Question for the winter riders,
does it take a long time to warm up the bike in cold weather?
I might be able to ride to work, but after a long day of work I don't want to sit in the parking
lot forever waiting on the GS to warm up.
Thanks

In my experience, yes. When it's in the 20's (Fahrenheit), it may take more than 10 minutes before the oil cooler starts to get warmish to the touch. IT does take a while to warm up. I'll probably change my pilot jets before next winter.

I don't do anything different in Winter than I do in Summer. At work or home my procedure is the same...

- put choke on full
- Start the bike
- Tie bag to luggage rack (then make phone call when leaving work to let gorgeous wonderful wife know I am on the way)
- Put on jacket
- Reduce choke to idle around 2000 or just above
- Put on helmet
- Put on gloves
- Get on bike
- Back it out
- Click it into gear and ride off sedately (turn off choke once I am on the road)

I do all the above at a Leisurely pace.

I've done the above since new. And my 09 is getting very close to 39,000 clicks of trouble free riding.

Michael

It doesn't matter to me, after a minute of choke, all you're doing is wasting gas and building up carbon in the combustion chambers.  I ride off and use the throttle to keep the rpm's up.

Quote from: scratch on March 21, 2011, 09:25:03 AM
It doesn't matter to me, after a minute of choke, all you're doing is wasting gas and building up carbon in the combustion chambers.  I ride off and use the throttle to keep the rpm's up.

I ride with the choke on when warming up, the engine will warm faster under a light load than just idling in the driveway or parking lot.  The only reason to keep the choke on is so that it doesn't stall at a light...once I am past where I won't be hitting lights for a few minutes, I turn the choke off...in the colder weather,  below freezing temps, it will take longer but I use the same practice...

I wanted to go out riding this weekend, but the bike wouldn't start on Saturday...so I put the battery on charge (first start of the season)...then Sunday it snowed...then snowed again...more snow this morning...the forcast is for snow all week until Thursday...boo...maybe next weekend, but it isn't supposed to go above freezing until Sunday, so probably not...

Later.

i ride rain hail or shine

Just a hint...slow down in the hail...hail & 115kph (72mph) friggin' hurts...just so you know...

If you are riding with a guy that has a touring bike...let him go, and catch up after the hail...yup, 'nuff said...

Other than that, I'm the same...no ice or snow...avoid hail...

Later.

Temperature-wise, I ride all year.
But I only do it when it's not raining.

I rode today, cause it was in mid forties.  She started fine, with the choke out, but then it started to rev too fast (3-3500 rpm). I tried to just use less choke, but then it would die. I then turned choke off and kept it running @ 1500 rpm with throttle. I'm probably doing it the hard way, but didn't want too high rpms on a cold engine. Was I doing it wrong???
Used my GS for some errands around town. Then I went around both lakes twice. Probably the last ride this week. 20s to 30s, rain/snow that's it in a nutshell. sigh.... 

Plan to use her lots, when the weather shapes up. 

I ride all year round.

Never found rain a turn off, other then the effort of putting my wets on. Hail that shaZam! I'll try to avoid. I agree it hurts allot to ride through hail.

Thanks guys for answering my question!
It must suck to have to put the bike away for winter, but I think I'll try to ride
year round. What's in order? Lot's of layers and a good winter jacket, heavy gloves
and a good forecast to see if it's going to snow?
Have you ridden to work on winter and when you came out in the afternoon you found 6" of
snow on the ground? What did you do?