5 things to check before you ride

Going on a long ride with their motorcycle is the dream of every two-wheel aficionado. To be able to ride for hours with any interruption of traffic is a joy that can not be accurately described in words. 

That said, behind the allure of a wide-open road hides a mechanical workout that can take a heavy toll on your bike if it is not ready for it. So before heading out, we recommend performing these sets of quick five minute checks to make sure everything is in order. Although the checks are not thorough or extensive, these will help identify any major problems and at the very least give you peace of mind.

Chain and fluids

When a chain breaks, it can lead to a number of incidents, none of them good. Best case, it will fly clear of your bike and hit the poor folk behind you. At wose, it can become a high speed chainsaw, maiming your bike and your leg. It can also wind up around the rear wheel or jam up inside the engine, the fromer freezing up your rear tyre and the latter destroying your transmission. 

Give the chain a visual inspection, see if there's any frozen link or excessive slack. Frozen chains are a precursor to a broken link and a chain with excessive slack might bounce off the rear socket. Ideal slack should be 1.2–1.6 inches for most bikes but we strongly recommend checking the owners manual or consulting a mechanic. 

While checking the chain, have a look under the engine. If it's dry and clean, then good news! All the liquids that are supposed to be inside the engine are still inside the engine. With that wrapped up, time to inspect the tyres. 

Tyre

Easily the most visibly wearing item on the bike, tyres are critical to keeping your bike on the road. Worn out tyres can slip on highway speed, while compromised sidewall can violently rupture without any kind of warning. Both incidents can lead to a horrific accident. 

Start with air, see if the tyres are properly inflated. Then move onto the treads, see if the grooves are clean and deep. Check for any cracks in the rubber and other signs of dry rot, as well any embedded forgin object. Early dry rot and minor punctures can be fixed, but major examples will require you getting new tyres.   

Scan the sidewall for any chunking or bulging. If you find one, change the tyre immediately as at this point the tyre is a ticking time bomb. 

While you are at it, give the alloy wheels a visual inspection for any crack as well. If you have a wire wheel, drag a piece of metal across the spoke to see if any of them sound off. 

If everything checks out, move to the brakes and suspension. 

Brakes and suspension

In general, brakes themselves should not be a failure point. Brake disks will look visually off if they are worn out and the pads will screech loudly if they are on their way out. What does fail are the hoses. Make sure the rubber pipes connected to the brakes are fresh and without any kind of damage. 

A simple and quick way to check the brakes is to get on the bike and try or move it with your body weight with the brakes applied. If the bikes stay still, the brakes are fine. 

While you are on top, turn the handlebar lock to lock and listen for bearing noise then repeatedly put pressure on the suspension to evaluate if they are returning to their idle position uniformly.  A messed up suspension results in poor geometry, which leads to dynamic instability or "tank slappers." 

If the suspension rebounds without any issue, check the switchgear. 

Lights and controls

A common failing point on most bikes are its lights. Most of the roads in our country are poorly lit, making even the sub-par halogen lights critical for navigation. It should be noted that the said halogens go out only after a thousand hours of use, which isn't much if you do a lot of riding in the dark. 

Turn on all the light switches and see if they are in proper working order. If all of them illuminate correctly, test the controls. See if the pedals are smooth, the clutch has pressure  and the throttle rebounds without any stickiness. 

With them cleared, you have one more place left to shine some light on.

You 

Are you tired, angry or maybe intoxicated in some way? Is your phone fully charged? Are your safety gears properly secured? Does your loved one know where you are going? These elements are critical as even a perfect bike can't prevent an accident if you yourself is compromised in some way or another. 

If you are exhausted, rest a little. Maybe use that time to charge up your phone and inform a few trusted people where you are going. After that, suit up, get on the bike, and head for the open road.