[26/04/2014 @ 5km]
Breaking in the R nineT in the last two days was an adventure in itself, not easy on the butt at all. Coming from my GS Adv. the seat is thin like pancake and hard like marble. I think the rear suspension is frozen stiff. The front brakes are overkill. The wheels are not tubeless. No provision for main stand. No fuel gauge. And for sure gets a grade F for wind tunnel test. The latest technology fitted to this bike is the digital clock on the dash.
Yet, I rode more than 400km around this silly island resting occasionally for lunch and a piss. Didn’t want to get off. Loved to stop at the lights though, got all the attention I wanted. The thing that kept me on the bike was the exhaust note. Akrapovic did a great job and got the tone right. It’s loud but doesn’t break ear drums. Pitch is low enough so it sounds like it’s coming from everywhere. Kept it in 4th most of the way so the revs remained between 4K to 6K, roll on …. roll off…. roll on….. roll off hahaha. 
That exhaust rumbling and back firing every time I down shift with a blip of the throttle to synch the gearbox is still there like my GSA, makes it all the more nostalgic with the retro look.
I try to follow as closely to the run-in program as specified by BMW during the first 600km. Max RPM for first 200km is less than 5.5K, then increase the maximum RPM by a thousand every 200km till 600km. That’s when the short burst of full throttle and RPM (NOT full speed) occurs, normally at 3rd or 4th gears when traffic allows. All this while never maintain a steady throttle opening and always open and close it smoothly, so as to load the piston rings. I am only concerned with the RPM during the run-in period and not the bike speed, so the higher the RPM the lower the gearing I have to go in order to stay within the speed limit on public roads. I would even cover the speedometre during run-in so I don’t get distracted. There is one important factor to do during the running-in and that’s heat cycle. I’d let the motor cool for about 2 hours every 50km or so. I would grab a bite or read a book at a road side stall and show it off at the same time. Of course the ideal place to do all this safely would be in a closed circuit course, but B roads in Malaysia will do just fine. 🙂
PistonJunky 