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/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> Opinions on cold weather "short" rides? /cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1263844724 Message started by babyhog on 01/18/10 at 11:58:44 |
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Title: Opinions on cold weather "short" rides? Post by babyhog on 01/18/10 at 11:58:44 So, it seems we've had alot of cold weather, all over the country. We have those lucky few who get to ride all year, and the die-hards that ride when its really cold. But my question is... Is it better or worse for the bike to take short rides in the cold? I mean, its 50° and sunny now, but by the time I get home, it will be close to dark, and the temp drops fast. If I can't get a decent ride in (30 minutes +), would it be better for the bike to not run it at all, or will a 10 minute ride be good enough? It might be enough to make me feel better mentally, to get a little ride in, but I don't want to do more damage than good to the bike. Opinions please.... |
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Title: Re: Opinions on cold weather "short" rid Post by bill67 on 01/18/10 at 12:04:06 If theres been salt on the roads there I wouldn't ride at all,It will rust quick,And look like a junk pretty quick. Motorcycles aren't make to take the salt like a car is. Wait till it rains good to get the salt off the roads, |
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Title: Re: Opinions on cold weather "short" rid Post by babyhog on 01/18/10 at 12:14:33 It rained yesterday, and the roads are pretty dry and more clean now, but thanks Bill. |
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Title: Re: Opinions on cold weather "short" rides? Post by verslagen1 on 01/18/10 at 12:48:39 If you're missing your weather, I found it. Dam jetstream took a wrong turn in alaska. Can someone get palin to face east again? |
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Title: Re: Opinions on cold weather "short" rides? Post by bill67 on 01/18/10 at 13:53:23 Sure |
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Title: Re: Opinions on cold weather "short" rides? Post by Paladin. on 01/18/10 at 14:46:14 2E2D2C212339400 wrote:
My poor little bike only gets 10 minute rides or less most of the time -- 3.5 miles to work, 0.7 to 3.0 miles to the six supermarkets, pet store, Lowes, Home Depot, etc.. Over five years / 24,000 miles of this abuse. |
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Title: Re: Opinions on cold weather "short" rides? Post by BurnPgh on 01/18/10 at 14:50:22 biggest thing Id worry about is draining the battery little by little if you take short rides all the time. Once in a while shouldnt be a problem. |
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Title: Re: Opinions on cold weather "short" rides? Post by Trippah on 01/18/10 at 15:35:07 I'll second the battery coment- but a battery tender would take care of that issue. Whatever damage you're gona do to the engine will take place in the first 30 seconds..so many years of this abuse will mean when you hit Paladin's age, you might have to augment the Sav with a luxotourer. :D |
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Title: Re: Opinions on cold weather "short" rides? Post by kimchris1 on 01/18/10 at 19:15:54 I don't even gear up unless I can at least be on the bike for 1/2 hr. In my opinion to ride in the cool weather is not worth it for 10 mins. I want more more more.. O yeah were talking of riding the mc in cool weather.. ;D ;D ;D ;D |
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Title: Re: Opinions on cold weather "short" rides? Post by Charon on 01/18/10 at 19:17:28 My worry would be more with moisture accumulation in the exhaust pipe and the engine oil. I think a run of at least ten miles, with at least a mile or two at highway speed, would be adequate. That would also be enough to recharge the battery, given that the battery is in reasonable shape itself. In aviation, the old saying is "If you start it, fly it." I think the same applies for land vehicles. I think the fairly common practice of starting the engine for a few minutes every couple of weeks "to keep the battery charged" does more harm than good. If your battery is in reasonably good shape, and there are no parasitic loads on it (radios with memories, clocks, or the like) it will hold plenty of charge for at least a couple of months. I would not bother with a battery tender on a permanent basis. However, it would not be amiss to connect one overnight every month or so. Naturally, the opinions of others may be different. |
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Title: Re: Opinions on cold weather "short" rid Post by Digger on 01/18/10 at 20:20:18 575455585A40390 wrote:
Baby, My Savage (see signature) is the king of the cold-weather short-riders. I don't own a cage and it is my "daily rider." I don't commute, so the bike gets used strictly for errands. I don't think one or two short rides in cold weather are a problem, as long as you mix in a longer ride fairly frequently. That's the use mine gets and the engine seems to be wearing well. What I would avoid is a month of daily 1 mile-long rides in 30 deg F temperatures. That would not be good. Bottom line: Let 'er get good and hot every second or third ride. JMHO. |
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Title: Re: Opinions on cold weather "short" rid Post by BurnPgh on 01/18/10 at 21:00:48 614A43504D4C220 wrote:
Good point. I would think that so long as the engine gets up to temp that it shouldnt be too big an issue though. Am I mistaken? I do usually let my bike warm up a minute or two longer in cold wheather just to make sure it gets up to temp before I get going. Digger - Ive never taken a good look at your signature pic before. It always just looked like you were holding a big book or something to me. Now that I've given it a good look...correct me if Im wrong but is your bike painted like a space shuttle? If so, got a bigger pic? |
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Title: Re: Opinions on cold weather "short" rides? Post by babyhog on 01/19/10 at 05:33:22 Thanks for all the comments!! :) I really appreciate the input. My Big Crank is only a couple of months old (the ole "left-the-key-on" syndrome bit me earlier this year). I never got my battery tender and I have started the bike a couple of times and let it run for a few minutes, but I was also thinking that wasn't the best idea. My bike is stored in my heated garage, so I assume that helps. One reason I hadn't gotten the battery tender is because we need two of them, but as Charon pointed out, we could just get one and share it. One night a month would be easy. Think I might just do that! I wondered how long a ride would fully recharge the battery, so I feel better now. I didn't take it out last night, but it is warming up outside, so I know I'm gonna get it out real soon. Vrrroooooommmm |
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Title: Re: Opinions on cold weather "short" rides? Post by Savage_Amusement on 01/19/10 at 06:00:39 Let it warm up good first, have a battery tender and I don't see the problem. |
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Title: Re: Opinions on cold weather "short" rid Post by bill67 on 01/19/10 at 08:48:03 To get full charge you need a battery charger not a battery tender,Just a small 2-6 amp.And they are cheaper than a tender. |
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Title: Re: Opinions on cold weather "short" rides? Post by Paladin. on 01/19/10 at 12:49:10 The vast majority of my rides are five to ten minutes. That is enough to keep my battery charged. |
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Title: Re: Opinions on cold weather "short" rides? Post by babyhog on 01/19/10 at 16:27:27 I was thinking of getting a Battery Tender Jr. It is my understanding that it will charge, then when the battery is at full charge, it will float. So if the battery is low to begin with, it should get it up to full, then maintain.... right? |
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Title: Re: Opinions on cold weather "short" rid Post by bill67 on 01/19/10 at 16:41:08 5D56535309083F0 wrote:
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Title: Re: Opinions on cold weather "short" rid Post by babyhog on 01/19/10 at 16:46:07 757E7B7B2120170 wrote:
[/quote] I already read that, bill, that's why I asked the question again! ;) Check this out and tell me if I am still misunderstanding, please... http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Battery-Tender-Jr-Motorcycle-Charger-Maintainer_W0QQitemZ110482594189QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item19b946998d it says "Automatically switches to float / maintenance voltage after fully charging the battery." |
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Title: Re: Opinions on cold weather "short" rides? Post by bill67 on 01/19/10 at 18:05:07 A battery charger goes to a float like stage too.But you don't need to charge it but about every 2 months. I know for sure on dry cell batteries like electric drills if you leave than plug in all the time the batteries don't last as long than if you charge than once a month. |
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Title: Re: Opinions on cold weather "short" rides? Post by Charon on 01/19/10 at 19:48:00 Before you buy any battery charger, read the specs on it. A battery tender (which, I believe, is a brand name) will charge a dead battery and then drop to a float charge. A straight battery charger, unless it says it is "automatic" or some similar wording, does not drop voltage or stop charging. The charge current drops as the battery voltage approaches the charger's output voltage, but the charger does not reduce its output voltage to a float charge voltage. |
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Title: Re: Opinions on cold weather "short" rides? Post by babyhog on 01/20/10 at 05:40:32 674C45564B4A240 wrote:
Thank you! These things get so technical and confusing! I ordered a Battery Tender Jr. (Deltran is the brand, but I think the name "Battery Tender" belongs to them... A tissue is a Kleenex is a tissue?) ordered from Ebay. I had some Ebay bucks to spend... ;D It is supposed to charge, then float. But I think I will still only hook it up once a month or so, for a day or so. You know, this is one purchase that I hope I don't even "need" to use. I would prefer if the bike never sits long enough without being ridden to worry about it! But I spent too much on batteries to risk it. Thanks again guys! |
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Title: Re: Opinions on cold weather "short" rid Post by Digger on 01/21/10 at 22:05:49 6C5B5C407E49462E0 wrote:
That is from a glamor shot taken during filming of the "Shuttle Bike" episodes of American Chopper. I was sitting on the finished product. I was on the show....worked and hung out with the whole gang. The whole experience came to a sad end. If we meet out on the road sometime, I'll tell you the entire grim tale over a few beers. Here is a lo-res shot (the bike was actually pretty cool - gorgeous paint): http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee201/Digger109/DiggeronShuttleBike-1E.jpg |
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Title: Re: Opinions on cold weather "short" rides? Post by babyhog on 01/23/10 at 11:10:46 My Battery Tender Jr. arrived in the mail yesterday! We hooked it up to my bike first. The light was red at first, meaning it was charging. The light flashed green within just a few minutes, meaning it was at least 80% charged. It was solid green within a half hour, meaning it was fully charged. Wow, it was nice to know it wasn't any more dead than that. Hooked up my hubby's C90 later. It stayed red much longer and even after a couple hours was still red. Left it on all night and by morning, it was green, so I don't know exactly how long it took. But the C90 has alot more electronics to keep alive while the bike is just sitting. But I'm very happy. Thanks again to everyone for input! I'm still hoping to get a little ride in today. Its a bit more wet out than I had hoped, but I might at least get a little ride into town later today. |
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Title: Re: Opinions on cold weather "short" rides? Post by kimchris1 on 01/24/10 at 04:31:45 Babyhog, at leat your battery will be charged and ready to go when your weather clears. I will keep my fingers crossed that happens soon. And don't feel bad as rain is forecasted for most of our week here as well. At least your Spirit is enjoying itself..hahah ;) |
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Title: Re: Opinions on cold weather "short" rides? Post by trublu on 01/29/10 at 08:35:55 012A23302D2C420 wrote:
BINGO! ANY Bike ,If you dont ride it for very long the moisture in the exhaust does not get blown out and dried out and ..well rusted exhaust aint fun. Condensation in the cyl. wont do it any good either. A nice 20-30 min ride with a little hwy speed is just fine IMHO. The WORST thing you can do (again IMHO and experience ) is to go out in the Winter once a week or so and just fire her up and let er idle witha few twists of the throttle thrown in. Better to just pull the batt and let her sit than doing that. :-/ Wait till nicer weather or let her sit IMHO ;) BTW I LOVE the aviation reference and gonna use that one myself when folks ask! ;) 8-) |
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