Even though it states it in every bike’s owners manual, most people don’t check all the fluid levels on their bike before each ride. While this frequency of checking may be considered slightly excessive, regular checks are extremely important for the general maintenance of your motorcycle. I have encountered too many motorbike owners who will get their bike serviced every year and not carry out any maintenance or checks themselves between services, assuming that because their bike has been serviced it is good for another year. This obviously isn’t the case, but with just the easiest of checks you can keep your bike in a good roadworthy condition through out the year and prevent any serious failures of parts.

This month I have witnessed such failures, consisting of destroyed pistons, barrels, con rods, crank shafts, valves and cylinder heads. Each case was due to the bike’s oil level dropping too low and not providing sufficient lubrication and cooling to the engines internal parts. The result – A very expensive repair bill! Luckily
these engine failures didn’t result in the rider loosing control or crashing, but just image if your engine suddenly seized up at 70 mph. Maybe making sure your fluid levels (and chain tension, brake pad wear, tyre pressures) seems like a worthwhile 10 min check now.