R1200GS warm up question

[MotoGP]

I have just acquired a new 2011 R1200GS. Love this bike.
The riders manual says to start the bike and immediately ride off. I always thought that it was best to warm the bike and oil somewhat before putting a load on the motor. Does anyone have thoughts on this question?
Thanks,
MotoGP

[marc]

I start the bike, finish putting on my gloves, and ride away. I ride it gently the first mile or so.

The manual comments come from experience. Some would start the bike then go in the house for a cup of coffee while the bike "warmed up". The result was melted plastic (RT models) and at least one bike fire (Early R1100RS with the lowers).

If you want to scare yourself let the bike idle for a minute or so in a dark garage. That's when you can see the pipes start glowing red.

[MotoGP]

Thanks,
I know due to air/oil cooling it is not a good idea to leave her idle but starting ind immediately riding off is counter-intuitive to me. Maybe 20 seconds of warm up and then ride easy 'till temp gets up is the better course.
Thanks for your input!

[MotoGP]

Thanks,
I know due to air/oil cooling it is not a good idea to leave her idle but starting and immediately riding off is counter-intuitive to me. Maybe 20 seconds of warm up and then ride easy 'till temp gets up is the better course.
Thanks for your input!

[AdamWebber]

I ride mine like I used to drive my old VW Beetle. I start it and drive away as soon as oil fully lubricates the engine (about 3 seconds).
What's funny is that my wife's FZ6 takes a couple of minutes to warm up, otherwise it hesitates on acceleration. The GS has never done that.

[pdxrmccgs]

The start and drive stuff is probably dictated more by eco stuff
than anything as idle mode is hardest to get clean burn.

I think most people start and do the gloves, checks etc and then
drive off. What the O manual recommends is very counter intuitive
to anybody with any engine experience.

The take-away thought is that less idle is better as those pipes
heat up pretty fast.

[prwatts]

Originally Posted by marc

I start the bike, finish putting on my gloves, and ride away. I ride it gently the first mile or so.

The manual comments come from experience. Some would start the bike then go in the house for a cup of coffee while the bike "warmed up". The result was melted plastic (RT models) and at least one bike fire (Early R1100RS with the lowers).

If you want to scare yourself let the bike idle for a minute or so in a dark garage. That's when you can see the pipes start glowing red.

I agree 100%. Cars also. Start it, give it 20 secs to get the oil going around, the drive off gently. As soon as the oil temp starts to move the oil is reasonably warm but I would never hammer any engine until it has been running normally for at least 10 minutes. Where do you live? I am at 2000 ft above sea level, so my engine can only develop about 90% of his power output (BMEP) so I cannot overload my engine - only over-rev it. My Subaru has an oil temp gage and I only boost that whent the oil is at normal operating temp which on the car is about 85C.

[MotoGP]

I'm at 700ft above sea level. Even on a warm day I'm not inclined to ride off immediately after starting the motor....

[prwatts]

OK that's fine but don't wait too long. On my previous bike I used to feel the cylinder block and when it was warm to the touch I knew the oild would be warm. I haven't tried that with the GS though.

[JPB]

I go with what the manual recommends but wait for a few miles to warm-up both engine and tyres before giving it some welly. I think a lot of the "intuitive" stuff that experienced riders have been doing since God was a boy may actually be more applicable to older and liquid-cooled engines.