Maintaining your bike like a real mechanic

29 Mar 2019

by Bas van der Wel

You probably drive a kick-ass bike and have already spent way to much on all the awesome parts that are on their..am I right?

But after we installed all of these cool parts and have our bike exactly how we want it, there is still one really important thing left, Maintenance.

To be sure you can keep driving your bike you must be sure to give that beauty good maintenance and make sure everything keeps working like it should. This is the reason that we want to help you make sure you do it the right way!

First of all you are going to check on all the drivetrain parts such as the chain and sprockets or belt, a shaft doesn't need as much maintenance.

Chain + sprockets

Step 1: put your bike in an upright position and go sit on it.

Step 2: Ask your buddy to check the give on the chain going up and down, the give should be measured around 35 and 37mm

Correct measurements?

Go on and ride!

Incorrect measurements?

Adjust the chain using the adjuster that is fitted on your bike.

No possible to adjust it any further? get yourself a decent set of new chains and sprockets! replacing only one of the 3 parts will were the other 2 out even quicker so our advice is to replace them all at the same time! https://www.choppershop.com/en/maintenance/chains-sprocket-sets/

Replacing oil / filling oil

Oil is the Blood of your motorcycle, and the good thing is, you can just change it out!

To keep your bike up and running you need to make sure you have at least the following 3 things:

1. Enough oil (not to low, not to much)

2. The correct oil (this is very important)

3. A good oil Filter (else you are just spoiling your brand new oil)

If you are not sure how long your oil has been in your bike, it is probably best to change it out with some new oil.

Replacing the oil

Replacing the engine oil on your motorcycle is very ease and can be done by following the next few steps:

Step 1: Get yourself a container where you can store your old engine oil before you get your whole garage dirty(it dense have to get any dirtier then it already is right?)

Step 2: Place the container under your bike and unscrew the oil drain plug. It depends on what bike you have to where the drain plug will be. Most of the time they are quit easy to spot since it is one of the only big bolts facing down from the bottom of your engine.

Step 3: Wait till all the oil is out of there, grab a beer or something. Or a tee, I don't know what you guys do when you wait (why am I describing this again?).

Step 4: Remove the oil filter from your bike (this part can sometimes be a bit tricky depending of the bike and the status of the filter itself). first check what tool you are going to need, most times you can use this: https://www.choppershop.com/nl/oliefilterbandsleutel-0-140-mm.html Which fits around most oil filters. If you have the correct filter you can also use this tool which is much easier to use: https://www.choppershop.com/nl/oliefiltersleutel-harley-davidson.html

Step 5: Make sure your engine is as empty from oil as you can get it and then screw the oil drain plug back on. Best is to grease it up a tiny little bit so you can get it out easy next time.

Step 6: It is very important that you have the correct oil, not sure which one to take? check your service manual or send us an e-mail to [email protected]. We can always double check for you and make sure your bike gets the oil it deserves.

Step 7: Got the correct oil? Check it, double check it damn it!

Step 8: It is very important that your bike is in an upright position for this part, then you can fill er up until the looking glass (if your bike has one) gives the correct amount. if you don't have a looking glass you can use the dipstick of your bike. If you don't have either of those I advice you to take a look at the service manual and use the given amount of oil. Don't overfill it! But certainly make sure it is enough!

Step 9: Get yourself a new oil filter, you can find these bad boys here: https://www.choppershop.com/en/maintenance/oil-filters/ The best way to make sure you get the correct filter is by looking what was in there before, if you get the same type as that one you should be good to go!

Step 10: Fill the filter with a little bit of oil and make sure the whole outer ring on the inside is greased up. Then you can screw it back on your bike by tightening it by hand.

Step 11: Slap on a helmet and drive it like you build it as the greased up mechanic that you are!

Spark plugs

Not only are oil and drivetrain the essentials of a good maintenance day, Spark plugs need some maintenance to!

The spark plugs in your motorcycle engine make sure everything goes boom, so it is very essential that they work properly.

To make sure that the spark plugs are still okay we have this awesome chart for you

When a plug gives any sign of being defect is is best to just replace them with a brand new one that can be found here: https://www.choppershop.com/en/maintenance/ignition/spark-plugs/ Always check what kind of spark plug was in your bike and then order the same one again. You only need another spark plug with a higher or lower degrees resistance when you are going to tune or when it indeed was too hot or had carbon fouling, if that's not the case you can order the same one again.

Step 1: Remove the spark plug cover and extract the spark plug from your bike.

Step 2: inspect the color and status of the spark plug

Step 3:

- Not okay? throw it away and get yourself a new pair

- A bit dirty? give it a good rub with this brush: https://www.choppershop.com/en/spark-plug-brush-brass.html since it is brass you won't damage the spark plug itself.

Step 4: Get yourself the correct new spark plug and install it!

Step 5: Make sure everything is installed correctly and use those little explosions to get going!