Too many short trips leads to condensation in the oil and that will rot your crankpin....5 mins every day is an expensive way to live.

Get a Japanese dirt bike for commuting and ride the Harley after work.

The time you save on cleaning the Hog alone will be worth it :-)

 

Aw just start the bike up an let It Idle for five minutes,,then haul *** to work.
Burn the condensation off on yer after work ride.
Keep fresh synthetic oil In It,,,change It 3 times a year no matter how few
miles ya log.
Ride It Like ya stole it,,
Look at It this way,,,you use up the engine,,,,
you get to rebuild it better,,,Stage 5,,,Buuuuwahahahahaha

 

Yeah a Harley Is not for everybody.
Thing Is for Us Harley Lovers,,,
Riding an appliance sucks..

Not something I'd do even If I knew my freinds would never see me on one.

 

Yes, it's bad for your engine, at least as bad as riding for an hour would be. The vast majority of an engine's wear comes during the first few minutes after start-up. If that's all you ride, then you are wearing your engine at a rate of about 50:1 (each mile you ride wears the engine as much as 50 miles by an average rider). And this only encompasses wear, such as on the rings. You also have condensation factors, which will increase pitting and rusting of internal components.

The third worst thing you can do to an I/C engine is to let it sit and never run. The second worst is to shut it down. The absolute worst thing you can do is to start it.

Now, with all that being said, every other I/C engine is the same way. Short rides are terrible for I/C engines. If you only do it occasionally, you won't hurt anything. If you do it daily, you'll kill your engine in 50,000 miles or less. Now, a lot of people don't even keep their Sportsters for 20,000 miles, so it may not be an issue for you. You have to decide what's important to you. As Osco said, if you kill it, you can always rebuild it into a better engine. That's the beauty part of HD, they are eminently rebuildable.

Your best bet is to run, walk, bicycle, or skateboard to work. It's only 5 minutes by motorcycle, so it isn't over 20 minutes by foot. Save the scooter for pleasure rides when you can put more than a few minutes on it.

 

If you do take short trips during the week. Take a good long run (30 - 50 miles) on the weekend to burn the accumulated moisture out of the motor and primary.

 

When you hit the starter button the battery sees the starter as a dead short and quite litterally spills its guts while doing its job. Add to that the fact that the lights are on all the time and the ECM memory and security system drain the battery while the key is off our batteries have quite a job to do. If the ECM memory is non volitile you can through that one out. I don't know at what rpm the alternator makes its max output. I bought a Battery Tender the small wall wort one and then suspected it was just a constant volt charger. I use it the charge my model airplane starting battery and disconnect when it is charged. I bought a Battery Tender Plus for the bike as it maxes the battery to 15.6 volts then floats it at 14.4 volts. which is much better for long term battery health.

 

What are you still doing here? DLTDHYITA.

RAL

 

Cold start is the hardest part of the running process. Its not so much that it is hard on it rather you are not running the "wear free" miles that a cruising machine racks up. So the miles till failure will be less.
5 min...get a bicycle. That way your Harley will be ready for your afterwork and weekend rides for many years. you also can drink a few more beers without getting a gut so big you are forced to get a Big Twin


RAL

 

Assho... um, "people" like that stick around sites like this knowing that someone will read their posts. This validates their stupidity, and allows them to feel superior to other people (us), since they hate something that we love (HD). Besides, negative attention is better than no attention. Odds are that he's never owned a Harley, and I'd bet even money that he's never owned a motorcycle. As far as I'm concerned, he's a moron studying to be an imbecile (and not studying very hard), who's only purpose in life is to create angst.

 

BYE!