Should i let my bike warm up?

[jack_bm]

Basically my bikes been getting really cold and the sensor in the kick stand has got too cold and not allowed me to go in gear twice. Good news i wont have this problems for a few days because... it snowed

My question is should i let the engine run for a bit to warm up? its outside all the time but it does have a cover on it but is there any advantage to letting it run?

[smokinsingle]

If you mean let it warm up before you ride it, than yes of course!

[NikkitaNinja]

I remember someone, somewhere, who copied and pasted a paragraph about why you should NOT let your bike sit and warm up before you ride. Instead you should be riding with the choke on untill you feel it doesn't need it anymore. Letting it sit and idle will cause hot-spots in the engine and will ruin it over-time. That is what i got/remember out of it.

[outasight20]

If your kickstand switch is hanging up, it just needs some WD-40. Had the same problem in the cold..
Really it should be opened, cleaned, and greased, but I'm lazy.

And you should really let your bike warm up for at least 30 seconds before riding off anyway.

[bob706]

quickest way to warm up your bike - start it and ride

[EthioKnight]

Recommended engine warm-up method...
http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Warming_up_your_engine

[choneofakind]

jack_bm if the side-stand switch is your problem, then find a way to keep the bike somewhere that is heated or at least covered.

As for getting the engine to warm up, I follow the method on faq.ninja250.org for reasons already stated in this thread and on the ninja250 wiki. Letting an engine sit and warm up is dumb in my mind. Get it under load while keeping the rpms below 6k so it warms up quickly and evenly.

[smokinsingle]

Are you guys all freakin' nuts? First off the OP is talking about a place so cold it snowed! You want him to jump on a bike that's possibly below 40F and just "ride it easy"???No...Second, has no one been to the races before, or even seen one on TV? They let that **** warm up till at FULL operating temp. I've seen it first hand working tech for the AMA at pro road races. A crew member starts the bike and just stares at the water temp guage bliping the throttle while the rider hangs out and waits. You guys have to have seen a supercross race on tv before right? Those guys sit at the start gate and bang em off the limiter for what seems like 5 min. before they ever even click them in to gear!

Originally Posted by trixter

Riding forces oil to distribute better.

And don't even get me started on this quote....Your oil pump runs any where from 15 to 30 psi. Try to do that with "riding forces"

Sorry for yelling, no offence to anyone it's just rampant mis-information

[choneofakind]

Originally Posted by smokinsingle

the OP is talking about a place so cold it snowed! You want him to jump on a bike that's possibly below 40F and just "ride it easy"???No...Second, has no one been to the races before, or even seen one on TV? They let that **** warm up till at FULL operating temp. I've seen it first hand working tech for the AMA at pro road races. A crew member starts the bike and just stares at the water temp guage bliping the throttle while the rider hangs out and waits. You guys have to have seen a supercross race on tv before right? Those guys sit at the start gate and bang em off the limiter for what seems like 5 min. before they ever even click them in to gear!

I'm sure those teams have a reason for warming up their bikes the way that they do, but until someone can show me what makes that method better, I'm going to keep promoting the method that keeps rpms down and warms the engine as quickly as possible. This is because it's a proven fact that oil is thicker when it is cold. It's also a proven fact that engines need more oil at higher rpms, and at higher rpm's there's a shorter window of time to get that oil where it's needed because of the faster engine speed. So, it makes sense to keep the rpms down to reduce the speed at which oil is needed, and get it up to temp asap at the same time to make the oil warmer and more viscous.

the OP is also talking about letting the bike idle to warm it up. As someone who rides as long as he can before it snows and as early in the spring as possible, (down to 25 degrees when i'm feeling brave) trust me when I say when it's really cold out, I can let the bike idle for 15 minutes and it does nothing at all for bringing that temp gauge up. The most effective way to get it up to temp and keep it there is to cover about 1/3 of the radiator with cardboard and ride it. Idling in a driveway does nothing but waste gas.

not to mention, if there's snow, I think that having the engine "warm" before starting off isn't going to matter much when you consider the reduced grip with the ground. Unless that bike has a nuclear reactor that we don't know about, I don't think it's going to melt any snow in front of the bike.

notice, no yelling, and no swearing.

[smokinsingle]

The OP never said idle, and neither did I.
All I'm saying is don't just get on and ride.

Originally Posted by choneofakind

notice, no yelling, and no swearing.

Really dude, really?

[choneofakind]

My question is what difference is it going to make if you sit and warm it up vs warm it up as you go? None.

I don't see how his location in a cold climate is going to make a difference as to riding vs warming the engine. It's not like warming the engine warms the tires. He would be just as dangerous on slick pavement with a cold engine as he would be on slick pavement with an engine that had been warmed up in the driveway.

[smokinsingle]

Originally Posted by choneofakind

My question is what difference is it going to make if you sit and warm it up vs warm it up as you go? None.

That obviously depends on how you ride it

Originally Posted by choneofakind

I don't see how his location in a cold climate is going to make a difference as to riding vs warming the engine. It's not like warming the engine warms the tires. He would be just as dangerous on slick pavement with a cold engine as he would be on slick pavement with an engine that had been warmed up in the driveway.

Why you are bringing danger and tires in to it is beyond me
we are talking about oil temp

[choneofakind]

http://www.cartalk.com/content/do-ca...inter-mornings

On older, carbureted cars, that kind of extended warm-up can
actually cause damage to the engine by diluting the oil with excess
fuel.

RAY: But with modern cars, all you're doing with a long warm-up is
wasting gas, increasing pollution, raising the temperature of the
planet and making yourself 10 minutes late for your chiropractic
appointment. The proper procedure is to start the car. If it starts
and keeps running, put it in Drive and go. Go gently (don't back out
of your driveway and floor it right onto a highway entrance ramp),
because you'll be warming it up during your first few minutes of
driving, but DO drive it.

TOM: If it's bitterly cold out, like 10 or 20 degrees Fahrenheit or
lower, you can let it warm up for a minute or two to allow the oil to
thin out a bit and circulate completely. But other than that, if it
runs, driving it gently is the best way to warm it up.

^^Reliable source.
They advise not letting it sit for more than a minute. They say drive it gently to warm it up. Not bikes, but engines work on the same principles.

[bkh2]

I feel it's dangerous to not let a bike warm up enough because if it isn't, I find that my bike will bog, sputter, and die if I don't release the throttle. One time, I was a little impatient and rode it after a minute or so, and as I was turning left, my bike almost died... in the middle of the intersection. Granted, I'm a fairly new rider and I suppose you could slowly give it lots of gas and use the clutch really slowly to get moving.

The modern cars they are talking about are fuel injected cars. In the case of fuel injected bikes, I'd be all for 'taking it easy' to let it warm up.

[jack_bm]

No i dont mean before a ride i mean because its snowing i cant go anywhere, is there a risk of my bike freezing up and not starting, i do already cover it up and because of the snow i put a blanket over it and then covered it and yeah i put WD 40 on it but still didnt seem to change it.

I'll have a look about opening it up and cleaning it when its warmer and easyer to work with thanks for all the response though but yeah im not riding anywhere just want to know whether i should let her warm up just to stop her from freezing or somthing?

[Alex]

Yes - engines need to warm up. No - you don't need to leave it sitting in the driveway for an extended period until it's fully warm. Once it holds a smooth idle, motoring away gently is a perfectly acceptable way to warm up the bike, as well as saving fuel/emissions/you name it.

Never redline a cold engine, never go full throttle until it's up to operating temp, as that is what can cause accelerated wear before all parts are both properly lubricated and at operating clearances due to their temp.

[Skippii]

Start the bike idling when you're about 2/3s of the way done shoveling snow on your driveway. By the time you've cleared the rest of the snow and mounted the snow chains to your bike, it will be warm enough to ride without stalling and dying.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Reswob]

Originally Posted by NikkitaNinja

I remember someone, somewhere, who copied and pasted a paragraph about why you should NOT let your bike sit and warm up before you ride. Instead you should be riding with the choke on untill you feel it doesn't need it anymore. Letting it sit and idle will cause hot-spots in the engine and will ruin it over-time. That is what i got/remember out of it.

That's a nice idea and all, but on a really cold morning, she has to warm up sitting still with full choke on for 10 mins or so before she will take any throttle input without dying immediately. And that's "really cold" for southern VA, which is about 40°. Can't imagine how long you'd need to idle in someplace that gets actual winters!

[smokinsingle]

Originally Posted by Skippii

Start the bike idling when you're about 2/3s of the way done shoveling snow on your driveway. By the time you've cleared the rest of the snow and mounted the snow chains to your bike, it will be warm enough to ride without stalling and dying.
Posted via Mobile Device

Love it!!

[drdoug99]

I just rode my bike yesterday for the first time in about 3 months....gotta say these bikes seem to be very forgiving and reliable. So it's been sitting for 3 months in a garage....no battery tender, the same old gas, etc. No winterization done, and I didn't winterize or charge the battery last winter either and it sat for 4 months.

My warm up procedure is as follows: (This is in NW Ohio...temps have been very mild lately....in the 40's.) Put the choke on full, start it up, (Since it's been sitting it didn't start until the 2nd try.) Gradually back off the choke every 10 seconds or so when the RPM's ramp up.....after about 30 seconds to 1 minute of easing the choke back the bike can then idle normally without the choke....I blip the throttle a few times to be sure it won't die....if the bike starts to die when I blip the throttle I put a little choke back on....once I can give it throttle without it dying with no choke, then I know I'm good to go and I gently ride it for about 5 minutes before I ride it normally.

So the total warm up part without me actually riding it is usually less than 2 minutes...the time it takes me to put my gloves and helmet on basically while I wait for it to warm up.

The bike's been running in mint condition, I do all the basic maintenance myself....and this is what works for me. I think people tend to over analyze this a bit too much....I could give two ****s about the warm up procedure if the oil didn't get to every nook and cranny of the engine when I'm riding at 12k RPM's and 80MPH down a straight stretch of country road or going through turns....I've just got a big smile on my face!

[Jiggles]

Originally Posted by Reswob

That's a nice idea and all, but on a really cold morning, she has to warm up sitting still with full choke on for 10 mins or so before she will take any throttle input without dying immediately. And that's "really cold" for southern VA, which is about 40°. Can't imagine how long you'd need to idle in someplace that gets actual winters!

Something is wrong with you bike

[BlackNinja8]

I just got my bike and I learned very quickly that my bike needs to warm up before I can operate it safely. There is a blind turn leaving my development and my engine cut out twice while attempting to make that turn after doing the "hop on and go" method of engine warming. The combination of inexact air/fuel mixtures and different climates means that it is different for everyone. But if you live in NY and like to ride in 45 degree temps, let your bike warm or ride with proper choke my 2 cents...

[nycsteve]

Originally Posted by BlackNinja8

I just got my bike and I learned very quickly that my bike needs to warm up before I can operate it safely. There is a blind turn leaving my development and my engine cut out twice while attempting to make that turn after doing the "hop on and go" method of engine warming. The combination of inexact air/fuel mixtures and different climates means that it is different for everyone. But if you live in NY and like to ride in 45 degree temps, let your bike warm or ride with proper choke my 2 cents...

Totally agree here!

[choneofakind]

Originally Posted by BlackNinja8

my engine cut out twice while attempting to make that turn after doing the "hop on and go" method of engine warming.

*snip*

if you live in NY and like to ride in 45 degree temps, let your bike warm or ride with proper choke my 2 cents...

Hop on and go means start with choke. ride away. turn choke off as it is no longer needed. Read the link on the ninja250 wiki

[atomicrm]

If you start riding you are going to be running around at higher rpms and the oil i would assume doesn't magically get thin just because you are riding. my bet is that either method is just fine and none of us will probably ever see prolonged engine life by using one of the mentioned methods. just do what works and feels right for you.

[BlackNinja8]

Originally Posted by choneofakind

Hop on and go means start with choke. ride away. turn choke off as it is no longer needed. Read the link on the ninja250 wiki

It's not a matter of reading a wiki page. And regardless of what engine tests under controlled conditions conclude, my bike fully choked and cold will not take any throttle without stalling and full choke does not provide enough gas to get enough speed in 2nd gear to safely make the blind turn exiting my development. I absolutely must let my bike sit and warm at idle.

[choneofakind]

Originally Posted by BlackNinja8

full choke does not provide enough gas to get enough speed in 2nd gear to safely make the blind turn exiting my development.

That doesn't even make sense. Not enough gas to get enough speed to make a turn in second gear? what? dude. start in first gear. Then shift to second gear when you get to 6k. Then shift to 3rd gear when you get to 6k. Then, maybe even 4th gear when you get to 6k again. You can even go the whole way up to 6th gear. Oh my



A cheap, easy way to get it up to temp and keep it there in winter is to cover about 1/3 of the radiator with a piece of cardboard. Works like a charm.

My bike starts right up in >30 degree temps. My buddy's new-gen starts right up in >30 degree temps. We both ride as late into fall and as early in spring as we can, and neither of us has had any trouble with the bike being unable to putz around at about 5k before totally warm without dying.

Just read the wiki. There's no use in being stubborn and not reading it because you think I'm wrong, that's dumb. It's good, time tested, free information that applies to all of our bikes.

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Warming_up_your_engine

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/What_is..._at_startup%3F

[Flipflash]

Originally Posted by EthioKnight

Recommended engine warm-up method...
http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Warming_up_your_engine

Oops

[BlackNinja8]

@Chone - Don't care what you, your buddy, or anyone you know does. If you try to run cold full choke on MY bike and make a left out of MY development you will get plowed if there is a car coming. End of story. It's getting to the point where I'm tempted to give you my address and the keys to my bike. Just make sure you have life insurance with me as a beneficiary.

Reading is a great way to learn but experience is a better teacher. You've got to know how to adapt what you read to your personal circumstance.

[Alex]

All true. No matter what is written up here, you need to find out what works for your own bike. If a method has you sputtering into traffic with the bike stalling, you need a better method.

But....

A bike should not need to sit in a driveway for an extended period before being able to roll off. You want to be rolling down the road as soon as the bike is running smoothly, and if it still is on full choke, that's OK. If a bike is particularly cold-blooded and takes a very long time to come up to temp, consider working on the fuel settings a bit, by adjusting the fuel screws, and shimming or replacing the needles with ones that provide a bit more fuel.

[BlackNinja8]

@Alex Sounds like good advice. I've seen a couple of threads on shimming/carb adjustments and I thought while I was out that my throttle felt a little lean. I don't know if that's just a symptom of the 250R, or if that makes any sense at all, but my bike doesn't feel all that responsive at all throttle positions.

My bike during a break in parking lot practice.

[choneofakind]

Originally Posted by BlackNinja8

@Chone - Don't care what you, your buddy, or anyone you know does. If you try to run cold full choke on MY bike and make a left out of MY development you will get plowed if there is a car coming. End of story. It's getting to the point where I'm tempted to give you my address and the keys to my bike. Just make sure you have life insurance with me as a beneficiary.

Reading is a great way to learn but experience is a better teacher. You've got to know how to adapt what you read to your personal circumstance.

Relax, it's just the internet. I was teasing. My apologies for joking with you before knowing if you would take it the way it was intended or not. My mouth runneth over at times.

If you're ever in the Cleveland area of Ohio, I would be more than willing to go for a ride with you and swap bikes, and tune your carbs a little.

Full choke might actually be making it too rich. On every 250 I've ridden, applying full choke once the bike is warm just makes it zing up to 4.5k, and bog a touch with small throttle openings from a standstill.

It would be worth your time to look into popping off the epa plugs and shimming the needles, and getting some more experience with the choke and cold starts.

Yes I realize experience is better than reading, but with more information on a subject, you open your eyes to what to look for, and how to better diagnose a problem. Again, being stubborn and not reading something helpful just because you're mad at me makes no sense.

Can we be adults and bury the hatchet? I would rather not make an enemy out of a new member whom I welcomed in their introductory thread, because that just makes me look like a bad guy, and in general makes the forum look bad.

[BlackNinja8]

@chone ur right poor reaction on my part. Surely I can get better at warming my engine but I don't have too many options at my disposal other than idling. My neighborhood has a single linear traffic lane into and out of the development and the only way out is the blind turn. I dread it everytime I leave in my car so the cold bike is terror. I'ge resorted to making a right and going the long way rather than risking the left turn with a cold engine. Good articles though thanks for your input.

[CZroe]

What gets me is all the people who explain it without a grasp of basic Newtonian physics. Rotations are rotations, parked or rolling. An unloaded rotation without oil is as damaging as a loaded rotation without oil. The other moving parts are the only notable difference between the two. The "speed" of warming up that we are looking at shouldn't be measured in actual time, but in rotations of the engine. Getting the clutch/transmission involved with more moving parts will create more heat faster, both in actual time and in rotational time.

As far as safety concerns, what I see most often is that people open the throttle when they feel that the bike is chugging and open it more or all the way when it continues to die. When they finish their turn and it didn't die, they have the throttle twisted way too far open and the bike may take off as RPMs raise to match. Because the rider may have even rolled off it a bit but still remains much too high, they may not realize it until it's too late. I saw one accident blamed on this back in 2008 when the guy claimed that it made him "wheelie off" (I'm sure it wasn't a wheelie).

Originally Posted by smokinsingle

Are you guys all freakin' nuts? First off the OP is talking about a place so cold it snowed! You want him to jump on a bike that's possibly below 40F and just "ride it easy"???No...Second, has no one been to the races before, or even seen one on TV? They let that **** warm up till at FULL operating temp. I've seen it first hand working tech for the AMA at pro road races. A crew member starts the bike and just stares at the water temp guage bliping the throttle while the rider hangs out and waits. You guys have to have seen a supercross race on tv before right? Those guys sit at the start gate and bang em off the limiter for what seems like 5 min. before they ever even click them in to gear!



And don't even get me started on this quote....Your oil pump runs any where from 15 to 30 psi. Try to do that with "riding forces"

Sorry for yelling, no offence to anyone it's just rampant mis-information

Irrelevant. It's no secret that an engine at operating temp runs better, but it still had to get there and the racers wouldn't sacrifice race time to get it there. No one needs maximum performance to go to work or to pull out of their driveway.

[sLick415]

Lolol. I know this is old. But none of you ever answered the op's question!

Originally Posted by jack_bm

No i dont mean before a ride i mean because its snowing i cant go anywhere, is there a risk of my bike freezing up and not starting, i do already cover it up and because of the snow i put a blanket over it and then covered it and yeah i put WD 40 on it but still didnt seem to change it.

I'll have a look about opening it up and cleaning it when its warmer and easyer to work with thanks for all the response though but yeah im not riding anywhere just want to know whether i should let her warm up just to stop her from freezing or somthing?

[dooby]

If it matters, the OP is based in the UK so I believe the bike would be fuel injected.

Jack, if you're asking could your bike freeze solid in the winter I think the answer is probably not in the UK. Even with temperatures down to -10 degrees C, I don't think crucial fluids in our bikes would freeze. Oil won't, petrol won't and the antifreeze in our cooling systems should also be protected from freezing at those temperatures.

I have heard talk of classic car owners starting their cars every few weeks to let them warm up fully then cool down - I think this is to ensure things like seals go through a heat cycle to try and avoid them drying out or becoming brittle and perishing. I expect they also disconnect the battery or leave a trickle charger if they know the vehicle won't actually be used for several months.

HTH, Pete

[lgk]

if storing for long periods of time outdoors,

regular starting and warm up is essential, to drive out the moisture inside the motor and circulate all the fluids.

otherwise internal parts of the engine start to rust, and the bearings get damaged from moisture.

[dfox]

excessive warmup not necessary.

i live in boston and start my bike in the teens and single digits in the am. Start, mount, ride within 30 seconds. I live in the city, lots of traffic, i need acceleration or i'm squashed. it takes about 2 blocks with the choke on until it will accelerate without bogging down.

if your bike can't do that, I'd suggest that you need to tune up/balance/clean your carbs and jets.

[mikecronis]

Normal routine for me is start bike with choke (if under 50 deg. F., no choke if over) and then zip jacket, put on helmet, gloves, all which take about a minute, then you're good to go.

[tubarney]

The reason why race teams warm their bikes up is cos is makes more hp when warm. You only need to give it 10 seconds or so and ride away. My ninja 250 makes 2 more HP when warm so you can imagine what a race bike would make when warm vs cold.