A long bike trip is the start of an everlasting relationship!

Someone once said- “This our life. We do what we love to do, and we do it often. If we don’t have enough time, we find it. Because life is an endless open road. We travel often and open the throttle to freedom, with no destination in mind. Getting lost helps us find ourselves. We live our dream and share our passion. I just get astride, and we ride.”

Do you know who the ‘other’ person the ‘Someone’ was referring to? If you haven’t guessed it yet. It was his motorcycle! 😊

Now that’s how passionate bikers are about their beloved rides, and you can only imagine how they take care of their bikes!

So, if you share the same passion and are looking forward to go that extra mile, your bike needs to be in top condition. After all, don’t you want to pen down your own motorcycling chronicles one day! 😊

So here is a simple checklist to make sure your long road trip is not cut short by any unwanted hiccups:

First make sure you build a good relationship with your motorcycle

Your motorcycle is like your lover. You got to understand it first, its likes, its dislikes. What makes it happy. In short, you got to understand all that it takes to ensure that you have a long lasting and happy relationship! One needs to learn to apply brakes calmly, to accelerate steadily and turn smoothly. Feel it, listen to it and notice the way it sounds on the road. Feel your motorcycle, not like a machine, but like a human being.

Make sure the blood running in the veins of motorcycle is pure
Your motorcycle may not have blood running through its veins, but it does have something equally important to give its engine life. Oil! Check the oil, not just if the level is right! It’s important to check its viscosity or is simple words, the thickness of the oil. Get your hands dirty, if the oil is black and sticky or smells burnt, change it, lest we mention to the company-specified grade! And remember, when you change your oil, change your oil filter too!

Make sure that the lungs of your motorcycle can breathe easy
The air filter is like the lungs of your motorcycle, and if it’s clogged, it would just reduce the stamina of your motorcycle. So, to ensure your motorcycle has enough stamina to breathe easy and to go the distance. In short, clean your air filter. Though we would recommend that you rather replace your air filter with a new one. It hardly costs a few rupees! 

Make sure the muscles of your motorcycle are given a through oil massage

The heart of your bike, or rather the engine transfers it’s power to your chain and sprocket that acts as muscles and ensures that your bike moves in the first place after all! So, ensure the chain is properly tightened to the right tension otherwise you could face chain ‘slippage’. Once the chain is tightened, ensure that its thoroughly cleaned off all the grime and dust and then well lubricated. Now days you get easy to use chain lube sprays, otherwise you could just stick to good old grease!

Make sure your motorcycle is always energized

Just like we need to keep our energy level up, the battery of the motorcycle needs to be charged when if required. Every time you use a self-starter or headlights the battery loses its power. Make sure to check the battery, before leaving your place as you might not get service station in between. Make sure to get the electricals of the motorcycle checked with the experts. The headlight, tail lamps and the side blinkers need to be in proper condition. 

Make sure that your motorcycle is always sure-footed

Wheel Alignment and Tyre pressure are amongst the key factors that need to be taken care of. Proper alignment of wheels helps to reduce tyre wear and ensures that your bike travels in a straight line without any wobble. Even if there is a slight wobble, get your wheels balanced or ‘trued’.

Keeping the optimum pressure plays a key role to return decent fuel economy. The only time you need to reduce tyre pressure is while riding through sandy or slippery roads, which allow the tyres to get a wider contact patch and brings better grip.  Do remember to check the tyre condition whether it is good enough for the long trip or not. If in doubt, change them 

Make sure that your motorcycle always makes a sure-shot-stop

You tend to ride fast while on highways, but there is no point of going fast if you cannot stop it in time. Motorcycle trips are full of uncertainties, which is why it’ really important to get the brakes check properly. Ensure your brake pads are in good shape, otherwise replace them. Also ensure that your brake fluid is well topped up.

Woah, that’s a long list you say! Well, we say yes it is but better be careful than sorry. And also one very important that tops the checklist- your bike insurance! Don’t forget to take this layer of protection on your road trip.

After all your bike is your best pal and keeping it in good shape is completely on you!

If you are wondering where can you get a bike insurance, visit us now!

To know more about the benefits of comprehensive insurance you might want to read this.