I drive a turbocharged car, so I'm already in the habit of going light on the throttle until hitting 160 degree oil temp before boosting. Also, my ECU pulls timing when it senses cold, so I know how to drive "under" the timing retard until warm.
Of course, my GS500 doesn't have an oil temp gauge so I have to go by feel. What I've been doing ever since I owned the bike is starting it up with some choke, just to keep it from dying. Then as soon as my gloves are on and everything is in place (probably 10-15 seconds after hitting START) I just drive off and go really light on the throttle, keeping it in 1st-3rd gear and never really crossing 4k/5k rpm.
I know that with a car, letting it idle to warm up is bad for a number of reasons. But I'm assuming a bike takes less time to reach operating temp. So is there any downside to using my method of not letting it idle-to-warm-up?
Really, all I'm asking of my bike is to haul it's weight and my weight to about 30 mph for the first 5 minutes of riding. Then I drive like normal. I wait until the bike is good and warm before I do any high RPM rips. Wouldn't that make my bike warm up faster and do less damage than idling?
Or, to put it another way, is it more taxing on the motor to put load on it while it's in a lean condition (cold, no choke) or let it get warm by running a rich mixture with no load, which I'm sure blows more unburnt carbon past the rings and keep the engine running in a higher friction (cold) state for longer.
Not sure about the whole no-idle warm up thing. With my bike, truck, snowmobile, etc I let it idle to warm up, reducing choke until it's idling smoothly at ~1300 with no choke. Same goes for many of my friend with bikes--even with a temp guage, they idle until it reaches 160 degrees. I don't race or anything, but I've never had issues with this. And the GS is pretty bulletproof. On any mildly cold day, the GS wont go anywhere without choke, and will probably die on you if you give it throttle after 15 seconds, let alone 2-3 minutes. In comparison to your turbo car, I'd say the GS is way less of a "tuned to the limit" engine, where your turbo may require a lot more careful use. Good luck.
Quote from: A_Steel_Horse on October 09, 2008, 04:19:32 AM
I drive a turbocharged car, so I'm already in the habit of going light on the throttle until hitting 160 degree oil temp before boosting. Also, my ECU pulls timing when it senses cold, so I know how to drive "under" the timing retard until warm.
Of course, my GS500 doesn't have an oil temp gauge so I have to go by feel. What I've been doing ever since I owned the bike is starting it up with some choke, just to keep it from dying. Then as soon as my gloves are on and everything is in place (probably 10-15 seconds after hitting START) I just drive off and go really light on the throttle, keeping it in 1st-3rd gear and never really crossing 4k/5k rpm.
I know that with a car, letting it idle to warm up is bad for a number of reasons. But I'm assuming a bike takes less time to reach operating temp. So is there any downside to using my method of not letting it idle-to-warm-up?
Really, all I'm asking of my bike is to haul it's weight and my weight to about 30 mph for the first 5 minutes of riding. Then I drive like normal. I wait until the bike is good and warm before I do any high RPM rips. Wouldn't that make my bike warm up faster and do less damage than idling?
Or, to put it another way, is it more taxing on the motor to put load on it while it's in a lean condition (cold, no choke) or let it get warm by running a rich mixture with no load, which I'm sure blows more unburnt carbon past the rings and keep the engine running in a higher friction (cold) state for longer.
Here in sunny Florida, I usually take the bike out of the garage and fit whatever luggage is going on it. I start the bike with some choke and monitor to keep the revs under 2k. I put on my hair net, headphones, helmet, gloves and jacket and then I hop on the bike and turn off the choke. When I'm riding around my suburb I notice that it usually takes a block or 2 before it handles like normal...
It's a fairly cold blooded bike.
I'm a fan of warming up the bike with gentle use. It warms up faster, and it warms up the whole bike, not just the engine (tires, brakes, etc.).
Quote from: Roadstergal on October 09, 2008, 07:30:28 AM
I'm a fan of warming up the bike with gentle use. It warms up faster, and it warms up the whole bike, not just the engine (tires, brakes, etc.).
Within my suburb, I've got probably 3 minutes of ride time before I hit the major roads and there I pretty much ride real gentle because of the kids.
I notice when I first start moving (those first few blocks without choke) the bike sputters a bit, which is ok when I'm going pretty slow, pulling the clutch alot and by the time I merge she's good to throttle.
;)
My warm up routine:
1. Start bike w/full choke. Once it starts running, decrease choke till it hovers at ~2000 rpm. Let it sit.
2. As the bike warms up the idle will jump, continue dropping choke till it stays at ~2k. Max time 45-60 seconds.
3. If I turn the choke off at this point, the bike will idle at 1000-900 rpm, so I leave the choke on, idle hovering at ~1500 rpm.
4. Start riding easy. Under 5k rpm, 1-st through 4-th. In-town.
5. 3 miles later, turn choke off (normally while in motion).
6. Give it another 1-2 miles and go nuts.
Dan