So the owners book recommends 5 mins warming up before riding and the bike certainly responds better to this. I understand the reasons for this but my neighbours don’t seem to care about mechanical recommendations early in the morning... How long do you guys warm up at this time of year?
Until the water temperature registers on the dash but I don’t initially hit the road trying to make progress Andy
I’m probably the same as @Android853sp in that I’ll warm it up for 2 mins and then have a slow start To my ride while it warms up some more
Agree with most of the above [ apart from maybe turning the key and spanking it .... ] .... no real need to let it stand idling . I start it , have a quick glance over wheels and chain , put on helmet and gloves .... and I'm gone . On a side note , I was reading on a car forum that the notion of warming an engine before driving away is a hangover from the 60s and 70s .... .... and that there are some negative effects in doing this with modern engines ?
You’d expect condensation to be one of those negatives effects. My start up procedure is; Full choke Turn key, let the pump do it’s thing Press Start button Fires usually after a couple of cranks. Balance revs by reducing choke to half Put on lid, gloves etc Reduce revs further by closing choke further to quarter Set off, reducing choke to closed as it warms up. Ive found this method recently after struggling to keep the engine running when cold, closing the choke too early causing it to stall. This is the first Ducati I’ve owned since my last 900 ss 25 years ago that isn’t fuel injection. Takes a bit of getting used to.
Thanks for the responses. Sounds like I have no choice but to be the first to break the silence on the days I use the bike for work. Will make a change from the bloody pigeons, driving me mad, noisy buggers! Thanks again.
Start it up, check its working. Switch it off. It is a Ducati. Now go and get bike gear on. Hope it is going to start again. Ride off nice and steady. Then give it the beans. 5 minutes? Erm. Nope. Just dont flog it n the first 30 seconds. To be fair this has worked with all motorcycles ( though I do check Ducatis are playing first...)
I've always taken the approach of getting my gear, then starting the bike on the drive and then I put on my helmet, zip up my jacket, put on my gloves, and get on and ride.
tend to start up let it run for a couple of mins then stop engine while i go back in to get gear on then gentle ride off and yes my neighbours are not great fans of the noise one especially his wife complains on tick over ther windows vibrate and rattle they live next door but 2 should get decent windows lol
It really is an issue with Ducati’s, particularly with Termi’s (other aftermarket cans are available) I went to work on the bike this week & cringed at my window rattling open clutch 1098 on start up at 7:15am. Bugs me when the bin lorry turns up in the morning on my day off so God knows what the neighbours think about it
I wait until it registers a value (40c) on my 1199 dash, then pull away. Easy on the gas until tires feel warmed up and it reads 70c+ on the coolant temps. On the subject of temps... I chap at work told me his 2013 Diavel has hit 120c coolant temp on roasting summer days when stuck in heavy traffic. I've been flapping when I see 104c on my Pani.
For whatever reason, the Diavel does seem to run hotter. The few times I’ve ridden my girlfriends Diavel, the temperature has scared the sh*t out of me. Andy
I just start and go, then take it easy as the tyres need to warm up anyway. So I tend to just potter out of town in tickover practically and gently ease into it. I also have to warm my brain up. The latter seems to take the longest.
The quickest way to warm up is to start the bike then hold the throttle wide open with it bouncing off the Rev limiter for about 5 minutes, then ride off keeping it in 1st gear at max revs for the first 5 miles or so, never had a problem, my last engine lasted almost 3 months using this method.
It’s an easy way of going from full choke to half/ quarter choke with gloves on. Designed to be better than a completely linear arrangement where it’s easy to go to far and stall it. It’s a simple and clever design but not sure how much it helps really.