starting your bike up in winter

[RICKI]

Hi had a look in search but could not find any thing , is it ok to start your bike up when in winter storage or is it a bad idea.

[Art]

It's a bad idea because most engine wear and tear is caused during cold starting and the engine warm up period.

[Shed]

I seem to recall the SAE doing various studies into this many years ago and they found the engine wear rate was 80% from its own start up.
Look here for that: https://www.sae.org/publications/technical-papers/

However, the mechanical wear during start up is imperceptible when compared to the wear the engine will get with you sitting on the bike blatting along for the rest of the year.

There's people for not starting up & people who couldn't give a toss about starting up in the winter months. I'm in the latter category and it's never troubled me in decades of use.

You'll find points for & against on just about any bike forum, but at the end of the day it's your bike, you do what you want. 

[pedro]

To have any positive qualities if you start your laid-up bike during the winter, you'd have to run it for a good period I'd say. It'll take a while for the battery to recover it's charge for one thing after starting it and condensation is perhaps another issue, especially in the exhausts.

If your bike is in a dry environment and have a trickle charger connected, I'm not sure there's any benefit to starting it. If (like many) you keep it in a garage or shed that's slightly damp and has no electricity, perhaps that's different. But even then, how often do you start it? A day after having been run, in a damp environment it'll be as damp as before you started it. There's the issue of lubrication too. The least protection given to the engine by oil will be on start-up until the oil starts to circulate well and that won't happen until it's up to operating temperature. So, as already mentioned, there will be wear issues, however small. Or not.

There are things you do to a bike if you are going to lay it up. I'm sure there's a list somewhere, but it includes having the tyres off the ground (or at least use the centre stand), keep the tank full to keep condensation and therefore rust at bay (and to stop the petrol going off), disconnect the battery, and a coating of something to repel water on vulnerable parts, such as the forks. (But remember to wipe it off before rolling it out in the spring and going for an MOT, or the tester might think the seals are leaking (happened to me one time). Anyway, that list is probably not exhaustive and best look for a definitive list if you need to.

So, after all that, I'm in the not starting it camp. I have to say that these days, I don't use my bike in the winter months but, typically Honda, when I do eventually want to start it up, it usually goes on the first prod of the button. (Not sure I wanted to say that. Tempting fate).

[knapdog]

My three bikes are laid up in December and brought back to life once the fear of frost has gone and there's no more salt on the road, which is already the case.
The paintwork and wheels would have had a Mr Sheen going over and the engine, forks and exhaust a light spray with GT45.
The bikes have covers on to keep the dust away.
I fill the tanks full with super unleaded with "Ethanol Free" additive added.
All bikes are on Oximiser charges to trickle charge the batteries. I never start up the bikes.
All bikes are on centre stands.
They are usually in hibernation for around three months although I tend to tinker with them during this time by maybe changing the pads, oil change, coolant flush, brake fluid change sort of things in readiness for the Spring.
I also have no problem rewaxing the bike or polishing the headers or my Royal Enfield engine casings as I enjoy it and find it therapeutic.

[RICKI]

Thanks for all your advice, Dont think i will start my bike up till we can go out and play