Fast Idle Switch

[madderdaddy]

I have a 2006 s2r 800. What is the pupose of the fast idle swithch. I know its used for cold starts but dont know what else. Are you supposed to leave it on when you start the bike so it idles higher until warm or are you just supposed to use it till it starts?

[Slide Panda]

I have a 2006 s2r 800. What is the pupose of the fast idle swithch. I know its used for cold starts but dont know what else. Are you supposed to leave it on when you start the bike so it idles higher until warm or are you just supposed to use it till it starts?

YOu got it... all it's there for is to help cold start/keep it running until it's up to temp and can idle at the normal set point. That's it...

[redxblack]

and obviously you'd want to turn it "off" before you start riding.

[silentbob]

You can also use it on the highway so you can take both hands off the bars while you turn around backwards and yell at the guy behind you.

[ArguZ]

Are you guys really warming up the engine before you go ?
I mean...I ride to work and back every day...
Its a rather short way...under 3 miles.
Instead of burning fuel in the backyard I just start the bike, leave the idle switch in the middle and slowly move it back while the bike warms up
I try to keep the idle at 1200 rpm..that feels like a nice frequency for me.
Most of the time I reach work when the engine just got over the LOW indicator.
I also use that indicator as a NO GO reminder for sharp turns and stuff...tires need some temp too

[LA]

When I have the time I wait until the bike is headed well on it's way to 150F - especially if I'm going for a ride that won't warm the entire system.  This bike (s4rs) doesn't have the fast idle, but I always operated my s4r that did the same way.  It's a water thing - sorta.  Combustion makes water and the system needs to get hot enough to get rid of it before you switch the engine off.

LA

[Scotzman]

You can also use it on the highway so you can take both hands off the bars while you turn around backwards and yell at the guy behind you.

RREEAALLYY? Now the wheels are spinning (in my head and soon on the highway). Just kidding, that would be reckless and irresponsible.

[somegirl]

and obviously you'd want to turn it "off" before you start riding.

It's really no big deal to ride with it on, actually.

[Grug]

Guys, I'm having all sorts of issues with my 1999 monster's fast idle switch. I can't get it to sit at moderate revs, it either goes full-bore or drops down to the point that the engine just cuts out because it can't handle the cold (and it's freezing at the moment so it can take 15-20 minutes of riding before the bike gets up to running temperature and can idle without cutting out.

Has anyone had issues like this with their fast idles? Or are you supposed to be able to control the speed of the idle better?

Cheers,

Mark

[ute]

it makes a great cruise control

[ScottRNelson]

Guys, I'm having all sorts of issues with my 1999 monster's fast idle switch. I can't get it to sit at moderate revs, it either goes full-bore or drops down to the point that the engine just cuts out because it can't handle the cold (and it's freezing at the moment so it can take 15-20 minutes of riding before the bike gets up to running temperature and can idle without cutting out.

Has anyone had issues like this with their fast idles? Or are you supposed to be able to control the speed of the idle better?

1999 was the last carbureted Monster, right?

The rest of this discussion was about the fast idle lever for fuel injected engines.  I'll set mine on when I first start the bike and adjust it to idle at about 1500 rpms.  I'll often ride off with it still on a bit, then turn it off after a few blocks.  And I rarely warm up a bike more than half a minute before gently riding it off.  As long as you don't give it any serious throttle, it's probably better for the engine to warm it up by gentle riding than letting the bike sit idling for five minutes.

Now back to the above question.  On the 1997 M900 that I used to own, I could get it to idle at about 2000 rpms or down near 1000, but it wouldn't stay at 1500 rpms.  I don't know what the issue was, but I didn't worry too much about it.  If it was really cold I would let it idle at the faster speed for a minute or two, otherwise I only used the "choke" to get it started, then would let it run without choke.  I found that turning the mixture screws to four turns out (stock is 3.5 turns) was all that I needed for it to run fairly well when cold even without the choke.