Over the years on this (and other forums) and IRL, I've come across motorcycle owners from cold states who periodically start and idle their bikes over winter to "keep them fresh".
I've tried before to explain the problems that occur which include:
1. You contaminate the oil with blowby (which happens more during warm up, and warm up is longer at idle).
2. You build up moisture that can combine with blowby to form acids (and use up the oil additive packages that neutralize acids).
And generally you just plain do nothing helpful.
So a related subject came up on my Guzzi forum and one of the guys there who is a former dealer employee chimed in:
http://wildguzzi.com/forum/index.php?topic=67806.0
Keep this in mind next time you're tempted to start it up and not ride it far enough to fully warm it up.
I've tried before to explain the problems that occur which include:
1. You contaminate the oil with blowby (which happens more during warm up, and warm up is longer at idle).
2. You build up moisture that can combine with blowby to form acids (and use up the oil additive packages that neutralize acids).
And generally you just plain do nothing helpful.
So a related subject came up on my Guzzi forum and one of the guys there who is a former dealer employee chimed in:
http://wildguzzi.com/forum/index.php?topic=67806.0
Quote:
|
One of the biggest sources of income for the H-D dealer I worked for was rejuvenating Harleys that got ridden infrequently. The owners would push them outside in the cold months and start them up and then go eat breakfast. Those poor saps thought they were doing their motor good by "circulating the oil". Instead they were filling their crankcase and oil tank with condensate (water). That would mix with blowby and form acid and sludge that would ruin bearings, rust internal parts (especially cam shafts) and form ice in the oil lines and crankcase vents. The next start with a frozen line would doom the engine to a slow death by overheating from no air circulation and no oil flow. They would want their rusted out mufflers replaced under warranty ( 95% had aftermarket mufflers). There was no way to convince these people to just leave it alone with just a battery tender until spring. |
Keep this in mind next time you're tempted to start it up and not ride it far enough to fully warm it up.