Regular/Basic Maintainance

[Jazz_UK]

Hi,

I have had my bike for a few weeks now and have done around 800 miles.

One thing I have neglected is any regular/weekly checks... as I have no idea what I should be doing.

I can do the basics

- Check tyres and check pressure
- Check Oil... ie look at the small window to see if there is enough oil in the tank

What else should I be doing and how do I do it? Any websites that give basic instructions.

Please don't just give a list ie check sparkplug as I have never taken a spark plug out and when I have it out I don't know what I should be checking!!

Yes, I am that useless and have never worked on a car or motorbike... but I am willing to learn... I normally can pick things up easy and don't mind getting my hands dirty... so can anyone help?

Thanks
Jazz

[ZZR Girl]

Hi Jazz

If you've got a handbook for your bike, it should say in there what the recommended weekly checks are, but I think you're doing the right thing.

I usually check:

The oil level (through the sight window)
The brake fluid level (through the sight window)
The tyres - condition and pressure (again it will say in your handbook what the pressures should be)
The lights and indicators - make sure they work. In fact, I always check these every day before a ride

There may be others but these are the things I check regularly. And of course, the amount of fuel in the tank!

EDIT: I forgot to add to lubricate the chain. Wurth Dry Chain Lube is good.
____________________
Keep it shiny!

[Davo]

What bike is it?

A few that come to mind:

Chain State & Lubrication - Is there any play, is it lubricated?

Check for play by moving it up & down, there should be a couple of inchs movement in it. Lubrication is quite easy, just a case of reguarly applying chain oil/wax to the chain (making sure that nothing gets on the wheel or tyre)

Lights - Just go around check each bulb is working as should.

Check Coolant - On modern bikes it's fairly easy find the coolant bottle and check the level (there should be a min/max marker on it).

Brake Fluid - On the master cylinders there are usually markers that indicate fluid level, ensure that it's closer to maximum than minimum and that it doesn't drop when pumping the brake lever.

That's pretty much what I check on a regular basis.

[Davo]

Also have a read through here:

https://www.dansmc.com/mc_repaircourse.htm