Warm up first?

[dizzyblonde]

Depends on time of year. Summer choke on, ten seconds if that. Winter, up to 3 thousand revs for about 20-30 secs ( enough for me to lock the back door and open the gate) choke off, away we go

Also depends on which bike in our house. The SRX takes ages before its warmed up. The Raptor has to be upto 30 degrees before it even goes anywhere, its an Italian pedigree, they have to be treated proper like

[Stu]

Originally Posted by xXBADGERXx

I thought you had a pointy Stu ? Auto-Choke on them or have you rigged something up ?
.

Still got the SV, but all my riding is now on my ZX6R

When I saw that in your signature mate , I assumed it was GSXR front end with ZX6R rear end ........ doh!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by dizzyblonde

....Winter, up to 3 thousand revs for about 20-30 secs ( enough for me to lock the back door and open the gate) choke off, away we go

That is the right way to ensure oil gets up into the motor quickly, although I would give it at least 30s during the winter. During the summer months I would be giving the motor 20-30s. Warm motor that has been standing for a while is the same. Start and gently raise the rpm to a constant level without "revving" it.

Also oil pressure lights can be a little deceptive. I am unsure about the SV so I treat it as a worst case. Many are set to blink out at zero, or pressures that are way to low. Their location also means that they can be a poor indicator of adequate lubrication in the far reaches of the system.
One of the worst things that can be done is to hit the starter and pop the clutch as is often done. That seriously shortens the life of a motor.

Startup is all about lubrication... warmup is done on the road, but a couple of minutes idling certainly won't hurt anything. A lot comes down to what the rider does in those first couple of miles before everything is up to temperature. I just ride it easy and keep it below 4.5k and half throttle.
Something that I will not do is a cold start to ride 1/2 a mile to the corner shop. Both the bike and I benefit more if I walk.

Originally Posted by Kalessin

I tried to find a happy medium. I tend to let the bike warm up to 20° and ride away, but avoid hard acceleration until 50°.

What do you think is best?

I'd be happy with that, although I would bump the rpm for the first 30s or so.

Cheers

When I start my bike I try to use the choke to keep the revs between 2000 - 2500rpm instead of 3000, I'd heard that too high rpms on the choke can foul the spark plugs...

[dizzyblonde]

3000 is hardly high on the choke. Never had any problems with spark plugs fouling from how I warm up my bikes....I've been doing it for 5 yrs on an SV.

I wheel the SV out, start it, light a fag, suit up, fag out, helmet and gloves on and away - because of the local roads being so beaten up I am slow until the dual carriageway and off I go.

[Sid Squid]

I stand by what I said, and the excellent and sensible advice from Embee, which all boils down to:

Start it, ride it. Warming up is all deficit, no benefit.

Clearly I'm not suggesting you spank it into the limiter before you reach the end of your street. My Enterprise mileage ZX6* suggests I'm onto something there. The several bikes I've taken right 'round the clock prior to this one suggests that's not a fluke.

I don't follow any strict rules with warming up.

I generally get the bike out of the garage and go inside to get my gear sorted - leaving my helmet and gloves off.

Then go outside and start it while I put my helmet and gloves on. Off we go.

Not always possible though. This morning I turned it on and set off straight away 'cos it was 6am and I didn't fancy waing the neighbours

Originally Posted by Sid Squid

I stand by what I said, and the excellent and sensible advice from Embee, which all boils down to:

Start it, ride it. Warming up is all deficit, no benefit.

Clearly I'm not suggesting you spank it into the limiter before you reach the end of your street. My Enterprise mileage ZX6* suggests I'm onto something there. The several bikes I've taken right 'round the clock prior to this one suggests that's not a fluke.

+1
it's all about getting the oil flowing properly round the engine and properly warmed up to working temperature as quick as possible. When you ride your bike as the components turn and move they draw oil between them creating a hydrodynamic layer which builds up a lubricant film between the surfaces preventing wear. Some engines can take up to 2 minutes before the oil has circulated properly round - also, riding your bike gets the whole engine warmed up, sitting idling is the worst thing you can do to an engine for the reasons Embee has already stated.

Spokey