I broke 5 needles today on my Vicious Viking (which prompted the need for a new machine, lol) I get so stressed out when the needle breaks for no reason, so frustrating.
Then i found the 5 part checklist for needle breakage (here on this site!) Turns out my needle at zero is not centered over the single needle stitch plate. I biased the needle to 0.5 and suddenly the machine is cooperating. Also treated the cotton thread with silicone oil and it stopped breaking. I am trying to finish this quilt - a baby quilt so it should be done already.