I’ve starting turning my car over once a week whilst it’s damp and cold....left it three weeks recently and it was a bugger to start. Even though I have a carpeted ‘integral’ garage she don’t like being left for long!

I was recently advised to get a jump pack for the winter months....are these worth the money?

If your going to start the engine up (and not just place it on a trickle charger) the engine needs to be run up to full working temp
The worst thing you can do is just start it up for a couple of minutes and then turn it off again

I once saw an engine where this had been happening on a regular basis and it needed a re-bore in the end

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Originally posted by perksy
If your going to start the engine up (and not just place it on a trickle charger) the engine needs to be run up to full working temp
The worst thing you can do is just start it up for a couple of minutes and then turn it off again

I once saw an engine where this had been happening on a regular basis and it needed a re-bore in the end

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if you are starting it, then you really should also move it about a bit, so it parks on a different spot on the tyres, get the engine/oil/water/exhaust/cat hot, and run any aircon in a modern car too

but to answer the question, do the little lithium jump start pack work? - yes they do work extremely well, though you are still better off topping up the charge of the main battery occasionally as well

also a slightly different story if you just turn it over without starting.

Dress up warm and drive it

I normally use mine all year round, just as long as the roads are dry and I dress up in quite a few layers, gloves, scarf etc.... After 1 hr driving i'm ready to head home again.

Although I have recently had an incident and off the road right now...... doh....I'll put up a separate post with the details at some point.

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Originally posted by Slater
.....just as long as the roads are dry

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Yep I took mine for a spin a fortnight back and had a little woopsie.
I got of very lightly.

It’s put me off tacking it back out until it’s warmer.

I don't have a fair weather car yet (it's still being built), but I used to leave my bike in the garage when the roads became unpleasant. Apart from a 'wake up' service at the beginning of the season I didn't do anything with it. When it started to get warm it got new fluids, new fuel and a battery charge.

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Originally posted by Mr Whippy
Dress up warm and drive it

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Recently started mine after it was stood for a year. Couple of turns and off it went. I love bike carbs!

It will soon have a heater so plan is to use it year round once back on the road.

[Edited on 16/12/20 by SJ]

You do get 12v heated vests, jackets and pads etc for bikers which in a 7 will keep you way warmer than a heater. I had heated grips and a jacket plus fleece lined jeans for my motorbike which I used even in the snow. Tbh most of the time I was just cooking and had to keep turning it off. You even get heated steering wheel covers now

Until I fit (if ever) the hood and windscreen, I'm not bothering with a heater at all in the 7 as I still have my heated bike jacket

Once a winter maybe, just to prevent the tyres flatspotting/cracking. No other need to. I left one car parked outside for 3 years with no starts, the engine internals were shiny and fine before starting so I have never considered it an issue.

As above,you do it more harm than good unless it gets hot enough to evaporate any moisture from the crank case,which it won't sat idling.
Just leave it until you are ready to use next spring .

I did leave a old vw beetle engine under the workbench for 10 years, fitted it and it ran perfectly

My wife has a DS3 Cabrio in black. It is the worst colour for showing dirt and marks and I have to clean it at nearly every outing to keep it looking as it should. Over lockdown my wife lost sight in one eye due to a cataract (very recently now fixed) and couldn't drive so the car lives in the garage on a maintainance trickle charger and each month on a non raining day I take it out for a 10 or 15 mile drive to thoroughly warm the fluids and let the tyres get round again after standing. I'll keep that up until she gets her new glasses and can drive again. I got away with not having to clean it last month

[Edited on 17/12/20 by ianhurley20]

If you start an engine and leave it ticking over for a long time and do this regularly you will end up with bore wash, which results in petrol getting past the rings into the oil, which can do lots of damage if your unlucky.

I have experienced this during the build when I used to start up the engine and warm it up regularly.

The engine needs to be run under load i.e. Driven to avoid this.

[Edited on 17/12/20 by big-vee-twin]