Are there differences....

[dkw12002]

Are there differences between how you properly warm up and ride a 2-stroke vs. a 4 stroke? Should you warm up the 2 stroke longer? Does the 2 stroke handle sustained WOT as well as the 4 stroke? How about hot weather and cold weather riding? Any differences between the 2 engines there? I am specifically thinking about my new Roughhouse which is an air cooled 2-stroke. I have had no problem riding my Grom 125 air-cooled 4-stroke wot for many miles after it is thoroughly warmed up and it does great, but I haven't really done that yet with the Roughhouse but I am planning to. Your thoughts.

[TVB]

I can't tell you anything comparing 4T vs. 2T, because I've only owned the latter, a Buddy 50.

I can tell you that I don't pay much attention to warming up. I walk the bike to where my front walkway meets the driveway and the street, sit down, fire it up, and go as soon as there's a break in traffic. That's whether the temperature is 20F or 100F.

I've had no trouble running at WOT for extended periods. When I travel I'm not aiming for endurance or distance records, so I stop more often than just to refuel. 100-150 miles a day is typical for me, and on a couple occasions I've done well over 200 (once to catch an overnight ferry, the other because I had to cut a road trip short and return home the next day). The scooter performed without problem.

[skipper20]

Are there differences between how you properly warm up and ride a 2-stroke vs. a 4 stroke? Should you warm up the 2 stroke longer? Does the 2 stroke handle sustained WOT as well as the 4 stroke? How about hot weather and cold weather riding? Any differences between the 2 engines there? I am specifically thinking about my new Roughhouse which is an air cooled 2-stroke. I have had no problem riding my Grom 125 air-cooled 4-stroke wot for many miles after it is thoroughly warmed up and it does great, but I haven't really done that yet with the Roughhouse but I am planning to. Your thoughts.

The warm up time for a newer 4 T is about the time it takes you to put your riding jacket on, get it zipped up and your helmet on and get it all buckled up. If it's an older bike, probably twice that time. For a 2 T not much time at all. When it starts, twist that throttle wide open and ride it like you stole it.

Bill in Seattle
'12 170i Italia
'11 220i Blur
'08 250ie Sport City

[OldGuy]

I like to let my Roughhouse (2T) idle after startup while I get my gear on. After a minute or two there is a small change in idle speed, which I think is an indication of the auto-choke turning off. I am comfortable riding at this point. So my basic measure is: warm it up long enough to get jacket, helmet, and gloves on.

Maybe not necessary, but makes me feel like I am doing something good for the scooter. With all the different materials and expansion rates in the engine, I just don't feel good about stressing the system until it has a chance to get a bit of heat in there.

[brianwheelies]

You should consult the owners manual.

My Aprilia SR50 that is direct fuel injected has recommended warm up of 15 to 20 seconds and take it easy for a little bit while the temps come up.

After doing a few mods I let it get the first bar on the coolant temp before departing.

[dkw12002]

My owner's manual says to warm the bike up 1-3 minutes and warns "do not accelerate too fast when the engine is cold." My 4-strokes don't put a time frame on it, but have warning stickers to thoroughly warm up to bike before riding to keep from damaging the engine. 3 minutes warm-up time would be more for cold weather I suppose, but it wouldn't take that long to get gear on and really, the head does not feel warm for at least 5 minutes after starting out, so I usually just go by how the engine reacts. It just seems to run smoother when the bike is warmed up and ready to ride hard. Thanks for your input.

When given a choice of plugs, I usually use a sustained high-speed riding plug which burns colder, but is more subject to fouling if you idle too long, plus 45 F is as cold as I ever ride in, so I think I will go with the 1 min. warm-up followed by 2 minutes of slow riding before opening it up. One thing different between the 2 stroke scooter vs. a 4-stroke FI bike is that you don't really need to increase the rpms much or at all to take off in 1st gear on the latter. You can just put it in 1st and ease off on the clutch and the rpms stay at idle speed...under 2000 rpms and you are under way. Not so with the 2-stroke scooter. It doesn't move until the rpms are considerably higher...no tach, but it feels like at least 4000 rpms. This might mean a little longer warm-up is indicated for the 2-stroke scooter before starting out.

[craftynerd]

I've noticed that as my Buddy's breaking in, it needs less time to warm up, especially on cold days, strangely enough. (Apparently Mia likes the cold weather?) If it's particularly chilly, around 35 degrees F or below, I'll give her a minute to warm up, but she needs less warm-up time than my Metro did. (And even then, all Scooterlou needed was about 2 or 3 minutes - usually just about how long it took to put my gloves on and make sure my helmet was strapped on tight.)

But yes, 2-strokes, I'm noticing, take much less time to warm up and be rideable.

[OldGuy]

My experience is that small carbureted Honda motors need a longer warm-up time than most. I assume they run a bit leaner than some others, and need the choke longer so the carb is warm and working correctly. This is just my guess. But, Hondas tend to get good mileage, and they have to make compromises to help that happen.

[dkw12002]

My Grom, a small bike by any standards at only 225 lbs. wet gets 111 mpg even the way I ride it which is a lot of wot. 2-strokes won't get that good as a rule due to some unburned fuel going directly into the exhaust. I think the scooters like Aprilias SR50 with the ditech injectors do the best for 2- strokes. I thought the PCX with the mechanism where the engine shuts down at stop lights, but once you open the throttle, it instantly starts back up would catch on. That did very well mileage wise. Problem is, fuel is cheap right now, so mileage is not as high a priority as it was in 2009.

[ed85379]

The only issue I've ever noticed from not waiting for my 150 to warm up is that it stalls easier when idling for the first few minutes.

My solution to that is just to give it a continuous, but tiny amount of throttle while holding the brake at a stop-light, just to keep the chain-reaction going strong. That way I'm not caught on a stalled scooter when the light turns green, pissing off everyone behind me.

[dkw12002]

With 4 strokes you sometimes hear the argument that you should ride the bike X number of miles in order to get the crankcase oil up to a high temp to burn off any moisture in the oil. That might be one difference although usually a certain distance or time of riding is also recommended to get the exhaust up to a temp that burns out the moisture to prevent rusting, to lubricate the seals, and to charge the battery. Regarding the last 2 items: you hear lots of things about long it takes to charge a battery. My Vespa GTS300 manual says 10 min of reving the engine just above an idle once a month is enough to keep the battery charged and the seals lubricated.

I often do not ride 10 miles per trip. Often it is more like a mile or two at a time. However I have never had a need to use a battery tender since I ride almost every day. Wish I knew for sure what distance is best for the longevity of the scooter. I could always do some extra riding if I thought it was better for the scooter somehow.