Motorcycle Maintenance for Long Trips – Do it yourself Tips.
In this video guys I am going to show you what you have to do before your next long motorcycle trip. When I said long I mean more 10,000km or more. If you have unlimited budget, this video is not for you, but if you want to do it as cheaper as possible stay with me.
– Put the bike on the central stand, if you don’t have lift it from the ground with jack.
– Inspect and change if necessary the brake pads and rotors front and rear. If they are in the middle of their lives – change it. You can keep the brake b pads it as a spare in your luggage. Usually is very simple procedure and you can do it if you just check your manual.
– Check the wheel bearing by moving the wheel from side to side. If there is move or it make some strange noises they need to be changed. Repeat the same procedure with the rear wheel. I will show you how to do it easy in my next video.
– Check and if necessary change the steering column bearing as well. To do this I will recommend removing the forks first. When the triple clamp is without any weight you can easy understand if they need to be changed.
If you bike is not new and you never change the bearings I will recommend to do it even if they looks fine at the moment. This could save you a lot of time and money on the road.
– Inspect your chain and sprockets. If they show some indications of wearing or have some rust on it – change it. It might looks fine, but you have more than 20,000km on it-change it. It is very important to change the chain and both sprockets at the same time. If your bike is with drive shaft, check the oil level and inspect for leaking.
– Inspect and if necessary change your throttle and clutch cables. If you have hydraulic pump check the oil level.
– Check all electric cables, just follow the lines and see if they are some visual problems. For example in some angles the cable touch the frame and during the time it could damage the isolation cover and this can be real problem and even cause fire. If necessary remove the tank and inspect underneath. Check the front and rear lights, indicators, number shield light and any other gadgets, if you have it of course.
– Of course change the oil and both – oil and air filters.
– Check the antifreeze level and if it’s looks dirty-change it. If you have air cooled bike check the cooling elements on the cylinder and the cylinder heat.
– Change you spark plug, or plugs if you have more than 1 cylinder. Keep in mind that the guaranteed live of the spark is usually 10,000km. If you have more than 5,000 on it better is to change it and keep it as a spare. Better is to do it now than somewhere on the road. On some bikes this is very difficult procedure.
– Inspect the frame and sub frame for damages or cracks.
– Buy new tires and new tubes. You can find it very easy on Ebay or some other dealers, but I will recommend to do it with the local garage. It will cost you more, but they will do it properly, you will have fresh DOT and if you are lucky you will be back without any punctures. Also they will balance your tires, which you can’t make at home. If you want to save some money remove the wheel by yourself and then go to the garage, this will significant reduce the price.
– Lubricate all the locks on the bike. You can use the chain spray.
Now we are coming to the difficult part or the part which will need help or mechanical skills.
– Inspect and the valves clearance. On some bikes like BMW boxers is very easy, but on some is pain in the ass. On my bike for example I have to spend almost 2 hours to strip all the parts to have access to the valves. If you can’t do it alone you will need help.
– Forks and shock inspections. If they are fine good, but they are not you will need help. The best you can do is to remove it yourself and then go to the garage. This will reduce the price a lot. This is exactly what I am going to do because as you can see my front forks are linking. Also inspect and lubricate the linkage under your shock.
After you do all of this you are ready to go. Of course it is impossible to predict everything, but at least you to try.
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