The winter months are well behind us now and its important that we run through a small checklist before bringing the motorcycle back out onto the road. Like with any maintenance, doing it right will save you problems and money in the long run.
First thing is fuel. If you have used a fuel stabiliser, it should be fine if it has been under a year. In any case, use a dipstick or something else to check the quality of the fuel to be sure there is no gunk or stratification. These sort of things can cause major headaches if it clogs your fuel line or worse gets into your carburater. Before starting up your engine, you might want to oil up the spark plug ports. If you sprayed fogging oil on the top of your cylinder head before the winter congratulations you can skip that step.
Next step is oil. As oil sits the quality can degrade. So you might want to do an oil change or check the quality of the oil in the window level. Check the level, clearness and viscosity.
Your battery is one of the main concerns. If you left it on a tender before the winter it is probably in good shape. It is always a good idea to check for corrosion on the terminal heads and make sure to fill the levels with distilled water. You don´t want to get stranded out on your first ride.
Next you need to check brake, coolant and clutch fluid levels. Remember if you need brake fluid that you need to use a new bottle that is the same brand as the fluid currently being used.
Tires. Check for inflation. Hopefully you used a quality motorcycle lift or another method to keep weight off the wheels and suspension. Always check for stress marks on the kickstand if you didnt do that. Using something like the OTC motorcycle jack is one of the most important methods for correct motorcycle winter storage.
Once you have done all the checks, get the engine running for a few minutes to get the fluid circulating. If you havent ridden in a while it is a good idea to take it easy for the first little while to get the feel of the bike again and all the settings. Now you are free to take a well maintained motorcycle out into the fresh springtime air!
