Here we have a few things you should check on your motorcycle on a regular basis. I assume you have a handbook with the specs for your bike, if not, go get one. You may be able to find some data for your particular motorcycle on the net.
Whereas with a four wheeled vehicle you may get away with being lax with things like tire pressures etc, this is not the case with a motorcycle. You should not risk compromising the safety and stability of your motorcycle, for the sake of a bit of routine maintenance.
Pre-ride checks
- Tires – check condition and for foreign objects in the tread.
- Tire pressures – it is vitally important to keep your motorcycles tire pressures either on spec or very close to it.
- Oil level – always check with the bike on level ground.
- Coolant level – only if your bike’s liquid cooled, obviously.
- Chain – check the tension and make sure it’s well lubed.
- Brakes – check they work and that they feel good.
- Lights – check all your lights, especially the brake light, you don’t want to get rear ended, do you?
- Visual inspection – self explanatory.
- All ok – hit the road.
Periodical checks
- Check battery – see that the connections are tight; I dropped a bike once because of a loose battery connection, strange but true. Also check the electrolyte level on some batteries, a lot of newer batteries are gel filled, sealed for life types, so no need with these.
- Carb balance – if your bike is multi carbed get yourself a Morgan carbtune or similar. It can be a little tricky the first time you balance them, but when you’ve done it once, the second time will be easy.
- Ignition timing – only necessary on some bikes, most newer models have electronic ignition which does not need touching, normally.
- Valve clearances – unless you’re a good home mechanic, take it to a motorcycle dealer.
- Wheel bearings – grab each wheel with it off the ground and see if there is any sideways play. There should be none or maybe a trace at most.
- Steering head bearings – with the front end off the ground, grab the forks and push and pull. There should be no play.
- Swinging arm bearings – with the back wheel off the ground, check for any sideways movement in the swingarm, there should be none.
- Brakes – check fluid levels, brake hoses for deterioration, and pads/shoes for thickness.
- Cables and levers – should operate smoothly. Get some grease on lever/pedal pivot points, and get some lube down the cables, if you can. A cable oiler is a handy tool.
- Nut and bolts – go all round the motorcycle with your spanners and check that all nuts/ bolts/screws are nice and tight.
Well, that’s about it for some basic maintenance, obviously, unless you’re a good home mechanic, any bigger jobs will have to go to a dealer. The problem can be finding a good one with skilled mechanics you can trust. I manage to keep my Yamaha Fazer 1000 running sweet just using the steps listed above. It does help that this model only needs the valve clearances checking every 26,000 miles.
