I know a bunch of you ride all year long except when it is actually snowing and the roads are covered in ice and slush.  But for the rest of us mere mortals we generally park our bikes until it warms up a little.  The recent burst of warm weather made me unwrap my bike and take it for a few spins and a couple of hundred mile ride.  During that first ride around the block I suddenly thought - did I check my oil (no) - did I check my tire pressure (no) - obviously the bike started but that is only because I took my battery out and replaced it before firing it up - what about the brakes - are the pads OK?

It's ok - I made it home safely from my trip around the block.  I did, immediately when I got home, shut everything down and proceeded to do my abreviated winter check of my bike.  I own a Harley 2007 low ryder and it is pretty easy to do the basic checks.  I changed the oil and filter and even though I had done that before tucking in my bike for the winter the oil was black.  I imagine the oil breaks down over the winter and other sentiment undoubtedly picked up from my short spin got kicked up into the oil.  So every fall and summer I change my oil and filter.

Next, like I already said, I made sure my battery was fully charged and all the posts clean with a bit of vaseline on the posts to prevent corrosion.  I always check my spark plugs now too.

Next I checked my tire pressure and discovered it was low - pretty amazingly low.  So the first appointment made after this checkup was to the garage to make sure my tire pressure was fine.  I also recommend you check the tire walls and tread to optomize your stopping.

If you have a chian make sure to check the slack according to your manual.  Also make sure that the teeth are all intact, not cracked or too woren.  You should probably try to remove your chaim for the winter but if you cannot be bothered at least you make sure to cover the chaim in some type of lubricant over the winter.  Of course this covering of lubricant needs to be cleaned up and light oil placed on the chain for the upcoming season.

Make sure to check your brake pads according to your manual.  Most brake pads have slits cut into them. If you can still see the slits, you are probably ok.

Last but not least make sure to completely clean your bike with an eye to tightening all bolts and lightly oiling any cables.  Make sure all the electrical works and of course buff the bike.  Have a great season.

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Show/hide comments

Show/hide comment form

Email

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (registered users only)

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment Preview