Shutting engine off in traffic.....

[ptfjjj]

I'm curious how many of you do this, and, for those that do, have you had to replace the stater? I developed a habit over the years, possibly a bad habit, of shutting off the engine when I stop at a red light where I know that I'm going to be sitting there for a few minutes. I have found that I keeps the engine from heating up and cycling the cooling fan which just blows heat all over me. I did this for many years on my Concours and my Knighthawk, and never changed the starter, but I sold both of those bikes after about 4 years. Any thoughts?

 

[pqsqac]

I did it on my air cooled bikes on occasion like you said sitting in stopped traffic but never bothered with it on my liquid cooled cicle. I wouldn't want to do it repeatedly in stop and go traffic it's got to take its toll on parts eventually. Luckily where I am I don't deal with bad traffic. ;D

 

[jajpko]

The only time I shut mine off is for a train, road construction, ect. If I'm in traffic I always keep the bike running in case I need to move quickly. Also keep the bike in gear, just in case.

 

[motocephalic]

No, I would never shut my bike off. I don't trust drivers around me, I usually keep it in gear as well just in case. I treat all cages like I want to be as far away as possible. I look for every advantage I can find.

 

[SpeedStar]

I too keep in gear and ready to react if I need to. I have a riding buddy who is paralized from being rear-ended at a stop light. I always watch my rear end and filter to the front of the line for just this reason.

 

[eemsreno]

Once while riding Missouri twisty roads , I had to stop for an oncoming car when I wanted to turn left and my wife screemed "GO" and hit me in the back as hard as she could. I gunned it [had it in gear] just as a truck slid side ways up where we had been stopped. On the Venture she could see in the mirrors just as good as I could.

 

[TEN YC]

No, I would never shut my bike off. I don't trust drivers around me, I usually keep it in gear as well just in case. I treat all cages like I want to be as far away as possible. I look for every advantage I can find.

+1

 

[markjenn]

The safety angle depends on a lot of factors - sometimes it would help to be able to make a quick getaway, but a lot of time you're boxed in or there are buffers behind you anyway. I don't think you can set any hard/fast rules because it depends on the situation.

Back to the wear/tear vs. savings question, I've read for non-hybrid cars that the "break even" point is at about one minute of idling - that's the point where the fuel savings and reduction in idling wear is just about offset by the fuel used to restart and the wear/tear on restarting. Whether this is applicable to a bike, who knows? Personally, I wouldn't worry about the starter - this technology is really mature and I've never worn a starter out on any bike.

For a water-cooled bike, I don't think shutting down is at all necessary even for long periods of sitting as the thermostat and radiator fan can keep temps well in check. But on an air-cooled bike, it's a very good idea to shut down if stuck in traffic very long. Oil and cyl head temps do spike to undesirable levels when an air-cooled bike idles without moving, especially in hot weather.

- Mark

 

[macca]

Most BMW cars now shutdown when stopped automatically to save fuel, however they are fitted with beefed up kit to cope with the addtional wear and tear (the battery on my 1-series bimmer is Ferking HUGE! larger than the one my old RRS SC had and Ithink starters and ringgear will be beefed up too). Your bike hasnt had such mods, i think the battery is marginal for the S10 and I on bikes it usually the sprag gear that gets a hammering from frequent starts so may wear out sooner, this is a known wear point on V-twin Ducati's especially older ones (like 888s) that have slow crank starting.
My money is on leaving it running/follow the manual destructions if its overheating.

 

[colorider]

The only time I shut mine off is for a train, road construction, ect. If I'm in traffic I always keep the bike running in case I need to move quickly. Also keep the bike in gear, just in case.

This is pretty much what I do as well.

 

[20valves]

Most BMW cars now shutdown when stopped automatically to save fuel,

Glad mine doesn't do that, how annoying! Must be a UK/Euro thing.

 

[markjenn]

Glad mine doesn't do that, how annoying! Must be a UK/Euro thing.

It is reported to be essentially seamless. If we have reliable technology to shut off idling cars at long stops to not waste gas, I'm all for it. Personally, I'd love to be able to walk around cities and have all the cars be silent at the lights.

- Mark

 

[Maurice]

Must be a UK/Euro thing.

You are right, here in europe are the gas prices much more expensiver than in the USA. Even if your and our oil comes from the same oilfields from the middle east.
The consumers want economical cars because of the high gas prices, and some countrys stimulate economic cars with lower taxes.
I realy would want a US car with a big engine, but that is for me and the most people not affordable here.
Take for example VW golf (Rabbit) they are here sold with 1,4 twincharger engines which are not available in the US.
Americans want big engines because they can affort it with the low fuel prices.
Gasprices are here in The Netherlands (Holland) the highest of europe (regular €1,65 / Super €1,72 / Diesel €1,36).

 

[20valves]

Gasprices are here in The Netherlands (Holland) the highest of europe (regular €1,65 / Super €1,72 / Diesel €1,36).

And that's per litre! Your gas prices aren't bad, it's all the taxes your governments force onto your fuel that's expensive! I don't have a big engine car though. Mine gets about 25 mpg on my daily drive. My pickup gets worse but it only gets driven about 1000 miles per year.

The only thing I've driven that shuts off and restarts automatically is a golf cart and I must admit, it's pretty seamless.

 

[RomKnight]

Keep it running and in gear just in case. I've almost had "close encounters" with idiots that almost hit me when I stopped at cross-walks and because traffic lights never stay red for long.

 

[Yahmy]

Wow!!! and I thought we pay the most for fuel. Is Shell then not a Dutch company?

No, I will not switch the engine off in traffic, unless I expect/know that I will stand still for 5 minutes or more I may consider it. If i have to wait that long in heavy traffic whilst on the back of the S10, i will seriously start to look at pavements and even better some alternative dirt roads. There is nothing like the fresh air of the African Bushveld on this bike!!!!!

 

[Motorcyclisted]

I once had a Kawasaki GPZ1100 that overheated in traffic and began to leak coolant. This occurred in the Summertime at Myrtle Beach, S.C.
I have never had this problem with any other motorcycle I've owned. However, if I believe that I am in a situation (traffic light, construction, etc.) that I will be stopping for more than 2 minutes
I will likely turn the bike off.

 

[Chadx]

I agree with the safety aspect of not shutting off the bike in most riding situations. In those situations where it's safe, like waiting a long time for a train and there are already several cars stopped behind me (as a buffer), then I do.

Keep in mind that in hot weather, when you key off your liquid-cooled bike, the radiator's fan stops running. This may or may not be a big deal, but I often will key the bike (or ATV) off then back on so the fan can run until it stops (can be don with the kill switch, too). Might not be a good idea, though, if your bike has an old or weak battery and you have a bike that turns on the head and tail light as soon as you key on (perhaps another reason to have an on/off toggle for your headlight).

 

[Koinz]

Not sure if this was brought up; slightly related but off topic.

If the tenere idles more than 20 minutes it shuts off, kind of idiot proof for those who start the bikes in the cold and go in for a coffee.
It's in one of the manuals.

I've read about some bmw's melting their plastic's after leaving their bikes running for too long.

 

[ptfjjj]

I used to shut my Concours off at traffic lights if I was in a line of parked cars and knew that I would be there for a few minutes. If the coolant temp was warm enough for the fan to run, it would still run after I shut the engine off until the coolant temp dropped enough. I found that if I sat there and idled the engine for very long in the hot central Florida summer, the fan would blow the engine heat directly onto me when it kicked on.