How To Prepare Your Motorcycle For Spring
The days are getting longer, the sun warmer, and in some places the snow and ice are beginning to thaw out. F0r most riders, winter riding is out of the question and instead, the motorcycle is prepared for a long hibernation through the cozy festive season.
As ready and willing as you might be to get out there and clock up some miles, your motorcycle not be so aware of the plans on the horizon. Be kind and give your motorcycle a gentle wakeup call by going through our Spring ride checklist one by one to make sure you stay on the bike and out of the kitty litter.
You don’t need a mechanic or garage for this, equipped with the right tools for the job (you might have to acquire some), a reliable workshop manual for your bike, and a place with adequate space to work and move around your bike, you can give this a go at home even if you’re a novice.
So before you throw on your jacket and head out on the road, make the responsible choice and properly prepare your motorcycle for the Spring riding season. Your bike will ride better, and you’ll be safer, so it’s a win-win situation.
Spring motorcycle Ride Check List
Fuel
Fuel is a crucial part of the equation that gets our bike running, but not just any fuel will do. If you didn’t drain the fuel from the tank before storing it away for the winter, you should drain every last drop of the old fuel out of the tank. This doesn’t mean you can’t use the fuel for something else, it just won’t do any favors for you beloved bike.
Unlike a fine wine, unleaded fuel hates being left for lengthy periods of time. Fuel is at its best when its fresh and uncontaminated, and despite your fuel tank appearing sealed, condensation can still form inside the tank which can mix with your fuel to create a cocktail that’s sure to make your motor run like a spluttering mess, if at all.
Battery
The cold weather is a known killer of weak motorcycle batteries. Some of us are lucky enough to have some kind of insulation on our batteries, or a reasonably warm garage to spend the winter in, others aren’t so fortunate.
If you didn’t remove the battery from the motorcycle, or use an optimizer system over the winter, there could be a chance your motorcycle battery will be weak, or completely discharged.
Make sure the battery terminals are connected or bolted securely, if the bike doesn’t start, or fails to spin the starter motor, your battery will benefit from charging. After charging, use an electronic multimeter to determine the voltage of the battery, this should give a good indication if it’ll be up for the job of starting.
Tires
The tires are the only connection we have to the road, so it’s crucial to ensure they look and feel 100%. Over time, tires deflate changing the shape of the tire. Old tires, or those that have spent hours exposed to direct sunlight can develop fine hairline cracks on the surface which are a big red flag for tire condition.
Carefully examine the surface of the tire all the way round for any signs of damage or wear. Check your tires are inflated to the correct pressure, either stated on the tire or in the workshop manual.
When the tires are fully inflated, check that you have adequate tread depth on the tire. Bald or unevenly-worn tires produce poor handling and affect cornering grip as well as braking efficiency, so don’t skimp on the value if you can help it.
Oil and filter
Draining your motorcycle oil can be a good idea before the winter, but while it’s not essential to do so, changing the oil and filter now before the riding season gets into full swing is a wise idea. The correct grade oil and a new oil filter to match will help guarantee your engine remains lubricated and able to work at its fullest potential.
Air filter
The same goes for the air filter, if it’s not too much hassle remove the air filter and inspect it to see if it could benefit from a clean or a fresh replacement. Dusty, clogged air filters are often the culprit when motorcycles do that annoying thing when they don’t start no matter what you try to do.
Cables
Throttle and brake cables can become sticky and troublesome to operate over time. Check your cables are moving freely, and that they don’t snag or pinch against the frame when the steering reaches full lock, check for both sides.
Cables can be lubricated internally with a special tool. If you notice fraying of cables, particularly at either end, replace them immediately – you don’t want them to fail on you while you’re far from home.
Brakes
A simple rolling test can be performed to test the operation of the front and rear brakes.
Depending on whether you drained the brake fluid from the applicable reservoir(s), it’s a good time to add some fresh brake fluid to the correct level. Bleeding might be required to find the optimal lever pressure.
Check which brake fluid your motorcycle requires, and if you’ve bled the system, check the fluid levels once more to guarantee you have the required amount for the correct brake operation.
Lights and electronics
You don’t want to discover your motorcycle’s lights are faulty when you really need them. To avoid any surprises, go through the lights and turn signals one by one, side to side, front to back to check everything works as it should. Weak, intermittent or flickering lights could be an indication the battery is weak or a connection is loose.
Does your motorcycle have reflectors? If so, check they are positioned and secured correctly.
Carry spare bulbs on your motorcycle to allow you to change any blown bulbs easily while out on the road.
Cleaning
The sun’s going to be shining a lot more and that means a lot more people are going to be seeing your bike, you don’t want it to be dirty, do you? If you’re a motocross rider then perhaps, but for the rest of us, let’s really make our motorcycles shine with a thorough clean, from head to toe.
A spring clean for the motorcycle not only reveals its true beauty, it ensures all moving parts will work smoothly with maximum longevity. Be mindful of which cleaning products are used on brake components, and always lubricated the required parts after cleaning.
Hit the road?
If you made it this far and completed all the checks on our Spring Motorcycle Ride checklist, then you’re in the top percentage of motorcycle riders that are doing it the right way! Was there anything you feel that we missed? Let us know!
With the preparations finally out of the way, you can at last focus on your plans for this beautiful Spring that’s upon us, which rides or events do you have planned?
Stay safe, look out for your fellow riders and as always, enjoy the ride.
