I have a 2008 Nightster.&nbsp\\; I only work a mile and a half from home.&nbsp\\; Sometimes when I have enough time, I take a longer, round about way to get to work, but often I just don’t have enough time to do anything but go from door to door the shortest route, which is that mile and a half.&nbsp\\; I do try to warm the bike up a bit before taking off, but because of the volume of my pipes, I do get a bit concerned about the neighbors (on both ends) and so don’t like to let it sit running for TOO long.
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My question is, if I do this every work day, (during riding season) is it bad for my bike?

 

Yes it is. Any vehicle subjected to short trips (ones that don't allow the engine to reach normal running temps) usually develop problems. We saw it all the time at the service station I ran.

 

It has always been an unofficial ruel&nbsp\\;that when you start a vehicle, you should go at least 10 miles just to fully recharge the battery. Oil needs to get up above 150 to lube well, IC engines make a lot of moisture that gets blown down past the pistons. I'd say at least once a week you need open road it for 25 miles or so to dry it out good.

 

I ride about 5 miles one way, but let mine warm up for a minute or two before taking off and usually get stuck in a little bit of traffic trying to get on to base.&nbsp\\; I do regularly ride the back gate route that is about 9 or 10 miles if I have time and like 1200Cdriver said, I go on atleast 1 or 2 rides a week that average about 20 miles or so.

 

As mentioned by schumacher, all internal combustion engines should be run up to, and at, operating temperature for at least a few miles for long engine life.&nbsp\\; Short trips, such as you describe, do not provide sufficient internal lubrication, allows natural condensation to accumulate&nbsp\\;and not burn off, and from a metalurgy standpoint, create a sloppy fit between pistons and cylinder walls over time.
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A more minor problem will be shorter battery life.&nbsp\\; I say minor because batteries are a lot cheaper than the engine.

 

I used to live only 5 miles away from work, back then I drove my car.&nbsp\\; In winter months, other than remote start it and let it warm for 15 mins.&nbsp\\; I kept it in low gear to warm up the oil faster.&nbsp\\; I suspect you can keep the bike in low gears to get the oil up to operating temperature faster.

Other than that, during riding seasons, you can ride longer distance during weekends and/or take the longer way home to let moisture in crankcase evaporate.

BTW are you using synthetic oil?

 

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What he said.&nbsp\\; I have the same problem.&nbsp\\;&nbsp\\;I work 2 miles from home and have always worried about this with all my vehicles.&nbsp\\; Best you can do is let the engine warm up for awhile.
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This is one of the many reasons I ride my mountain bike to work as often as I can.

 

Listen to Supertramp &amp\\; "Take the Long Way Home".

 

While riding longer distances is clearly better for the engine, short hops are not the end of the world as long as you stretch its legs regularly. The WORST thing you can do for your engine is to ride it short distances and then let it sit for long periods. That's when the moisture monster has the most fun.

 

I should have mentioned, yes, I do run my bike on longer trips as well, very frequently. During the week, I do usually get to go at least once, sometimes more in the evenings on 20+ mile "jaunts", and of course during the weekend I'm on it as much as possible, often putting in 200 to 300 miles, depending.

Given that, does that change anyone's comments/suggestions?

I really appreciate the input!!