While motorbikes have half as many wheels as cars, they share a lot in common, regular maintenance is one of them. Just like cars, motorbike maintenance and care are equally important to enhance your ride’s life and keep it running.
How to Maintain Your Motorbike
Let’s go through five useful tips for motorcycle maintenance. Following these tips that will save you money on expensive repairs and keep your motorbike in perfect condition.
1. Change Oil Regularly
The first step towards motorbike maintenance is regular oil changes. To keep up the engine’s performance, oil should be changed regularly. You must change motorbike engine oil after every 5,000 to 1,000 km, however, check the owner manual provided by the manufacturer to know the exact number. This requirement differs from manufacturer to manufacturer.
Generally, the number or frequency of motorbike engine oil changes depends on two factors: the age of your motorcycle and the quality/type of oil you use.
If you have a brand new motorbike, the new engine will run more efficiently and can go longer without frequent oil changes. That said, as your motorcycle ages, regular oil changes become more and more important.
To change your motorbike’s oil follow these steps:
- Ride the bike for a few minutes to warm it up
- This lower downs the oil’s viscosity making it easier to drain out
- Turn off the engine
- Ensure your bike is standing in an upright position
- Remove the drain plug and the oil fill plug
- Let the oil out in a drain pan
- To avoid leakage, cover the engine or cover the exhaust section with an aluminium foil
- After the old oil drains out install a new oil filter, put back anything you removed, and finally refill your bike using a funnel
- Make sure you use the proper type and amount of motorcycle oil, as specified in the owner’s manual
- Replace your motorbike’s oil fill cap
- Don’t throw away the old oil, recycle it at a bike shop or a municipal facility
A routine oil change is really important. Go through these benefits of regular oil changes to know their importance.
2. Maintain Motorbike Chain
Motorcycle chain maintenance is important for its upkeep. Clean the chain and keep it well-oiled. This prevents rough gear shifting and protects the chain from excessive wear. As a rule for motorcycle chain maintenance, replace the chain every 30,000 km or more, again, check your owner’s manual for the exact number.
To clean and oil the bike chain, follow these steps:
- Lift the bike’s rear wheel and put the transmission in neutral, this allows easy chain movement
- With a gentle bristle brush clean the chain to get rid of the grit and grime stuck on the chain
- To oil the chain, rotate the back wheel and apply a specially formulated chain lube
- Let the bike chain sit for a few minutes before wiping off the leftover lube with a paper towel
3. Maintain The Tyres
Motorbike maintenance is incomplete without tyre maintenance. Before heading out for a long journey, take a close look at your tyres and check for damages. If your bike’s tyre has holes or cracks, you need to replace it. Always ensure that the pressure and tread depth are according to manufacturer-recommended levels. You can check tyre tread depth with a coin.
Factors including the types of roads and the frequency of travel have an impact on your wheel’s quality. Excessive heat can also reduce a tyre’s lifespan. As a rule, never ride a bike with worn tyres, change them as soon as you notice a problem.
This isn’t just necessary for motorbike maintenance but it’s also important for your own safety.
4. Clean The Air Filter
To keep your motorbike in perfect condition, you should clean the air filter every 10,000 km. Motorbike air filters have the important job of protecting the engine. The air filter makes sure that delicate internal parts of the bike’s engine are protected against airborne dust and other particles that could easily damage it.
Additionally, how clean the filter stays depends on certain environmental factors. Riding your motorbike in a dusty or smoggy environment requires riders to clean out the air filter more frequently.
Irrespective of the environment, you must clean the air filter on a regular basis and check if it needs a replacement.
5. Maintain The Brake Pads
Another essential component for motorbike maintenance is keeping effective brake pads. It is highly dangerous to ride a bike with worn-out brake pads and can result in fatal accidents. As a rule, check your motorbike brake pads every 10,000 to 15,000 km.
Keep in mind that your driving habits and the overall environment also play an important part in brake pad maintenance. When you ride your bike in hilly areas or with lots of slopes and curves brake pad is used extensively. This causes the brake pad to wear out faster than usual.
Before you decide to go in a hilly city with inclined surfaces, make sure your brake pads are working properly, or else you won’t just be putting your bike at risk. Here are some major signs of bad brake pads.
Taking care of a bike is very easy with the maintenance tips explained. Apart from mastering motorbike maintenance with these DIY fixes, you must consult auto-experts for an annual motorbike checkup. That said, if your motorbike’s condition demands excessive costly repairs, it’s only sensible to buy another one.
If you’re looking for a motorbike for yourself, take a look at these used motorcycles for sale in the UAE. You will find a variety of bikes from sport bikes to choppers and off-road bikes here.
Stay tuned to UAE’s top auto blog for more on motorbike maintenance and care.
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