Why Pre-Ride Checks are Important
Saturday afternoon and I roll the bike out of the garage to go through my pre-ride inspection. I do this inspection at least once a week and before any major ride. My plans for this week included an early-Sunday departure on a run down to Oregon with my son for summer camp. While he was busy with camp activities during the day, I planned to explore the Oregon coast and several highly-recommended roads in the area. I was looking forward to perhaps 1,000 miles of great riding.
With the bike out in the driveway I began my walk-around. I slowly circled the bike, looking for anything out of place. An oil drip, something hanging loose, etc. As I got to the right side of the front wheel I saw immediately that something was wrong. My front wheel was covered in an oily sheen. Looking closer I saw that there was oil pooled in the creases of the rim. Looking closer still, I could see that there was oil on the brake disk as well. The source of the oil was the right fork which had apparently developed a leaky seal. It looked like my plans for the week had just changed.
Hoping that I might at least get the bike repaired while I was at summer camp, I called my mechanic. He confirmed my diagnoses but was leaving the next day himself to attend to his ill father. Just for giggles I called my local dealer. They would not be able to get me in for 12 days and wanted $300 plus parts for the work. (My mechanic quoted me about two-thirds of that price; that's why I use him - quality work at a reasonable price.) I went ahead and made the appointment just so that I will have a fallback. Of course if my mechanic gets back before then, I'll take it to him and cancel the dealer appointment.
Had I not made that pre-ride check I could have ridden merrily on my way with my front brakes getting soaked in oil. Then when I needed to make a stop, they would not be as effective as they should be and could have caused a crash.
So don't get casual about checking your bike for problems. Make it part of your routine so that you spot the problem early and before you are out on the road. The MSF T-CLOCS checklist is an excellent reference to the things you should be looking for.
John Davis is a rider and writer. His current ride is Victoria, a candy red Honda VTX1800 Retro. John writes for several web sites and blogs in addition to his own site, NorthwestCycleReport.
