periods. Part of the run in process is your engine parts mating to each other perfectly to form tight seals and nicely mating surfaces. This applpies to the bore and piston rings more obviously than most engine locations after running in.

When you first get a bike the bore of the cylinder is lightly cut into a criss cross pattern so that the bore will wear in the rings to fit it perfectly (to prevent burning of oil!). After xxxx miles the bore will wear to a perfect glaze and whatever shape your piston rings are at this point they will remain so for the rest of the engine life unless changed. If the piston rings were being lubricated so well by the top spec oil you were using to run the bike in that they didnt wear at all then you will get a bike that will always burn/use oil.

The only fix is to get your pot off the bike and glaze bust (hone) it, fit new rings and run in again.

Althouth this solution is generally only applicable if you have a smoking engine I have experienced a very lightly (barely noticable) smoking engine which used a LOT of oil and was fixed by this solution.

Hope this helps those running in and those with problems and avoids people wanting the 'best' for their bike to early in life and creating problems for themselves (like I did!!!!)

Dave l