Preparing Your Motorcycle/Gas Scooter & Yourself For The First Spring Ride
By Dennis McCartney
CBXManMotorcycles.com
It's very tempting to uncover the bike, hop on and twist the throttle for the first spring ride, but there are a couple of essential preparation steps that we suggest to do first:
1. Check The Battery Condition
If you kept your bike on a battery tender over the winter you can unplug it now. If you didn't and now find yourself with a dead battery we offer very competitive prices on both Scooter Batteries, Motorcycle Batteries and Battery Chargers/Tenders. Keep in mind that with today's maintenance free batteries that if they are connected to a battery tender when not in use you can expect a battery to last 8 to 10 years!
2. Check The Tire Pressure
It typically will have gone down over the winter so air them up, check out all the items available in our Tire Maintenance section. Also inspect the sidewalls for cracks. Cracks are a sign of age and indicate a tire that should be replaced. Tires over five years old are not safe to ride on. Tires lose their ability to grip as they age so riding on old tires is an accident waiting to happen.
We are a PARTS UNLIMITED Supplier and have a large catalog of Aftermarket Motorcycle Tires and Aftermarket Gas Scooter Tires.
3. Check Your Oil
Now is the best time to change your 2-stroke engine oil or 4-stroke engine oil. We also have a large selection of Scooter engine oils & gear oils. Oil accumulates moisture over the winter so dump it and replace the filter now also. Here's a good list of Replacement Scooter Oil Filters from K&N and HifloFiltro.
4. Check Your Brake Fluid
If it's not clear anymore then flush it and replace it with fresh fluid. Brake fluid is a hygroscopic fluid so it absorbs moisture over time. It's easy to tell. If it's turned brown instead of clear its time for a change!
A large selection of Brake Fluid is available online.
5. Empty The Fuel Tank
If you didn't put fuel stabilizer in your gas when you put your bike away you should dump the gas that is in the tank and replace it.
Turn the kill switch off so the bike won't start and open the drain(s) on your carbs. Crank the engine until nice clean new gasoline comes out of the drains. Now it's ok to fire it up.
Remember to set your choke off, if your bike has one, as soon as possible. Leaving it on will just foul up your plugs. If your pipes turn blue, it is caused by leaving the choke on too long. Here's some help to protect your pipes and just a few items to give your gas a little boost in performance!
6. Make It Shine (while protecting it)
Give your ride a good coat of wax. Apply a coat of Bike Brite Moto Mask to the inside and outside of your helmet shield. Doing the inside will help keep it from fogging up. Apply a coat to your windscreen as well.
Now it's time to prepare yourself for the first ride of the year:
- Check the condition of your riding gear. If your helmet is more than 3 or 4 years old, we suggest that you replace it. The polystyrene inside your helmet is what provides the cushion effect when you hit the deck and over time this polystyrene loses its resiliency and gets harder providing less cushion effect and therefore less protection. Great helmets are available from about $80 and up. Look for a DOT sticker on helmets. Don't get hung up on feeling that a helmet needs a Snell approval. This is just another test that adds cost to a helmet and is not necessary. If the helmet is from a name brand maker and is DOT approved that's good enough!
- Check the rest of your gear. If you wear leather now is good time to treat your gloves, boots and coat with Lexol or mink oil to keep them in good shape. It's a great way to check up close the condition of your gear.
- Now the hard part. Your first ride. Take the first ride nice and easy to get re-acquainted with your machine. If you live in a northern climate be on the lookout for cinders and sand left on the road from winter time. Take a minute and apply both front and rear brakes a few time and then stop and check to see that your wheels are rotating freely. If not the brake pistons are sticking and it's time for a caliper rebuild. Enjoy the Ride!