My opinion is that these engines come with up to a three year warranty, and some of these companies have been making engines for quite a while, so break-in should be done according to the manual.

People may have their own beliefs, as with this article, and it may even hold true for people with experience tuning engines. My educated guess is that 2 stroke engines might just 'seat' better with short, hot break-in cycles, but that the chance of something going wrong is greater in this extreme environment. If there are imperfections, they will work themselves in slowly in a highly lubricated atmosphere, and the lube will work as a seal for small openings if it needs to. If it is a lean, hot mixture and there is something that is borderline within tolerance, there is a much higher chance for something to permanently go wrong. Many of these engines are now made in China, and due to their recent problems with manufacturing standards, I wouldn't trust that the tolerances on their engines are as exacting as we might expect them to be.

This is a beginner forum. My advice would be to follow the directions in your instruction manual for break-in. Many of the manuals will specify the difference between breaking-in a ringed engine, which for Super Tigres is 6 min. of running rich before the pinch-and-release test, and for an ABC engine is starting rich and 'leaning out' immediately to the pinch-and-release test (which is not actually running lean).

Running lean for break-in would void the warranty, and yes, they can tell.

Thanks. My $.02