I'm planning on firing up my SS ie tomorrow, its been on a battery conditioner so its got plenty of power, but as its been stood a while I was wondering if the following would be a good idea. 1) Pull plug leads 2) With no throttle, and no fast idle lever, turn engine over on starter until oil pressure light goes out 3) put leads back on, start as normal. The reason I'm thinking this will be a good idea is the injected engine fires up very readily, even if left for weeks at a time. Is rather get oil around the desmo system before it fires up... Or should I just start it up normally?
Just start it up, let it idle for a Minuit or two to get the oil round. best to let it warm fully though before you put it away again, or the oil will be full of the unburnt crap that builds up on cold engines. personnaly i would just leave it in the garage on the charger untill you are ready to take it for a run.
Letting it "warm thoroughly" before shutting it own is the worst thing you can do. Naughty Harry! Take it for a twenty mile ride at least or don't fire it up at all.
My understanding is that starting an engine for short periods when the engine is not under load means that it doesn't ever get warm enough to burn off the water produced by combustion and the resulting acidic mix is really bad for an engine. Even if you rev it a little and get it up to temperature (water-cooled) the oil never gets hot enough to avoid damage. I never ride in cold or wet conditions and I do worry about belts being in one position for long periods so every so often I put the bike in top gear and rotate the back wheel by hand a little to move the belt position. I don't know if this is a good idea but it seems better than starting the engine.
Mine has not been started since oct. Trickle charger once in a while and rotate the rear wheel whilst in gear just to move the belts.
I generally start mine a few times between going away and coming out in spring, always have done. Just let it idle for a minute then rev a bit then idle, just so it stops condensate out of the exhaust and the fan kicks in. Two schools of thought- 1-start it so the oil keeps on all the engine parts but risk not getting warm enough and emulsifying oil - I always change my oil and filter before being put away 2-leave it alone until summer but risk the acids melting the engine to dust (slightly exagerated) - one reason why I change the oil before being put away. None of this is gospel just what I do.
Just get it started Phil, and don't worry about it. If you're starting it every day for months on end you could cause some problems, but once or twice won't make a blind bit of difference, these engines are much less fragile than people make them out to be. The fugly strada started first touch after a 3-month lay-off, just put the key in and press the button.
Does anyone in here believe dealers (who may have bikes in for months and months and months) do such a ritual of starting and running each engine whilst it is in their showroom? Why should your own bike be abused in this fashion? It does no good to the bike, in fact it does harm. Even the battery boosters don't do a lot of good.
Also interested in the battery tender comment, I leave the bikes & a 2nd car hooked up to optimate chargers all the time, sometimes for weeks without touching them - I thought that was what you were supposed to do! ----- advise please if thats incorrect or I'll be buying 3 new batteries
The theory is they'll boil the battery dry. It's a very old theory... In practise these days, I find battery tenders are rarely required, even old italian bikes, the batteries are that good and engines that reliable these days, that unless you've got a really recalcitrant bike with other issues you're unlikely to need one. I leave my bikes as they are, and if they struggle to start I'll stick them on a battery tender overnight. The idea that your bike is so fickle it needs wiring up to a life support system is at least three decades out of date. Unless you own an Aprilia, of course...
I have just given mine a quick flick of the starter after 4 weeks.... ...I thought my cr*ppy old lead acid battery would be as lifeless as this Government, but no, it would have fired up if I had switched the choke and pump on........ ........but I took the battery off anyway and stuck it on the charger.......It isn't going to take much to fully charge it, looking at the needle position on the ammeter.........The battery is at least four years old, if not more......didn't need topping up either. AL
wot those two said...........^^^^^ my "go to guy" ducati specialist independent agrees too. If you have a battery/charger sort of problem they mask it. If you haven't...........you don't need one.
Ok cool thanks for explanations. Be worth some more investigation I guess as seems plausible but then I've used em for ages (as I'm guessing have others) and all ok. Pays ya money and makes ya choice? as prob / poss no actual "right" answer? Thanks again
I keep my battery indoors during cold weather, 5 degrees or less. Charge it on optimate for a few hours once a week just to top it up.
