To Run or Not to Run?

[Grumpy old man 4,682]

Hi all, My Nc hasn't been used for about 6 weeks, I'm riding the Crf250l mostly,  so my question is should I run it for 15 minutes in the garage or not? Every other day I squeeze the brakes, spin the wheels, pump the suspension. I can't be bothered taking it for a run on the mucky roads then having to clean it and because we are in Tier 3 I don't believe I'm allowed to ( please no Covid Tier suggestions) essential journeys I use the Crf250l. 

Should I run it? Oh, it is on a battery maintainer. 

Thanks

[Slowboy 20,653]

If it was me I wouldn’t, modern oils tend not to coagulate like old oils. If you do, it would be best to let it tick over until it’s up to temperature rather than just letting it run for a minute or so. A few months of idleness won’t do any harm. Just let it warm up gently the first time you take it out rather than smoking away with a hundred yard wheelie with the throttle on the stops 😂

[Grumpy old man 4,682]

41 minutes ago, slowboy said:

If it was me I wouldn’t, modern oils tend not to coagulate like old oils. If you do, it would be best to let it tick over until it’s up to temperature rather than just letting it run for a minute or so. A few months of idleness won’t do any harm. Just let it warm up gently the first time you take it out rather than smoking away with a hundred yard wheelie with the throttle on the stops 😂

You don't really know me do you? I always set off nice and steady with the plan of a nice steady ride then after about 15 minutes the front wheel comes up and my feet start scraping then I shout at myself " slow down " then in another 15 minutes it all starts again😁.

 

Thanks for the advice much appreciated. 

[Xactly 5,501]

Coincidentally I have just read some advice on this very topic in one of the bike mags. Firm advice is not to (my own inclination). Fill the tank, add fuel stabiliser, stuff a rag up the silencer and leave it alone. A bike is not alive and doesn’t need exercise is what they said. Starting the engine without running up to temperature sufficient to burn off all the condensation will only accelerate engine wear, which I’m sure you know occurs most heavily on a cold engine. Better to wait until a decent day and go for a ride that gets the engine up to temperature. 
FWIW over last winter I didn’t start my Thruxton for six months, just kept the battery on a tender and operated the hydraulic brakes every time I went into the garage. When I re-commissioned it it started immediately, so I traded in it against my new NC750X.....

[steelhorseuk 1,704]

In my opinion,  just leave it on a decent battery conditioner. I would not turn the engine over at all unless going for a ride.

My NC has been idle since first week of October on its Optimate. I seriously would not go and run it without riding it.

Any longer than three months and I would go spin the wheels (specially the front one) by hand. 

But even that is not really that necessary.

 

 

[Andy m 23,754]

Honestly I doubt it matters. The only bits that will not last the life of the bike are the battery and fuel. The battery is costly enough to make a charger worth the money. Is petrol stabiliser less than just syphoninng out 5 litres and buying fresh in spring assuming it won't start on the old? 

 

For the rest I don't care if three owners after me have to buy a flux capacitor and doubt any variation of winters storage makes much difference. 

 

Firing up every few weeks is just wasting your time. 

 

Andy

[electric_monk 270]

3 hours ago, Xactly said:

. A bike is not alive and doesn’t need exercise is what they said

 

For the love of all that's holy, don't ever let my wife hear this.

[fj_stuart 4,764]

I would go along with the consensus that regularly running the engine on a bike not in use has no benefits.

 

I do put the batteries on a tender occasionally to keep them charged. I do this after an experience many years ago. I let the battery on My Suzuki GT500 discharge and it froze solid during a particularly cold spell. I guess global warming has its upsides.

 

Another thing I do is switch on my FJ to let the fuel pump cycle and fill the carbs. If I don’t do this the carb bowls dry out and the floats jam. This cause much misfiring and flooding when I eventually fire it up in spring. Not an issue for FI engines, of course.

[Dashwood 151]

If nothing else I didn't realise it was a good idea to use the brakes...I have CRF250l Rally and a CB1100ex, both on trickle chargers. I've bought a dessicant dehumidifier which works down to about 2 degrees C...and a compressor which I used to 'mist' ACF50 onto both bikes.

 

It's not until I see what I've done in black and white that I realise it might be a bit excessive!

[Grumpy old man 4,682]

Thanks everyone for your advice.

[Steve698 11]

I took mine out yesterday after finishing many service jobs and while it was a nice reasonably warm day for December and I enjoyed the ride, when I got home the bike was covered from front to back in dirt, grime and salt so the next hour was taken up with washing it all down, drying and misting with ACF, did make me wonder if the pleasure of the ride was worth the resulting workload.

[Grumpy old man 4,682]

30 minutes ago, Steve698 said:

I took mine out yesterday after finishing many service jobs and while it was a nice reasonably warm day for December and I enjoyed the ride, when I got home the bike was covered from front to back in dirt, grime and salt so the next hour was taken up with washing it all down, drying and misting with ACF, did make me wonder if the pleasure of the ride was worth the resulting workload.

Yep! That's one of the reasons I just tend to use the Crf250l,  they look good dirty.👍

[Andy m 23,754]

Its worth it. 3 or 4 hours every Sunday for a hour twice a year with the ACF-50 and half an hour with the hose after each ride. 

 

The roads are almost empty ATM. 

 

Andy

[MatBin 5,115]

2 minutes ago, Andy m said:

Its worth it. 3 or 4 hours every Sunday for a hour twice a year with the ACF-50 and half an hour with the hose after each ride. 

 

The roads are almost empty ATM. 

 

Andy

Not round my way, maybe as we are going T3 later today they are all out driving (their cars) like idiots. 

[suffolk58 2,286]

This conversation reminds me on one of my favourite film clips:

 

Edited December 18, 2020 by suffolk58

[wjvh 999]

Just take the NC out in the rain/wet/clag/mud. You’re retired, right? So you got plenty of time to clean it too. 😉

[Grumpy old man 4,682]

45 minutes ago, wjvh said:

Just take the NC out in the rain/wet/clag/mud. You’re retired, right? So you got plenty of time to clean it too. 😉

I like riding and hate cleaning and spanering.

Do you want to  buy a good shock absorber 😉

I'm  retired and need the money.🙂