Thinking of your first run of the year, best have a look at...

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Dave
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Current Ride: Big sensible pretty bikes with big smooth tyres,
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Thinking of your first run of the year, best have a look at...

Post by Dave »

Thinking of your first run of the year, or been out a few times but not bother to do a few basic checks, then consider having a look at a few things:


Tyre pressures:
Not used you bike in a while, then best to check the pressure in your tyres.
Even if you are using your bike, due to the cold temperatures and the crud on the road, you may not be able to feel any change in your tyre pressure.


Visibility:
Best to clean your visor after every ride, or at least check it when it is dry. You may be surprised how messed up it can get.
Headlights...similar, I am so surprised at the thickness of grime that dries on to the headlight, and the other lights on the bike.


Brakes:
Make sure you have fluid.
Make sure the pads are not binding to the disc.

At the moment I hose out brakes on my FJR when I get home at night, then give them a blast with brake cleaner, especially the rear. The rear is located at the bottom of the disc, this seems to attract a lot more crud than some other bike I have had.
If the brakes are binding when I am parking the bike, I cycle the piston a couple of times by applying the brake, then a squirt of brake cleaner, then farce the piston into the calliper a bit. After a few cycles, I can see the brakes moving freely when releasing the brake pedal (last night this cleared after one cycle).
I can feel a big difference in the rear when riding to work in the morning compared with the final brake application when I get home at night.


These are only a few things to watch out for.

Hopefully others will post up other tips
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