Now is the Time

With the arrival of late fall and winter, the cold weather is finally upon us. There have been a few nice days and I’ve been lucky enough to take advantage of most of them and get in some local riding. As the days advance, these opportunities become fewer until the really cold conditions keep most of us off the bikes for weeks at a time. This is a good time of the year to take care of some safety related items that need attention.

Maintenance: All motorcycle maintenance is safety related. That’s a pretty bold statement, but hear me out. The more obvious failures, such as tire blowouts, clutch problems, driveshaft failures and so on are easy to associate with safety. But even the little things like leaking seals, burned out bulbs and loose bolts can grab our attention just at the wrong time, while we’re riding, and take our focus away from the task at hand: riding with maximum safety. I want the bike under me to be in 100% tiptop condition. I have enough to worry about, or concentrate on, while riding. So, while its just sitting there in the garage, get caught up on all those maintenance items that are due and get the bike ready for the next warm day.

Personal Equipment: When is the last time you inspected all your riding equipment. You know, the gloves, boots, jackets, helmets and the list goes on. Don’t give it the once over, really inspect these items. Turn them inside out and upside down looking for defects, excessive wear and cleaning needs. We depend on these garments to keep us comfortable and to minimize injury in the event of an accident. Now is a good time to take care of that equipment so it will be ready to use when we need it.

Training: The winter months are an especially good time to get caught up on those safety courses you’ve been meaning to take. We can’t hear the call of the road over the howl of the cold wind. There should be a Saturday or two available since we probably won’t be riding to the beach for a while. Check your local Technical College web site for Motorcycle Safety Foundation courses. Your local or nearby GWRRA Chapter may be offering a course or seminar. Ask your Chapter Educator to pass along this information as it becomes available.

Ride Planning: Take a look back at the rides you took part in last year. Are you satisfied that you put enough effort into the planning of each ride? I believe good ride planning is critical to safe riding. The more ducks we have in a row, the less we have to distract us on the road. If you’re still thinking about the clothes you packed, you might miss that bonehead trying to turn left across your path at the upcoming intersection. If you need to improve in this area, give it some thought now about how to do a better job. Work up your own checklist, get some better maps, whatever it takes.

An old farmer once told me, “Make hay while the sun shines; make repairs when the snow flies!” If we can squeeze a little time to take care of these items now, we can “make hay”, that is, ride with confidence and safety, when the sun shines.

Submitted by Tom Scully

NC-E Chapter Educator