VAGABOND RIDER: SHAKING OFF THE RUST

Tips to kickstart the riding season the right way

Words and photos: Mark Keating

Winter typically means putting the Harley^® away. So as the days get longer and daytime temperatures become tolerable, there’s a chance you’ll be pulling the bike out of storage for your first rip in months. Here are a few things to consider to make sure your riding season starts on a positive note.

Equipment check
I’ve written before about the importance of equipment checks over the winter months. Spring is your next best opportunity. What does this mean?

First up, check the expiry date and condition of your helmet. If in doubt, replace it. There’s nothing more important to your safety than a good quality, well-maintained helmet. (Ask me how I know!) While you’re at it, pull the removable lining out and give it a good wash – you’ll really appreciate the lack of funky scent come the warmer points in the season.

Similarly, check both the condition and fit of your other essential safety gear – jacket, pants, boots and gloves. Repair or replace anything that looks suspect.

It’s also a good idea to pull out any core gear you carry with you on the bike and check the contents: make sure your kit hasn’t been raided for tools for some other project, recharge your jump-start battery and refresh anything that might have been used or expired in your first aid kit at a minimum.

If you have a set of rain gear stuffed into the corner of a saddlebag, now is a good time to air it out.

Bike prep
For those with top-notch planning skills, spring can be as simple as unplugging the trickle charger and topping up tire pressure.

However, many of us put our bikes away hot and wet after a long hard ride and never looked back. In this case, it’s a good idea to do a “pre-flight” visual inspection before your first ride to ensure that everything is as it should be.

Even the least mechanically inclined rider should do a 360-degree check of key fasteners to ensure nothing is loose or rattling. Giving your bike a well-deserved wash is a fantastic way to touch just about everything on it. As you do so, take note of anything you need to tighten up.

You’ll also want to check the engine oil level, tire pressure, tread depth and condition of the rubber (no cracking!), as well as what kind of meat is left on your brake pads.

Finally, you may need to recharge (or replace) a drained battery.

All of these checks will ensure you have confidence in the condition of your bike before you fire it up. If there’s anything that gives you concern, consider having it looked at by a qualified technician before taking the bike out on the road.

Spring training
Once learned, the essentials of riding your Harley-Davidson^® motorcycle are locked away in the deep recesses of your memory. However, as the season kicks off, you’re inevitably out of practice. You need to shake off the rust before expecting to perform at the top of your abilities.

That means taking some time to practise the essential skills of riding your bike. For most of us, that means taking it easy on the first few rides, as well as practising some slow speed manoeuvring and emergency braking. It’s remarkable what even 30 minutes of deliberate practice can do to rebuild the core muscle memory needed to avoid the worst-case scenario when facing a cager changing lanes without a proper shoulder check.

This leads to the last, but perhaps most important set of skills to buff up as the season begins: on-road situational awareness. That constant level of vigilance (a.k.a. paranoia) that comes naturally by the end of the season takes focus and energy in the spring.

Trip planning
The early part of the season isn’t all hard work! Even as you do some shorter shakedown rides, you can spend time planning out your season. While playing things by ear has its charm, blocking out longer trips on the calendar has its advantages – especially for those of us still working for a living!

For all but the most ardent long-distance riders, having to include a stop for a service or tire change mid-trip is frustrating. Better to have planned ahead and done those necessary service items at your local dealer in advance of the trip.

And, of course, if you are hoping to hit any of the main events of the season (HOG^® rallies, Sturgis, Port Dover), making advance reservations can be the difference between being in the thick of the fun or stuck out in the boonies.

Lifetime HOG Member Mark Keating (IG: @markwkeating) has explored (almost) every corner of North America on his Harleys. As winner of the 2020 & 2021 HOG Canada ABCs of Touring challenge and holder of 49 Iron Butt Association (IBA) certificates – including three “first-ever” – Mark has officially found his happy place with a proverbial full tank.

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