Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Hey there looking for some advice, I have a 250 Ninja and I live in Canada where it is cold. Our bike insurance up here is so expensive we try and ride as early in the season as we can. As you can imagine that little engine takes a long time to warm up. I had it at the shop for its yearly maintenance and they turned up the idle speed to around 4000 rpm which is great when it is cold because it warms up faster but, once it is warmed it is to high. What idle speed have you had success with? I would like to find a good set idle and just leave it there instead of the up and down and the season gets warmer.

It idles at 4000 rpm with the choke on, correct? What does is idle at with the bike fully warmed up with the choke off?

hellokitty to the TMW motorcycle forums!

I've owned many bikes and I've found 1,100-1,300 idle RPM to be good once the engine is warmed up. With choke on you'll see much higher (ie. 4000 rpm) depending on outside temperature you shouldn't need more than a few minutes of full choke really unless it's -5°C or colder out then you'll need 5-7 mins of it.