Thanks folks. I had originally put 20/50 in on a suggestion here (not sure I'll ever sway from 10/40 again). I then bought the 10/40 and all the trimmings to change for the cold weather. But unfortunately, I then was buried under 18" of snow, and it still hasn't melted from the curb!!!, so no workshop for me. So no oil change. I'm just waiting on a non-snow day.
I have been making short, cold trips. But I do warm her up each time. Maybe not long enough? I get her to where she idles on her own at 1000+ and then take it slow for a few blocks. I definitely don't warm down though.
How long should I be letting the bike "get warm?". I would say I currently give it about 15 minutes.
As it is an air cooled engine, "how long" is dependent on the temperature and volume of the air passing over the cooling fins/engine case where heat is transferred into the air. The engine will run fine when the cylinders are warm as that effects fuel atomization efficiency. The oil begins to vaporize the water/condensate when it gets to about 100F. Once it gets to that temp. it needs to be sustained until the water is all gone. Every time humidity laden air inside the engine cools down, water droplets form on the inside wall of the transmission engine case. Just like it does on the outside of your ice tea glass in summer.
When I was riding my CB550 in the mild winters of Nor. Cal., A 20 minute ride was not enough to convert the mayonnaise back to oil near the dipstick area. It took about 40 minutes on the 50F freeway at 70MPH to get the whole metal assembly hot enough to get rid of the mayo. The Vetter sure made this task far more enjoyable.
I can envision some temps where the engine will lose heat faster that it can gain it and never be able to fully vaporize the water near the rear of the engine case.
Thinner oil will circulate far better than thick, making it more likely to get that contaminated water to a spot it can vaporize.
There was mention of the air breather. The 550 has a foam element at the bottom of the air box. In winter ,this foam would get totally blocked up with condensate and need to be squeezed and aired out once a month when it was cold and rainy. Once it is blocked with water, the engine can't get rid of the water vapor inside the engine, it just repeats the vaporize/condensation cycle along with every engine run cycle.
Cheers,
