Who doesn’t love the thrill and adrenaline rush that comes with riding a motorcycle on the wide roads of North Carolina?
When the riding season comes near, the excitement indeed goes to a whole other level. But wait! Before you get on the road, we advise you to invest some time and money to ensure that your motorcycle is ready for the riding season. This is because your safety comes first. The last thing you want is to be in an accident because of low motorcycle maintenance and not fully compensated.
Based on our experience handling cases related to low motorcycle maintenance, here are some tips from our seasoned personal injury attorney to help you get ready and reduce the risk this riding season.
Check Tires
The tires of your motorcycle should always be in good condition. However, when seasons change, you need to take extra care because the bike’s tires may lose pressure as the temperature drops, so you must add more air if needed. Remember that low tire pressure makes motorcycles challenging to handle, which can increase the risk of collision.
While checking for air pressure in your tires, don’t forget to check for dry rot, cracks, flat spots, and other damages. It’s essential to check for these issues and fix them as they can cause a tire blowout, causing handling problems.
Test Brakes
When checking the tires, make sure to take the time to inspect the brake pads and lines. If you didn’t replace brake pads earlier and used them through the end of last season, now is the best time to replace them. This is because frequent use can damage and wear them off.
Moreover, brakes in the front and rear should be tested separately to see if they work perfectly. One of the best ways to check their performance is to listen for squealing and scraping noise. Such noises indicate that brakes are troublesome and must be fixed.
Fill Up on Fresh Oil and Fluids
To ensure your motorcycle’s top-notch performance on the road is to fill up on fresh oil and fluids. So, get started by changing the oil first. This will ensure that your motorcycle engine doesn’t get old oil, which degrades over time, thus lowering your bike’s performance.
To check if the bike’s oil and fluids have degraded, look for changes in the color and its consistency. If the fluid seems different and dirty, then change it right away. Ideally, it would help to change all oil and fluids to ensure a smooth and safe ride.
Try out Controls
You can’t overlook this aspect at any cost because poor controls mean trouble. Therefore, get your motorcycle ready by trying out your clutch, throttle, and steering. Make sure that all your controls work. Check the cables for fraying and hoses and lines for cuts, cracks, or leaks. You should also test the steering to see if it moves freely and without snagging any other thing on your bike.
Other controls that you must check are:
- Belts and chain—check for cracks and tears on the drive belt and drive chain for damaged teeth
- Control hoses—check control hoses and make sure that they are folded and kinked.
Examine Battery, Electrics, and Wires
A dead battery equates to a lifeless motorcycle. However, many motorcyclists still forget about charging it before that first ride, thus exposing them to accidents and injuries. To avoid this, don’t forget to charge your battery if it has gone flat.
While you are at it, we’d say do a speedy electrics check too. By this, we mean examine fuses and replace them if they are blown, try the lights, turn signals, flashers, and brake lights to see if all are connected securely and working as needed.
Ensuring that your lights are working correctly can play a crucial role in your road safety. This is because a motorcycle rider’s safety largely depends on their ability to get other drivers’ attention before the damage is done. Did you know that many car drivers swear that they never saw a bike coming in their way after a car and motorcycle accident? This is most often because motorcyclists fail to ensure that their lights are functioning. Motorcycle lights can make a huge difference, so it is always a brilliant idea to benefit from the auxiliary light kit and install it on your bike.
Check Your Safety Equipment
As you’re preparing your motorcycle ready, simultaneously check your safety gear and make replacements as needed. Start by checking your helmet for dents and cracks. Also, ensure that the inner lining of the helmet is clean. Apart from that, take out your emergency kit and verify that nothing is expired, broken, or missing.
Test Ride
Once you mark all these safety checks, your motorcycle is ready to go. But there is one thing that you should do before you take in on a busy road, which is to test ride in around the block! Take it for a short spin in the neighborhood to get rid of the greasy feeling. Take a few u-turns to check the controls and hit the brakes hard. This ensures that the fluid is not clogged up and the brake pads work seamlessly.
What to Do in Case of an Accident?
It’s essential to understand that sometimes even when you take all the safety measures, accidents occur. So, if you’re in an accident due to someone else’s negligence or carelessness, then seek immediate help from our experienced personal injury lawyer.
Our personal injury lawyer can evaluate your case and provide you with quality representation, assisting you at every step of the legal process. We strive our best to get clients the compensation that they deserve. Contact us today.
