The Main purpose of this article is to assist such riders, as well as those returning to motorcycling, to learn how to maintain their bikes with measure of confidence rather than regard their two-wheeled rocket with the same uncomprehending gaze of seagull staring at a Saturn V.
As high-tech as today's motorcycles are, they still have two wheels and tires, an engine and transmission, plus supension, brake, and steering systems. If you can invest roughly half as much as your son or nephew spend playing on his wii, you'll learn how each of your bike's systems work, as well as how to diagnose and trouble shoot problems with each of those systems.
Before you get to start twirling wrenches around your bike, you might want to expend a little time and energy to get to know your bike--how it operates, what is needs in terms of maintenance, and how to deal with any problems that arise. The easiest way to find all this information is in the owner's manual that comes with every new bike.
Truth is, reading the owner's manual is one of the most important things you can bring to the bike ownership experience. And it's one of the best ways to throw a rope around the expenses associated with owning and maintaining a motorcycle.
What's more, the getting-to-know-you procedure is worthwhile, whether it's your first motorcycle or your 101st. Almost every manufacturer has its own desigh conventions-or idiosyncratic quirks-such as Honda's insistence on using a dipstick to check engine oil level after other makers had gone to the arguably more convenient sight glass.
Overall, though, for the most basic information--tire pressures; maximun weight capacity; location of important items, such as fluid reservoirs, suspension adjustment, the toolkit, etc.; how to fix a flat--the owner's manual prvides you with almost every piece of information you'll need to be a happy owner.
In addition to all the useful operating tips to help get the most from your motorcycle, this little bible also covers all the maintenance requirements and intervals, identifies other owner-accessible components, and explains the myriad warning lights and what you should do if they come on while you're riding.
What's more, the manual can give you crucial detail information into many of the procedures presented here, such as the correct amount of slack you want when adjusting the chain. It can even provide you with insight into how expensive you bike will be to maintain and own, based on the required maintenance schedule.
Lastly, your simple owner's manual used to be the source of some unexpected linguistic gem. For instance, a Spanish motorcycle's owner's manual from the late 1960s contained a warning that went, roughly, "If you are a person of unusual strength, do not engage in a test of will with the nuts and bolts on this motorcycle. "in other words, don't go stripping the fasteners left and right, you dummy.
When you want to get an official service manual from your bikes manufacturer. Yes times has changedfor the better. Third party sevice manuals are not the two-wheel equivalent of The Necronomicon they once were. Still, you're bett off with manufactur's version; they built th bike, after all.
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