Check your bikes over...

Excellent post Mr. Janitor. I try to check her out about nce a week.

check your bike over

good post, it's always a simple thing to look before you ride.i go fast at times so looking the bike over has paid big dividends.i/e small metal objects in rear tire can be disruptive at higher speeds...........

greg

Tomo:

People in general take things for granted. Like your car. You go out to your car, get in it and drive away. Do you ever check the oil, the tires, the lights? Probably not. I like to do a 'pre-trip inspection' every time I use the car or the bike. I tend to look it over, especially the tires. At least once a week, I check the fluids and look for any unusual leaks underneath. We all know women just drive 'em so I check Amy's pickup closely. I have been driving down the road and countless times have seen other vehicles with no tail lights or brake lights or a burned out headlight. I guess people are in too big of a hurry to ever look at the back or the front of their vehicle to actually see if their lights are working properly. They'd rather get to where they are going, talking on the cell phone or primping in their vehicle instead of paying attention to the job at hand....driving their vehicle which is a great though taken for granted responsibility. After all, any vehicle, even a motorcycle can be a lethal weapon.

Commercial vehicles require (by law) a 121 point pre-trip and post trip inspection every day. Whether most drivers do it is conjecture but when they check 'no defects' on the inspection sheet and sign their name to it, they accept all responsibility for any defects that may cause an accident. Maybe all vehicles should require a pre-trip and post trip inspection. After all, vehicles are complicated machinery with many systems that have to work together all the time.

The gummit has made seat belt use mandatory in all states (I think). Maybe a pre-trip inspection should be mandatory too.

Hey Tomo, my intruder has 4 year old tires with lots of tread because I rarely ride it. The tires look just fine but I am wondering if they harden over time degrading tire safety. I hate to get new tires on a bike I only ride a couple of times a month. Any advice?

I had a new metzler put on my road star back in 05 and when I went on the road trip last month I noticed a little dry rot. Not all that bad but I did take note. I only had about 4-5000 miles on it when I noticed that it had more or less went bald. That was in Ogonquit (sp??) Maine. I dont know if it was the trip down Blue Ridge Parkway or what but it sure seemed to go to crap fast. Last 880 I had I got almost 15,000 out of it (front tire). All I can figure is that it must have hardened up a little and wore faster because of all the braking . . . I pull a trailer on the road trips too so that had some to do with it i'm sure.