Getting Your Bike Ready For a Road Trip

Any successful and safe trip demands proper planning. Similarly, the success of your plan to go touring with your bike would depend on how well you have planned such a trip. This is because motorbikes are machines. At any point, without enough preparation, everything about it can go wrong. You need to gear it up for a long trip to minimize road hassles and its risk to cause accidents due to failure. So whether or not you are planning for a short weekend ride or a long touring period, you need to make sure that everything about your ride is in order. Also, you need to pack some 'emergency' kits so you will be ready to handle all possible problems along the way.

The opportunity to hit the open road is surely a thrilling experience. The spontaneity of such a trip could convince you to play everything by the ear. However, do not get easily convinced to take everything to chance. Take charge of the important details of your trip to make sure that you get to your destination, happy and fulfilled, rather than worn and frustrated by road hassles due to road and engine problems.

Prior to leaving for your trip, consider having your bike checked by a qualified technician. This way, all torn and worn belts and other components will be replaced ahead of time, before failure. Submit your bike for a tune-up, have all of its fluids checked to ensure smooth performance. Have the brakes, clutch and throttle cables checked, adjusted, and lubricated if necessary. Vital fluids such as oil, brake fluid and coolant needs to be kept at its normal level to make sure that no untimely engine failure or overheating will ruin your trip.

Now, we come to the part of listing the things that you need to bring on your trip. Bringing tools for basic repairs is important so you can easily manage basic maintenance and roadside repairs. Also, you need to constantly bring drinking water, not only for you but also for your motorbike. Long trips make your bike's engine demand at least a bottle of water in every stretch of miles. Also, bring with you your cell phone so you can call for help or inform your family if something comes up. If it happened that you are planning to cross state or national borders, make sure that you are familiar with the rules and laws observed in your destination, such as helmet law or lane splitting, to avoid problems.

You have to remember that your motorbike is not as flexible as your car because of the limitations posed by your bike. Aside from having limited space for storage, it leaves you consistently exposed to elements throughout the trip. Make sure that you pack everything that you need. Make sure that you have enough protection against weather elements such as rain or wind. Pack some warm clothes. Pack enough food for you to get to your target pit stops. Aside from getting your bike checked, you also have to prepare your body and your mind to fully enjoy such an adventure.