Short Rides Bad?

[Pelikan]

I seem to remember somewhere reading that one should run the bike at least 15 minutes every time it's started.  Is there any truth to this?  There are times when I find myself needing to do short five or ten minute runs.

[tb0lt]

As long as you let the bike properly warm up before the ride, the minimum duration of the actual ride is irrelevant.

[Suzuki Stevo]

It's all about getting your oil up to temp, I have read it's 20-25 minutes for car oil to get up to temp?  

So 10-15 would not be a bad guess for a bike??  

But..5 minute rides don't bother me at all!  

EDIT: Don't overthink it, if your oil isn't milky do what you have been doing, if it gets milky just change it more often or go for a long ride in the country once a week!  

[madjak30]

I don't think it is an engine wear issue, or oil...yes, it will run more efficiently once everything is warmed to the engineered proper running temp, but the wear will happen everytime you start the engine...I think it is more to do with charging the battery...if you are doing short runs all the time, your battery will not be charged up fully from running the starter...if it is a concern for you, get a trickle charger and plug in the bike at night...

As for letting it warm up in the driveway, you will wear the engine faster by just letting it warm up that way...as soon as the idle is stable and smooth (usually within a minute) you are better off heading out...even with the choke still on...don't jump on and hammer the throttle, but take it easy...the engine will warm up faster and reduce the wear under a light load vs idling in the driveway...

Almost forgot, if you have milky oil you have a pretty serious problem...somehow moisture is getting into the oil, and being an air cooled engine I would wonder where the moisture is coming from...I would think the answer is the gasket for the oil dipstick and being left out in the rain or ridden in foul weather...condensation buildup??...

Later.

[Suzuki Stevo]

Almost forgot, if you have milky oil you have a pretty serious problem...somehow moisture is getting into the oil, and being an air cooled engine I would wonder where the moisture is coming from...I would think the answer is the gasket for the oil dipstick and being left out in the rain or ridden in foul weather...condensation buildup??...

It's actually quite common and not a serious problem when it's an air cooled motor, oil turns milky from short rides, water leaking in is highly unlikely. Yes it is condensation buildup  

[uninhibited]

I commute daily to work. 

The bike does about 15 minutes one way and averages about 700kms a month doing this. 

I have never had an issue.

[redhenracing2]

Fifteen minute ride being bad? Gosh, I live a mile away from my work and am there in 45 seconds . . . . how is my bike still alive . . . .

[Shaddow]

Its not so much about the issue of the bike having problems its more about efficiency of the engine. Till your parts all come up to temp fuel drops into your oil, causing the oil to degrade over time. a 15-20 minute run for an engine (and lets face it, its really allot less time as engines are being designed to get to correct working temp for ALL their parts quicker as it increases their life cycles) is about how long it takes the engine to basically get the fuel cooked out of the oil. Just little things to help lengthen the life and performance of your engines.

[the mole]

In a year, a bike ridden 5,000 miles of 10 minute commutes will have more engine wear than one that does a 100 mile ride once a week.
On the other hand, a bike ridden on a 10 minute commute 5 days a week will have less wear than one that does a 20 minute commute 5 days a week.
If you do a lot of short rides, its good to give it a good run once in a while to get everything up to temperature and evaporate any moisture out of the oil.

[stroztech]

...I think it is more to do with charging the battery...if you are doing short runs all the time, your battery will not be charged up fully from running the starter...

Quite correct. Doing very short runs all the time will also reduce the lifespan of your battery.

[tt_four]

I've heard this too, but it was always about condensation building up. If you go for short rides and shut the bike off water can build up inside the headers/midpipe. Riding the bike long enough to make sure all of the water evaporates is supposedly the goal. That's why it's better to put your bike on a charger over winter instead of pushing the bike out into the driveway and letting it idle for 2 minutes every once in a while.

Either way, i don't know the correct answer, but I make sure to avoid the super short rides. If I'm only going 5 minutes away I don't put too much thought into it, but it's rare that it happens anyway. Even when I've worked at jobs that were only 5 minutes away it still usually took me half an hour to get there and half an hour to get back. Always take the longest way possible 

[RichDesmond]

Air cooled bikes take a loooong time to get the oil all the way up to temp. I never realized that until I bought a GS1000 that had an oil temp gauge. At least 20 miles in normal weather and longer when it's cold.
Some short trips aren't going to hurt, but at least once in a while take a longer ride to boil off all the condensation buildup.

[gsf500RR]

Fifteen minute ride being bad? Gosh, I live a mile away from my work and am there in 45 seconds . . . . how is my bike still alive . . . .

LOL you must be the definition of lazy 

[madjak30]

His picture is on Wikipedia definitions page...

or maybe 45sec at full throttle is enough to get the moisture out??

Later.

[seamax]

Fifteen minute ride being bad? Gosh, I live a mile away from my work and am there in 45 seconds . . . . how is my bike still alive . . . .

By the time your bike warms up you could be there already with a bicycle or a moderate jog.