Maintenance Fundamentals
Pre-ride Inspection
To ensure safety, it is your responsibility to
perform a pre-ride inspection and make sure
that any problem you find is corrected. A pre-
ride inspection is a must, not only for safety, but
because having a breakdown, or even a flat tire,
can be a major inconvenience.
Refer to the Competition Handbook for
procedures.
Competitive riding can be tough on a vehicle,
so it’s important to inspect your vehicle and
correct any problems you find before each ride.
Check the following before each ride:
●
Engine oil level.
●
Fuel line for condition.
●
Coolant for proper level.
●
Cooling system and hoses for condition.
●
Spark plug for proper heat range, carbon
fouling and spark plug wire terminal for
looseness.
●
Air cleaner for condition and contamination.
●
Clutch lever freeplay.
●
Breather drain for cleaning.
●
Steering head bearing and related parts for
condition.
●
Throttle operation.
●
Tires for damage or improper inflation pressure.
●
Spokes for looseness.
●
Rim locks for looseness.
●
Front and rear suspension for proper operation.
●
Front and rear brakes, check operation.
●
Drive chain for correct slack and adequate
lubrication.
●
Drive chain sliders and drive chain rollers for
damage or wear.
●
Exhaust pipe/Muffler for looseness.
●
Every possible part for looseness (such as
cylinder head bolts, engine mounting bolts/
nuts, axle nuts, handlebar holder bolts, fork
bridge pinch bolts, drive chain adjuster, lock
nuts, drive chain roller bolt/nut, wire harness
connectors).
●
PGM-FI malfunction indicator lamp (MIL)
operation.
Maintenance
39
