Hey everyone -

I have an '03 M620 with about 6500 miles on it - my first bike!  Bought it over the summer and have been riding it to work everyday for the last 3-4 months. 

I am wondering if I am using the fast-idle lever correctly.  When starting up, I open up the lever til the engine gets up to 5-6k RPM, just for a few seconds, then pull it back to about 3k RPM, then begin riding.  As the engine warms gradually on my ride, I close the lever a bit.  However, I generally leave it open enough so that I idle around 2-2.5k RPM.  Anything lower than that and the bike sounds like it's not "revved up" enough and it feels underpowered. 

Questions:
is that bad for the engine?  should i eventually close the lever all the way after the engine warms?  what RPM's should the engine idle at, after warming up?  Does leaving the lever open really give me more power off the line, or am I just imagining it?

Also, I am only getting about 30-35 MPG ... I'm wondering if that's b/c I keep the RPM's too high.  I was expecting to get at least 40 MPG.

I know very little about mechanics, so pls excuse any ignorant questions.  Thanks in advance for any thoughts. 

6k?

Try to keep it at 2k or so while it's warming up. Push the lever all the way off as soon as the bike won't stall with it offâ€"that's all you're worried about, stalling. You should probably wait to ride until the engine is warmed up enough to idle without stalling...

Idle is usually between 1000-1500, no? Consult the owner's manualâ€"you know, the one that says "WARNING: Do not ride the motorcycle with the cold-start lever engaged!"

Quote from: wark on December 06, 2008, 02:48:04 AM
6k?

Try to keep it at 2k or so while it's warming up. Push the lever all the way off as soon as the bike won't stall with it offâ€"that's all you're worried about, stalling. You should probably wait to ride until the engine is warmed up enough to idle without stalling...

Idle is usually between 1000-1500, no? Consult the owner's manualâ€"you know, the one that says "WARNING: Do not ride the motorcycle with the cold-start lever engaged!"

2k is the mark that I shoot for. I try to adjust the lever to the 2k mark and then adjust it to off when the bike won't stall. I don't think I have ever ridden off
with it on.

If the bike needs such an incredibly high idle speed to operate it is not running correctly.

I know this sounds a little crazy but if you don't like your bike idling really low, raise the idle, don't ride with the cold start lever on.

I am very surprised that you can get 6K on the fast idle lever. Something is not right here.

6k is *possible* depending on how the fast idle mechanism is adjusted, usually they're not set that way.

As others have said, it's best to keep it to 2k or so until the engine warms up enough to idle with it fully closed.
Having the idle higher doesn't give you any more power.
An immediate 6k rpm on a cold engine isn't good for it.


What does it idle at when it's fully warmed up?
It should idle at about 1200 rpm.

Your low fuel mileage and likely low/unsteady idle would very likely improve with valve clearance adjustment.
At 6500 miles, you're due for it.

Thanks a lot for helping out a newbie, guys.  I suspected I was doing something wrong.  I will definitely change my process per your suggestions. 

By the way, it was a service tech at Bev Hills Ducati that told me to rev up the engine that high on start-up.