| Author | Message | ||
     Gofastalot99 |
Who warms up their engine? I personally wait until the CT is 100F before leaving and 150F before revving higher than 4,000. It usually doesn't take very long. | ||
| Skntpig |
Everyone that doesn't race on the salt flats warms up their engine.  JK easy (Message edited by skntpig on September 15, 2010) | ||
| Mikellyjo |
I do...just long enough for me to finish putting my gear on. | ||
| Dannybuell |
Skntpig - Ouch!  | ||
| Metalrabbit |
H-D has a little thing in there that records if you didn't warm it up. Once they see you weren't warming it up You'll be in Big Trouble Boy! | ||
| Aeholton |
I do. Like Mikellyjo, start bike, put on gear, back it down the driveway and temp is above 150F. | ||
| Ratbuell |
I just wait until "COLD" on the display goes away...and I'm nice to it until the tires warm up (with the roads in MD cooling off, that's a big part of the equation for me). | ||
| Boogiman1981 |
shoot half the time i have rolled down the driveway to the street before i kick it over i wait long enough for the idle to settle then off i go | ||
| Nukeblue |
usually let it idle while i put my stuff on. by then it's almost always done flashing the cold at me. i'm amazed how quickly the temp comes up! when it gets colder i'll let it idle till it stops flashing at me. i just switched to 10w-50 for the coming months | ||
| Father_of_an_era |
I do the same! I start the bike and then put on the gear. By the time I am done, the bike is ready. | ||
| Redbuelljunkie |
Coolant temperature is not as important as oil temperature, and oil takes longer to heat up than coolant. In other words, when your coolant temp has just gotten above "cold", your oil is not to operating temp yet. What's so important about oil's operating temperature? Well, until your oil reaches operating temperature, it is not at the right viscosity- it's too viscous (thick). When oil is thick, it does not provide optimum protection- including limited flow, lower pressure, increased friction, and thermal instability. The second most important thing to remember after choosing the correct type, class, and grade oil for the ambient temperature you're riding in, is to get your oil to proper operating temperature before riding. Be good to your engine and it'll be good to you... | ||
| Lastonetherebuys |
redbuell yo have it almost right except the lower pressure part. pressure is resistance to flow so when the oil is cold and thicker the flow is down but the pressure is up. just because the pressure is high does not mean that enough oil is getting to where it needs to | ||
| Redbuelljunkie |
Yes, you are correct, but simplicity of description was my intent. To further what you have stated, there may very well be increased pressure at the bottom of the engine, but in places where the thicker oil has not reached (parts of the top end)- there could be lower pressure. I guess I should have listed it as "pressure instability". I wanted to relate the situation in an easy to understand way- cold, thick oil can cause an oil pressure warning light because the oil flow/pressure may not be not equal throughout a cold engine. In most circumstances, you won't see an oil pressure warning light with oil at operating temp unless the system is losing oil. That's what I wanted to differentiate. Thanks for the clarification. | ||
| Metalrabbit |
warm up is simply allowing the engine parts to swell to get the engines parts at operating tolerances and heating up the oil for the Big metal fight,, tis about it. | ||
| Pilot172 |
I start my CR with race ECM and drive away immediately. Limit my rpm to 4000 during first 5 to 10 minutes. | ||
| Gofastalot99 |
Redbuell, You are correct about the oil temperature, however, there is a trade-off. The more I sit to warm up the oil, which doesn't have a gauge, the more fuel I use and the longer the bike is in fuel-enrichment mode. That may cause some fuel to reach the oil. I'd hazard a guess that the oil is still not up to full operating temperature by the time I reach work, 5.5 miles away. A balance has to be reached between running too cold and waiting for 10 minutes to warm up. On my air-cooled engines I usually leave once I can feel heat from the cylinders. Since I use high-quality synthetics I am confident that the upper end is getting lubrication quickly after I start the bike. I then wait until the bike can idle without the choke on my carbed bikes before I flog the engine. | ||
| Redbuelljunkie |
Gofast, Yes, it's not good to let a bike idle for too long. The most efficient way to get oil to operating temperature is by use, and this creates a balancing act during warm up. Allowing an engine to warm the oil at idle gets the process started, but after a short period of time (2-3 minutes) the bike should be ridden gently until the oil gets to operating temp (up to 20 miles on an air-cooled engine). These times may vary depending upon engine type, oil viscosity, and ambient temperature. An oil temperature gauge makes the whole process a no-brainer- I don't know why they're not standard on every motorcycle. I'd personally rather have an oil temp gauge than a coolant temp gauge. As with most things in life, the extremes are where damage occurs. Leaving a bike running at idle too long (over five minutes) will cause issues, and riding a bike immediately after cold start-up will cause more damage to the engine than any other single factor during its life (other than lack of maintenance or neglect). As stated above- be good to it, it will be good to you... | ||
| Torq |
not sure if you guys read your owners manual but it states: The motorcycle will have a reduced RPM range until the engine is warmed up. | ||
| Lastonetherebuys |
I know 2 stroke engines are extremely different buy from growing up on snowmobiles and seeing what rocking on a cold engine can do to pistons and rings and more in 4 strokes I have no problem waiting till the cold stops flashing before take off and even then its at least 10 km before i even think about putting the motor through the paces that it was designed for  | ||
| Deuceal |
Start it and ride it! Just take it easy and don't hit it too hard until a few miles down the road. Done it for all cars and bikes for 50 years. No ill effects, in fact my engines last longer than the norm that lets them sit and warm in an idle. |
