Keeping Your Motorcycle in Good Condition
If you want your motorcycle to keep running for years to come, there’ll be a few basic maintenance tasks that you need to keep on top of. When you ignore or don’t notice small issues, they could quickly turn into very expensive fixes. That’s why you should never just try “riding it out” when there’s something wrong with your bike. Instead, follow the five tips listed in this guide, and when you notice more serious problems, bring it into Indian Motorcycle of Orange County for parts and repair. Our dealership is located in Orange County, and we serve the areas of Santa Ana, Long Beach, and Los Angeles, California.
Chains and Belts
It takes a lot of expertly-designed parts working together for your motorcycle to deliver all the engine’s torque to the pavement, and one such component is the chain or belt. Depending on the type of bike you have, you’ll have a chain driven or belt driven system. For chains, make sure you lubricate it on a regular basis with a simple chain lubricants. Belt driven systems require less maintenance, but you should still look at them every couple weeks to check for frays or tears. Also test how tight the chain or belt are, and if they’re too tight or loose, bring it into our service department to get an adjustment.
Checking Your Brakes
You obviously need functioning brakes if you’re going to be safe on the road, so check the fluid reservoirs regularly to make sure there’s enough fluid. Once they start running low, top each one off with some fresh fluid. You should also look at the brake pads. They need to be worn evenly with plenty of padding left. Once they get worn down too far, or if they look unevenly broken down, replace them right away.
Inspecting the Tires
Since you only get two tires on a motorcycle, it’s important to make sure both are healthy. If you get a blowout while riding at highway speeds, you’ll almost surely get into a wreck, make sure that you inspect them before every ride. First, check the air pressure using a tire pressure gauge. These are pretty cheap, and they can save you from a painful blowout. Also look at the tread and sidewall. The tread markers should be longer than 1/16” all the way around. For the sidewall, make sure there aren’t any punctures or bulges, as these will quickly lead to a blown out tire.
Fuel Type
One easy way to clog your fuel filter is to use low-quality gasoline. This obviously isn’t something you want to do, so make sure that you’re always using high octane fuel. Ethanol and motorcycle engines don’t mix very well, and it puts a lot of strain on your fuel filter if you have too much ethanol in the tank.
Oil
Finally, no vehicle will function properly without quality oil in in the engine. Motorcycle’s especially require regular oil checks and changes, so make sure you’re checking the levels and quality regularly with the dipstick. When the oil runs low, top it off, and bring it into our service department for an oil change when you notice it’s getting too dark and sludgy. Also keep an eye out for shavings or particles in your oil, because this might indicate that the engine’s internal components are grinding together. If this happens, take your bike to see a mechanic right away.
Keeping on top of basic motorcycle maintenance doesn’t just keep your bike running for longer—it also keeps you safe on the road. With this guide from Indian Motorcycle of Orange County, you should be able to perform all the necessary inspections and maintenance to ensure a longer lasting bike. But when you do run into more serious problems that need to be repaired, come on into our parts and service department in Orange County, serving Santa Ana, Long Beach, and Los Angeles, California.