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Maybe a crossover Honda DN-1 this season?
Monsoon rains and chilly temps can't stop Chicagoland bikers! With many riding clubs already planning their activities -- and lots of individuals already riding -- here's the remainder of our get ready to ride for this season. Better hurry--good weather is near and the season is short!
#4 Inventory and inspect your riding gear
Boots worn or torn? Rain gear serviceable? Gloves still fit? Where’s your second pair? If you have gear for both cooler and warmer temperatures, dig it all out—from sunglasses to neck warmer—and ensure it’s all capable of keeping you safe and comfortable on the road. Wouldn’t be a bad idea to scrape any of last season’s bugs off, treat any leather, and air out and clean the rest of it.
#5 Maintain the brain-bucket
Helmets get funky on the inside, dirty and buggy on the outside, and face shields get scratched, cracked, or just plain dirty. If the helmet liner is removable, take it out and wash it per manufacture’s instructions. Clean and service the rest of your skid lid. If the helmet is old, has taken a drop or two, has a crack, or is otherwise showing its wear and age, replace it. Don’t own a helmet? We recommend you choose to wear one.
#6 Watch, read, and learn.
Too cold or snowy to get to the bike or even to work in the garage? You can still get ready to ride—from the comfort of your own recliner. Thumb through your owner’s manual—some amazing stuff in there. Page through great books on riding techniques—Hough’s “Proficient Motorcycling” and Hahn’s “Total Control” are two widely acknowledged works. Can’t read for the sound of sleet pounding on the window? Pop an instructional motorcycling DVD, such as those in Jerry “Motorman” Paladino’s “Ride Like a Pro” series, into your computer or DVD player and get a refresher on riding techniques.
#7 Pay attention to your tools
Your bike needs regular maintenance, and so do your on-board tools and on-the-road necessities. Dig your bike’s tool kit and other on-board tools from the saddlebag or storage compartment and inventory, clean and oil each piece as necessary. Got extra fuses? Headlight/taillight bulbs? Plug kit for tubeless tires? Different kinds of bikes and different kinds of riding require different tools and accessories, but all require that those tools and accessories be checked so they’ll do the job when you need them.
#8 Finish up any winter projects
Have chrome you were going to bolt on? Have performance or comfort parts you had ordered but hadn’t yet added to the bike? Now’s the time to finish up any winter modifications so you can spend the good weather to come riding instead of wrenching.
#9 Make some dates with yourself
Spring and summer means that the obligatory holiday visits are behind us—and that now the competition for our riding time begins. Take steps now to head off potential issues by planning your ride dates and events now. Get that family vacation on the calendar so it doesn’t conflict with your three-day ride in. Put in for your work vacation days. If you’re in a riding club, plug in your group’s ride schedule along with the dates for rallies or other events you want to attend.
While you’re putting dates on the calendar, put down your own personal skills day. Plan to spend a few hours in a parking practicing your low-speed maneuvers, stops, turns from a stop, swerving, and emergency braking. If you’re within riding range of an MSF basic or advanced riding course, plan on attending. Courses full or too late to sign up? Riding to the course and trying to join as a walk-in is always a good excuse for a ride.
And #10 Check your paperwork.
Gas, rubber, leather, coffee, pie—and paperwork. As a final item on your pre-ride checklist, haul out your driver’s license, insurance paperwork, registration, and any road hazard/trouble insurance cards or policies you may have. Everything up to date? Anything expire in the middle of the season? Whatever you may need to renew, do so before not having current paperwork ruins a good weekend ride.
We Chicagoland riders must live with character-building snow, cold, sleet—and a much shorter riding season than our southern or west-coast biker brethren. Make the most of your season and your miles by using this pre-ride time to get your pre-ride work done.
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