Get Your Motor Running

With the temperature hovering around freezing, it has become somewhat difficult to start the DragStar lately. Since it has only an electric starter, a certain amount of patience is required lest I run the battery down too far. I suppose it's good practice, although I've never thought of myself as being unusually impatient.

Once it is started, it's wise to wait and let it warm up a bit before starting off; it can be disconcerting to have the engine quit in the midst of Tokyo rush hour traffic.

This is also true of the scooter I keep in Kumagaya, mostly for getting from the station to the house and back. It does have a kick starter, though, and that's something of an advantage since even new motorbike batteries don't seem to hold up real well in the cold.

I can sympathize, or identify (although I guess neither term is really very suitable for application to an engine without rather extreme anthropomorphism): I find it pretty hard to get myself started these mornings as the winter cold sets in.