Springtime reminders!

I know today will be my first ride of the season, i'm sure it will be for many more of us in Ontario (great weather this week) Which got me thinking of the dangers of riding in the spring.

We've had a fair bit of sand/salt dumped on the roads the last couple days. Those corners will be slippery.

People won't be expecting us out, they won't be looking for us, so head on a swivel

Dress warm, it's gunna be nice, but it's not 30 degrees yet

I hope everyone has an awesome awakening of their rides, myself, i'm not looking forward to pushing the bike from the shed across the snow covered lawn to the carport lol.

Ride safe!

 

Before we ever turn a wheel,

let's check those TIRE PRESSURES!

I've seen probably a dozen or so bikes out so far this season, and nearly every one of them had a horribly soft tire or tires. Don't be so excited to go for a ride that you forget the basics.

Also a good idea to be sure your brake light still works.

 

Fitz speaks the truth my rear was kind of low, also check your high low beams make sure both are working!

 

My "spring shakedown" went smooth as silk.
The biggest threat right now in my town is missing chunks of road.

+1-
I just de-winterized my Maxim (after storage outside).
My "preflight spring checklist" includes tire pressure check.
even with one year old tires the rear was 10 lbs low and the front was 12 lbs shy.

Maz

 

At this time. last year, there was over 4-Feet of snow-pack and nowhere to put anymore snow at all.

A rear later, ... !

I rode 165 Miles; today.
NO snow.
No ice.
No sand and no potholes!

Here's my Spring-time Tip:

Check Tire Air Pressures Every Day.
Cool nights and warm days; and tires warmed-up good from riding will shed air overnight.
:::Especially if the Bead Surface on the Wheel is Dirty, :::

The WHEEL sheds it heat and contracts faster than the Tire.
Your Tires can go soft, ... Overnight.

 

Did over 150 km today. Beautiful weather but definitely gotta keep your eyes open. Had 2 people nearly back into me coming out of their driveways. Stay safe out there everyone!

 

My spring time project list is long but...

1st both tires will need air. (Stored in storage unit - about 20-25 psi in each).

2nd buy a new battery. (I have a topic for that started, since I let my DEAD battery freeze and it won't charge any more).

3rd change oil and filter.

Eventually: Install my SS brake lines, rebuild and install a replacement MC, do the carbs, check/adjust valve shims, re-gasket re-donut valve head, replace rear brake pads, internally seal and install my replacement gas tank, organize and label all the extra wires I added/moved around, and other stuff I probably forgot but have parts waiting for.

 

Hey everyone,

Had a great shakedown run this afternoon! Yes, a bit of sand and salt, have to watch out for sure.

Still fiddling with my mixtures after shimming the needles, won't take me long to get her dialed in. Other than that my new SS brake lines went on without a problem, although I may not use the brake line clip on the front fender, the braided lines are much less "floppy". Just changed the oil/filter as well, so hopefully some more Km are in store this week! Ride safe all and happy spring!

PS: I inflated my tires to 35Psi (max 40), what pressure do you guys keep your tires inflated at? Just curious.

 

If it still this warm next week I'll do my spring shakedown. I want to pull the front brakes off and have a look/clean up. They seemed a little tight when I put the Ole girl away last fall!

 

Hoping to get the baby Max out this weekend... was beautiful here Monday... freezing rain today... go figure lol

Will go down and get her registered up to the year tomorrow and proceed as weather permits... now we need real rain to wash away all the salt they dropped today.....

 

Most of us have bikes with 30 year old leaky alloy rims. Spare yourself the grief of checking and refilling your tires constantly and fill it with some tire slime. One little bottle does both front and back, and I've only needed to add a few psi over a month or so interval.

 

WRONG.

Slime or no slime, tire pressures need to be checked regularly. Having 30-year old rims isn't the issue; temperature changes and the general hard life of a motorcycle tire take their toll on air pressure.

CHECK YOUR TIRE PRESSURES AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK, regardless of any slime, nitrogen, or anything else.

 

Not 30* yet, but it's nice? What the he!! do you consider warm? Just hit 73* here today and still a bit chilly for me lol.

 

Umm... he's Canadian.

30 degrees to a Canadian = 86 degrees to us "Yanks." (30C = 86F)

This is why we have our locations in our profiles.

 

Springtime reminders - Donate to this site

http://xjbikes.com/index.php?name=Treasury

 

Agreed, I never said not to check the tire pressures. The back story to this is that I was losing about 3-4 psi ever couple days (brand new tires), and needed to refill both rims before every ride and that got old fast.

 

If you were losing 3-4 pounds every couple of days, there's something else going on besides thirty year old rims.

You may be due for new valve stems.

I would not "slime it and forget it" I would investigate. It could be dangerous.

 

Durk, I did the same thing for over a year. I lost about 5psi a week in my front tire, and just got used to checking the pressure and would fill up the tires every Monday. The condition never changed. Tires were brand new, valve stems were not.

I finally got done what I should have gotten done a year and a half ago when my rear tire suddenly deflated over the christmas break, and would lose basically all it's air in a day to two (I didn't ride it like that). Did a soap test and confirmed that the rear was a valve core failure, but the FRONT was a failure of the old rubber grommets at the stem.

Took wheels to the shop with new valve stems from chacal, had them remount the same tires (only 5k mi on D404s) with new stems and lo'n'behold, no more leaking. Don't waste all that time refilling your tires like I did, check for leaks with soapy water, and get it fixed right.

 

I have a reminder for you, WATCH OUT FOR HORSE POOP ! It"s slippery and probly 2 miles of it ! Ha

 

Well....ice racing last week...and now, the "Sleeping Giant" is afloat on an open Lake Superior....still some inshore ice, but an early start to spring...now if only I can put the XJ back together.......and remember all the loose gravel / potholes / winter drivers coming out of hibernation / soft tires / "twitchy" right wrist.........