Oil warmer dipstick

Has anyone ever heard/used a oil warming dipstick for their bike? In the frigid north even though my bike is in an enclosed garage, the temps can drop subzero. It seems to me that keeping the oil warm and therefore radiating outward would prevent any damage to the block due to the cold. Any opinions on this would be appreciated.

I used one on my old 63 Chevy when I was stationed in Northern Michigan. Did not help much. I later discovered just putting a 100 watt bulb in a drop light under the hood next to the engine worked wonders. Also, use 10w40 in the winter.

If you're not riding the bike, warming it would only cause condensation problems. Sub zero temps shouldn't matter to an inert piece of aluminum. Just my 2 cents.

35634 said:

If you're not riding the bike, warming it would only cause condensation problems. Sub zero temps shouldn't matter to an inert piece of aluminum. Just my 2 cents.

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What he said, just wasting electricity.

I used heated oil dipsticks in cars decades past winters here in east central Wisconsin, and it did little to help. Now, if there was a heater you could clamp onto the bottom of the oil pan, that might help some. Probably do much better than a heated dipstick, just using one of those cheapy little Halogen shop lights on a stand placed directly under the bike and near the oil pan.

But moreso, the cold really drags down the battery in a hurry. So having the bike on a trickle or float charger (Battery Tender) at least insures you get better cranking and more certain ignition. My old 76 R100RS always started fine if the battery is kept up. That, and I always used a full synthetic oil in a lighter "winter" grade, like a 5W or 10W.

Are you riding it???

Are you riding it???

Here is Arizona when it is 115 degrees I don't ride the hot air will not cool the Aircooled bike.

But back to your ? if riding in these temps a extended warmup, a 100 watt light bulb under bike is better than cooking the oil with a heated dipstick.

But if just storing then just leave it alone. Oil will not freeze.

http://www.thoroughbred-cycles.com/Tech.html

Quoted from link:

"Do NOT go and start it up to warm it up once in a while, it does more harm than good."


Have a Merry Christmas!!!!!

If you intend to ride the bike then warming the engine (and the battery) make sense, provided you ride the bike long enough to get the oil fully hot to evaporate any moisture.

Otherwise, trying to warm the oil to keep a chunk of aluminum warm just invites greater temperature change in the stored engine and increases the probability of condensation from the air.

Actually, storing the bike with the air below freezing, and keeping it that way the entire storage period poses the least chance of moisture condensing into the lubricants.

Is your bike covered? If you're using a full-bike waterproof cover which drapes to the floor, the 100W light bulb idea is a great one. It'll keep the oil/engine/battery warm. Personally, I'd start off with a 60W bulb. And don't place it too close to anything flammable otherwise things could get a little too warm if you know what I'm saying.

If you're riding in this cold weather, good on ya. But, as others have said, if you're not, just remove the battery or put it on a Battery Tender-type device, cover your bike and say, "See you in the spring".

Its just the firefighter in me but

I would never leave an unattended drop light, heat light or shop light burning in my garage or shop or around flammable gas or gas vapors. You will more than likely get the bike and the building just a little warmer than you expected and that frozen aluminum, rubber and steel will not be of much concern anymore. I am agreement with Mr. Glaves in just leaving it be but I would more than likely remove the battery and store it at a reasonable room temperature and well ventilated area of the house and have it on a tender of some sort. I just recently cranked up an R 90S that had not been started since the mid '80s and all it needed was fresh gas through clean carbs and a good battery, it was stored both in Fl. and Pa. It ran just fin and went through the gears without a clunk, chunk or squeal.

69zeff65 said:

I would never leave an unattended drop light, heat light or shop light burning in my garage or shop or around flammable gas or gas vapors.

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You know, I never thought of that. When I lived in West Texas our house had the water heater in the garage. It was gas with a pilot light. It was elevated a foot or so off the floor, but still in the garage. Thought that was dumb too.

toooldtocare said:

You know, I never thought of that. When I lived in West Texas our house had the water heater in the garage. It was gas with a pilot light. It was elevated a foot or so off the floor, but still in the garage. Thought that was dumb too.

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The elevated water heater is a Fire Code and Plumbing code requirement. Gasoline fumes are heavier than air, so the theory is that the fumes won't reach the elevated pilot light or heater flame. The reality is that the code requirement came about when water heaters that were not elevated routinely and with some regularity caused little incendiary mishaps.

Indeed, remember that gasoline vapors are heavier than air, and do have a nasty habit of finding ignition sources.

Another item is that batteries do self-discharge over time, even without the added "benefit" of parasitic loads, such as clocks and radio memories. So it is a good idea to keep the battery charged. In a typical lead-acid battery, as the battery discharges, the electrolyte(acid) becomes diluted with the water that is formed by the chemical process. Therefore, the freezing point of the electrolyte rises to the ultimate freezing point of water (32F/0C). So without charging the battery, and given that in winter temperatures are lower, it is possible (as some have found) that you will come out to find a puddle under the bike that is not gas, and rather severely corroded parts of the bike, as well as a cracked battery case. If you want to risk the scraped knuckles to remove the battery and take it someplace warmer, go for it. Otherwise get a battery-maintenance device of whichever flavor your prefer, and keep the battery charged.

To anwer the origional question...years ago I did put a heated dipstick in in my R100/7. The
result from crusty burned oil on the dipstick...and not much else. When I wanted to ride in
really cold weather...I had been known to drain the oil and replace it with hot oil....cans which had been sitting in hot water. Probably didn't do much, but it got me out of the House....

Mac

Holy Crap! Where do you guys live, the north pole? I've been in the teens, never a problem, except maybe the battery working quite hard.

RoboRider said:

Holy Crap! Where do you guys live, the north pole? I've been in the teens, never a problem, except maybe the battery working quite hard.

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I was stationed in Northern Michigan and rode my bike year round. It did not like to start when it sat outside all night and the temps went to 25 below zero, my car wouldn't either. I rode the bike as much as I could because a GI did not make much money back then. That is when I started the light bulb trick.

I grew up in North Dakota as a kid of the 1950s. Cars had headbolt heaters and later tank heaters. Motels, and houses had outlets and extension cords. You could buy a battery warmer - like a 5 sided electric blanket wrapped under and around the battery. Less indulgent and more enterprising folks would attach a battery charger and leave a dome or glove box light on, with current through the battery warming the battery's innards. More than one person started a fire with light bulbs or charcoal under oil pans. Most folks had a spray can of ether around - not for sniffing, but for spraying into carburetors of recalcitrant engines at 20 below F.

To more modern and motorcycle related times, I recall more than one log from a fading campfire being dragged across the turf at Jasper's Hollow and the Falling Leaf Rally to encourage Airheads to start in the teen temperatures on Sunday morning.

I once dragged an F650 into the house to warm up, further encouraged by a hair dryer blowing on the carburetor and intake, to coerce the bike because Voni "needed" to ride it in the fresh 8 inches of 15 degree snow on her birthday in Kansas.

The theory of pre-warming the engine and battery to start a terminally cold internal combustion engine is sound. Execution for most motorcycles is a bit crude, or lacking entirely.

PGlaves said:

I recall more than one log from a fading campfire being dragged across the turf at Jasper's Hollow and the Falling Leaf Rally to encourage Airheads to start in the teen temperatures on Sunday morning.

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I may have been one of those. One of those years it was so cold in October I considered SLEEPING in the campfire.

Mac

Starting a really cold Airhead with 20W-50 Dino oil in the sump is a GREAT way to test whether your bike has the $2K o-ring problem. Or in my case had the paper gasket when it shouldn't have.

RoboRider said:

Holy Crap! Where do you guys live, the north pole? I've been in the teens, never a problem, except maybe the battery working quite hard.

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Same here.

Even in the coldest NJ Winters, my R90 always started right up. Of course a good tune-up and an electronic ignition helps!

I think condensation mostly occurs when you have temperature changes, like when moving something cold into a warm area. I doubt that keeping the bike warm all winter would hurt anything, but I agree it wouldn't be worth the effort.

I currently store my bikes in a building I keep at 50 degrees all winter. It seems that the bikes and tools have less corrosion than when they were stored in an unheated area.