Motorcycle Maintenance

Alright! This one is for all you grease monkeys, self proclaimed mechanics and the kids who just love to take things apart! Welcome to Motorcycle Maintenance! Hariathoo style! Now that you've begun riding your motorcycle and would've completed a good number of km's/miles, it's time to learn to pamper your steed! Giving your motorcycle to an authorised service center (SVC) is always good, but you will not be able to get the same type of attention as an owner gives to his/her motorcycle.

That's me, smooching my Shadow! 

So for a beginner, the first thing you must understand and accept is that, a motorcycle is made up of a bunch of parts working at extremely high temperatures and rubbing against each other. Yes, hot and rubbing (If you know what i mean! :P). So a lot of these parts are going to wear out over time, it is just inevitable! Our main aim in this blog is to ensure that we extend the normal working life of these parts, and achieve a factor for decent cost of operation . Right now, we're not going to cover complex stuff like shim adjustment or clearance adjustments, we're going to talk about the usual everyday maintenance. A small amount of elbow grease goes a long way!

THE DRIVETRAIN! (Fancy words for the chain and it's sprockets) 

The drivetrain, or the chain and sprockets (if your motorcycle has one, some come equipped with a belt drive, like Harleys and certain BMW's) is the most exposed mechanical part prone to wear and tear. 

Simple schematic showing different parts of the final drive.

Some bikes come with a closed chain (manufacturers supply an enclosure to the chain and sprockets by means of metal guards, see pic below)

Notice the box like thing covering the entire chain?

Now if you're motorcycle comes with an enclosed chain, chances are, that it doesn't wear out fast as it isn't exposed to the elements, and is a pain to lubricate! (We'll talk about lubrication in a while, hold on!) So how do chains wear, you ask? Hmmm, well, we ride the motorcycle in all conditions be it snow, rain, summer or outright throttle happy abuse! The chain is the final member of the drivetrain that transmits power to the rear wheel thereby propelling the motorcycle. In other words, no chain, no move! A chain is made of metal. Metal compresses and expands in direct proportion to the temperature. Now take for instance, riding in the mountains during rain. You have gunks of slush and water and grease in between the many moving links of the chain, in a cold environment. A combination of this is going to slowly eat your chain out. Similarly, dust and sand also have the same effect on the chain.

This type of setup is an open chain. Notice the absence of guards?

Now, this is just a personal observation, but may vary from user to user. I generally make it a point to lube the chain every 500kms/310.686miles (accurate eh!). This method has worked well till date. My chain is 30,000 kms old (18641 miles) and can still go on for another 7000 kms. Lubing a chain basically consists of applying a lubricating agent on the chain and sprockets, to ensure smooth operation and to also reduce wear significantly by limiting friction. You have a variety of lubricants out there in the market, and people also prefer SAE90 oil or gear oil. It's all upto one's preferences basically! I've tried everything from White grease to high end lubrication sprays. I prefer Motul's Chain Lube, as it doesn't spray much on the alloys and soaks up to the chain pretty fast. 

This here is a can of Motul Chain Lube.

The application is simple. Prop your bike onto it's center stand or paddock stand, turn on the engine, engage first gear, let the rear wheel rotate and spray the lube in rapid short bursts on to the inner face of the chain (face in contact with the sprockets). While spraying the lube, take care not to spray on the rear disc rotor. Trust me, lubing a rear disc rotor is equal to committing suicide! No brakes, oh what the heck... Goodbye cruel world!!! So, rule of thumb, make sure the disc rotor is lube free!

Notice the point where the chain lube is applied? Nowhere near the rear wheel!

Now, lubing the chain is the easy part. let's move on to cleaning a chain! This section gives immense pleasure to grease monkeys like me, who love getting our hands dirty and being a menace to our families! Cleaning a chain is basically nothing but removing all that old lube, dirt and gunk out of the chain. Let's face it, the more gunk in the chain, the more sooner it's going to wear out. I usually clean the chain once every 1500kms (932 miles). Now, all that gunk is going to be stubborn as hell! There are again various methods to clean a chain. Some use kerosene, some use diesel, some use specific chain cleaners or the universal WD40 de-greaser. I personally recommend the WD40, it's the fastest and cleanest thing out there! And works wonders on your chain! It's also the mildest product, and in case of an O ring or X ring chain, does not affect the rubber O rings or X rings inside.

Wait a minute! What the heck is an O ring and X ring??

That my friend, is the correct question! Now, let me show you! Take look at the illustration below;

The common chain does not hold oil or lube all that well, and most of it seeps out. It was used in earlier days on motorcycles, but science and technology has advanced, and these days you find a majority of motorcycle manufacturers supplying the bikes with O ring chains. In O ring chains, you have a rubber bushing in the shape of an 'O' and it has two large contact patches to the outer plate and inner plate, thereby ensuring seepage of oil or lube is drastically reduced. This also means, O ring chains last longer than traditional Chains. X ring chains have 4 contact patches to the outer and inner wall, thereby reducing seepage to an almost non existent percentage! X ring chains last way longer than O ring chains, and are more expensive too. Some big bore motorcycles use the X ring chain.

pic of chain cleaning

Now for effective chain cleaning, you're going to need a chain cleaner (I pick WD40), an old toothbrush and some rags. Always clean the chain after a pressure water wash, as it is more easier that way. Prop the bike on your center stand or paddock stand, switch on the engine, engage first gear, let the rear wheel rotate, spray copius amounts of chain cleaner till the chain starts dripping. Take caution to not spray chain cleaner onto your disc rotor! Same as with lubing! Let the cleaner soak into the chain for at least 15 minutes. During this time, switch off your engine and watch Hariathoo Motocampers sojourn to Chikmagalur video right below!

Now, once the chain is nice and wet (Yeah baby!), take the old toothbrush and work your way into every link on the chain. Rub that baby clean, and you'll notice the chain looking brand new! Hold on, we're not finished yet! There's gonna be a lot of gunk in between the sprocket teeth as well, no it doesn't bite! Make sure you hit those spots too. You will have to remove the cover of the front sprocket to expose it. In severe cases, use a stick to remove huge pieces of gunk from the front sprocket. Once you've done this, I would recommend pressure washing the chain alone again, to remove those loose pieces of dirt and gunk, and also remove residues of WD40. Once done, let the chain dry, best done under the sun and clean any residue with the rags! Now close the front sprocket's cover and lube the chain as described above. Keep repeating this method as per the mentioned intervals to keep that chain spanking new!

Gently open her up... you don't want those screws to lose thread now!

Pokie pokie all that gunky.

PERIODIC CHECKS: 

Now that you're clear with drivetrain maintenance, let's move on to engine maintenance and checks. Now your engine has some engine oil in it. This oil ensures there is no friction between the multiple shearing parts in it. This oil tends to become flat and loose it's lubricating properties over time, which when left unchecked will lead to wear of engine parts and land your credit card in a hefty bill! there are ways to ensure this doesn't happen. Your bike's manual will state the grade of engine oil to be used and also the quantity to be used. It will also mention the interval between oil changes. 

1. New oil is golden in colour, old oil is brownish/blackish in colour.
2. Keep checking the colour change of the new oil over time. Fast deterioration of oil is a symptom of something wrong in the engine, or bad quality of oil. 
3. Keep periodically checking the quantity of the oil. For every 1000 kms of high speed runs, i've observed losing about 80ml of oil. Top up if needed. Always keep the spare oil handy.
4. Make it a point to change your oil filter every time you change the oil! now i've heard owners complain that oil filters are expensive and whatnot, but change it! Your motorcycle is carrying you places, make sure you take care of it!

Now, to change the engine oil, you need a few cans of new engine oil (as per the manufacturers standards, and quantity), a brand new oil filter, a bowl of some sort to store the old oil in temporarily, a couple of spanners and a few of rags. It is better to run the engine for sometime before changing the oil, as the heat generated in the engine would make the oil more viscous and also loosen the gunk lodged within the engine. I use Shell's Fully synthethic oil 10W40 for my CBR 250, it works wonders and still sticks to Honda's specifications. The oil used changes from one manufacturer to another.

Prop the motorcycle on the main stand or paddock stand, look under, as if your looking to find the bike's err... sensitive parts. You will find an engine drain bolt parallel to the side stand mount on the frame. Loosen that bolt with a spanner of suitable size. Take caution not to round the bolt off, or cross thread it! You won't be able to fit it back again then! Let the oil drain into the basin placed below. let it drain for a couple of minutes, and shake the bike to get rid of any residue oil. Now open the oil filter cap, remove the oil filter and replace with the new filter.

 

Drain bolt is situated right next to the side stand in most bikes.

 

Change the oil filter every time you change the oil! 

Next, replace the engine drain bolt, and move over to the right side of the bike. You will find a knob like bolt on the right side of the engine(see picture below), open it, and fill as per manufacturer's prescribed quantity. Use a measuring glass to measure the oil before filling. Close the knob, and let the oil settle in for a while. 

NOTE: Add 100ml extra every time you replace the oil filter. Make sure you dispose the old oil responsibly. Do not pour it down the drain, check with your local mechanic, he collects old oil and has it recycled.

Notice the knob like thingy on the right side of the cover? That's where you fill oil in.

BATTERY CHECK:
In today's modern technology driven world, a battery is vital to any automotive. A battery is sort of the bike's soul, driving it's heart and kidneys and other essentials like fuel injectors and sensors to work. The bike also has a dynamo built into it to enable the battery to recharge on the go. What the heck is a dynamo? Are you a kid of the late 80's? If so, do you remember those dynamo lights we used to have on our bicycles? That light up as long as the tyre is rotating? (See picture below, for kids born after the 80's)

This strange apparatus is a basic form of a dynamo! Woooaaah!! Blast from the past yeah!

So in essential, the dynamo produces electricity as long as the tyre is moving, and that electricity is used to power the light bulb. Same principle, bigger dynamo, and different application for motorcycles. The dynamo sends some charge to the battery to recharge it. Now, different motorcycles come equipped with different batteries based on manufacturer's specifications and usage. For example, the Tiger Triumph comes with a big ass battery, producing over 60amps!!! The Honda CBR 250r comes with a battery producing 14 amps at max rev. So, it varies. I have a Sony phone and you have an iPhone, basically.

Simple diagram to show how a battery works and recharges.

Now that you've understood how a battery works and survives, let's get to the maintenance part! There are two types of batteries, a liquid cell and a dry cell. (Remember learning it in school do ya?)

No, not this cell! This cell produces more than 60amps! Dry or wet you say? Hmm.. XD

OK! Coming back to the topic! Now, the liquid batteries have an anode, and a cathode and an electrolyte. Over usage, the electrolyte dries up. And when hit's bottom, you're not going to have any more charge coming from the battery. This is where maintenance comes in! I made it a habit to check the electrolyte levels and the general condition of the battery once every three months. If your's is a liquid battery, remove it from the motorcycle, open it up, check for the level of electrolyte in it. If it is lower than the marker (99% batteries come with a marker for electrolyte levels. I feel sad for those who don't) top it up. Use distilled water for better life of the battery. In dire times, it is ok to use tap water as well. 

This is a liquid type battery.

Once you've topped up, i would also advise you to recharge it for atleast 3 hours, by a battery charger, or if you don't have one, take it to the nearest garage that does. (I know this is boring, but please don't be lazy now will ya! It's just once in 3 months!)

Once the battery's all charged up, check the output voltage with a multimeter (check for voltage and not for amps, because the amps produce vary a lot when the battery is idle and in use). Once the voltage displayed on the meter is the same or close to manufacturer specs (+- 1V), you can rest easy, plonk it back into the bike and ride into the sunset, for the next three months. Yaay!

DRY CELL:

If your motorcycle comes equipped with a dry battery, it's much easier to maintain. A word of caution, never try and open a dry battery! It does not end well for you! Remove the battery, check for visual signs of wear, or leaks, once satisfied, put it for charge for a couple of hours. Now remove the battery from the charger, check for voltage just like you do with a liquid cell, once satisfied, plop it into the bike and ride away to glory!

 

Se that red box like thingy? That's a dry cell. Doesn't really look all that different from a liquid cell, apart from the label mentioning so. 

AIR FILTER CHECKS:

Another vital part to your motorcycle is an air filter. Like humans, motorcycles need to breathe as well. We breathe to help in breaking down all the proteins and fast food that we eat and harness energy or cholesterol from it, similarly, motorcycles need air to sustain continuous combustion.  Now, you and I know, that the air isn't all that clean or dust free, we have nose hair to filter out all the dust. Imagine all that dust inside your lungs! We'd be walking sand bags! Imagine the same dust in your engine! Scraping everything out of those cylinders! That's bad! hence the need for air filters, to filter out all the dust/sand from the air that the engine needs to complete combustion.

Now, most bikes have their air filters attached to the carburetors or fuel injectors. These are mostly situated under the tank.

Warning says what? I know you wanna cut costs, but please, cut it at the fast food. Buy a new air filter every time your old one goes to dust... Literally!

Gently open the cover out.

Where's the filter! Oh! There it is! Notice the box like thingy? BTW, it varies from motorcycle to motorcycle. Just like my nose hair is different from yours.

 Unclamp it, pull it out, visually check for any damages or a lotta dust. I love my motorcycle, I replace my air filter every 7000kms. See how spanking new it is?

Now close her up, make sure all the right bolts and screws go in the right place. Wax her if you have the time (I would!). simply enjoy your ride, but make sure you take good care of her as well. These are just basic checks, to ensure you have a healthy running motorcycle. We'll go into complex DIY jobs that would help you better understand your vehicle. Please leave your comments down below, and let us know you'd like to keep reading more! Hariathoo my two wheeled brothers and sisters! Good night!