Bring on the warm weather
Its a new year and a new you. You’ve set your resolutions, stuck with 2 of them, and now that the weather is trending up, its time to fire up that beast you have sitting in your garage and rip off a a ride of few hundred spirited miles. Not so fast my man.
It may be a new year and new you, but that bike hasn’t been ridden in weeks /months . Its dusty and so are you.
Here are 3 things to make sure you’ve checked up on before rolling out:
- How old are your tires? There is an answer to this. Every tire has a stamped date code that indicates how old it is. Your tires are much like you . Your’re getting older, you look good, but on the inside, your tissues are wearing out. Your joints are creaking and muscles not as strong . The tissues in your tires have also aged. Before you go hitting that quiet stretch of I-69 to break the sound barrier, you should know if your tires are up to is. There are differing opinions on this, but once you hit that 5 year mark, you are betting that the other guy is right thinking that they are good for 10. Here is a resource for reading your tires on REVZILLA.
- Brakes…Going fast is one thing. Being able to stop before you roll up on that cattle trailer is another. The wonderfully destructive, paint eating liquid in your brake system deteriorates. As it does that, much like the flow of your midlife blood in your body, its subject to build up. If that starts to happen, you could have brakes that stop working or freeze up. See my post on by first cross Kansas trip for what happens when your rear brakes lock up.
- Your Skills.. You haven’t ridden in weeks. Maybe even months. Are you sure you are up to it? Sure , maybe for taking an occasional wide corner and clear lanes, but what about squirling your way through construction and snaking through a busy intersection. Still know how to lean? Motorcycle unit patrol officers practice regularly. Why do you think they do that? To keep their responses sharp and confidence at survivable levels. If you’ve never revisited that MSF course for some solo practice. Give it a shot. You might be shocked how rusty you are.
Check out the training these police officers go through in New York.
Stay focused and keep riding