To warm or not to warm [bike]

[murhf3]

Now that temps are around 3-5 c in ch-ch I have heard many dif stories about warming your bike before riding over as many years.I always do,do u and if not or u do why? :cold: :ride: :cold: :cold:

[inlinefour]

I let it run for about 30 seconds to get the oil around the engine and then cruise nicely until the temp gauge comes up to normal operating temp. Then if I feel like it, I feed it the fat :msn-wink:

[Blakamin]

I start my bike, idle up the drive, leave it idling while attaching helmet to head and gloves to hands, shutting the gargre.... open gate and leave.... 4 minutes later, I'm on the highway playing havoc with traffic!
dont have a temp gauge.... i'm old-school air-cooled! (and so is the bike)

[StoneChucker]

I start the bike, and wait for the temp gauge to change from "Lo" to "40 dec C" (about 45 - 60 seconds normally). Then I take off straight away, and prefer to wait till it's at least 60 or 70 deg C before giving it hell...

If you start the bike and take off straight away without letting it warm up, you're a freaking psycho :cold:

[inlinefour]

I start the bike, and wait for the temp gauge to change from "Lo" to "40 dec C" (about 45 - 60 seconds normally). Then I take off straight away, and prefer to wait till it's at least 60 or 70 deg C before giving it hell...

If you start the bike and take off straight away without letting it warm up, you're a freaking psycho :cold:


on if your giving it shyte or not SC :ride:

[Beemer]

I start it with the choke on and let it run until it starts to idle faster then I turn off the choke and make sure it's running smoothly before taking off. We have a long steep driveway and I don't want it to cut out at the bottom as I pull onto a 100kph country road and find the milk tanker heading towards me!

[Biff]

I posted this question on a forum back in the UK a while back. The resounding answer from the bikie mechanics on there was no, especially not for several minutes - at least not on 'modern' bikes. One guy (claiming to work for Yamaha HQ UK) even said that you should ride off as soon as possible on most modern bikes as the engine doesn't like warming up too quickly from cold without some sort of air flow going through it.

A bit of a vague answer considering the wide range and ages of bikes out there sorry.

[John]

That would be in relation to rapid expansion?...
p.s Can anyone leave thier names in tacked for a day or two please? :lol:

But in all reality the best method is to start it get some oil floating around and take off, but keep it slow until you have heated up abit, of course the danger of hot/cold expansion damage is a possibility in this time so I guess you could think of this analogy?.. When you heat a cup in boiling hot water, then put it in a sink of cold it is going to shatter, where as if you fill the cup with hot water and move the cup through the cold water its not likely to shatter, its semi representitive.
I dont Know I havent slept and being drinking all night.

[Blakamin]

ahhh... but it's gunna heat up at its own speed.... it heats and cools as it needs to!!

as long as there is oil pressure, ride it!!!! :whocares:

[zadok]

I start mine then put my jacket and helmet on then go, so it isn't on choke for too long. I aren't a mechanic, but my father was and I seem to recall him advising me to use the minimum required amount of choke.
The dealer I bought the bike from new advised me I could start riding when the bike would idle without the choke.
117,000km later and the bike is still running well. Full synthetic oil probably helps as well.
'Inlinefour' does basically what I do.

Marty :ride:

[Blakamin]

The dealer I bought the bike from new advised me I could start riding when the bike would idle without the choke.

shit... mine starts and idles without the choke every morning..... away i go!!!!


(wouldn't have even known where the choke was if I hadn't done research before I bought her)

[Sensei]

30 deg before it moves anywhere then 5k of back roads to Main road then 4k of open road to work or town . :yes:

[inlinefour]

Never actually need to use a choke on any of the 4 stroke bikes that I've owned. Sometimes it needs a tad of throttle for a few seconds, but it fires up without any choke every time. Must be a Honda thing? :msn-wink:

[Antallica]

I just treat her gently for a few minutes, then let rip.

[Mr Skid]

I just treat her gently for a few minutes, then let rip.The bike or the wife?

[Dafe]

I used to warm up my bike until I read an article in the UK "Bike" magazine, which stated that it is not neccessary so long as you allow your bike to come up to temperature before thrashing it.
Now, I start my bike and wait 20-30 seconds before riding off gently.
Once my bike hits 88 degrees, there's no holds barred.

[pritch]

This sitting about in the driveway is all very well; engine is nice and warm, tyres are cold as a frogs tit.

I'd rather warm up engine and tyres at the same time...

[Sensei]

This sitting about in the driveway is all very well; engine is nice and warm, tyres are cold as a frogs tit.

I'd rather warm up engine and tyres at the same time...

Don't you leave ya tyre warmers on over night Ron :killingme

[sAsLEX]

This sitting about in the driveway is all very well; engine is nice and warm, tyres are cold as a frogs tit.

I'd rather warm up engine and tyres at the same time...

Thats why your meant to keep your bike in the lounge, where its nice and warm and dust and cold cant get to it!


Choke, gloves, helemt, off choke, ride off nice and slow weaving like a nutter for a bit to warm tyres

[LB]

.
.
Bikes out of the garage and backed around onto the driveway ready to ride off.

Choke on, start her up. "LO" flashing on temp gauge.

Put on helmet and gloves.

Get on.

Wait for Hamish who takes slightly longer as he shuts the gargre door.

Pull in clutch a few times while I'm waiting to warm up the clutch plates (don't laugh at me too much if they don't need warming up....it makes me feel better to do it).

Turn choke 1/3 off, clutch in and ease away (slight downhill slope, no need to rev).

To bottom of street, turn left (150m?).

At post box another 100m further on, turn choke right off (if I don't turn it off here I forget all about it and find it on at the next stop!!)

"LO" flashes till it gets to 50 - which happens anywhere between 7 and 15kms, depends on the ambient air temperature.

I generally keep the revs under about 5,000 till up to over 60 degrees.

Note: my temperature reading is my oil temp, as I'm air/oil cooled, not water.
.
.

[StoneChucker]

Wait for Hamish who takes slightly longer as he shuts the gargre door.

Say what? You MAKE poor Hamish close the garage door? Linda, you work that poor man too hard, is his life not hard enough already? hehehe :msn-wink: [pt]

[Wolf]

This sitting about in the driveway is all very well; engine is nice and warm, tyres are cold as a frogs tit.
[Nerdy voice]Erm, Technically frogs are amphibians, not mammals, and don't have tits [/Nerdy voice]

[Hooks]

My old bitch needs about 5 mins on full choke most days (to reach 50C) the she feels so much nicer to ride and the stops at the lights are not filled with silence as she refuses to idle :killingme .... but then she could do with a bloody good tune up too ... :whistle:

[Hitcher]

For a bike with a choke, I don't mount up and ride until the bike will idle happily with no choke. The STeed has Honda's PGM-FI, which has a cold-start fast idle, rather than a choke. Again, I don't mount up until the engine is running at warm idle speed.

[FlyingDutchMan]

I start it up, put the throttle to 2k and hold it there until the revs climb by themselves to 5k. Means oil is almost everywhere it needs to be, and then ride off.

[Ixion]

[Nerdy voice]Erm, Technically frogs are amphibians, not mammals, and don't have tits [/Nerdy voice]
These frogs DO. Haven't you heard of genetic engineering. Frogs with tits and pu**ies. Queue forms on the left guys, one kiss and maybe the frog''ll turn into a beautiful princess. Haven't you read the fairy stories? And if it doesn't, well, you've still got the essentials haven't you ? :devil2:

[scumdog]

For a bike with a choke, I don't mount up and ride until the bike will idle happily with no choke. The STeed has Honda's PGM-FI, which has a cold-start fast idle, rather than a choke. Again, I don't mount up until the engine is running at warm idle speed.

I agree, especially if like me your running a 20-50 type oil, even worse on the old H-D when I use to run straight 50-weight oil
Just for an experiment try whizzing you engine over on the starter motor without its spark-plugs in (I know, for some of you getting the plugs out is too much of a mission) and then put them back in and after the engine has warmed up i.e. a short time after you have come back from a run.
You'll find that when cold the engine grinds over quite a bit slower - that's due to the extra drag the cold oil puts on the engines moving parts and the tighter clearances on them.

In hi-performance V8 engines with high oil-pressure it's not unknown to shear off the oil-pump drive if the engine is revved too much when cold - just due to the extreme load on it from trying to move thick oil too quickly.

(unbuttons white coat and hangs it up , cleans glasses, folds hanky before putting it away, straightens all six pens in pocket protector and puts on anorak before going outside to gargre) :D

[v.ros`]

Hi guys..

I let the bike warm up, until the temp reading comes up... usually appears around 36C and then i take off...

regarding the degrees... can someone tell me if its alrite if a bike goes over 100 degrees..?? is it harmful and can i do anything - meaning change oil or show it to a mechanic, as whenever im riding in the city, the temp usually skyrockets.

Regards

[Biff]

regarding the degrees... can someone tell me if its alrite if a bike goes over 100 degrees..??

Regards


100 degrees is ok for your bike (CB/R 600s in general) - but your bikes cooling fan should be on by now, or just about to come on (mine comes on at 100).

You want to start worrying when the bike hits around 120 degrees C +. Check your handbook for the max operating temperature. If my memory is correct I don't think you really need to panic until it gets to around 125-130 degrees.

But don't take my word for it - check your handbook or contact a Honda dealership.

[ManDownUnder]

Yup - warm up by idling while I shut garage door and fluff around for 20 seconds, then take very easy up the road gradually climbing to 100kph over about 1km... cruise at that for the next 1 km and then I'm set for the open road (which ironically is 80 kph)...

I was taught to treat an engine like a body. If you wake in the morning - are you ready to run - or would you prefer to warm into it?

You need to get the blood to the muscles (oil to the engine) you need to warm up a bit (get up to temperature sets fits and clearances to operating level) and THEN do what you want.

Strange, but I remembered it all these years...
MDU

[Wolf]

(unbuttons white coat and hangs it up , cleans glasses, folds hanky before putting it away, straightens all six pens in pocket protector and puts on anorak before going outside to gargre) :D
You rebel! You didn't even tell mummy where you're going :killingme

[Wolf]

Temperature gauges? Liquid cooling? None of my bikes have had those.

I used to go by the feel of the bike and it varied from bike to bike - if it was not running smoothly, I took it easy until it warmed up. Some I'd start and leave running while I finished suiting up.

My Zundapp seldom needed the choke and started better than I did on cold mornings (most my bikes have been like that, actually) it was raring to go and I was :cold: and not at all enthused about going to work.

[denill]

I aren't a mechanic, but my father was and I seem to recall him advising me to use the minimum required amount of choke.
Marty :ride:

Yeah, I think your dad was right. I had read or been told a loooong time ago that too much choke equates to - too much gas in the combustion chamber that will be unburnt and 'wash' the oil off the cylinder walls.

Different bikes require different amounts of choke. I go with the theory that when it will reasonably idle without the choke, I am off.
I have also read in reference to cars, to not allow them to 'warm up' at all. Maybe the efficient auto-chokes make the difference?

Part of my pre-ride sequence is to pull in the clutch and a blip or two on the throttle to free up the clutch plates so that it will (hopefully) snick into 1st gear quietly.

Cheers
Bill

[Paul in NZ]

With the Guzzi I fire it up.....

Full choke until it will run well enough to get up the drive without stopping (bad thing to happen - trust me) or the engine runs evenly (idle speed picks up)

Then, since I live so close to SHW1 I trot off the wrong way, around the block, gently running up through the gears with no stress on the bike. By the time I have done that every thing is more or less up to temp (including tyres), the brain is engaged and away we go...

Cheers

[placidfemme]

With my ZXR I start her up using the choke on half (Any more than that and the neighbors complain that I'm being too noisy too early [6.25am]) and hold it at half until the rev's even out (or until the barely noticeable clonking noise stops), once I release the choke (after about a minute) if she doesn't cut out and die on me I'm off... take it gentle up the road and by the time I hit the motorway we're ready to roll :P

[Motu]

In hi-performance V8 engines with high oil-pressure it's not unknown to shear off the oil-pump drive if the engine is revved too much when cold - just due to the extreme load on it from trying to move thick oil too quickly.

(unbuttons white coat and hangs it up , cleans glasses, folds hanky before putting it away, straightens all six pens in pocket protector and puts on anorak before going outside to gargre) :D
Also happens if you put STP or Moreys in first,then the oil,that stuff doesn't move.I knew a guy who sheared the oil pump drive on his RR by adding this stuff.Don't ask why you would do that to a RR.

Are you the guy who does the Castrol adds?

[scumdog]

Are you the guy who does the Castrol adds?

No, but I wish I was, might give me more money for my 'toys' :D

[vifferman]

I tried to find a definitive answer to this question by Googling for one, but it was too hard. Almost everything I read couldn't be verified, as it was all anecdotal or opinion. However, my habit is to warm the engine up as little as possible while idling it, usually I put my helmet on, start the bike, then put my gloves on before riding off. I don't thrash it until the thermometer reads about 60 and the fast idle has cut out. No point, as it doesn't run well anyway if the throttle is cracked open too quickly when cold.

I used to warm the bikes and cars up before riding/driving off, but read several unrelated sources that said that this was bad practice, as it didn't allow proper circulation of fluids through all parts of the engine and gearbox. Sounds sensible to me, as you could end up with warmed-up cylinders, but the gearbox (especially on a car) still cold and with viscous oil. Also, the oil pressure while idling is much lower than if the engine is allowed to rev up a bit.

I find it quite amazing that people will do things which are very often illogical, just because "so and so says to do it" or because they've always done it that way, or because a friend told them that someone else told them they'd heard that a friend of their's once had a bad experience...etc etc... Warming it on the sidestand sort of fell into this category for me, because the only reason I was doing it was because I'd heard people say, "I always thoroughly warm the engine before riding off", usually with some (unsubstantiated) story about what could happen if you didn't do this, and some emotive language to make you feel like you were an evil engine abuser if you didn't care for your engine by 'pampering' it by warming it.

Another reason I started the "warm it up by riding" thing is that it appears that excessive idling on the sidestand could be implicated as a contributing factor to VTR1000 camchain problems, so I didn't do what the previous owner did and warm it up for 5-10 minutes on the sidestand. I suspect he did this because he'd had a string of temperamental Italian Stallions prior to the VTR.
BTW - he DID have camchain problems, and had to replace both camchains and tensioners and two valves.

[Ixion]

It depends on the bike. The BMW has fuel injection and just starts. Warming up doesn't seem to be an issue. Li'l Rat Bike is hard to start and doesn't want to run until it's had a minute or so with choke and much careful blipping. Typical 4 stroke single. T500 needs lots of revs at the start up or it's likely to foul a plug.

Once they're running "ridable" I usually ride to the end of the longish drive, to circulate gearbox oil etc, then stop for a minute or two, idling. Collect thoughts check mirrors etc etc. Prevents Mrs Ixion complaining about me filling the gargre with two smoker smoke also.Then ride gently for the first 10 minutes or so.

[XP@]

Go to the warehouse,
but a single electric blanket
before you go to bed wrap the engine in it and set the timer to 1hr before you will be setting off.
unwrap the bike and.... voila no choke required, even at -10c

hmmm... wonder if there is a market for heated bash plates...

[Lou Girardin]

Sump heater, tyre warmers and a fluffy liddle puddy-tat to warm the seat. Then I'm all set to face the day. :cold: