It does’nt make a difference if you own a new or used motorcycle there are a lot of things you ought to do to make your bike last longer, be safer and get a lot more riding hours.

If you have a nice new motorbike, you must to take safety measures. You have to break the motorcycle in; this means that you ought to not rev the motorcycle to high as you drive it for a certain period.

On the whole people when they get a new or custom motorcycle they have a tendency to pamper and baby their new toy, checking the oil and tire pressure regularly, making sure to follow through with all of the planned factory warranty maintenance.

You know how to constantly tell a brand new bike owner. They are the ones that when you go on a trip together, each time you take a break they are right out there with their buffing rag just polishing away.

However, just like any latest toy, the newness wears off then often times the pre ride checks and the maintenance does as well. This can ad preventable wear and tear on your motorcycle and is just down right dangerous.

Although even new tires and parts can have a flaw and give rise to a safety hazard primarily this is not the case. It is a safety fact that a well-maintained motorbike is far more reliable and safe to ride then a uncared for one.

Here are a few straightforward checks you can do to greatly improve the life of your motorbike and ad hours of safe riding to your favorite past time, bike riding.

To begin with, even if this might sound cliché, at all times do a pre-ride safety examination. It just takes a couple of minutes and it will add to the life of your motorcycle and keep you safe and sound.

Check the tires & wheels:
You should constantly inspect the tires for signs of abrasion. Bike tires come with a segment of the tire called a wear away bar. This is a section of the tread that when the tire wears through extensively a sufficient amount will start to reveal even with the rest of the tread. If the tread on your tire is flush with the wear bar, it is time to acquire new tires.

You must constantly check the tire pressure. Having properly, inflated tires help in handling and stopping and will to a great extent improve the existence of your tire. And, check out the wheels to make certain there is no dents or cracks that could cause you to have a blow out whiles your out on the road.

Inspect the cables and the controls:
Inspect the clutch and the throttle wire for signs of wear out and for play. Ensure that they are not frayed and that they move easily and do not bind. If your clutch feels like it takes to long to connect you can adjust it. However if you have adjusted it as far as it can be changed, in that case its time for a different clutch. Put on the front brake and see if the motorbike can roll, if you don’t’ have any fine-tuning on your front brake it is either exceedingly low on brake fluid or its time to contemplate about brakes. Carry out the equivalent with the foot brake, once more if your motorcycle can move its’ time for brakes. (If you motorbike moves as applying either the front or back brake, Please don’t ride it until you get the brakes fixed…)

Test your lights and turn indicators:
place your key on and actually walk to to the front of your motorcycle and notice if your headlight is working. Now days most motorbike headlights come on when you twist the key on. Needless to say, if you are riding an older motorbike then you will have to to turn the light on previous to examing it. Check both low and high beams. Next, turn on the right turn indicator and see if both the front and back signals are working. Perform the equivalent for the left turn signal. It only makes sinces that if any of these lights are not operational. Replace the bulbs before going away for your jaunt. While you are checking your lights, you should just as well beep the horn just to make certain it is still in working order.

Ensure the Oil and fluid levels:
In fear of stating the evident, verify the gas. Most motorcycles these days come with fuel injection and don’t hold much of a reserve. Several motorbikes though, still come with a carburetor and have a fuel valve that can be to openup to a emergency supply in you petroleum tank.

If you fuel light comes on or you opened the reserve the last time you rode, you ought to get to the gas station pronto. If your tank runs dry, you are going to have to push or leave you bike by the edge of the highway whilst you hike to get gas. You have to check your oil level before ever starting your motorcycle. In most cases, the measuring stick has an upper and a lower mark on it. Your oil should fall somewere near to the middle of these to characters when your motorbike is cold. Running your motorcycle low on oil can cause your motorbike to run hot and cause unwarranted motor ware and very serious harm to your motor. Even if your brake safety check was a success you must continually bear in mind to check your break fluid level for the reason that even though the brakes work fine if the fluid is depleted they may fail when they get hot.

Check the suspension and chassis:
Prior to you are set to go, test out your front and rear shocks. Don’t simply sit on your motorcycle and bounce a few times to check if they work. Look closely at the front and the back shocks. Check to see if there is any leakage or surplus oil draining from them. Also, check the seals to see if they are dried out or cracked. Check the rear suspension to see if the weight adjustment is appropriate for your weight. Now sit down on the motorcycle and move the handlebars to see if everything feels right and that there is on play in the front end. The very last thing to check is your break and shift linkage. When everything checks out, it’s tome to ride.

One last bit of instruction though, keep the rubber side down!

Can you recall your first motorbike? I recall mine was a used motorcycle, a Honda 750 four. I bought it used in 1972 for $700.00. I remember it had something like 3000 miles on it when I paid for it. For what it was it was a great motorcycle.

The Next bike I purchased was a Norton 750 Commando. It was a fast motorcycle its day.

It was sweet, it was about 60hp @ 7000rpm and would run wide open at just around 120 to 125 mph. It was a four speed, I can still remember red lining it and thinking it could Probably run faster if it only had one more gear.

When I was younger I was into used motorcycles bikes. Well it was not that I was so much into them as it was all that motorbike malady didn’t last forever though and in 1975 I joined the United States Army and the next year I paid for a brand new Harley Davidson Sportster 1000cc bicentennial addition. Although it was one of those AMF Harley’s, it was a a nice ride. I got it while I was in Germany and I road it all over Europe. I road my Harley for a good ten years after that, in 1987 I had to give it a decent burial because I had an accident. Alas, my 1976 AMF bicentennial Sportster was damaged beyond repair.

I have owned quite a few bikes over the years. I have owned just about

every kind of motorbike you can visualize. I had a Fat Boy for a while, I owned a KZ LTD. 1000cc Kawasaki Police interceptor, and I’ve also had a couple of dirt bikes for off roading.

Those where all good times and great motorcycle but time marches on, I have grown up and although my taste in motorbikes hasn’t changed very much I do prefer a smoother riding motorcycle these days. The bike I ride now is a Honda VTX 1300.

Although to some, riding a motorcycle that isn’t made in the USA might be considered un-cool or not at all patriotic. To

them I say, GET OVER IT! Long gone are the days of my, it’s got to be a Harley or nothing at all. I am not saying that I wouldn’t own or ride a Harley

they are major league bikes. I’m just saying, it doesn’t matter what the motorcycle is, what matters is that I can get out on the open road.

I must say my Honda VTX 1300 is a nice smooth ride, it is very comfortable on long rides and it has all of the power I need.

The one thing about my VTX though is, it is a 2005 and it’s getting a few miles on it. I am thinking about selling it and getting a different one. I haven’t decided yet what kind of motorcycle I want. I am thinking that I might not buy a new motorcycle this time. Oh well I am not in any great hurry however I just might start searching for a used motorcycle for sale.

It is funny how bikers will select just the right motorcycle helmet, motorcycle chaps or motorcycle jacket to protect their head, skin and feet before they ever think about getting on a motorbike. Nevertheless, they will just hope on their bike with out a thought of doing a pre-ride safety check.

Pre-ride motorbike safety checks are important. They insure that you make it to where you are going and back again safely and help prevent brake downs.

Over the years, I have heard horror stories about terrible motorcycle accidents because of a blown tire or a brake or suspension malfunction. Fortunately, this has never happened to anybody that I know.

On the other hand, my wife did have a break down one day because we didn’t give the bikes a good once over before we went for a long ride .

My wife Sherry rides what a lot of women motorcyclist are riding these days, a Harley Sportster 883 Low and I ride a Honda VTX1300R. Sherry didn’t like the feel of the center controls so we had forward control’s put on her motorcycle . She loved the way her Harley rode after we added the forward controls.

All was good, so one warm Sunday morning we decided to go for a motorbike ride in the country. It was a beautiful day and the ride was great . We had ridden the back roads for about 90 miles or so and then decided to head back home for lunch .

The shortest way home was to take the freeway .

As we turned down the ramp towards home it was a good thing I looked in my rear view mirror because my wife was stopped buy the side of the freeway onramp flashing her high beams like crazy .

I stopped, parked my VTX, and walked back to her to see what had happend .

As it turned out, the linkage that connects the foot shifter, to the transfer case had fallen off and Sherry had no way of riding her motorcycle .

This was a serious problem. We were ninety miles in the middle of nowhere, we didn’t want to leave a brand new Harley Davidson sitting on the side of the road and I could not leave my wife there alone sitting on her Harley while I went to try and find linkage. Although that would have been impossible because it was Sunday and none of the motorcycle shops are open on Sunday where we live.

Not all was lost though. I asked Sherry if she remembered the last time she had changed gears . She told me she had changed gears just before we turned onto the on ramp of the highway . Therefore, I went on a quest up the ramp to see if I could find the linkage and the two bolts that held the linkage in place.

“Awesome!” About half way up the ramp, I found the linkage. I was almost home. I still needed to find the two bolts that fastened the linkage on to the sportster so Sherry could shift and we could continue our ride home.

I went up one side of the highway onramp and down the other looking for the ever so elusive linkage bolts. Frustration was setting in, as I looked and I looked again for those bolts.

It didn’t help matters that two half drunk rednecks in an old 1953 faded red colored flat bed truck had stopped by Sherry and started to bother her. I think they thought better of it when Sherry told them to go do something with themselves that I am sure neither one of them had done with a women in years and they saw me walking up the ramp scowling. They drove off gesturing, I guess they though that we were number one or something.

Back to the problem at hand, I had the linkage but no bolts to put it on with . I had my motorcycle, however, it is a metric bike and Sherry’s sportster is good old American standard.

If you know anything about metric and standard bolts, they do not fit. The threads will not match up. Anyway , that didn’t stop me. I found out that the seat bolts on my VTX are just about the same size as the bolts that hold the shifter linkage for the forward controls on a Harley Davidson. The difference is the thread pattern is a bit larger. They did fit just enough though; I just didn’t crank them in.

After my discovery, it did not take long and we were back on the road heading home.

I guess the reason for this story is not to take doing a pre ride check for granted.

You would have thought that having work done on your new motorcycle by a certified Harley dealer would insure that the work would be done correctly . Well as it turned out, the mechanic that switched the controls on Sherry’s motorcycle didn’t put lock tight on the linkage bolts and after a few months of riding the bolts vibrated out.

Could the problem have been eliminated if the mechanic had changed the linkage correctly? Of course , it could have. However, it could have also been eliminated if we had taken the time and done a pre ride check.

We were fortunate that it was just a linkage that failed and not something that could have caused injury or death.

For your safety and others that might ride with you, take the extra time and do a pre ride safety check. It will save your life some day.

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