Warming Bike Up

LOL...A little to technical for me...

What I do is with my higher comp. Engines is let them run a bit(5 min) or so,I think it might matter with Cast Pistons,verses forged Pistons,I think one old wrench told me this years back,So that's what I have always followed with good results......

'Don't like to idle engine. 'Just start, put in gear and go....Gently for about 5 min. Idling motors don't get enough of that cold oil moving around. Just be gentle for a little while. 'Had over 75k on my '09. And never needed to add oil and never a whisp of smoke.

LOL... How do you get cold oil in Flooreda??Put it in the ice box??

My bike is due for an oil change...If I was going to keep it on the road right now, I'd use 10w-40,but it's dark out when I leave work now(when the clocks go back I put it away,now) a couple of years ago, I left work in the dark after raining in the day and temps were just at or little below freezing....30 miles of glistening shiny slick roads was enough for me to say"Fug Dat"!!! Stop riding dumbazz!!lol

Boy, I'll say! Anybody rides in cold like that is plenty hardcore, even with a fairing and windshield.

Oh, I've been in Floida when it was in the upper 30s, but that was up around Tallahassee in the winter. And I was riding my ironhead (no fairing, with a bubble shield on my helmet) heading to parts west . . . it would kill me now LOL. I recall letting the Sporty warm up a long time!

I think more stupid than hardcore Josh...I should have known better...But I did let the bike warm up a couple of minutes before I pulled out...

It is more then just the oil that needs to get to temp. Mentioned earlier the engine needs to be warmed because of the design. Unlike the Shovelhead on back the Evo/TwinCams have the head bolts run from the head through the barrels thus the barrels need to be warmed up to swell or expand to bring torq to the gaskets. (base and head) Running Syn Oil is my preference due to the added friction reduction, pumping qualties and it leaves a film on all parts for start ups. Dinosaur oil will drain off and leave the parts dry at start up. (no, don`t want to start a argument on oil) JMO,,, I run 20/50, 1 qt Dino oil 3 qts Syn Amsoil,,, Only reason for that is I find that running all Syn makes the engine sound noisy,,,, Straight 50wt is too thick for Evo/TwinCams,,, And yes,,, I ride all year,,, Thats my 120 ci orange chopper on the right and my red FLHS on the left (loaned to a friend for the ride),,,

Welcome to Bike Talk, Jim M.

Got forged pistons. I let mine idle longer.
Don't care who it wakes up. Not messing up my bike cause I didn't let it warm up a little more.
My Power Vision has a Temp gauge on it too.
Forged pistons don't warm up as fast as cast pistons.


Another reason yer warming up yer bike is to let the pieces go back into shape from the cold.

Know the pistons on a outboard can go a little egg shaped from being cold in a suzuki outboard years ago..
The factory said to warm them up longer.
If you didn't warm them up long enough you could mess a piston up.
And it was called Cold seizure and wasn't covered under warranty.

You could run the Thicker oil in Older bikes.
Newer bikes has tighter tolerances and that is why they came out with the multi viscosity Oil.
And synthetic oil flows into the smaller holes and all better.

But its yer bike, do it yer way.

Awh,,, Carver !! Must be a regular at Shelly`s ! That picture was a couple years ago up Wildcat Mt. Road . That was on the way back down. Snow was deeper then that up farther as my foot pegs were pushing the snow! Was a fun day!

Thanks Joshbob !

So that is why my base gasket is "weeping".

First time shame on HD second time shame on me!!

Looks as if you would know where I can buy ice cleats for my ultra!!!

Didn't know about the longer warmup time required for Evo's on up. My shovel is simple. Before the first ride of the day, I kick it over 4 or 5 times with the ignition off to clean out the cylinders, and also to get that 50 wt. racing oil in all the nooks and crannies. Usually starts in 1, 2 or 3 kicks after that. I let it warm up a couple of minutes in warm weather, fully choked, longer in colder temps.
On restarts, I hold the throttle open about a quarter turn, kick, and I'm on my way. Like I said, it's simple, but it took me months to figure it out LOL.

Never had a problem with weeping gaskets and now I know why.