How short a commute is too short?

[cadymae]

Someone once told me that my commute wasn't long enough to get the bike really hot. They told me to take the long way around to get to work.

Is this true? Do I need to get the bike "hot" to burn off carbon or something? Should I hit the highway weekly just on principle?

Also as I was rolling along on my tiny little 6 mile commute today, I wondered about where the tach ought to be when I'm just cruising along. Do you guys think there is a sweet spot where the engine purrs? Or is there no such thing as a purr on a 250? My 1100 had a lovely spot where it seemed like it could run forever. That ZRX was a nice bike. Sigh. I don't remember struggling to find that spot on my 2001 Kaw 250. This one seems fitful. I downshift and it gets screamy. I upshift it seems like it is underpowered. Then I give it gas and it gets buzzy/screamy.

I need to spend a weekend going somewhere with it to learn it better.
I wonder if I still have all my tiny m/c camping gear.

[Motofool]

Reaching and keeping for a while design temperature is the best for any engine, due to several reasons.

Between 6K and 8K rpm's is a good compromise for city commuting.
If you ride expressway, 9K to 10K is best.

For street riding, safety should over-rule engine longevity, vibration, etc.

[InvisiBill]

Yes, you need to get the engine up to proper operating temperatures to burn off contaminants in the oil. The engine will also run best once it's up to the temperature it was designed to run at. Overheating is bad, but so is running too cold.

The stock cooling system is a single loop, which results in there being basically no flow in the system when the thermostat is closed. Check out the Thermo-Bob as a way to give you faster warmups and more stable temps. Being in a warm climate helps, but the poor design of the cooling system is a huge factor.

[allanoue]

Every other day go for a 30 mile detour on your way home.
I take 20 minutes longer to get home everyday I take the bike to work

[dcj13]

Everything true about bike commute length is also true for car commute length.

Don't worry about it. Go for a long ride once in a while.

[cadd]

I think 6 miles will heat up the bike reasonably. It also depends on the environment. If it's 6 miles in NYC, it'll be fine. Tons of stop and go. But on a rural road, it may be just getting to the point of fully being warmed up to optimal temps.

I say take the long way home once in a while with traffic lights. Especially during cooler weather.

[MrAtom]

I commute to school 6 miles and the bike does get up to operating temp just fine, but it's just that if I were to keep riding more, I'd be able to put more miles on it while warm than while cold. More cold starts = engine dying with fewer miles on it. You're probably fine.

[choneofakind]

Take it for a longer ride (45 minutes or more if possible) once a week at least. You want to get it thoroughly up temperature and get all water out of the oil (yes, water condenses inside the engine and adds to the oil, even if you have not experienced a rain event). At 6 miles, your engine likely isn't coming completely up to temp uniformly.

I have a thermobob on my cooling system and it does help significantly. However, you'll be okay with just taking a long ride once in a while. Personally, I used to have a 6 mile commute and I made sure to take the short way to work so I wasn't late, then take the longer way home to make sure it got warmed up completely each day. But to each his own.

[verboten1]

Originally Posted by cadymae

I wondered about where the tach ought to be when I'm just cruising along.

Just to the side of the speedometer I think...

[cadymae]

LOL. Thanks all for the helpful... and funny answers.

[hirubhaiambani]

I ride the bike to work everyday. 1 mile each way.

Biking from home to work: ~14 minutes
Put on all the gear, go down to the basement, ride to work (one stop light on the way), park on the far side of campus, remove jacket, helmet etc (hot!), walk to work.

Walking from home to work: ~10 minutes

[cadymae]

@hirubhaiambani That's an awesome post! I do feel like like it takes me longer to ride sometimes but I get to work with a smile so that makes it worthwhile

[adouglas]

It's also to boil off condensation....

Pretty much, any ride long enough for the bike to reach operating temperature is long enough (i.e. the fan comes on).

Riding a motorcycle a mile? Pfeh. Walk or ride a bicycle.

If my commute were anything less than five miles I'd ride a bicycle just for the exercise. At 6 miles I'd strongly consider it.

I'm 17 miles from my office, so it's kind of difficult to do that.

Re "buzzy/screamy"... that's the music of the Ninjette. It does purr. At 10-12,000 rpm. The party starts at 9k rpm. It'll feel underpowered below that because it is. This bike LOVES to be ridden hard. Wring its little neck and it'll be a lot more fun.

Think of this like a car. A big ol' Amurricun V8 likes to lope along all day below 3000 rpm. A little Japanese four-cylinder is not happy there, so it's unrealistic to think of the two different cars in the same terms.

Same with bikes. Big displacement bikes make torque and power down low, so they're happy putting along. Little bikes like to go WHEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

[choneofakind]

"Boil off" isn't the right term unless you've done what industrial HVOF companies sometimes do, which is put the oil under a vacuum and help the water boil out at a lower temperature than the typical 212 F we're used to.

Evaporate.

[cadymae]

Originally Posted by adouglas

It's also to boil off condensation....
Wring its little neck and it'll be a lot more fun.
... Little bikes like to go WHEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

This has had me chuckling ever since I read it. I'm gonna thrash that bike tomorrow morning. My tires are out of break in, got a hurricane coming, I'm gonna wring its little neck!

Ride safe follks!

[InvisiBill]

Originally Posted by dcj13

Everything true about bike commute length is also true for car commute length.

This is absolutely true. However, I tend to interpret it more as you should try to run your car's engine in ideal conditions too, rather than saying that since you abuse your car you can also abuse your bike.

Also, every modern car I'm aware of has a bypass loop in the coolant system. When the engine is cold, the thermostat excludes the radiator leg, but the coolant still flows around a loop. Once it heats up, the thermostat opens and the coolant flows through the radiator leg to dump heat.

On our bikes, it's a single loop, where the thermostat simply controls all flow. When the thermostat is cold, the coolant in the engine stays in the engine getting hotter, and the coolant in the radiator stays in the radiator getting colder. This means the engine will be hotter than the thermostat, and when enough heat finally gets to the thermostat (since the only flow is via the bleed hole), you can get a surge of cold water into the engine (it's actually possible to get a large enough surge of cold water all the way through the engine to cause the thermostat to close again).

The Thermo-Bob converts the cooling system to work like a car's, so the coolant is continuously flowing in a loop through the engine and thermostat (resulting in a more uniform temperature), and the radiator leg is opened up for cooling once it hits the thermostat temp. Obviously many bikes go their whole lives without this change, but I think it's one more cheap-out that leads to less than ideal conditions.

[choneofakind]

^^^ plus the bike comes up to temp really quickly


Idk, id rather take my car if it's a short drive. I drive that more often, so it will get taken out for a good long drive and warmed up thoroughly often. No worries about a couple extra starts on the electrical side either (say I'm just going across campus with a car full of stuff) vs the ninja where I always worry how many starts the battery actually has in it. Likely not a real issue but I've had electrical problems before when my fuel injection was taking up nearly all of the electrical overhead and left me stranded one time when I didn't have enough battery charge...

[rojoracing53]

6 Miles? I can cover 6 miles on my bicycle before you even get your gear on. I'll add a vote for don't worry about it but one longer full temp ride a week will do your motor good. Also with short trips like that I'd change my oil on the shorter side of the recommended interval.

[jkv45]

Originally Posted by rojoracing53

6 Miles? I can cover 6 miles on my bicycle before you even get your gear on. I'll add a vote for don't worry about it but one longer full temp ride a week will do your motor good. Also with short trips like that I'd change my oil on the shorter side of the recommended interval.

Right. Most people just think of oil changes in terms of miles, but really you need to factor-in the ambient temp, amount of cold starts, and length of run time - all of which are more important factors than the miles. In cold temps and short trips you will build up significantly larger amounts of moisture and contaminants than in warm conditions and longer run times.

Also, when you are talking warm-up, the water temp gauge isn't the best way to know when the engine is up to operating temp. The water in the engine warms up quickly because the thermostat is closed, but a normal reading on the gauge doesn't mean you are up to operating temp. It takes additional time for the oil and the entire engine to come up to temp before the engine is completely at operating temp (200F+).

The oil is the critical part, but unfortunately it's not easy to know for sure what the oil temp is. Generally, if you touch the clutch cover and can't comfortably leave you hand on it for a few seconds you are getting close. Reading the temp off of the cover with an infrared thermometer would give you a more accurate reading.

[rojoracing53]

Originally Posted by jkv45

Right. Most people just think of oil changes in terms of miles, but really you need to factor-in the ambient temp, amount of cold starts, and length of run time - all of which are more important factors than the miles. In cold temps and short trips you will build up significantly larger amounts of moisture and contaminants than in warm conditions and longer run times.

Also, when you are talking warm-up, the water temp gauge isn't the best way to know when the engine is up to operating temp. The water in the engine warms up quickly because the thermostat is closed, but a normal reading on the gauge doesn't mean you are up to operating temp. It takes additional time for the oil and the entire engine to come up to temp before the engine is completely at operating temp (200F+).

The oil is the critical part, but unfortunately it's not easy to know for sure what the oil temp is. Generally, if you touch the clutch cover and can't comfortably leave you hand on it for a few seconds you are getting close. Reading the temp off of the cover with an infrared thermometer would give you a more accurate reading.

If you have a fancy Koso Instrument cluster like me then you would have an Oil temp gauge and yes it takes 30 mins to come up to full temp and stabilize.

[jkv45]

Originally Posted by rojoracing53

If you have a fancy Koso Instrument cluster like me then you would have an Oil temp gauge and yes it takes 30 mins to come up to full temp and stabilize.

That's the best way to know.

Most people assume when the (water) temp gauge reads in the normal range the engine is at operating temp - not true.

Thanks for the confirmation.

[Ninja Rob]

My commute to work is 7 miles. I ride around the apartment parking lot in 1st and 2nd gear to warm it up a little and test the brakes. My commute to work ranges from 40mph - 60mph zones. My temperature gauge is higher in the slower speeds but cools down when I hit the higher speeds where there is less traffic lights. Its not a short commute for me. The job I had before, it was a 3 mile commute, 11 traffic lights, 40mph zone all the way, and I would still ride to work when I didnt have to drop off/pick up my child from baby sitting.

[capt_bugaloo]

I used to commute on my 250R about 5 or 6 miles in each direction. I'd also recommend taking it for at least a good 45-60 min run maybe once a week.

[xXecuterXx2]

Originally Posted by cadymae

Someone once told me that my commute wasn't long enough to get the bike really hot. They told me to take the long way around to get to work.

Is this true? Do I need to get the bike "hot" to burn off carbon or something? Should I hit the highway weekly just on principle?

Also as I was rolling along on my tiny little 6 mile commute today, I wondered about where the tach ought to be when I'm just cruising along. Do you guys think there is a sweet spot where the engine purrs? Or is there no such thing as a purr on a 250? My 1100 had a lovely spot where it seemed like it could run forever. That ZRX was a nice bike. Sigh. I don't remember struggling to find that spot on my 2001 Kaw 250. This one seems fitful. I downshift and it gets screamy. I upshift it seems like it is underpowered. Then I give it gas and it gets buzzy/screamy.

I need to spend a weekend going somewhere with it to learn it better.
I wonder if I still have all my tiny m/c camping gear.

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/How_lon...engine_last%3F
Lots of wonderful tips on that site, make sure you read the whole page, especially at the bottom (where your answer lies).