Proper warm-up

You must not live in the deep south. Here in Central Texas if you let a bike warm up 12-15 minutes in July it would be melting the paint off the bottom of the tank by the time you got on it.

 

Even in cold weather here in Florida, I let it idle for 2-3 minutes, then accelerate and shift easy for the first mile or so.

 

Waste of time and your gas money to let it run for 12-15 minutes.
10 to 15 seconds till it runs smoothly then take it easy for the first mile or so before getting heavy handed!
Excessive idling is detrimental to the engine.

Your bike is NOT a Kubota tractor that is designed to run wide open for hours on end and needs proper warm up!.

 

My Scout is water cooled and does have a temp gauge!

An air cooled bike at 12-15 minutes of idle is probably doing heat damage to the engine and anything close to the engine, even in the winter time! Even your S/S exhaust system is most likely suffering from heat damage!

I would bet all of my money that your Kubota tractor didn't have an air cooled engine either and had a temp gauge!
I only remember one water cooled Husqvarna motorcycle from the 80's so I can't comment on their warm up instructions.

Everyone assumes that every person on the forums know what bike you are riding.... we don't , you need to tell us when you post generic questions!

 

Can we assume that you have an air cooled bike?

 

In some parts of the world it's not legal to warm up a vehicle like that. It's some kind of environmental thing.

I usually start the motor as I back out of the garage and then hammer it coming out of the driveway to keep from getting run over. Modern engines do not need to warm up. It's just a waste of fuel and valuable time that could be spent riding.

 

Start it...then put on the rest of your riding gear. By the time you are in all the regalia, your bike is warmed up enough.

Semper Fi,
Z

 

Start it up watching the rpm - usually 1000 to 1050. When idle drops to 800 the bike considers itself warmed up. Then I ride it away.

 

I do the same as Semper Fi, Z and take it easy on the power until I reach a good temp. Temp read out on the Scout is real handy for this! Only takes few minutes to reach 79 - 81d which it seems to settle in at.

 

I hop on and go.

Fire it up in the garage and by the time I've backed it out, cinched up the helmet etc I figure it's fine. But I've got an easy downslope to the first stop sign in second gear. I'm not the kind of guy who patches out or revs it up when I get to the main road either, but I just ride it normally - - I don't baby it.

It changes a bit in the winter when I do a clutch-in shift from first to second and back down to ease up the shifter.

 

I've had a Chief Classic and now my Springfield only needs about 1-2 minutes to ensure oil is circulated. I live in the South, so warm up is dependent on the ambient temps. In cool weather, I'll let it idle 2-3 minutes to make sure the 1st to 2nd shift "happens".

 

I let mine idle until it idles down which is normally about two minutes or so.

 

Start it in the garage, back down the driveway slowly. Idle or slightly more out of the subdivision, about 500 yards and go!.

Don

 

+1 on until it idles down then easy for first couple of miles

 

prolly like the Vic recommendation from lloyd, until the real cylinder is warm. the Polaris 20-40 mineral oil will circulate slowly, especially in cooler climates!!