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Personally I’ve always started the engine, then put my helmet and gloves on, and then ride off. It lets the engine warm up for about 30 seconds and doesn’t waste any time that I wouldn’t have used anyway.

I always love these Ari TED talks, I really miss MC garage. So more of this please.

I think people also forget that a lot of lubricated parts don't move at idle. Part of that 'taking it slow' period is warming up your gearbox among other things. You could very well hit the right temp for your engine and then dump wayyy to much power into a still fairly cold gearbox.

So many times I've seen people start their engines and IMMEDIATELY rev them way up. Great way to shorten your engine life.

Very interesting & helpful although old habits die hard. I think I'd always leave a bike a few minutes to run in & give it a good few miles regardless before giving it any serious throttle. I probably have too much mechanical sympathy but it just feels wrong to abuse an engine imo.

My usual method is about a minute of idling, then low RPM cruising until it’s all warmed up. Glad to see others are aware of this as well. One way to think of it is that engine wear is not linear throughout the RPM range. If an engine has a 10,000 RPM redline and will last 5 hours at a constant 10k, it doesn’t mean it will last 10 hours at 5k RPM. Since wear is increased when the engine is cold, and engine wear is exponential with RPM, don’t rev it while it’s cold.

I have always believed it to be healthy to warm any engine up for a minute or two. I have a 2021 Z900 and a 2017 Audi A4 and both of these vehicles rev at about 1200 at idle for about a minute depending on the outside temp. I let them both drop down to the natural idle speed before driving/riding.

Agree 100% with this. I will do low rpm riding even with my carbureted bike once it's warm enough to run at half choke. On my EFI bike, I roll it out of the garage, start it, close the door and put on my helmet then go. I think most people who ride have the same ideal scenario that I have for warming up their engine -- I take it easy for the first handful of minutes though town, and by the time I reach the highway, the bike is ready for some revs.

I ride an old Knucklehead. I tuned the carb lean to save money on gas, as my income as a senior is limited. The only drawback, is if I kick start it in March, it needs to idle until at least May to warm up. It coughs, spits and farts more than I do. But, May is a better month to ride it, anyway.

Also don’t get greedy with the throttle until the tires are warm too! I’m sure you know this, Ari, but some of us don’t or forget! Don’t ask me how I know 😂

Good video. My take is that it comes down to "be reasonable". My routine for carbed bikes is to put on my gear, start the bike on the center stand, or sitting on the bike, then put on by helmet & gloves. On warmer days, or subsequent starts, the idle time is pretty short. On colder days, it may go up to 2-3 minutes. Some of my bikes are more cold-blooded than others. Too short of a warm-up is less than optimal. Too long of a warm-up is less than optimal. Be reasonable with the bike, and it will treat you well.

Stoked as hell you made it to Revzilla videos. I always liked your info and have watched your videos for years

That’s how my mate stuffed his Aprilia Shiver when he bought it new. He used to redline it from startup. It was buggered by 16 thousand klm.

i let my engine idle for abt 1.5 to 2 minutes. i live in norway where weather is usually mildly cold

I've wondered about this for newer bikes for ages. Thanks so much for clearing this up.

the best explination of how the fuel vapourises and the condenses again in a cold engine.... i learnt something... thank you

Totally agree! I fire up the bike and check all my lights and controls, put my helmet on, gloves and button up the jacket, that is sufficient time for it to start warming up. By the time I’m ready to roll my temp gauge comes alive and that’s my personal indication that we’re good to go!

Informative, concise, and well articulated arguments. Excellent work.

Metal expands when it heats up, warm it up for a few minutes 3 or 4 then ride it softly until it’s up to operating temps

The most complete and straight to the point explanation ou there !

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="279">4:39</a>-<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="285">4:45</a> sums it up nicely. That’s more or less my routine every time I ride and it’s worked out well so far.

Pistons expand when hot. When pistons are cold they rattle more and the skirt hasn't expanded all the way at the bottom of the piston, so the piston is more likely to rock in the bore, and cause piston scuffing. And the connecting rod big end bearing clearance dramatically increases on the crank journals when hot. If you are running a cold engine super hard, there is a chance that you scuff the connecting rod bearings, or worse, damage the crankshaft and spin a bearing. This video was really good, because the most likely scenario is that running a cold engine really hard, when clearances are too tight on certain bearing surfaces, will just lead to accelerated wear.

My Gen1 Bandit 1200 is carbureted. I will usually put my helmet and gloves on, then start it with choke. After about 15 seconds it's good to ride, and the choke is eased off until after a couple hundred feet down the road it's completely closed. Easy on the throttle until it's good and hot. Thanks Ari!

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="195">3:15</a>...glad you mentioned this part. Would also mention that in my cold climate, I'm thankful for my 2-stroke Beta and Yamaha boat motor!!!

Additionally, if you pay attention to it, you can FEEL when the engine begins turning more easily (in its happy state) and responding more directly to slight throttle inputs.

Simple, clear and sensible advice. Perfect 👍

Excellent discussion and delivery. Keep up the good work.

Really helpful info. As a rule of thumb I would always let my bike idle for at least 2 ~ 3 minutes after a cold start with the choke on because when I started riding I had a carburetted CB600F which would run like trash when applying any kind of throttle when cold. But yeah, take it out of the garage, pre flight the bike, turn it on, jacket, helmet, gloves, double check brakes and off I go. I usually baby my bikes until the coolant needle is in the middle or the clutch cover is hot to the touch. Never had any issues.

Ari testing all the automotive presumptions with FACTS love it. I still sometimes contemplate if I should wait or just go and this has put me at ease with an EFI machine (for slow going commuting at least) much love

Very good video. For reference I have a 2017 ZX14R that I bought new and it runs perfectly. My routine is to start it up, put on my gloves and then start down the driveway. I live in a neighborhood where the distance is perfect for warmup before I get to the exit onto the first road. While in the neighborhood I shift into 3rd and give it zero throttle. It goes on its own just fine and the idle revs drop before I get to the exit. In the rare case that the idle rev hasn't dropped I baby the throttle on the exit road until it does. I always thought that was a sensible procedure. Nice to have this video confirm it.

very clear explanation. Always loved your channel RevZilla!

Pretty sound advice and what I habitually do on my Kawasaki Z1000SX / Ninja 1000SX: Start the bike up, then put earplugs, helmet and gloves on while simultaneously running a check that all lights are operating correctly, before mounting and riding 👍

A very recent doubt to pop up into my mind since reading some people mention warming up. Very precise and logical analysis from Ari as always. Although I have a KM long twisty and bumpy pocket road to cover before arriving main road and I'm not a rev happy person at low speed, so no harm done. Thanks for the video, just as important as the engine break in video.

Well that explains that! I never questioned it, I just let it warm up for 3 or 4 minutes before I took off. Thanks!

Thanks, dude. I had a carbureted bike before my current one, and I thought I still had to wait.

It's really good to see a thorough and concise section in the shop manual to address warmup times, etc. I agree that clearances in the machine are optimum within the operating temperature range for the machine. Most modern motorcycle engines are constructed of various dissimilar metals and other materials, including gaskets, that operate in concert when they reach optimum temperature range. Who knows what might be in that engine? Titanium, aluminum, balonium or just plain old pot metal.... Thanks Ari!

I've always been of the opinion that warming up by riding gently is the way to go, and it's quick. Given I have a 19000 RPM CBR250RR that has clocked over 125,000km, I'd say it works.

You just made me understand why my 355 SBC swapped Oldsmobile takes forever to warm up. And even when at operating temp, the carb STILL bogs down midrange until its really warmed up. The original carb that came on the original engine was computer controlled even in 1985. I looked back at pictures on my phone before I pulled it and the quadrajet had two plugs coming out of it, going to the computer that was helping to control the mixture on the fly. Since I no longer have that computer, and the new engine and carb are running completely mechanical and unaided by a computer at all, it struggles until it feels right on its own because nobody is adjusting the mixture for temperature or anything like that. Thanks bro

I love the The Shop Manual. Those short little videos are great.

Ari: "Nobody in their right mind wants to ride at 10 degrees fahrenheit" Me: Laughs in Michigan heading to the gym at 0*F.

Nice. Love this series. Thanks guys. Also loved that transition from old Triumph to new. Those bikes look very nice.

This video helped my confusion so much. Thx revzilla

Very well put together video, I personally always let my bike run for 1-2 minutes from cold before riding it, Less in summer

Ari with the science and facts! Keeping the industry going! Thank you!

Very helpful! Never considered some of those points. The manual for my Versys says to let it warm up before riding and now I have a better understanding why. I know when its ready to go when the idle speed levels around 1200-1300 RPMs. Can take a little bit during the winter but it allows me to adjust the idle speed on those particularly chilly days.

Good video. Glad it hit on engine tolerances. I’ve rebuilt a number of engines with bent metal parts because they were over-rev’d cold.

Excellent information, exactly what I've learned and know from breaking in multiple engines and hitting the dirt and paved tracks over the years!

These videos are so informative and straight to the point. I love it. I always feel educated after watching these videos. Thanks guys for making quality content.

my habit on my motorcycles F.i. or not is always warmup for at least 2 minutes on my big displacements then a minute on my small ones, because warning up for me is cheaper than an engine repair

Thats really helpful, I am one of them who used to keep the engine on idle after the cold start for at least 5 mins inspite of the rush to move on 😁😁

I ride a 1982 Honda XL185S and it takes about 5 minutes to be warm enough to idle

Very comforting to learn I've done it more or less right. I also ride in cold temperatures (like now, close to 0°C), and have intuitively waited to rev it past ~6k rpm (4cyl 600cc, revs up to 14k lol) until warm. My problem is more that the battery is getting old and sometimes has trouble starting the engine... Thx for the video, great job explaining :D

Thank you! I've been saying this for years, this is super clear and well explained; hopefully more people will heed this advice!

I'm using full synthetic motorcycle oil and after a few times in the morning (slightly above freezing). I often have my oil light go on for a little bit and then goes away. I unfortunately immediately get on a highway from my home but I try to keep it under 6k on the tach. I checked my oil level and its thick enough to take some time to show up on the glass. Once warmed up its perfectly good oil level. I let it warm up for a minute or two before taking off.

good advice for most engines

The production quality is just amazing! love it❤

You just saved me 10 minutes every day. Before my daily ride to and from work, I would start up my Z900RS, and wait until the revs dropped below 1500, then hit the road. I thought I had to let the oil warm up and circulate through the engine. No more...thank you Ari!

You provide always useful info. Thanks. Thumb up for this.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge with all of us and please ride safe everyone 🙏❤

Thank you! This argument has always annoyed me and there was alway someone saying "Well I live in Wakeewikee where we get winters down to 4 degrees Kelvin and the snow is so deep we leave via the chimney - I NEED to leave my bike idleing for 4 hours with a blanket over it and a much of cocoa poured in the coolant tank!". No, you don't. I have an oldish V-Twin with an oil system that can best be described as "quirky", but even then it's best done like Ari says and run in slowly. The key is Operating Temperature, and simply put "OT = good, Not OT = Bad'. When you start the bike up it's cold and at idle takes the longest time to get hot, wich causes more wear. If you ride it gently for a few minutes it puts more load on the engine, but not nough to be harmful, it gets to OT much quicker. To steal Ari's analogy, you don't want to get out of bed and straight sprint. But you also don't want to get out of bed, do some stretches (which is like idleing) and then suddenly start sprinting. You Stretch a bit first, then jog a bit for a nice warm up, and then start sprinting once you're ready. Well, I assume so - I'm a fat guy who only runs downhill if I can't sop myself, but te people in lycra pants going past my house all seem to agree...

One of the first things I learned when I took my first bike from the dealership - always wait for the working 🌡️ to be at least 40°C and change the oil on time or a little before that.

All contents are exactly what i want in this amazing channel

Perfect video... concise but exhaustive!

I remember when my dealer delivered my Dorsoduro 900 to my house, he told me to make sure to warm up my bike in about 10 seconds before riding it since the idle bogs a bit at that time. I was a bit baffled since it's EFI, but followed his advice anyway, and learning more reasons in this video, I'm glad I did.

Warming up is important. Really good for longevity. Just 60 seconds is pretty good.

Great advise ...thank you!

concise, precise, and agreed. thanks.

Always a good day when Ari debunks something a lot of riders seem overly zealous about. 👌🏻🤓

About 10-30 seconds is usually sufficient just idling, then go easy until the oil and water are up to temp. Also gives you time to get zone in before you thrash 😉

Great info. Thank you, Matthew Mcconaughey.

Good Video. Very imformal and easily explained!

To me warming up my bike before riding is like stretching before a jog. It just feels better and also my engine sounds like it's not working so hard . When I take off with out warming I could definitely here the difference of the engine. It sounds like it's giving it's all trying to push.

Me watching this and looking at my carbureted 125cc 2-stroke bike in -30 degrees celsius . (btw i'm from finland) ;)

In the old days I had to let my 1981 carbureted Honda CX500 warm up for about 5 minutes, or it was all bucky and hesitant. My current Kawi C14 I'll start and let run for 30 seconds or so like my car, until it drops down from fast idle speed. EFI is a such a blessing to have on bikes.

Really helpful video, love your work keep it up guys 👌

every bike ive had ive always let it warm up while i get my gear on and ready to go normally 5-10 mins. bike runs so much smoother when warm instead of forcing it to struggle when cold

If you load the motor cold you are going to help the engine wear along. Also remember that very hard metals have less elasticity and will Crack when cold when subjected to load. So if you pull out of your driveway then stall the motor, you might be putting ultra fine cracks in

Thank you for the great inputs..

very informative. Thank you, I leared a lot from this video.

Yeah, I don't know. My Kawasaki Z900RS has a warm up cycle which lasts three to five minutes until it drops the idle speed to 1000. I have always been very conservative during the break-in period and always let my bike come up to full temp on the first start-up of the day. My engines have all run strong and tight to 50,000 miles plus. The people I sell them to always comment on how new and tight the motors feel. I saw your video comparing two CB500 motors and I admit that you changed my mind on the break-in, but I am going to stick with the full warmup because the way all my bikes have lasted tells me that I am doing something right.

Ari doing god's work here. Now we can just send these links instead of having to debate in person. My 2016 Ducati Monster 1200 R definitely takes some time to "wake up".

Good info + clear and concise presentation. 👌

Super helpful! Thanks!

It's refreshing to hear some correct advice for once. A rarity these days!

10500. RPM bad When cold , bad when hot...

Same here, start up, put gear on, ride in neighborhood 15-20 mph for 2 miles, it's warmed up by the time I get to the highway.

My old GSX-R1000 has a ~30s cycle of iddling higher from a cold start (especially longer on cold days) and I now believe I need to wait for the bike to stabilise the revs before riding away. When I don't it seems to succeptible to sometimes stall when idling or at low revs. This only happened on commute to work. I used to start and leave right away, to not annoy the neighbours, but now I just use a quieter end can and give it more time.

I’ve been on the fence about letting my bike idle for a few mins before taking off, this definitely helps me not to worry about it too much. Thanks, Revzilla.

Gr8 vid. This is about thermal stress of the engine. Running the bike without proper warming up will not implode the engine, but will increase its thermal stress in the life of an engine. In other words, with all other things being equal, an engine enduring less thermal stress will yield more mileages in its life time. An engine with higher thermal stress tends to weaken faster and will cause catastrophic failure sooner. If all sys are well, let the engine idle speed tell us when the engine warmed up. Cold idle revs btw 2.5k to 3.5k; warm idle revs btw .6 to 1.2k. Don't forget, before going full, let the clutch plates, final drive chain & sprocket, and tires all warm up properly.

Lucid and engaging explanation

Exactly what I have always preached. Let it idle while you strap on your helmet, and ride at low loads / medium RPMs until it's fully warm.

The owners manual on my ZX10R literally says idling for 5 minutes can permanently damage the engine. Sportsbikes are heavily reliant on airflow for temperature managment. (It also has a note about that the radiator coolant is laced with anti corrosive chemicals and thus not fit for human consumption. Always loved that little touch)

Love your content as always. I’ll add a point.. my 03 FJR1300 idles a little higher for a bit before dropping down to base rpm….. if I EVER shift it into first while like this, the clunk is nasty. So I guess I’m waiting more for transmission compliance more so than heat everywhere else. Keep up the great work!👍

Great series!

Very useful and informative content.

Great, straightforward info---very helpful! I have a '78 BMW 100/7. If I try to move it out of my driveway without a three-minute warm-up on a cold day, I swear I can hear the engine say: "Schneide das aus, du Idiot!"

I am an engineer and the fact that motorcycle engines don't blow up every so often is unbelievable to me. I will always make sure my engine never sees redline and it gets its 1 minute idle time.

Castrol had released a instruction for that back at mid 90s,total agree, never warm up over 1-2 min, just roll normal for a while. 😀🤟

very well information, easily understood