Sorned - To Fire Up Or Not To Fire Up

Some will say yes and some will say no. In my opinion the answer is yes but not just an occasional fire up. Bike needs to be warmed all the way through and I usually run mine for about 30 minutes which pisses the neighbours off because I vary the revs a lot. Andy

 

Hope you have it on an optimate as when it gets to cold you could kill the battery beyond recovery.
But yeah I would say fire it up once a fortnight and warm it through thoroughly just keep an eye on coolant in rad. Ducs hot up pretty quick.

 

Many threads on this, recent too - general consensus has been no don't be daft - for longer term storage it's probably the worst thing to do as most engine wear is from cold starts

 

Mine tends to sit on trickle charge throughout the winter but I've been away on business without getting the chance to enjoy the Mutley for 8+ months this year as well. Never started her up throughout winter but she hasn't let me down when I eventually manage to get myself home and want to take her for a blat/trip.

Definitely recommend an optimate/oximiser though.

Get well soon if you're still on the mend by the way.

 

Fill yer boots ...

999 - Start Over Winter Or Not | Ducati Forum

I'm with Cranker V2 on this, don't run it unless you get the cases thoroughly warm under load - 40 miles

 

So long as the battery is being supported I'm with the don't start brigade, albeit I'm concerned with the petrol these days appears to degrade really quickly. I've got loads of petrol powered tools and three generators, all are started every thee months until at least to running temp.

 

I have actually run mine down to nearly empty, there may be half a pint of petrol in the bike, when spring is here I will fill her full to the brim which will hopefully combat any condensation. Saying that my Streetfighter has plastic tank so no chance of corrosion.

 

Hi Vince its not the corrosion, but that the petrol quickly becomes stale...may be its just me?

 

Hi Paul, on metal tanks there is the possibility of corrosion but I hear what your saying about petrol hence why I run mine right down so at least when it goes back out again if I fill it right up its not diluted to much.

 

there is an expression i use a lot in the trade and more often when i worked on fiat's "use it or lose it" theirs lots of things to consider, starter motors, belts, cooling fans, horn even. i dont specifically go out my why to jump on it/move it around, work stuff on them start them. it just seems to happen, i think i am doing more good than harm.

 

Whats that then? If you don't use it you lose it?

 

no. more like don't pay it stay.:smile:

 

you start to notice patterns with cars and i am sure it's the same with bikes.
with the onset of spring/summer you start to see overheats due to seized cooling fans.autumn/winter rear wiper motors starters and alternators . mot's seized horns.

 

Luckily my car has aircon and it is on permanently to regulate in car temp and it hardly affects fuel consumption so hopefully cooling fans wont seize, as for horns they a firmly fixed to my head

 

Where did you buy the Qat Ds Rivets?

 

They were already riveted together when he bought them

 

Helpful. A rudimentary understanding of grammar would have made what I meant crystal clear and rendered your 'joke' redundant.

 

This might help: According to Shell Australia’s Technical Advice Centre Manager, Warren Scott, you can generally store fuel in a sealed container for around six months before it starts to deteriorate. This assumes it’s kept relatively cool and away from direct sunlight. “But if the container is not properly sealed or it’s repeatedly opened, [fuel] will start to evaporate and you lose some of the light components in the fuel,” Mr Warren says. Those light components include highly important butane. As these components are lost, the fuel loses its volatility. Mr Warren says this makes the car difficult to start. In warm conditions, fuel is especially prone to oxidisation which causes lacquer and gums to form. As a result, the fuel turns dark in colour, loses its clarity and smells like paint stripper. Gary Whitfield, Senior Fuel Chemist at BP Australia, says that in the right conditions, fuel can last up to 12 months. But once the container is opened, the fuel will start to degrade. “Once the seal is broken, a vapour space is formed in the container and the fuel will start to deteriorate more rapidly,” he says. Okay, so what about fuel that’s left in your car’s tank for a long period of time? Mr Whitfield claims fuel in a car’s tank can last for up to four weeks before it becomes considerably denser. When this happens, the engine is effectively over-fuelled (without any change in injector pulse-width) and there’s an increased chance of carbon deposition onto spark plugs and inside the combustion chamber. This can cause driveability problems such as stutters and misses. “Regular unleaded fuel will lose a small amount of octane over time but in our low-sulphur and high detergent Ultimate fuel it might increase very slightly. It might increase 1 RON in four weeks – but it’s not something I’d bother chasing,” he says. “Keep in mind that typical variation in BP Ultimate is 98 – 100 RON while normal unleaded ranges between 91 – 93 RON.” Mr Warren says that in most cases, it’s only when fuel is left in the tank for several months there’s the risk of engine damage. This is much more likely to occur in cars running dual LPG/petrol systems. “By this time the fuel will have gone dark and gummy and can clag the fuel pump, filter and injectors,” Mr Warren says. It can also leave a lacquer deposit on the inside of the fuel tank which is difficult to remove. In addition, it’s important to be aware that fuel brews – specifically fuel volatility - varies on a month to month basis. Standards vary from state to state but, generally, volatility is reduced during summer months to reduce evaporative emissions. Mr Whitfield says this typically makes the engine slightly harder to start but there is no change in octane. Lachlan Riddel, proprietor of Gold Coast based tuning company ChipTorque, frequently dyno tests cars which have not previously been driven for several weeks. “On the fuel mix we have in Queensland, I think fuel in a car’s tank is starting to go off in around three weeks,” Mr Riddel says. “We can tune a car, put it away for three of four weeks, come back to it and it will be either closer to detonation or less likely to make the same power. “I think local fuel is brewed to reduce evaporative emissions in warm weather and, maybe because of that, fuel really goes crappy in eight to ten weeks. By that stage, the fuel is extremely prone to detonation.” Interestingly, Mr Riddel hasn’t noticed the engine becoming harder to start but the effect on octane is pronounced. Similarly, the General Manager of Melbourne’s Advanced Vehicle Operations, Steve Coates, believes fuel tends to go off in a car’s fuel tank quite quickly once it’s a couple of weeks old. “After a couple of weeks not driving a car, I find that it will be closer to detonation than it was at the time of tuning on the chassis dyno,” he says. “And the brand of fuel seems to make a difference as well – I find that Mobil and BP products are probably the best after being stored but Shell Optimax is really good when it’s new." Clearly, there are some important factors to keep in mind when storing fuel in a container for several months or when parking your car for a few weeks. Our recommendation is not to run the engine at high load with fuel that’s been in the tank for any more than three of four weeks and it’s a good idea to add at least 25 percent fresh fuel to the tank every few weeks. This will help ensure there are no fuel-related driveability problems or detonation and will reduce the chance of lacquer building up inside the tank.