Many owners just keep their bike under a protective cover in the garage and forget about it until spring. They don't feel the need to take care of it since it's all warm and isolated from the elements. What they fail to realize is that a bit of love and maintenance can go a long way toward starting off the new riding season on the right foot (or is it wheel?).
Initial steps
First of all, you have to charge the battery using a 12-volt charger with built-in overload protection. Next, change the engine oil and oil filter. Pour fresh fuel into the tank and shake your bike to mix it up with the old fuel. While the bike was in hibernation, you should have added a dose of stabilizer fluid to keep the fuel and internal components in good shape.
Check the condition of the air filter. In the case of an oiled filter, clean it with a soft soap and not some kind of solvent or thinner. Once it's dry, re-oil the filter using a specifically designed oil and perfectly insert the filter back where it belongs.
Disposable air filters (made of paper) need to be replaced altogether. Vacuum cleaning is not an option since dust and dirt particles might be sucked in the engine, which could eventually damage the injection system, cylinders, and pistons.
Some breaking in
Fire up the engine and check if everything sounds normal using the best of your knowledge. Keep it idling for 2-4 minutes, then rev it up to about two thirds of its capacity (7,000 rpm for an engine with a redline at 10,000 rpm).
Keep the engine idling again and let the temperature rise until the fan starts (around 100 degrees Celsius). At that point, the temperature should drop slightly until the fan stops. This allows you to validate the proper operation of not only the fan but also the thermostatic valve that manages coolant flow.
The last step, but not the least, when it comes to the engine is to shut it off and see if there's any sign of oil leak around the edges of the cylinder head, at the bottom of the cylinders, and underneath the transmission and clutch case.
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Photo: Sébastien D'Amour/Auto123.TV |