Driving tips: Warm up the motorcycle properly

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Driving tips: Warm up the motorcycle properly
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Driving tips: Warm up the motorcycle properly

This is how it works: Warm up the motorcycle properly
How to get your bike going

And no matter how warm it is outside – the engine, chassis, tires and brakes, the driver also need a while to get up to operating temperature.

08/08/2011

At half past five in the morning you don’t just jump out of bed and run a half marathon. After the resting phase, the circulation has to get going, the organism has to be started up. The same is true of your motorcycle with its engine, chassis, tires and brakes. Like the human cycle, they also need operating temperature for optimal readiness for use.


Driving tips: Warm up the motorcycle properly

For specialists: so that racing motorcycles can hit the track with optimum grip, the tires are heated up before the start.

Anyone who cannot be approached in the morning before their third cup of coffee (or knows someone like that) easily understands that even the motorcycle is not available for top performance on the spot. A gentle driving style at medium speeds gradually brings the engine up to temperature.

Rule of thumb: Do not drive more than half the nominal speed for the first 5 km. This gives the oil, which is more viscous when cold, time to become thin. Then it gets everywhere and develops its full lubricity before it really gets down to business. The mixture preparation – i.e. carburetor or injection – only works precisely when 
the engine has become so warm that gasoline no longer condenses on the canal walls. 

The oils in the fork and shock absorber behave in a similar way to engine oil: they are thicker when cold than when they are warm. This affects the attenuation: 
The spring elements respond sluggishly when driving over bumps, the motorcycle behaves stubborn and uncomfortable. 


Driving tips: Warm up the motorcycle properly

For the first 5 kilometers, start with a gentle driving style (half the nominal speed) so that the engine can warm up optimally.

Too high a speed can now easily cause chassis unrest. In addition to the spring elements, these are also attributable to the tires, because they are responsible for damping, in addition to traction: when cold, they appear glassy, ​​reluctantly absorb shocks and give rise to unevenness in the road, e.g. B. longitudinal grooves, as unwelcome steering impulses.

Test drives with temperature sensors showed that targeted acceleration and heavy braking on a straight road are the best way to heat the tires. This is particularly easy with ABS motorcycles: Rolling upright, they can be braked vigorously in front of red traffic lights, at which you have to stop anyway. Pay attention to the traffic behind you! Only when the tires feel more elastic than on the first few meters can you drive corners bit by bit more quickly and thus bring the tire flanks up to temperature. The warm, elastic tire rubber presses into the depressions of the road surface and literally clings to it.


Driving tips: Warm up the motorcycle properly

The truth in color: a few push-ups pumps blood to your chest muscles. The thermal imaging camera gives it away.

But not only the vehicle, the driver also wants to be brought up to temperature before the journey. Head and body have to get on the bike awake and warmed up. For example, by doing a few squats and light stretching exercises before the start, the driver ensures that the muscles are well supplied with blood, better flexibility and faster reactions. Just five minutes of warm-up training are enough to put the body and mind in a more responsive state and to prevent tension.

notes

the Front tire is still too cold if, for example, the motorcycle unwillingly turns or lags behind every longitudinal groove. When driving, a cold tire can be felt relatively quickly in the steering. Adjust your driving style accordingly!

Blunt brakes are rather rare, because most stoppers grip well even when cold. But if they feel doughy at first, bring them carefully to operating temperature by deliberately applying the brakes.

Hot-headed nobody should drive, but the body may have warmed up. You don’t have to do an endurance run for this: a few squats and relaxation exercises for the muscles of the feet, hands and neck provide sufficient preparation.

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