Health and safety

[stinkwheel]

Stimulated from something that binge brought up in jest.

Working on your bike can injure you, perhaps even kill you if you are not careful. I'll put down some things that spring to mind, feel free to add to it.

All of this sounds obvious and common sense, but accidents happen every year.

Chemical Hazards

Your bike is full of various fluids and chemicals are used to perform various tasks.
Petrol
If it wasn't for cars, the government would have banned the public from having access to this stuff ages ago. Always remember that petrol vapour is highly flammable and that parts of your bike can produce sparks. Don't use a match to check the fuel level (I know someone who did this!). 'jury rigging' an auxillary tank to balance carbs is another classic way to set your bike on fire. If you are doing something that invovles sparks (eg grinding, welding) then take precautions, this may well involve putting the tank somewhere else.

If you spill fuel, absorb the spill with something like cat litter and take it away.

The fumes are also dangerous and can make you dizzy and incoordinated, if you are getting a strong smell of petrol fumes, go into the fresh air and ventilate the area.

Petrol on your skin can cause dermatitis, if you spill it, wash with lots of soapy water. Consider using barrier cream before working on your bike.

Antifreeze
If your bike has been running, remember that this can be very hot and under pressure in the radiator, let things cool down before removing the filler cap.

Ethylene glycol is very poisonous to your liver so don't drink antifreeze. Also keep it away from children and animals, it tastes sweet and quite plesant and could easily be mistaken for juice.

Sump oil
Well, it is a slip hazard so the same goes for cleaning up spills.

Used engine oil is actually quite toxic as it carries heavy metal residues from inside your engine. Wash your hands before eating and drinking. It can also cause dermatitis so wearing gloves or using barrier cream is a good idea.

Battery acid
This is a REAL nasty. It is strong sulphuric acid with traces of lead dissolved in it. It will burn your skin, metal, the garage floor and splashes in the eye are perfectly capable of blinding you. Wear goggles and handle with care. Wash any spillages with LOTS of fresh water, if you get it in your eye, seek medical advice.

Brake fluid
Also quite caustic, protect your skin when using it and avoid eye contact (goggles would be a good idea). It will make one hell of a mess of your paintwork too!

Exhaust gas
Motorbikes don't all have catalytic converters, as such exhaust gas should be asumed to contain lots of carbon monoxide. Don't run your engine in enclosed spaces. If you feel tired or feint when running the engine, go out into the fresh air.

mechanical hazards

Sharp bits
Well, I am sure we have all skinned our knuckles, just be aware.

Moving parts
A classic is getting a finger caught in the chain when adjusting it. If you run your engine with any of the guards off leaving moving parts, just keep your fingers out.

The bike Itself
They are heavy and a big bike landing on you could do some damage, use proper stands and if you are not sure if you can support it properly, get some assistance.

Remember that your engine and exhaust will be HOT after even a short time running, so no grabbing the header pipe people unless you are sure it is cold.

Electrical hazards
Most of the bike is running on 12v DC which is pretty safe but certain parts can be dangerous. The ignition spark is usually just unplesant to get a zap from but someone with a pacemaker could find it fatal.

Some bikes have field coil alternators, before the output from these is regulated, it can be high enough to do some serious damage to you so don't mess with unregulated current and take care if you suspect the voltage regulator is malfunctioning.

Electrical short circuits can cause the wires to get so hot that the insulation catches fire. They can also overload the battery if there is not a fuse in place. When working on the wiring always disconnect the battery from the bike.

Take care with the battery, if you were to inadvertantly drop a metal tool accross the terminals, you have created a dead-short which generates enough heat to weld a tool to the terminals. The battery can also explode showering everything in the area with hot sulphuric acid.

A 'gassing' battery is giving off hydrogen gas, this is explosive.


Well, that's all I can think of about the bike. I may add a section on tools and equipment some other time, play safe!
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[map]

[Kickstart]

[Villers]

Manual handling is important too, like lifting/pushing/pulling all put strian on the back. So moving the bike around in a small space etc should be done carefully or get someone to help you.

[simon1221]

should this be a sticky somewhere?

it seems very important
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DNA50 (sorry) ->> TZR125l >> GPZ500S

[tatters]

just to note on getting brake fuild or battery acid or any kind of Acid/Alkaline in your eyes, one of the best things you can do is to wash your eye out with milk, saved my eye.
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Past:NRG50,AF1125(x2),NSR125RR,ZZR250,CX500,VFR400,KR1S,ZZR600(x2),CB400N,YZF1000(x2),KH125,Z200,FX400R,CBR954RR(x2)GPZ500S,GT550,VFR750F(x2),RD350N,XR650R,CBR600F,CB250,KDX250,YZF750R,CRM250,400EXC,KLR650,TTR600RE,DR350S,R100GSPD,RGV250,VMAX1200,DL650,KZ750 Present:G650XC,C12,CRF450X,1190ADV

[sickpup]

Petrol has a very nasty chemical in it called Benzine whick is highly carcinogenic. Some of us will remember Bopal, it was the twentieth anniversary last year. A large amount of that toxic cloud was Benzine.

Benzine is lighter than air so when you fill your tank up you would normally breathe some in.

[stinkwheel]

[mchaggis]

Unfortunately, your list reads almost like a ticklist of the things I have been guilty of over the past 9 months or so fixing bikes.

I've probably done at least half of those things....

(You are supposed to drain the petrol out of carbs before starting work on them aren't you? How?)
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I must not be a troll...
Mmmm, Guinness
Discovering the delights of Hammerite and a 3/4" brush.

[stinkwheel]

[Lone-Wolf]