You And Your motorcycle: Riding Tips - Motorcycle Safety Foundation

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Checking The Bike Before The Ride Who knows when Murphy’s Law may strike or what nail your tire might have picked up just before you pulled in the other evening. It’s not fun to have things go wrong on a motorcycle, but if you spend a minute before you go off on a ride, you can increase the chances that nothing will. Any information you’ll need, such as correct tire pressures or chain adjustment, you’ll find in your owner’s manual. As soon as you finish this booklet, read the manual thoroughly. You will be much more acquainted with all the specifics of your motorcycle, since it might be slightly different from some other make or model. #1 Check the tires. They are the most important parts of your bike. If your engine quits, you roll to a stop. If a tire quits - trouble! Make the effort to check the surface of the tires, looking for cuts in the rubber or foreign objects - like a nail. Check the tire pressures with a good gauge. If a tire is low every time you check it, even though you have added the proper amount of air each time, you have a slow leak. Fix it before it becomes a fast leak. #2 Check the controls. Cables are quite strong and rarely break, but look for kinking or stiffness or anything unusual in their operation. #3 Check your lights, including brake light, headlights, and turn signals to make sure everything works. Also check your horn and adjust the mirrors. Know your Motorcycle 19
Know your Motorcycle 20 #4 Check the oil and fuel and, if the bike is liquid-cooled, the coolant levels. #5 If your motorcycle has chain-drive to the rear wheel, make sure that the chain is properly tensioned and in good shape. Chains do need an occasional cleaning and dose of lubrication. #6 Make sure the sidestand and centerstand fold up properly, and stay up. If one of the retraction springs is weak or broken or missing, replace it. #7 As you roll off, check your brakes. Just to make sure they haven’t gone away. Now, go enjoy yourself. Maintenance There’s not much to maintain on a dayto-day basis on most modern motorcycles, but do what you can do, including your pre-ride checks. Your bike has a regular service schedule, listed in the owner’s manual. Unless you are an accomplished mechanic, we recommend that these services be done by an authorized dealer. Keeping your bike clean is a good idea. It’s astounding how dirt can cover up something that is about to go wrong. Check your battery every month. Make sure the fluid level is where it should be. If it is low, top it up with distilled water.
Page 4 and 5: T his You and Your Motorcycle: Ridi
Page 6 and 7: HANDLING SPECIAL SITUATIONS . . . .
Page 8 and 9: The way to do this is to tell the r
Page 10 and 11: What To Wear When You Ride Proper g
Page 12 and 13: JACKET Motorcycle jackets are made
Page 14 and 15: HIGH-VISIBILITY GEAR The better peo
Page 16 and 17: Just think of the chaos if we didn
Page 18 and 19: cles and you’ll need to find out
Page 20 and 21: you can learn about braking is to u
Page 24 and 25: Always take your tool kit along whe
Page 26 and 27: incorrectly. Your owner’s manual
Page 28 and 29: The SEE System Here is a good remin
Page 30 and 31: headlight goes on whenever the engi
Page 32 and 33: Look ahead. Look to the side. Look
Page 34 and 35: Passing Other Vehicles The techniqu
Page 36 and 37: Night Riding Quite often you’ll h
Page 38 and 39: Emergency Braking Sometimes you hav
Page 40 and 41: mountain curve, or a puddle of oil
Page 42 and 43: Downshift and slow before you reach
Page 44 and 45: Rain Haul out the raingear you’ve
Page 46 and 47: HANDLING SPECIAL SITUATIONS 43
Page 48 and 49: Stuck Throttle Most riders have had
Page 50 and 51: Riding in a group of more than five
Page 52 and 53: Carrying a Passenger Company is alw
Page 54 and 55: 30 degrees; that will do funny thin
Page 56 and 57: There are appropriate places to car
Page 58 and 59: Drugs, Drinking & Riding We kid you
Page 61 and 62: INTRODUCTION 58 T his booklet descr
Page 63 and 64: INTRODUCTION 60 Choosing a Practice
Page 65 and 66: EXERCISE 1 62 Normal Stop in a Stra
Page 67 and 68: Exercise 2 64 Quick Stop in a Strai
Page 69 and 70: Exercise 3 66 Weaves Practicing the
Page 71 and 72: Exercise 4 68 Basic Turns Practicin
Page 73 and 74:
Exercise 5 70 Normal Turns Normal T
Page 75 and 76:
Exercise 6a 72 Sharp Turns Without
Page 77 and 78:
Exercise 6b 74 Sharp Turns from a S
Page 79 and 80:
Exercise 7 76 Obstacle Swerve Pract
Page 81 and 82:
Exercise 8 78 Normal Stop on a Curv
Page 83 and 84:
Exercise 9 80 Quick Stop on a Curve
Page 85 and 86:
Second Edition, First Printing: Nov
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You And Your motorcycle: Riding Tips - Motorcycle Safety Foundation

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