At idle you don't have a lot of oil pressure. So supposedly it's better to just ride gently until warmed up, that way the oil is distributed faster throughout the engine. That was the explanation I got from the BMW dealer when I still had one of those. It also said so in the BMW owners' manual.

 

interesting... so all these years I let my cars, bikes, lawn mower, wife warm up for 5 mins I have been doing more harm than good..

 

I'm with Rocker Dan. Always ran my WideGlide for a good 5 minutes (from stone cold) before leaving. In 5 years it did over 25,000 miles with only basic services and never missed a beat. No leaks, same battery. It was a carburetted model (TC88) but I do the same with my Rocker. I don't believe anyone who says that it can actually cause more harm than good. Might be different if it idled for 20 minutes and got ridden for 5 though.

 

Depends on the temp outside. If its cold yes I let it run for a few minutes. If its warm maybe a minute and then go slow till it gets some heat in it

 

I take it slow from my house to the highway. That is a little over a mile and then it is ready to go. When it is cold out I put my hand on the rocker boxes and go easy till I feel them getting warm and then I give her hell.

 

I believe this is what is called a 'can of worms' topic. There are tech head articles out there on the net, what I remember reading was that to ride the bike gently generated more BHP than at idle and so was more effective at warming the engine, also that the oil flowed more efficiently. I suspect that modern engines have such improved tolerances that as long as you don't stand your bike at idle for 15 mins or more or rev like a loon as you head off down the rode you will be fine.

 

Start it up..put on helmet and glasses and go.

 

I let her run as I gear up...'bout a minute.

 

+1 ...

 

I usually only let it warm up 30 seconds or so, just enough to let the oil pressure to get moving. But I also (out of habit) always start the bike with the clutch in, just in case its in gear.