How Long Do You Let The Engine Warm Up

Low On Cash

Active member
My operations manual says "After starting, ride off immediately." Page 53 under "Danger of Overheating".

LOL Some BMW pencil head sitting in an office wrote that goofy line - pretty much typical of all manuals - it you just started the engine its surely not going to "immediately" overheat! In fact with a fan on the radiator its not going to do anything immediately temperature wise.

If the engine is room temperature - give it a few minutes - If its a cold day, give it 5 minutes to warm up a bit and get the oil circulated.

Mike
 
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db60

New member
ya so a couple minutes 'warm up' solves the problem of stumbling when you get on the gas after start up. Cold blooded. And I think the manuals always err to the cautious side, not surprised they say that.
 

Low On Cash

Active member
Hey guys - does everyone's 650 have the same hesitation problem when starting off after sitting?

Mine does it a few times before I get under way. DB60 is stumbling what you mean.

Mike
 

exavid

Member
Has anyone ever heard the cooling fan come on? My GT never seems to run its fan even in stop and go when the weather is very hot. I can get the fan to turn on when using the GS911 OBD tool and it's sound is quite noticeable. The bike has never overheated since I've owned in for four years or so.
 

Low On Cash

Active member
I've only had mine for a short period of time but never heard the fan run even in 95+ days. Does yours hesitate when starting out cold?
 

db60

New member
Hey guys - does everyone's 650 have the same hesitation problem when starting off after sitting?

Mine does it a few times before I get under way. DB60 is stumbling what you mean.

Mike

ya hesitation is a good word, it almost stalls, sputters, then goes with no futher problems. With less that 2 mins warmup it usually does it, but not all the time.
Since applying the 2 minuite rule, I have had no issues.

Cheers
 

db60

New member
Has anyone ever heard the cooling fan come on? My GT never seems to run its fan even in stop and go when the weather is very hot. I can get the fan to turn on when using the GS911 OBD tool and it's sound is quite noticeable. The bike has never overheated since I've owned in for four years or so.

had mine for 7500 kms, in hot weather (32c) recently in bad traffic, no fan noise noticed yet. maybe the fan noise is drowned out by the engine?
 

GRGKAR

New member
Hey guys - does everyone's 650 have the same hesitation problem when starting off after sitting?

Mine does it a few times before I get under way. DB60 is stumbling what you mean.

Mike
Yes. Mine C650GT(2014) has this hesitation problem when starting off after sitting. It almost stalls, sputters, but then it goes with no futher problems. Today I visited the BMW official service and I reported it. They didnt gave me a clear answer...
 

DrCohen

Active member
Yes. Mine C650GT(2014) has this hesitation problem when starting off after sitting. It almost stalls, sputters, but then it goes with no futher problems. Today I visited the BMW official service and I reported it. They didnt gave me a clear answer...
My 2020 C650GT lives in a garage, so it never gets below around 45degF. I don't let it idle to warm up. The driveway is downhill, then I turn 90 deg onto the uphill street. If I try to make that turn slowly, the bike hesitates and wants to low-side. I've learned to give it a bit more throttle in that first uphill turn. Then everything is fine.
 
I've learned to give it a bit more throttle in that first uphill turn. Then everything is fine.
This.

I've tried letting the bike "warm up" and experimented with everything from 30 seconds to 5 minutes. But it's not the engine that needs to come on line, it's the fuel injector, and idle doesn't seem to get it primed to do its thing.

So now I just start the bike once I have gear and helmet on, and just go, remembering that I need to give it more throttle for the first minute of riding, especially when accelerating from a stop.
 

speedtoys

Member
This.

I've tried letting the bike "warm up" and experimented with everything from 30 seconds to 5 minutes. But it's not the engine that needs to come on line, it's the fuel injector, and idle doesn't seem to get it primed to do its thing.

So now I just start the bike once I have gear and helmet on, and just go, remembering that I need to give it more throttle for the first minute of riding, especially when accelerating from a stop.

Could you explain how a pressurized system operated by an electrical solenoid...needs time to wake up? Thats..that's not a thing. We're in a computer controlled world since like 1984 now.

The fuel map for cool operation sucks, and just needs remapped for such...but as such, nobody has mapped our ECUs...and nothing is stopping me after another 3k miles, to putting a real ECU in it..I just wish to hell I didn't have to document the whole damned electrical system on the way, since no documentation exists.

When COLD I don't have as many issues as when its just "cool" in the 50-60d range in the AM or after work.

This is a cool/cold operation throttle enrichment issue, it is that simple.
 

DrCohen

Active member
Thinking back to the first bike my wife and I co-owned-- a 1970 BMW R60/5. Champaign, IL, got cold in the winter, and the bike was outside.
Many times, my wife could stand on the kickstarter with all her weight, and it would not move! On those days we walked.
Life is much easier now!
 

Pappy13

Active member
I thought about this thread yesterday when I went for a ride. I cranked the bike after I had my gear on, listened to the engine and when the idle smoothed out bumped the throttle a few times and coasted down the drive. It's about a mile to the first stop sign and I always take it slow and careful in the neighborhood. By the time I've reached the stop sign the bike is ready to go.
These fuel infected bikes have a fuel map that takes into account the bikes engine temperature and gradually adjust the fuel trim to account for the increase in temps in the engine only, your cold weather riding should allow for the drive chain lube, tires, brake fluids and other elements to come to an operating temp before just blasting off. However, the modern materials in use today allow for a lot more leeway than say the forged pistons in an old 283 where we had to take it easy until the pistons had time to heat up and swell to fit the cylinder, and the oil needed time to heat up and coat the rings and valve train to make it back to the oil pan and pump and start the process again, and you actually needed about 15 - 20 miles to get the tires heated up and round again but the brakes worked better before they heated up and the three on the tree shifted better once it had a few miles on it and the 90W oil heated up. So, in answer to the OP, crank it, wait about 10 seconds for the fuel rail to get completely charged, take it a little easy for the first mile then ride it. Our modern tires and brake materials and lubricants can take it all the way to temperatures that are too cold to ride in.
 
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