to cold for your engine? solved!!

been having same problem, about 35 yesterday took a couple times around driveway to get fired up, let idle for a minute, took off down the road ran like crap for about a block then really started running good, picked up an old speedo on ebay for $8 was happy to find out it was a cycle brand speedo made by stewart&warner got it up to 32 mph. first winter with a MB is this the norm? thnx chopper
 
ausped said:
well whats the freezing temp of water in farennhight
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32oF Ausped. Metric make so much more sense. As a kid, they told us the US was going Metric by 2000 or some thing but never came about. I still don't get the way threads work in metric though
 
Dan said:
32oF Ausped. Metric make so much more sense. As a kid, they told us the US was going Metric by 2000 or some thing but never came about. I still don't get the way threads work in metric though
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Metric threads are measured in threads per centimeter.
American threads are measured in threads per inch.
The methodolgy is identical, only the units of measurement are different.
 
Okay -22c =8below farh. -28c=18below farh. -31c=24below farh.

-35c=31below farh. but when it gets down to -40, that is equal to 40 below farh.
Any way, My motor has been running great in all these temps. except for 40 below only cause I have not tried it yet. For winter I use Castrol super snow mobile oil in my 2 stroke and it is really super (non- synthetic) here is pics. of my winter bike with my American Chain Drive from Island Hopper Florida. I am using my old 35cc for winter, and save my 48cc for summer.
 

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Today its 15 degrees f and i went to the store and my bike runs great,my engine loves it, it idles and goes just as fast,i even got it to start right away. but i was still cold.
 
I went for a 2 mile ride to get smokes at 3 in the morning last night and it was 7 above farh. My motor ran great !!! The conditions were great!!! The snow was nice and crisp, and I love it when the snow has some bite to it. I'll probably go for a 5 mile ride tomorrow. The -14c ( 7 farh), is the ultimate temp for winter ridding, especially when its after a new blanket of snow that gets packed down forming a good hard suface over all that killer ice.:):):):)
 
I like the hair dryer idea. I ride this to work. Just be careful not to ignite any fumes and blowtorch your bike engine. There are 12v hair dryers at truckstops if you want to use one with your auto or work truck.

Does anybody in the coldest parts use any starting fluid, alcohol, or other methods? (butane lighter on the spark plug cap, leaving blankets on bike, wet towel around the engine block, wrapping the carb in foam like a faucet, etc)

Mine is a 48cc grubee, and is somewhat harder to start in weather around freezing temp, esp when the air is moist. I have found that 2x priming button and starting it on full choke (the plate has a little hole) at a fast pedal will do it. It will actually run on full choke a little bit when its really cold, then only needs half choke for a block or so.
 
happycheapskate said:
I like the hair dryer idea. I ride this to work. Just be careful not to ignite any fumes and blowtorch your bike engine. There are 12v hair dryers at truckstops if you want to use one with your auto or work truck.

Does anybody in the coldest parts use any starting fluid, alcohol, or other methods? (butane lighter on the spark plug cap, leaving blankets on bike, wet towel around the engine block, wrapping the carb in foam like a faucet, etc)

Mine is a 48cc grubee, and is somewhat harder to start in weather around freezing temp, esp when the air is moist. I have found that 2x priming button and starting it on full choke (the plate has a little hole) at a fast pedal will do it. It will actually run on full choke a little bit when its really cold, then only needs half choke for a block or so.
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finaly someone that actualy likes it i know that you can start these enginse with choke +primer but thats no fun
 
for my cold engine starts here is what i do, full choke, half throttle, one pull and it starts, then i immediately switch the choke to off, it idles well, but if i give it gas it will bog and stall. so i let it idle, there is no smoke from the exhaust once i first start it. i let it idle for a few minutes until i begin to see grey smoke(moisture from the hot engine) spew out, at this time i know the engine is warmed up and ready to ride!! it starts first pull every time. no need for hair dryers or any other nonsense.
 
Plindy said:
Nothing to do with engine's !
Mn. around 1995 a weather man said -60 f tonight, and if you through a glass of water into the air that it would turn into ice before it hit's the ground. so i did all i seen was fog.

sorry just had to say that
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Yes, I remember that night as the temp was recorded just twelve miles down the road at Tower, Minnesota. I think it was minus 62 degrees Fahrenheit (that's 62 degrees below zero, not below freezing). The other little town of Embarrass, Mn. was upset because at a lower elevation they are always colder than Tower and regularly make the national news as the icebox of the U.S., their clame to fame. Unfortunately for them their official thermometer broke that night, so the honor went to Tower. The Embarrass folks are still grumbling about it years later. What a world. Some years back forty below was expected and twenty below zero was regular. At such temps my truck seat felt like a board and the tires would take awhile to round out the flat spots from where it had been sitting. I've had vehicles which would start that cold without an engine heater, but most want help. I lived one winter in a Mandan earth lodge without electricity and on very cold mornings would place a trash can lid with coals from the wood stove under the engine to warm it up if I had to go to town. One fateful morning grease accumulated in the body pan caught on fire and the ancient Saab was toasted. I smothered the fire with snow, but it was a goner anyway. So, don't put a pan of coals under yer motor unattended. Ha! I'm in Maryland for the winter and don't miss winter in Minnesnowta one bit.
SB
 
Water freezes at 32 deg. Fahrenheit.

I can think of no scientific reason that an engine would not work at any "earthly" low temperatures. The flash point of gasoline is around -97 deg. Fahrenheit, meaning that even at -96 it will still burn. It wont turn solid until around -200 or so. Good luck finding a place that cold on earth outside of a lab.

... Guess that's why the space shuttle doesn't run on gasoline. ;)
 
A gasoline engine runs on gasoline and air! which has moisture in it and varying oxygen content. Water freezes, air thins, and cold engine parts lose lubricity.
 
I'm going with the hair dryer idea. I think I can get one for about $5-15. I really don't like cold weather, so I want to just get my commute over with when its cold. The mo bike is not easy to crank in the cold, damp early hours, and the neighbors don't want to hear it so I try to scram.

Plus, the hair dryer can be used to dry boots later. (make some cheap PVC pipe thing, to emulate those $50 machines from the big sporting goods.)
 
i read somewhere that in ww2 russian pilots used to set a fire under their plane's engines to get them to start in the winter. it was either that or run the engines 24/7 or not fly at all.

just an idea.
 
I think an open flame under an engine is really a dumb idea. Burning coals are bad but maybe a life saving skill in Canada or somewhere else you get frostbite just taking a p outside. If you have a water cooled engine, the best thing surely is an electric pump & rapid heater combo. (like used on firetrucks and hanger equipment. If you are pulling a jet plane on a slick runway you don't want the engine to jerk or die)
 
You mention airplanes and that reminds me- I've always heard that some bush pilots actually drain the oil from their engine and take it inside where it's warm and then put it back into the engine before they start it the next day. I'm an A&P mech. and occasional student pilot, (not that that makes me an expert) but I can't see anyone actually going to all of the trouble. Especially when you can just put a 60 watt work light under the cowl to keep the engine, oil and all warm all night. On top of that, there are purpose built heaters that keep an airplane engine from getting too cold.

But I digress. I think where I was going originally was the idea of the light bulb. If you keep your bike in a cold place, you could just stick a light bulb to the side of the cylinder all night, that would keep it warm and I think it might be more efficient than pointing a space heater at it. Also less time consuming than warming it up with a hair dryer.
 
Tim_B_172 said:
You mention airplanes and that reminds me- I've always heard that some bush pilots actually drain the oil from their engine and take it inside where it's warm and then put it back into the engine before they start it the next day. I'm an A&P mech. and occasional student pilot, (not that that makes me an expert) but I can't see anyone actually going to all of the trouble. Especially when you can just put a 60 watt work light under the cowl to keep the engine, oil and all warm all night. On top of that, there are purpose built heaters that keep an airplane engine from getting too cold.

But I digress. I think where I was going originally was the idea of the light bulb. If you keep your bike in a cold place, you could just stick a light bulb to the side of the cylinder all night, that would keep it warm and I think it might be more efficient than pointing a space heater at it. Also less time consuming than warming it up with a hair dryer.
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Dang brilliant Tim. Years back I had suggested a heating pad to a buddy with a pull start for his garaged 2 smoker MB. On a timer, a heat lamp bulb. cheapie work light fixture. Would fix starting probs and not waste $ and certainly be greener.

You guys rock



(wut? seemed like a "UguysRock" moment)
cvlt1
 
It was 14 F this morning and I store my bike outside. I've got an 80cc JetSilver engine on it and it started after less than 30 sec of pedaling after priming the engine 5 times. I didn't even need to use the choke.
 
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