I purchased a Saito .82 engine for the Venture and broke it in over the weekend.

#1 : Don't use 1/4 inch plywood as the base for a test stand. I started the engine and the wood instantly started flapping where the engine was mounted. I had to shut down the engine. I think I was lucky the engine didn't fly off. See pics.

So I ran to Lowes and purchased a nice, thick board and mounted everything again.

I picked up a pallet that someone had put out for trash and mounted the test stand. It work nicely. Very heavy so it wasn't going anywhere.

#2: Don't use a wooden prop to break-in an engine. My starter battery needed to be recharged, but I didn't want to wait so I used my chicken-stick and promptly chipped the brand new prop. I had to remove the prop to check it's balance, but surprisingly it was still balance.

Started up the Saito again and it ran beautifully. I ran a full tank through it at 3800 RPM. No problems.

#3 Be sure to check the mounted bolts after each run. By my third tank, the bolts had loosened slightly and the engine began to vibrate violently.

Observations (Are these normal?)

I noticed a lot of condensation on the tube from the carb to the cylinder especially when running rich. You can see this in the last photo with the engine running. Is this normal?

Also, when I stopped the engine after running it very rich per Saito's instructions, the muffler "smoked" or "steamed" for some time. Smoke may not be an accurate word. It was like pouring cold water on a hot skillet. This didn't happen on my last tank of fuel when I ran the engine leaner with a higher RPM.

Also, when I ran the Saito leaned out and full throttle, it topped out around 8000 - 8200 RPM. Is this a normal range? The manual states that 12000 is the top range of RPM.

All in all, I'd say it was fairly successful day. On to the mounting....