Bike Service tips

The only thing between the hard unforgiving pavement and you is your tires. Best that you know, understand, respect and learn how to treat them well.

Motorcycle Tire, Tyre Maintenance

Tip: Keep a low pressure tire gauge (0psi - 80psi) in your bike tool bag at all times. Try to remember to check your tire pressure everytime you fill up for gas.

Keep your tires correctly inflated. A tire that is very under-inflated generates a lot of heat which can lead to a blow out. Tires that run too hot also wear out more quickly. The most common motorcycle breakdown is for tire damage.

Purchase a pencil-type tyre gauge and use it regularly until you instinctively 'know' what your tyres feel like correctly inflated. Use of the gauge and visual inspections must become second nature.

Replace your tires sooner rather than later. If tread depth is 1-2mm it is time to replace your tires. Take a tip from the mad sportbikers and the canyon racers - they never skimp on their tyres as they are often all that stands between them and the pearly gates.

Dry Rotting- or "cracking." Usually means that the tires are old and/or the bike has not been in covered storage. Real "light" cracking may be ok, but basically if there is excessive dry rotting, you should get new tires.

Tire Care and Tyre Tips

Tires on motorcycles, like any vehicle, play a vital role in the performance, handling and safety of the bike. Many times we tend to ignore the necessary maintenance needed to keep the tires safe. With motorcycles, there are only two small contact patches for the rider to rely on, so it is extremely important to keep the tires in top condition.

Any tire, no matter how well constructed, may fail in use as a result of punctures, impact damage, improper inflation, overloading, or other conditions resulting from use or misuse. Tire failure may create a risk of property damage, serious personal injury or death. To reduce the risk of tire failure, we strongly recommend you read and follow all safety information contained in this brochure.

It is recommended that riders do a periodic inspection of their tires and have any imbedded objects removed by a qualified service person. Serious personal injury or death may result from a tire failure. Many tire failures are preceded by vibration, bumps, bulges or irregular wear. If a vibration occurs while riding your motorcycle, or you notice a bump, bulge or irregular wear, have your tires and motorcycle evaluated by a qualified service person.

It is not often that a properly maintained tire will "blow out" while you are riding. More commonly if air is lost, it will be gradual. If you do experience a blow out or sudden tire failure, the following information should be helpful: When the failure occurs, slowly decrease the amount of throttle, hold the handlebars firmly, and steer to maintain your lane position. Once the motorcycle has slowed and is fully under control, apply the brakes gently. Gradually pull over to the shoulder and come to a stop.

Tip: Brake fluid absorbs moisture over time and becomes less effective. Replace brake fluid every one to two years and your brakes will preform the best they can.

Motorcycle brakes are an art by themselves! Modern bike brakes have just an amazing stopping power, well beyond that of what the regular rider will encounter while riding.

Motorcycles have up to two brake fluid reservoirs, one for the front, usually found on the handlebars and one for the back. Both should be checked regularly. Topping up should only be done from a new, sealed bottle as brake fluid tends to absorb moisture over time. If your brake pads are thin and due for replacement. Beware - brake fluid, if spilt on paintwork eats right through to the bare metal.

Also check the thickness of the brake pads. If you allow them to go right down to the metal your brake disc will be damaged resulting in an unnecessary and expensive replacement. Fitting braided steel brake lines will increase the performance of your brakes by roughly 50%

Have you looked at the suspension on a modern bike recently? It has adjustability, and lots of it. And that's a problem.

Trouble is, how many of us can honestly put our hands up and say we know what all those various adjusters actually do? Not many, I bet. But that doesn't stop fiddling fingers.

With so much adjustment within such easy reach it's not hard to get it all wrong and turn a good handling bike into a dodgy shopping trolley. But, on the flip side, it's also fairly easy to turn a bike that doesn't handle well into one that does. And while there are various suspension guides printed these shouldn't be rigidly adhered to, because what works for one person may not suit your style, ability, weight or the use you're putting the bike to. Suspension needs to be individually tailored.

So rather than simply try and tell you what your suspension does and how it does it, we devised a series of tests to help describe what badly set-up suspension feels like. Each test was done without the riders - Niall and myself - knowing what had been adjusted, and the comments printed with each adjustment are simply a description of what the bike felt like compared to the standard suspension settings. In each case one variable was altered to either its maximum or minimum setting, while the rest of the bike was left on standard settings. Neither Niall nor myself knew what had been adjusted and we didn't confer until after the test was finished.

If you're fiddling with your suspension the most important thing is not to change too many things at one time, and always make notes as you go. Ideally change only one thing at a time, then ride the bike along a familiar stretch of road to see if it has been made better or worse. Only then should you try altering
something else. And finally, if all else fails, get your owner's manual out and put everything back to standard settings. They are often the best compromise.

Read more: http://www.visordown.com/workshop/motorcycle-suspension-tuning-setup/2487.html#ixzz2hVaXl387

With regular maintenance, most motorcycle head stock bearings will last the lifetime of the bike. The exceptions to this rule are where a bike has been involved in a heavy frontal impact, or has been driven in a straight line for many miles. Both of these conditions will tend to damage or wear the bearings at one specific location; the rider will notice a slight resistance as the handlebars are turned about this point (often referred to as notchy).

A = Frame. B = Clamping nut. C = Top triple clamp retaining bolt (with paint mark).

The types of head stock bearings fitted to a motorcycle vary slightly. Early machines used the ball type bearing, but the vast majority use the tapered roller variety. The free play in this type of bearing is controlled by the amount of torque applied to the clamping nut—the greater the torque, the tighter the steering.

During routine maintenance, it is advisable to check the free play of the head stock bearings and to check that the clamping nut has not backed off (use a paint stick to mark the nut after adjusting).

A simple check for movement is to place a finger or thumb between the locking nut (ring) and the frame then (see photo). With the front brake applied, rock the motorcycle forwards and backwards. Excessive free play will be felt immediately with this method.

Removing the free play is simply a matter of tightening the lower clamping nut. However, the mechanic must not over tighten the nut as the steering will become difficult to turn. If the adjustment has been done correctly, with the machine on a center stand, the handlebars should move freely and there should be no free play at the nut.

Souced from: http://classicmotorcycles.about.com/od/technicaltips/ss/Checking-Motorcycle-Head-Stock-Bearings.htm

A Personal Water Craft, (PWC), can provide you with years of great riding and hundreds of hours of fun, as long as you maintain it properly each and every time you ride it! Unfortunately, most people do not understand the harmful effects of saltwater on their motors and fiberglass bodies, and thus simply take the PWC out of the water, dry it off, and call it a day. Following are the proper steps to maintain your PWC. Expect it to take approximately 45 minutes.

Tips

- Remember, this is your PWC and its your money tied up in its ownership. Take pride in your ride and maintain it right - in return it will provide you with a long time of good riding

- You must get this procedure accomplished ASAP after you are out of the water - the longer salt can sit on the PWC, the faster it corrodes and destroys your boat.

- A lot of these products can be bought from a local auto parts store or boating supplies store.

- This procedure described above IS NOT for long term storage - this is simply a procedure to keep your PWC healthy for a few days while it sits out of the water.

- This procedure is also very applicable to those who ride in fresh water - there are still many contaminants in fresh water that can harm your ride.

- Having a buddy there to help you can really make things go by faster