Hello all - now you have helped me with the exhaust question I wondered if I could have your opinion on this? Years ago when I was young and foolish I bought a Harley Davidson 1200 Sportster (didn't have it for long though :wink: ) Anyway the HD dealer told me I had to warm it up for around a minute or so before taking off, especially in cold weather - not because of any choke issues but because, and I quote "Air cooled engines need to be warmed up first - liquid cooled ones don't". Well that was thirty years ago or so and it has always stayed in my head like the old wives tales my mother told me "Don't put shoes on the table or hats on the bed" (???) Basically I never questioned this but know I an returning to an air cooled twin after years of liquid cooled triples and fours I'm beginning to suspect it's a load of old tosh. Do you Ducatists warm up before the off?
l warm mine up for a couple of minutes alegedly the oil takes 90 seconds to reach the cams on a desmoquattro Steve B
I warm all my bikes up before setting off, right or wrong who knows but it certainly hasn't effected any of my bikes. With the Ducati that's a must, I usually wait till it hits 60 degrees before engaging first gear.
As others have said, I let my GT1000 warm up for a couple of minutes (I check tyre pressures during this time) and then ride fairly steady until the oil temp reaches 50C. Some owners in North America blank off the oil cooler in winter to effect a quicker warm up, but I've never found this necessary with our winters.
Is assume the reason for warm up is just to piss the neighbours off . There is no need at all with modern ducatis , as long as you don't thrash it its much better to get moving ASAP . If it takes 90 seconds to reach the cams what difference difference does sitting still make , cams are not running in oil either way .
In the old days (or with an old bike) using 50 grade oil and roller big-ends (hence low delivery oil pump), it was a good idea to get the oil quite warm so it would circulate and the oil pressure would settle. Prolonged warmup at tickover was the way to do this, otherwise the oil was like glue. Nowadays oil is really thin when cold and oil pumps high-delivery, so that is less of a consideration. If you have a catalyser in the exhaust you really want it to heat up as quickly as possible and idling will not achieve that, so it is better to ride off as soon as possible. Just keep the revs down until the temp gauge shows some heat.
hats on the bed - never heard of that one shoes on the table - big no no, but who takes their hat to the bedroom?
I usually leave it for about 30 seconds while I close the garage and put helmet and gloves on. Then I'll keep the revs low until the engine warms up. Seems to be working fine :smile:
I usually start mine before I get my helmet & gloves on. I have noticed that the aircooled engine takes much longer to warm up than the watercooled desmoquattro wots in me ST4S even when riding.
Joe Cocker track, " Take of your coat, your shoes and your dress, but baby you can leave your hat on"
No, you won't build any meaningful heat in any reasonable time period of idling. Engines need load to warm up. There is no reason not to start up and ride off straight away, just don't thrash a cold engine.
:biggrin: I'm sorry I can't substantiate the "Hats on the bed" myth as sadly my mother has passed on but she had hundreds of strange rules along those lines; Never cross anybody on the stairs (awkward in a large,busy building like a hotel or office block) Crossed knives mean an argument Blow up and burst a bag means someone somewhere is blown out of a job (???) Say 'Morning Mr Magpie" to the first magpie you see If you put a garment on backwards by mistake turn round three times ...and loads of others. Mind you she never said "Warm your bike up before taking off" Bless her...:wink:
Yes those are good Plus if you do get caught out dont forget to keep your fingers crossed until you see a dog then it's ok - again tricky at work although the Internet is a godsend in these cases I salute magpies as well and am always on the lookout for four leaf clovers
i never warm up any engine. i start and drive away slowly,did it like that with all my bikes and cars and never had a probleme. henk!!!
My bike hasn't been run for 3 months, so I was considering priming the oil system before firing up, but after careful consideration it was deemed un necessary. As my mate pointed out (engine designer for triumph) with a desmo engine there is very little pressure on the cam load bearing surfaces (lobes and shims) compared to s normal valve system, so that 1 second (or less) period without oil really won't harm it.
