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warm ups

5K views 33 replies 5 participants last post by  Frosty 2.0 
#1 ·
How long do you guys warm up the bike before riding it. My bike is new to me thats why I still have lots of things to learn about it. Was suppose to ride the bike but suddenly rained here, so as I was to ride it back to he garage, noticed that it hesitates and you have to give a handful of throttle to keep it going. Say will two bars on the temp enough to start riding? thanks!
 
#4 ·
how cold is it over there? that doesn't sound right, even if it's snow weather. It shouldn't take that long to warm up. I say let it warm up 2-3 bars and take it for a spin. If it still acts up, you have an issue that isn't the weather.

did the bike get wet in the rain? My old 696 used to sputter and shut off at red lights when I got caught in the rain. No one else ever had this problem, though.
 
#5 ·
Not that cold here, maybe just needed a little bit of warm up time. When it was delivered here at my place, it was fully warmed up and when I rode, its perfect. Maybe I am just too eager to put it back in the garage cos it started to rain. I will try to ride it after having two bars on the gauge and see what happens.
 
#6 ·
Mine is an older bike, but here's my bit:

1) I give it enough choke to start -- this depends on the temperature; at 70°F (21°C) it doesn't need any, at 20°F (-7°C) it needs quite a bit.
2) Once it starts, I give it just enough gas to keep running, and hold it there.
3) After a little bit (maybe 30 seconds to a minute, again depending on starting temperature), the revs begin to rise, without giving any more throttle; this means the oil has circulated and reduced the friction levels.
4) I then reduce the amount of choke by about half and ride off, keeping a light hand on the throttle for a few blocks. It does tend to sputter and buck a little bit at first, but that's just life. I don't worry about it.
5) After about a mile, I close the choke, and ride however I like.
6) If it is raining, or near or below freezing, I'll still be very careful with the throttle for several minutes until the tires warm up some.

This has gotten me to over 250K miles (400K km) without needing an engine rebuild, so I deem this to be an adequate method.

PhilB
 
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#8 ·
Tried to take the bike for my first ride yesterday late afternoon. I let it warm up until 2 bars on the temp gauge. Wow! this bike doesn't wanna go slow! Wants to be ridden 3000 to 4000 rpms and I only managed to be in 2nd gear the most of my ride and I am over the speed limit here! Have to take it to the freeway for me to know what 3rd gear is, lol! Have to always modulate the clutch in city riding. Noticed that the front end is hard to my liking. Put a tire gauge and it reads 35 lbs pressure, I feel its too much for the front, what do you think guys?
 
#9 ·
Many people regear the bike for better low speed manners, either dropping to a 14t front sprocket, or going up 2 or 3 teeth in the rear. The second option is better in the long term, but it does require you to lengthen the chain, or get a new one.

35 psi in the front is good; I wouldn't reduce that. Are the forks on your bike adjustable? If so, maybe do some adjusting. How much do you weigh? Maybe the forks need to be resprung to match your weight?

PhilB
 
#15 ·
Often it is just a matter of getting acclimated to the new bike. When I first got my Monster, it seemed really twitchy. The front end kept coming up off the ground, the brakes were really touchy, the steering was way too light and snappy. I thought I needed a steering damper and who knows what else. Fortunately I procrastinated on making any changes, and after a while I figured out that there was nothing wrong with it, and it didn't need any real changes. It was just more powerful and responsive than I was used to, and I just needed to learn to make the right inputs and to control it more smoothly. Then it straightened right out and behaved right. And 22 years later, it still does, and thus is still mainly stock.

PhilB
 
#16 ·
Agreed. I came from only Japanese bikes to the Ducati. I wasn't impressed at first; in fact, I was a bit turned off by the 696. Compared to my CBRs, it felt slower, not as smooth, finicky, rougher to shift, required more maintenance, brakes didn't stop as aggressively, and the clutch fluid overheated if I held it in to often/frequently during rush hour traffic. Once I learned how to goose the throttle more and predict everything else and adapt to it, I got hooked to the Monster, and I then upgraded to the EVO.
 
#17 ·
Very well said philb and1 uglybastard! It's only my first ride after 4 long years off the saddle. Coming form a japanese bike, the monster is really different. Jap bikes are smooth and finesse bikes while the monster is a monster! lol. Raw if I could say, twitchy and has lots of wildness in it waiting to be tamed by its master. Can't wait to take her out again, maybe it will be better. Was surprised by the torque while I was weaving and put quite handful of throttle in 2nd the front ends seems like to wheelie! Way different from an inline 4 which you have to really wring the throttle for the power.
 
#18 ·
... Was surprised by the torque while I was weaving and put quite handful of throttle in 2nd the front ends seems like to wheelie! Way different from an inline 4 which you have to really wring the throttle for the power.
This I think is a key. An inline-4 can produce more power than a twin, but it does so through revs -- it inherently has less torque than a twin. In real life on the road, you ride with torque, not power. Power is great for the racetrack, where you can really let it sing. But riding like that in real life is obnoxious and irresponsible.

That's why I much prefer twins for actually riding -- the torque is much more accessible, which means more acceleration and responsiveness under the conditions you actually ride in on the highway, in the city, even on twisty side roads. Lots of bikes will beat a Monster on a racetrack. Few bikes are more satisfying to ride on the road.

PhilB
 
#23 ·
Yes, I had some learning to do when I moved to New Hampshire a few years ago from San Diego.

1) Don't ride when it is icy on the roads. Ice is bad for your verticalness. It should either be dry out, or above 40°F (5°C). I'm fine with either one of those things being true. Most people want both of those things to be true.

2) When it is cold out, tires take a longer time to warm up, and have limited traction until they do. Also, the oil and engine take longer to get to operating temperatures. Be gentle with the throttle for both of those reasons for the first several minutes. Also, the brakes may be cold, or even iced over -- test them before you need to use them.

3) Proper gear is your friend. Don't ride in the cold without good gear -- hypothermia is *not* your friend. For me, heated gloves and layering of clothing and gear on the rest of the body is enough; with that I can ride for about an hour at 20°F (-7°C) without much discomfort. Other people may need more, or less. I rode to work once when it was 5°F (-15°C) out, about 25 minutes, and that very quickly became uncomfortable, and would have been dangerous if I had needed to go much farther.

4) When it is time to put it away for the winter, store it properly, in a garage or other shelter. It doesn't have to be heated, but it should be dry and out of the weather. You have a plastic tank on your bike, so that should be stored dry. Empty the tank, run it until it runs out of gas, so there's no fuel in the whole system. Put fresh gas in, in the spring. (Note: bikes with metal tanks are stored differently.) Change the oil before storing it. Either put in a port for a battery tender and keep it plugged in, or remove the battery and store on a shelf for the winter, and charge it up in the spring before re-installing (I use the battery tender). Although this is somewhat optional, I like to go out about once a week and (a) inspect to make sure mice/bugs/birds/vermin aren't building nests or eating the wiring, (b) turn the engine over -- not starting it up, but just using the starter to move the parts around so the bearings and belts and piston rings and other parts don't take a set, and (c) likewise, roll it around to a slightly different position each time so that the tires don't get flat spots.

Those are the main things to take care of.

PhilB
 
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#28 ·
I would find a way to drain it. I don't know if the 796 has a plug for that, or whether you'll have to unplug the fuel line, or just go for a last ride of the season until it's empty. I don't know what your definition of "cold" is, but if you won't ride in it, you'll have a pretty short riding season. I can (and do) ride about 9 months a year in NH, but that does involve temps in the 20's (F) pretty often in the first and last months of riding.

PhilB
 
#32 ·
Hopefully not so dirty in my tank. Jusat got the bike 2 weeks ago and it seems the previous owner took good care of it. He puts the highest octane available in gas stations. I recently filled up and used shell 92 octane. regarding fuel filters, still dont know if ducati have one. but all of my previous jap bikes has it.
 
#33 ·
Any modern bike, especially an FI bike, will have a fuel filter somewhere.

If you're going with the siphon method, just put the tube in all the way to the bottom of the tank, and move it around while you're siphoning, and you can suck up the dirt and sediments while you're at it.

PhilB
 
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