Hey Bike fans, Rossey here again to talk to you about maintenance of your bike, and what to check each time before you go for a ride.
You should always conduct a pre-ride safety check of your motorcycle. This will reduce the risk of injury to yourself and reduce the likelihood of damage to your motorcycle. Carefully examine your bike for damage, wear and tear, check to ensure the electrical system is functioning, and that all the adjustments are correct.
I know… all we want to do is jump on and ride, don’t we… but tell me this, if you need fuel, you’re going to get fuel aren’t you. Well, what if I told you, it needed these other maintenance checks to ride?
When this module is delivered in my training course, the full module takes about 10 minutes, but to be honest, I am waffling on for most of it, the cheeks themselves can be done in less than two minutes. I think that is well worth your safety, don’t you think?
So here are the steps you should take to regularly check your bike before riding off into the sunrise:
1. Check your chain – ensure it is correctly adjusted, not too loose, not too tight. And ensure it is appropriately lubricated.
2. Check your tyres – Ensure your tyres are in good condition, ensure the sidewalls aren’t cracked, make sure there are no bumps or irregularities such as uneven wear. Ensure the tread depth is no less than 1.5mm across the entire surface of the tyre, and lastly make sure the tyre pressures are in line with the manufacturers recommendations.
3. Lights – check your lights are functioning, turn on your ignition and conduct a quick indicator, headlight and brake light check, you never know who might have been chewing on the wires overnight.
4. Give your horn a quick blast to ensure proper operation.
5. Check your fluid levels and ensure your bike has no leaks. Check the brake fluid reservoir, clutch fluid if its hydraulic and your engine oil level.
6. Brakes – jump on and apply your brakes and give your bike a good push, make sure the brakes are solid, and also a visual inspection, you can see the brake pads by looking down between the calipers and the brake discs.
7. And finally, check your rego. I know this sounds strange, but a couple of seconds on the QLD Gov’t rego check app, could avoid you some embarrassment later on if you see some red and blues in your rear view mirror.
Follow these seven simple steps, and you will have trouble free motorcycling and arrive home safe and well after a great day’s ride into the sunset home.
And as always, thanks for reading and please, please… stay shiny side up, and ride your own ride, I’m Rossey, and I’m going to get you ‘Geared to Ride’.
