Warming up

[Aruna]

It says to in my owner's manual, so I do.

I still turn it off using the kill switch and THEN the key, just like in MSF!

 

[Britny]

I usually fire it while I gear up and strap my bag down. Maybe a minute or two. I never warm up the car... Hop in, start it up, drive away

 

[Bay Arean]

If I don't warm up the Bonneville in the morning, it dies at idle at the first light, or whatever and it seems to take a while to run right. So I warm it up for less than a minute and that doesnt happen.

In the afternoon, it's instantly warmed up. It seems to just be a temperature thing.

 

[ST Guy]

My dad's refrence was always "how would you like it if I woke you up and then made you run two miles immediately"

You're dad's comparison is not that far off the mark. However, starting the bike up and riding off immediately is not necessarily like making you run two miles immediately. If you ride off easily, it's more like getting out of bed and shuffling off the the bathroom for your morning shit.

Modern internal combustion engines running full synthetics don't need warm up time to drive/ride off. If you're going to run it to redline and bang through the gears, yes, warm it up. Otherwise, ride sensibly and don't worry about it.

 

[cleverusername]

Warming up vehicle = neighbors really hear you saying duck you / Being considerate is for bitches.

Start up, and get to it, unless it's carb'd AND is below 45F. In that case, the time it takes to figure the right choke + 15s to verify, then go.

 

[firstbuell]

[edited]On my X1 I would let it warm up while I finished gearing up. Zipping up me suit, helmet, gloves, look over the bike, etc. So a few minutes. The bike just doesn't run for shit without a warm up (still runs like shit after warm, but slightly better)......

.....On a modern bike, like the 1000RR I replaced it with. I would just hop on, start, and go.....

.....Except it is an X1, which is not a modern computer controlled engine. It is an ancient engine design running Alpha N EFI. This is old technology in the 80's.

finally, there it is - at last

tuber Buells have more in common with vintage BSAs than they do with modern I4s [a great reason to inhabit BadWeb tech pages......]

when I took delivery of my spankin' new M2 Cyclone, the very knowledgeable tech spent plenty of time walking me thru the bike while it idled & warmed up

his point was that the plethora of poorly-gasketed joints in an XL motor will be more oil-tight when warmed gently - once heat reaches the heads [touch em], you're good to go

 

[afm199]

I take my bike out of the garage, point the D&D at the neighbor who doesn't like me, and warm it up at least five minutes, then rev it several times hard and ride off.

 

[clutchslip]

On modern computer controlled, fuel injected engines...start up and get moving immediately. And just be gentle with it until it's at normal operating temperature. Which it will be at a lot sooner than if you just let it idle in your driveway for xx minutes.

I can't believe in this day and age, this is still a thing up for debate.

Maybe because modern ECU engines run a faster idle until the water (or oil) temperature reaches a pre-determined point. But, you know that, I am sure.

 

[luckyducks]

KTM 950 Adv. Carb'd. Start it, let it run for maybe 10 seconds (until the clatter quites) and then gently set off.

There's a fella down the street in Berkeley who has a CBR 600RR (EFI) with aftermarket pipes that starts his bike up every morning around 7am and then lets it warm up for 3-5 minutes! Ridiculous. I don't hear the bike where I live down the street, but one of his neighbors stopped to talk to me about it while I was outside working on the KTM. I told her to tell him that his obnoxious morning ritual is absolutely unnecessary.

The guy rides past my place like clockwork around 7:08-7:10 everyday and I've been thinking about handing him a note one morning when he is on his way to work.

It's ok to ride a moto but don't ruin people's sleep because of your OCD warm-up routine. That's unacceptable.

 

[ZCrow]

Usually less than a minute. Never flog till it's up to temp though

Exactly. My understanding is idling is not the best way to warm up a modern bike.

I take my bike out of the garage, point the D&D at the neighbor who doesn't like me, and warm it up at least five minutes, then rev it several times hard and ride off.

Brutal. I had a D&D pipe on my old FZR600 that set off car alarms, caused small children to cry and good people to lock their doors.

 

[Jalopyshoppe]

Air cooled engines are generally more accepting of being ran hard while cold, as the fit is much looser because of the massive temperature range they experience. While my FXR and Buell both need around a minute of love and affection before they will run (race ecu on Buell has no fast idle, FXR carb has no choke). Both bikes do hold close to 5 quarts of engine oil, so that's another reason I give them a few minutes. My SV is noticeably happier at temp than when it's cold. I can hear it in the exhaust when it's running right. The noise becomes a bit sharper and cracking the throttle has a crisper sound and a more responsive feel. It's carbed, and the choke actually works on it.
I have a VW powered dune buggy and it's much happier to start and run than my water cooled Pintos or race car. The piston slap in the 302 is noticeable until it gets to 160.
Warming up has another benefit of evaporating the condensation inside the engine as well. That moisture can froth up and do unpleasant things inside there.
I do feel badly for warming my Diesel's up in the early mornings. They're noisy and obnoxious, but oil fired injectors and high pressure oil pumps are expensive and not happy with cold oil. Luckily turbochargers accelerate oil warm up.

 

[Donelop]

I find that the excess wear and tear on my engine from riding while the bike is cold warms it up faster than if I sit and wait.

 

[Junkie]

My SV1000 doesn't have a fast idle setup anymore, since I got rid of the secondary throttle valves. That means that I need to nurse it to keep it going, so I don't tend to wait. If it's seriously cold I might. I do take it easy until it's reasonably warmed up.

I ought to get a finger-adjustable idle speed screw to replace the one I have now that requires a screwdriver, though, so that I can at least play around with idle speed without tools. From the factory there's electronically controlled fast idle, so not much need to adjust the screw.

 

[Wormwood]

Im gonna share this thread with the old bastid next door who warms his Harley up to the point of over heating, then gives it 4-6 high revs through the thunder header before he take off.

 

[KazMan]

I warmup until 130F. Then I ride to the freeway shortshifting. Typically something like 30mph in 3rd gear.

Racebike gets a intitial 160F warmup and then another just before I go out for practice or race

 

[afm199]

I let the bike warm up no more than 60 seconds. Then I ride it very carefully, with partial throttle and little push until it hit operating temp. If I lived in Wyoming in the winter, I'd let it warm up further.

 

[jh2586]

As long as you don't ride it hard until it's close to normal operating temps, you should be okay to ride right away without warming up. This applies to modern F.I. bikes. Older bikes with carbs are different.

 

[SFSV650]

I live on a mahoosive hill, so once I'm out the driveway I'm revving to the moon, car or bike. I wonder if I should be warming them up first.

 

[afm199]

I live on a mahoosive hill, so once I'm out the driveway I'm revving to the moon, car or bike. I wonder if I should be warming them up first.

You should never use more than a bit of throttle and never rev the engine high until it's warm. To the moon? You redline a cold car of bike? Not a good idea.

 

[Junkie]

As long as you don't ride it hard until it's close to normal operating temps, you should be okay to ride right away without warming up. This applies to modern F.I. bikes. Older bikes with carbs are different.

FI vs carbs will affect how the bike runs, but it shouldn't result in any damage.