Do you warm up your R1200R?

r1200rclassic · Post by **r1200rclassic** » Wed Jun 27, 2012 9:06 pm

Ok, I had a mini debate with someone about this and was curious what other boxer owners do?

My attitude is if I want to tap into my power reserves (incase of an unforeseen emergency maneuver, etc..), I want my motor somewhat warmed up... 8500rpm is hard on a cold motor.. I give my bike 1 min at idle after a cold start before I ride off, then go gentle until it's at 3 notches on the strip... what do you all do?

Post by **SF_Hooligan** » Wed Jun 27, 2012 9:30 pm

r1200rclassic wrote:Ok, I had a mini debate with someone about this and was curious what other boxer owners do?

My attitude is if I want to tap into my power reserves (incase of an unforeseen emergency maneuver, etc..), I want my motor somewhat warmed up... 8500rpm is hard on a cold motor.. I give my bike 1 min at idle after a cold start before I ride off, then go gentle until it's at 3 notches on the strip... what do you all do?

Start the bike, ride off the sidestand. No delay. Booster Plug helps it be smoother right off the bat, too but that's a personal thing. I live in San Francisco so "emergency maneuvers" are more likely to be about quick direction changes and maybe braking than revving the piss out of the thing. I'd probably argue that actually applies to most cases.

Edit: I thought I remembered this, and I had it right. The manual says "Do not allow the engine to idle unnecessarily. After starting, ride off immediately." I'm a "by the book" kind of guy, at least in this one case.

Post by **AncientMariner** » Wed Jun 27, 2012 10:28 pm

+1

Start it up and get underway once the rattle stops, just seconds after a cold start.

Bruce

Post by **gibbo111** » Wed Jun 27, 2012 10:43 pm

Yep start and ride ,but I ride 80 metres and then have to stop and lock the gate and I leave it idling, takes about a minute

Post by **dbrick** » Wed Jun 27, 2012 11:19 pm

The bike doesn't need to be "warmed up" before riding.
The bike should be warm before calling on the motor for high revs.

Post by **tinytrains** » Thu Jun 28, 2012 12:51 am

Depends on how you define warm-up. 30 seconds to let oil circulate and cam chain tension stabilize? Or idle until the temp meter is normal.

My drill is to start the bike, and then put on my helmet and gloves. 30 seconds is a minimum on mine anyway or it stalls when you open the throttle. Some seem to do this.

Clem · Post by **Clem** » Thu Jun 28, 2012 4:39 am

Start the bike, let it idle a few seconds to let oil circulate and cam chain tension stabilize, when the rattle stops, I'm off!
If you're worried about evasive maneuvers, just keep it in a low gear with the RPMs higher. 8,500 rpm necessity is hard to imagine.
IMHO, I would be more concerned about cold TIRES than cold oil. I think heat management on these new Roadsters is very good.
There IS a warning sticker about idling the engine on my bike. Crank it up & ride off on it is advised. YMMV

Post by **hjsbmw** » Thu Jun 28, 2012 6:47 am

tinytrains wrote:Depends on how you define warm-up. 30 seconds to let oil circulate and cam chain tension stabilize? Or idle until the temp meter is normal.

My drill is to start the bike, and then put on my helmet and gloves. 30 seconds is a minimum on mine anyway or it stalls when you open the throttle. Some seem to do this.

+1
In summer it is a non-issue, but in winter mine sometimes doesn't take the gas well initially. It has happened that it chokes as soon as I open the gas while letting the clutch out. Letting it idle for the time it takes to put on my gloves helps.

Post by **MTBeemer** » Thu Jun 28, 2012 7:05 am

It is unlawful to idle vehicles in Germany. That fact may be influencing the guidance printed in our owner's manual.

r1200rclassic · Post by **r1200rclassic** » Thu Jun 28, 2012 7:21 am

MTBeemer wrote:It is unlawful to idle vehicles in Germany. That fact may be influencing the guidance printed in our owner's manual.

thank you! you nailed it... this "no need to idle" is crap from the "Greens" and has made it's way into science and engineering manuals..

I fly both turbine and recip airplanes (one for a living, and one for fun), in the FCOM (Flight Crew Operating Manual) of every airplane I've flown, and I've flown 7 jets, 2 turbo props, and a half dozen types of recip (usually flat/opposed air and oil cooled like the BMW Boxer)... ALL engines need to warm up a little before any significant power is applied. Fortunately for an airplane, that occurs out on taxi, but there are times when the runway is VERY close, and we have a 2 minute at idle requirement before Takeoff power is applied. NO, you don't need to reach normal operating temp as some have alluded to in their caveat, but to "just get on and go" is harmful to your engine, even at lower RPM and power, unless you literally don't exceed 1500 or something as you cruise down the 15mph road for a minute. The laws of physics and thermodynamics haven't been suspended just because the owners manual leaves out this common sense procedure due to political pressures from the greens.

So, start it, give it about 45 sec top 1 min at idle, then slowly if you can, until reaching normal temp is the ideal... worse case, if you have to tap into higher power, that 1 minute warmup can make a MAJOR difference between wear on your rings, cylinders and cams vs just "start and ride" ... but hey, it's your bike.. I'm just sharing my opinion.

badbs101 · Post by **badbs101** » Thu Jun 28, 2012 8:39 am

Well put. Illegal to idle in Germany?!?! It's gotten worse than I thought out there.

I let mine idle while putting on my earplugs and helmet and such. I'm glad I do because now I know why the manual says get on and ride; the greens. It went against my better judgement so I never did just get on and ride.

When I had my 600 mile service done, the mechanic put it outside and let it idle up to 3 bars heat before he went out on his test ride. I thought it was odd considering what the manual says but I figured he knows what he's doing. Three bars may be overkill but a minute or two is sounding more and more like a good idea.

Post by **ammolab** » Thu Jun 28, 2012 8:56 am

If I had to use "take off power" in my driveway, the Walmart parking lot, etc.. I might idle my bike for a minute but I don't "FLY" my boxer, so I start up and go. If this increases wear I have not noticed it with well over 300,000 miles on 3 different Boxer BMW bikes.

Engines warm up SO SLOWLY at idle and oil pressure is at it's lowest so it is better to drive at low power levels to warm things up quickly.

Post by **jkhomes** » Thu Jun 28, 2012 9:20 am

If the engine is cold from ambient temperature, I hold the throttle at a couple thousand rpms to warm it up. Never rev it. Since I usually park the garage, the engine seems fine to open up by the time I get out of my neighborhood. Click and Clack the Tappet Brothers on Car Talk say modern engines do not need to be warmed up. I believe everything they say (really).

r1200rclassic · Post by **r1200rclassic** » Thu Jun 28, 2012 9:39 am

badbs101 wrote:Well put. Illegal to idle in Germany?!?! It's gotten worse than I thought out there.

I let mine idle while putting on my earplugs and helmet and such. I'm glad I do because now I know why the manual says get on and ride; the greens. It went against my better judgement so I never did just get on and ride.

When I had my 600 mile service done, the mechanic put it outside and let it idle up to 3 bars heat before he went out on his test ride. I thought it was odd considering what the manual says but I figured he knows what he's doing. Three bars may be overkill but a minute or two is sounding more and more like a good idea.

and that's just it, only a few seconds, maybe up to 1 minute does a lot of good.... no need to go full blown 3 bars IMHO, but maybe that's good to do, I don't know.

btw Lifer... take off power is rarely if ever "full"... it's more like 75-85%... so about 5500 rpm on our boxer...

Post by **DMM** » Thu Jun 28, 2012 11:13 am

+1 on modest warm up of engine before pushing the engine. I have an 1150, but I've learned to do the same with it, especially in colder weather.
However, as a friend recently reminded me and as David Hough has written, it's also important to warm up the tires and brakes before they'll operate at their best.

Terry · Post by **Terry** » Thu Jun 28, 2012 12:57 pm

I used the simpleton method, the best I am capable of, by just watching. Started the bike, noted the second hand, watched the oil sight glass, looked at the watch. In about thirty seconds the oil level has started to drop and by about a minute the oil level is at the bottom. My starting oil level was aprox 3/4. So oil must now be into all the chambers and places it needs to go. Like has been said, it takes about the amount of time to put the earplugs in, helmet on, get the gloves on and ready to go. Festus, why do I keep hearing that banjo!

Terry

Bamblys · Post by **Bamblys** » Thu Jun 28, 2012 1:47 pm

jkhomes wrote: Click and Clack the Tappet Brothers on Car Talk say modern engines do not need to be warmed up. I believe everything they say (really).

+1 on that statement!

But i do let it idle for a minute. Put gloves helmet click the garage door close button, jump over the IR beam so not to open the garage door again and I'm off.

r1200rclassic · Post by **r1200rclassic** » Thu Jun 28, 2012 1:53 pm

Try this experiment.... get someone to sit on your bike and start it when it's cold... all the while, look at the window in the sump at the oil level in there... see how long it takes for it to go down and stabilize at the bottom 1/4 or where ever yours might go when the engine is stabilized. Mine takes 30 seconds or longer... that's all time when the oil is still finding its way into all the nooks and crannies of your motor.... thermal expansion isn't the only factor. Just food for thought.

Post by **jkhomes** » Thu Jun 28, 2012 3:22 pm

DMM wrote: it's also important to warm up the tires and brakes before they'll operate at their best.

Very good point!

Post by **ammolab** » Thu Jun 28, 2012 10:49 pm

r1200rclassic wrote:
badbs101 wrote: btw Lifer... take off power is rarely if ever "full"... it's more like 75-85%... so about 5500 rpm on our boxer...

5500rpm may be 75% of Redline but is no measure of all of "Power". I can run my Boxer at 5500RPM at about 5% of Power in first gear and maybe 18% of available power in 6th gear crusing on the highway.

Aircraft engines run at a MUCH higher average output than anyone runs a motorcycle on the street. That 85% power at takeoff is almost like a 1/4 mile run down a dragstrip for a motor vehicle. While aircooled boxer aviation engines share a similar layout to a BMW bike they don't run 5W-40 oils like a camhead and may have quite a large oil tank/dry sump system. They really should be warmed up before that 85% power run for take off and climb out.

The power used to push a Piper Super Cub to it's cruise would tire out a BMW Bike engine in a hurry. What is their average time between overhaul??? Any of my 4 BMWs that I have owned would put that hourly figure to shame!

To each his own really. You paid your hard earned money for that beautiful BMW. Just enjoy the ride!!!

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