Deluxe Motorcycle Fail Video Goodness

This video might make you laugh out loud, or if you’re a slight less judgmental type, at least chuckle into your fist, but it points up a crucial fact: riding a motorcycle not without a possible downside.

These “riders,” and it’s sort of a stretch to give some of them that kind of respectful tag, are badly in need of a few pointers and a touch more good common sense, but it might just be that experience is the best teacher and they’re learned important lessons from their very public crash and burn turns on YouTube.

While I’m sort of partial to the clips of the guys crushing their crotches while they goof off, the most cringeworthy of these “rides” has to be one featuring a woman rider steamrollering another woman – a woman in a wheelchair.

Ouch…

The Fast Pre-Flight Checklist

It’s Murphy’s Law: the unexpected can happen when you least expect it.

Who’s to say that the bike you parked in the garage last night doesn’t have a nail the tire this morning.

While it’s annoying to have something go wrong with your car, it’s a real horror show to have something go wrong with your motorcycle.

Take a minute before you go off on a ride and cut the chances that something will go wrong. Information you’ll need like correct tire pressures or chain adjustment specs are in your owner’s manual. A thorough read-through of your manual will help you get acquainted with all the specifics of your motorcycle.

1. Check the tires. They are the most important parts of your bike. If your engine quits, you roll to a stop. If a tire quits – trouble. Make the effort to check the surface of the tires, looking for cuts in the rubber or foreign objects – like a nail. Check the tire pressures with a good gauge. If a tire is low every time you check it, even though you have added the proper amount of air each time, you have a slow leak. Fix it before it becomes a fast leak.
2. Check the controls. Cables are quite strong and rarely break, but look for kinking or stiffness or anything unusual in their operation.
3. Check your lights, including brake light, headlights, and turn signals to make sure everything works. Also check your horn and adjust the mirrors. Know your Motorcycle
4. Check the oil and fuel and, if the bike is liquid-cooled, the coolant levels.
5. If your motorcycle has chain-drive to the rear wheel, make sure that the chain is properly tensioned and in good shape. Chains do need an occasional cleaning and dose of lubrication.
6. Make sure the side stand and center stand fold up properly, and stay up. If one of the retraction springs is weak or broken or missing, replace it.
7. As you roll off, check your brakes. Just to make sure they’re still on the job