Ten things to do before spring

January, February, Ride! If your like most riders, the promise of sunshine and warm weather is getting your blood moving. It won't be long now ... so why not take a few hours to get yourself and your ride ready for riding weather?

Check your tires

Check and correct the pressure, of course. Don’t forget – the rating molded on the tire is the maximum for that tire – not necessarily what’s recommended for your bike. Check the owner’s manual if your bike does not have a sticker with this information.

How’s the tread? Here’s an easy test. Grab a penny and stick it into the tread in several places, so Abe Lincoln’s head is pointing towards the axle. If you can see all of Abe’s hair, your tread is toast - under the legal limit of 2/32 inch. For an extra margin of safety, use a quarter. The distance between the rim and Washington’s wig is 4/32.

Any bad cracks, signs of age or brittleness, nails or other foreign objects?

If you need them, now is the time to get new donuts to beat the rush come spring.

Check your bucket

How old is that bad boy? The conventional wisdom holds that to afford the best protection in the event of a spill, the helmet should be less than six years old. Plastic and Styrofoam get brittle with age and exposure to sunlight, so it’s best to get a new lid if yours is starting to sprout gray hairs.

Batteries don’t last forever

In the old days we could get away with waiting for the battery to go completely south before buying a new one. For many bikes, those days are gone, since newer technology demands higher voltage. A new maintenance-free motorcycle battery will pump out around 14 volts – some bikes will begin having temper tantrums if the voltage drops below 13.

Since an old battery is not as sparky as a new one, if it’s more than five or six years old, you might want to pop in a new one this year. If your bike requires a maintenance-free or glass-mat battery, that’s what you need to replace it with. It’s not just for your convenience, it’s to provide the voltage your bike will like.

At a minimum, hang your voltmeter on the battery, cold, and see where the voltage is lurking to help you decide if it has another season left in it or not.

Registration, insurance and inspection up to date?

Lights, signals and horn working?

Change the oil

Unless you’ve been riding all winter – even if your oil was changed in the fall, it’s best to start with a fresh batch in spring to ensure maximum engine protection and smooth shifting.

Take this opportunity to review the maintenance schedule and take care of any other work that’s due, like brakes, valve clearances, wheel bearings or a tune-up.

Anything loose?

If you do your own wrenching, spring is a good time to check torque levels on nuts, bolts and fasteners. Don ’t eyeball it, though – this is one job you want to do by the book.

Run some fuel system cleaner

Use your preferred brand. Techron and Sea Foam seem to have a large fan base among riders. This is especially important if your bike has a carburetor or two. To get the best effect, you have to run at speed so the solvent gets into all the places it needs to.

Give her a shower

Even covered and inside a garage, motorcycles are just grime magnets. Cleaning it up will make you feel better but there’s a safety benefit – a careful grooming is a great way to inspect the ride stem to stern, keeping your eyes peeled for problems.

Hit some back roads

It’s not just the bike that needs attention. If you’ve been off the bike for a month or two, your riding skills need a brush-up, too. Your first few rides of the year should be include low-speed jaunts in areas with little or no traffic – to get back into the groove, shifting smooth and handling well. An empty mall parking lot is a good place to get this done.

Keep the rubber side down.
-Sal, Editor, March 2008