Is your motorcycle ready for your first spring ride?

Spring has finally arrived for most of the country and motorcycle riders dreams have turned to the first ride of the year. Before you fire up the old machine did you do the proper maintenance last year before storing your motorcycle? If not then your bike might not want to cooperate by starting right up and running like a fine tuned motorcycle should. The check list normally recommended to protect your bike through the winter months should be performed because it can make a real difference when it comes time to start that motorcycle engine this year. You’d be surprised at how many motorcycle riders are unaware of the proper steps to take before storage of their bike. Many owners and just pull their motorcycle into the garage when it gets too cold to ride  and say "see ya next spring." Then come next spring these same motorcycle riders wonder why their motorcycle won’t run on that first warm spring weekend.

The tasks to perform to make sure your motorcycle starts up for the first spring ride are not complicated. First thing to do is drain the gas tank or if you do not want to do this then add a can of good fuel stabilizer to the tank and let the motorcycle idle for a few minutes so the stabilized fuel is not only in the gas tank but also in the fuel lines and carburetors. If you did this your gas will be in good shape and not have gummed up in the tank, fuel lines, and carburetors. Plus the gas will be is in good shape. If fuel stabilizer was not added inspect the fuel in the tank to make sure it hasn’t gotten gunky.

Second step on out winterization check-list is to change the oil in your motorcycle engine. Do not forget to perform this easy task as the old oil has a tendency to gather moister and will break down over the long cold months in storage. If you neglected this task, now is the time to get it done. Pull your battery and put in a warm inside room and check the fluid level and put a fresh charge on it before re-installing on the motorcycle. This may not be a necessary winter storage chore each winter but at least every second winter you need to drain your brake fluid and engine coolant. Write this task down on a stick-it note and paste it to your gas tank where you will definitely se it come next spring because you do not want to start your motorcycle without fresh coolant. Add the fresh coolant and new brake fluid! Ideally your motorcycle should be lifted on its center stand to take the bikes weight off the tires so they do not develop out of round spots plus this relieves the weakening of the tire to rim bead or seal. Look your tires over by spinning them and check the air pressure. Your motorcycle tires will have a tendency to loose air pressure over the winter months.

Look over the cables for any signs of fraying and replace as needed. Now is also a good time to see if you inspection sticker and plates are still legal. If your motorcycle is a shaft-drive your good to go but for the chain driven motorcycle give the spockets a look see for worn or missing teeth. replace if needed. The chain should have been well cleaned and lubed before winter storage to prevent rust and binding and if you did this give yourself a pat on the back. If you did not do this, now is the time to clean and lube the chain and readjust the tension to the proper level.

OK, now your ready to hit the start button and see if the motorcycle starts. If your motorcycle engine starts way to go! You’re in good shape! Let the engine run for a little while to make sure all of your fluids are circulating properly. If the engine won’t start, or stalls out soon after starting, then you will need to systematically check things out. This was the case for a riding buddy last year. He was all fired up for the first motorcycle ride of the new year but his motorcycle would not get as fired up as him! He checked the usual items only to find that the gasoline he had left in his gas tank all winter had gummed up like cold pancake syrup. He had to drain his tank, clean it out, and then spray a protective coating inside it so that hopefully he won’t have the same problem again. He learned from his lack of attention to properly storing his motorcycle. Hopefully, if your bike shows signs of the winter blues this spring, you will take the necessary precautions next winter.