how long does your bike take to warm up?

[meteor3178]

Mine used to warm up pretty quick, that was before I colortuned the carbs two weeks ago.
Some background first. I got my colortune and carbtune about 3 years ago so I could 'dial in my carbs' . I thought I followed the instructions correctly but it turns out I didn't. I was looking for the appearance of yellow in the flame and I mistook and orange flash for this appearance. After much research on this site, the .com site and the .org site. I realized my mistake.

Well I went back and actually tuned my carbs so it appeared green (the appearance of yellow in a blue flame)( Ended up opening them at lease 2 turns each). Once the bike warms up it runs and idles well. But until it does warm all the way up it will stall if I rev the engine while off is choke. Is this normal?

It probably sounds like I'm being picky but this is my first motorcycle and I'm still learning.

[DGXSER]

The Choke/enrichment circuit works in two steps typically. All the way out...50% out and then all the way in.

When I start the bike in any temp I use 100% out enrichment. Depending on how warm it is, it can take anywhere form 10 seconds to two minutes for the RPM to build as the engine warms till the idle speed id about 2500 or so. At that point I drop it down to 50% enrichment. At that setting,I take off and depending how long I let it idle up at the 2500 RPM, it will always take off smoothly, but may bog and putter a bit below 2500-3000 RPM for the first quarter mile or so. After that it is smooth running. After about 1 mile, push the lever all the way in. Runs like a top from there on in any weather.

[meteor3178]

So you drive with the choke on? Even 50% I've never done that before. Hard on first gear?

[DGXSER]

Nope. No different than riding with it off after it warms up.

I was always of the mind set that the worst thing you can do to an engine is let it sit and idle. Even more so for an air cooled engine. So, I try not to.

[dbeardslee]

I use a carbtune/colortune combo to adjust my carbs. I connect the carbtune, and sync them first. Than I start at carb #1 with the colortune, and I always do it the same way. First, if I've diddled with jetting, I first confirm that I can adjust out to a yellow flame, then in to bunson blue, and in more to white/blue - that tells me if I've got the jetting where it needs to be. Next I adjust all the way out to yellow, then in to bunson blue, and in from there 1/4-1/2 turn. Then I clean the plug, reinstall, check/resync and move on to cylinder #2.

The thing you have to remember about the colortune is that, while it will show you what's going on inside the combustion chamber, it is not a stock spark plug and won't act exactly like one - hence the 1/4 to 1/2 turn in from bunson blue. I arrived at this method through trial and error on a bunch of XS carbs and have found that it gets the carbs where they need to be. After I've adjusted the carbs, I like to run them for about 1k miles and confirm my settings by checking the plug color.

As far as your enricher circuit, the principle is simple. When the motor is cold, and the fuel is too, it doesn't explode as easily as it does when everything is hot. Consequently you don't get a complete fuel burn with a cold motor. As it warms up the gas burns more completely, and you don't need as much of it in the combustion chamber to make it go. If your carbs are misadjusted, a lean problem will improve as the engine warms up, while a rich problem will get worse.

[natemoen]

That was a nice, simple little explanation. I liked that. Thanks

[crazy steve]

I was always of the mind set that the worst thing you can do to an engine is let it sit and idle. Even more so for an air cooled engine. So, I try not to.

You do want to be a little careful. Keep in mind that nearly all motorcycle motors are made mostly of aluminum, and can be a little 'loose' until the metal expands fully at operating temp. As most any V-twin owner can tell you, beating on the motor before it's warmed up can easily lead to base/head gasket leaks; the cylinders can 'grow' in length up to .1" from cold to hot. While I doubt if you see that much with the XS11, an extra few minutes of warm up can't hurt...

[dbeardslee]

So you drive with the choke on? Even 50% I've never done that before. Hard on first gear?

If you're at a stop, and you shift from neutral into first at anything above 1100 rpms, you're probably going to hear a big clunk and you'll probably feel the bike lurch a bit. When I first start mine I pull the choke all the way out and start it using a tiny input of throttle - just enough to crack open the butterflies. Then I back it down my short steep driveway. When I get to the bottom, the idle is usually starting to rise, and I move the enricher to the 1/2 way mark. That usually drops the idle to about 1100. I shift into gear, and drive the quarter mile to the end of my street. In the summer I can usually push the enricher all the way in. If it's cold out, I drive it about another 1/4 mile before pushing it in.

Also, on idle adjustment - I only adjust mine when the engine is at full operating temperature. Otherwise you wind up with a bike that creeps the idle up as it reaches full temperature (about 15-20 minutes of riding).

That was a nice, simple little explanation. I liked that. Thanks

We aim to please . You're welcome.