Is your bike ready for Spring? #ride5000miles
As riding season is officially now upon us, rather than just firing up and blasting off, there’s a little bit more to getting your bike properly prepared for Spring.
You need to think about your bike – is it prepared properly? MCN’s resident mechanic gives you 4 easy steps to do just that.
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Pump it up
First job is to check tyre pressures are correct. Many owners increase the pressure when a bike is stored to counteract the natural loss overtime. So get ready with the gauge.
On the charge
If you’ve had the battery on a conditioner over the winter you’ll be laughing. If not you will need to get it on charge now. Some batteries can’t recover if they are left totally flat.
Controls/chain
Make sure everything’s working correctly, that you’ve got the correct free play in the throttle and clutch and that the bars turn smoothly. Read more about taking care of your chain here.
Bright ideas
Go through the lights and do a ‘bulb check’, including high beam, low beam, stop light and indicators to check that they all work and that a bulb hasn’t blown.
Fork seals
If they’re going to go they’ll go the first time you roll the bike off its stand after winter. Just give them a wipe with your finger to check they’re not leaking.
To help you prepare further, check out our 5 riding skills to brush up on.
