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MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE

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Print this page MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE

L Ireland presents below the guide to motorcycle maintenance, essential reading for those who wish to ride in safety and security!

Introduction

Most motorcycles made since 1980 are pretty reliable if properly maintained. To some extent the high reliability of today's motorcycles has worked to the disadvantage of many riders. Modern bikes require less maintenance than they did in the 60's and 70's but they still need a lot more maintenance than a car.

Drive Chains

Chains are the most maintenance intensive parts of the bike. Use only the best chain and sprockets you can afford. If you can't afford some of the better upper tier stuff, save your money until you can.

Type of chain

Use only the best O-ring chain and keep it clean and lubricated. A properly maintained chain will last up to 20,000 miles, or more, depending on how you ride.

Sprockets

Worn chains accelerate the wear rate of the sprockets and vice-versa. ALWAYS replace BOTH sprockets when replacing the chain and use STEEL sprockets on both ends. Aluminum rear sprockets are for racing and serve no useful purpose on a street bike. They cost twice as much as steel and wear faster.

Lubrication

Keep it lubricated. Some think that since the chain pin lubricant is sealed in the chain with the o-ring they can back off on the lubrication and cleaning. This is NOT the case. If the o-rings dry out they will stop sealing the grease that they are holding and your chain becomes just so much scrap metal.

Cleaning

Third, keep it clean, dirt will damage a chain very quickly.

Tension Adjustment

Keep the drive chain tension adjusted properly - check it often. A misadjusted chain wears MUCH faster and is more likely to fail.

Chain Wear

Almost all new bikes come with o-ring chains. There is no reason to use anything but an o-ring chain on a street bike. The only proper place for an old fashoned non-o-ring chain is on a race bike. Conventional chains have slightly less friction than an o-ring chain - that's why racers use them.

An alternative is to buy a bike without a chain. The options are belt drive and shaft drive. Both are almost zero maintainence.

Tyres

Buy good tyres and keep them properly inflated. A couple years ago Dunlop went around to several rallies and checked the tyre pressure an a bunch of bikes. They found that something like 60% of the tyres were underinflated. These are hard-core touring people and even they weren't properly inflating their tyres. Underinflated tyres run hotter, wear faster, and are are more prone to blow-outs. Buy a decent tyre pressure guage and use it every morning before you start out for the day. Always measure the pressure when the tyres are cold.

Don't mix radial and bias ply tyres. Use the same type on both wheels. Many people say that you should use the same type (radial or bias) as came on the bike new. It seems to me that as long as they're the proper size you're probably ok. It's up to you. I do know that most bias tyres are narrower than most radials and you can seldom find the proper size if you want to switch tyre types. It's also a good idea to match the front and rear tyre brand and model. Most tyres were designed assuming that the tyre on the opposite end of the bike is from the same model series. This is usually not imperative but the bike usually handles better when front and rear are matched the way the tyre manufacturer intended.

Fluids

You need to change all fluids, except engine oil, at least every two years. This means, brake fluid, anti-freeze, fork oil, and if you have a hydraulic clutch, the clutch brake fluid. Use the proper brake fluid. It's written on the master cylinder cover. Its not recommended to mix brands either. Don't use old brake fluid. Buy a new bottle every time you service the brake fluid. Once the seal on a bottle of brake fluid is broken it starts absorbing moisture.

Brakes

Keep an eye on the brake pads and don't let them wear too far. If they do wear too far you'll score the rotor and that's expensive to replace. Use the proper type of pad for the bike. If the bike came with sintered and you use metallic you run the risk of damaging to rotor. Don't use racing pads on a street bike, they'll never get hot enough to work properly.

Electrics

This means the battery. Check the electrolyte level often and keep it filled. Use only distilled water, NOT tap water. Tap water has minerals in it that will not do the battery any good.

Engine

Change the engine oil every 3000-5000 miles and use good oil.

On water cooled bikes flush the coolant every other year and use antifreeze made for aluminum engines. The corrosion preventatives and lubricants wear out over time and need to be replaced. Use a 50-50 water/antifreeze mix. Pure antifreeze has a lower boiling point and higher freezing point than a 50-50 mix.

Replace the brake fluid and bleed the system (and clutch fluid if it's hydraulic) every other year. It absorbs water which can corrode system internals and degrades over time.

Change the fork oil every year, it wears out.

Change the fuel filters every year. If your bike doesn't have a fuel filter buy an aftermarket filter and then change it every year.

Bearings & Bushings

Lubricate everything that needs it, control cables, anything that swings or pivots like the steering neck and swing-arm bearings, shock linkage bushings.

Regularly check and lubricate the steering neck bearings. If the bearings are bad you can get severe front end wobble and/or excessive front tyre wear. To check the bearings, jack up the front end of the bike so that the front end is free to turn. Stand in front of the bike and face the front end. Grab the lower end of the fork sliders and pull then push them fore and aft. If there is ANY movement, at best the steering neck nut needs to be tightened and at worst you will need new bearings. Next rotate the front end back and forth and feel for any notchiness or anything less that complete smoothness. If it doesn't rotate smoothly, you need new bearings. Next, position the front wheel just to the right of straight ahead and let go; the front end should flop over to the right. Repeat this to the left. If it doesn't move freely the it's probably adjusted too tight. Even if everything is perfect, you should still clean and re-grease the bearing every couple of years.

Regularily check the wheel bearings. To do this, grab the wheel or tyre from the side at the top and bottom and try to rotate the tyre sideways. If you feel any movement your wheel bearings are damaged and need to be replaced.