bikes warm up time in winter cold. how long?
Road Master
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 843
Likes: 43
From: Louisiana
Best way to bring an engine up to operating temperature is to ride it, albeit at moderate load and engine speed. You've got to put a certain amount load on the engine to generate the heat needed to bring a cold engine up to temperature in a reasonable amount of time. Idling in your driveway for 5 minutes when it's 40 degrees outside just extends the running time of an engine that's still not up to operating temperature. As for the salesman that said don't ride your bike until the rocker boxes are warm, some aren't known to be the sharpest tools in the shed.
Grand HDF Member
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 3,553
Likes: 17
If anyone is interested in real data, our resident mud man posted some info about engine temp.
It took over 8 minutes of sitting idle with an ambient outside temp of ~90F to reach operating temp: see his post here.
It took over 8 minutes of sitting idle with an ambient outside temp of ~90F to reach operating temp: see his post here.
Grand HDF Member
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 3,553
Likes: 17
If anyone is interested in real data our resident mud man posted some info about engine temp.
It took over 8 minutes of sitting idle with an ambient outside temp of ~90F to reach operating temp: see his post here.
It took over 8 minutes of sitting idle with an ambient outside temp of ~90F to reach operating temp: see his post here.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 12,227
Likes: 7,801
From: Along the shoreline in SW FL
Maybe a minute or so.
Putt putt out the driveway
Take her easy down the road about 2 miles to the stoplight....then I start getting on her a bit more and more.
Putt putt out the driveway
Take her easy down the road about 2 miles to the stoplight....then I start getting on her a bit more and more.
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Just fire it up and let it idle back down and then take off but take it easy for the first couple of miles. If you're running full synthethic, don't worry too much about it because it stays on the engine surfaces a lot better than conventional oil.