To warm or not to warm [bike]

**murhf3** · 14th May 2005, 09:08

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?

**inlinefour** · 14th May 2005, 09:20

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

**Blakamin** · 14th May 2005, 09:22

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** · 14th May 2005, 09:25

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

**inlinefour** · 14th May 2005, 09:47

Originally Posted by 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

on if your giving it shyte or not SC

**Beemer** · 14th May 2005, 10:03

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** · 14th May 2005, 10:04

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** · 14th May 2005, 10:12

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

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** · 14th May 2005, 10:18

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!!!!

**zadok** · 14th May 2005, 10:21

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

**Blakamin** · 14th May 2005, 10:26

Originally Posted by zadok

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** · 14th May 2005, 10:48

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

**inlinefour** · 14th May 2005, 11:45

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?