Correct way to warm up the bike

[vegasda9]

I was wondering what the "proper" way is to warm up the bike in the morning. I work @ 4am and get into the garage about 3:30am. I start up the bike and it idles horribly, so i set the choke on all the way and it idles up about 4-5k rpm. Is this normal? Also, how long do I need to let it idle like this? Is it all right to let it idle @ 4k rpm? Should i only be using 1/2 choke? It's only in the high 60's to low 70's so far. I'm confused!!!  :dunno:

[SPARKPLUG1977]

Try to let it warm up at about 3k.
I don't think 4k will kill it, but 3 is better.

[dufoes]

My choke is either 4k RPM idle or nothing.

[cernunos]

The "choke" on the Baby G is a little touchy, it doesn't take much movement of the lever to affect the idle. Love the bike and the forum.

C.......

[Jace009]

upon initial start up (dead cold) ya you'll need to keep the choke on 4k rpms it about right....However after about a minute knock it down to 1/2 choke and it should be ideling a little higher than normal. Let it continue to idle for a few more minutes and it should be warm-up some what..

Note tho that the reason the choke makes the engine rev=more heat from the motor's friction and the combustion of more gas. If you live out in the country w/o alot of stop-go driving you can ride around w/ the choke on to speed up the warm up process. Just realize that the clutch control will be different.

I have to be at work at 0400 too and it's cold in the morning 40* or so...so I wait till the bike reaches 1/2 throttle then ride off, because I travel on the highway and well the engine is warmed up by the time I come off the on-ramp :nana:

[Cal Price]

I'm sure the above are correct, I am an 0600hrs man. The Suzuki manual says, choke out, start, adjust choke to 3000 revs, keep it at 3000 by adjusting choke for 30 seconds then close her up, she should then idle somewhere between 800 and 1200 revs, mine sits at about 1000. Bike should then instantly respond to throttle, away you go. This works for me.

As SPARKPLUG1977 says I don't suppose 4k will do damage, a lot will depend on ambient conditions, dampness, air temp, engine temp before starting etc but the general principle is run it for a while at about 3k.

[vegasda9]

Thanks for the pointers! When I started my bike this morning (it's about 68 degrees now), i moved the choke wide open, started it up, and it was stumbling then died. I started again, this time blipped the throttle, rpms went up, then started to idle around 4k rpm. Moved the choke to try to get the engine around 3k rpm, then it died again. Started it up (left the choke at the point when it died) and it still went up to 4k rpm...wonder if the extra fuel is causing this? Can I just start riding at this point or do i need to let it sit for 5 min or so? Reason is, my neighborhood is REALLY quiet and i don't want to wake up my neighbors @ 3:15am with a bike that's screaming @ 4k rpm...

[JohnNS]

The important thing is to make absolutely sure it IS warmed up before you head off. I always let it warm up (at around 3k or so) until I can give it a quick shot of throttle (choke off) without it bogging down.

If you head off before that, you run the chance of bogging or worse yet stalling while you try to pull out into traffic (not a big problem at 3:30am I suppose, but still). It seems like forever sitting there waiting for it to warm up sometimes, but I only had to have the former happen to me once to learn that it's important to do.  

[scratch]

If you're getting stubbling with full choke, back off the the choke a millimeter or two and let it idle at 3500rpms for a minute. At the most, I let it warm up for two minutes, because I don't want to waste gas and carbon up the combustion chamber. 4 grand shouldn't hurt either, as I get a quicker warm-up that way. 3 grand, for me, doesn't seem to warm up the bike very well.

[bikenut]

The 2004 needs to be warmed up.  If it won't idle with no choke, it's not warmed up enough.  It's not good to ride with the choke on.  You end up with a fouled sparkplug due to the higher amount of fuel in the mixture.  I start mine, try to adjust the idle to 3 grand, then go back in the house, get all my gear on, lock up the house, get on the bike and cut the choke back slowly, till it's off.  If she stalls, I start over.  How long this takes depends on the temperature.

[gs500fromnb]

I leave around 8am every morning and the bike is outside in a parking lot so it absorbs all the cold around. Its from around 20-40F out when I step out depending on the days.

I head out, pull full choke and start it (it'll idle around 4000rpm). Leave it until it tries to climb over 5000rpm then I pull it down until its closer to 3000rpm. Leave it, go inside finish getting ready (my bike is right infront of my window) and when I go out again (close to 7-10mins later) I turn off the choke and it idles perfectly at 1200-1500rpm.

Aslong as it doesnt go over 5000 RPM it will be fine. I've allways been told for this bike that when cold, dont keep the rpms higher than 5000rpm so to keep the pressure on the cold oil low. So as soon as the idle without the choke runs real smooth, I head out still easy on the bike for around 5-10 minutes then you can start revving her as you please.