Bench Wrenching: RESTORATION LITE By Paul Glaves (April Owners News)

April 6, 2007 Page 1 of 6    123456

I am often asked the question, "My bike just went over 100,000 miles. What things should I be looking to go wrong soon?" Sometimes the question is posed by an owner trying to decide whether or not to trade the bike for a newer one, and sometimes it is posed so the owner can plan ahead for some non-routine unscheduled maintenance.

I think of motorcycle maintenance as generally being in three categories: routine maintenance, urgent repair, and restoration. Routine maintenance includes all those things we are supposed to do at a specified mileage or time interval. Urgent repair is what we do when something fails or breaks. Most people think of restoration in terms of taking a vintage bike or an antique bike and restoring it. That is restoration, but not the type I want to write about this month.

There are many parts of a motorcycle that deteriorate over time, due to age, miles, weather exposure, or a combination of several factors. Some of these things are sufficiently predictable and frequent that they are part of scheduled maintenance - every 6,000 miles, every 12,000 miles or some other mileage interval; or every year, or every two years, etc.

Much of what eventually wears out on a motorcycle is not so frequent and not so regularly predictable. Often these things become urgent repair because something broke and left you beside the road. A good program of maintenance anticipates these longer-term wear items, includes some taking of things apart to inspect parts and their conditions, and restores the motorcycle to sound condition before urgent repair is needed.