Route:
A full briefing will be given at 0915 at the ASDA car park. We plan to leave at 0930 we will travel to Hawes, Creamery for coffee and a refuel if needed. Over Buttertubs to Tan Hill, Brough and thence over the tops to Middleton in Teesdale for Lunch Stop. Our return will be via a picturesque route into Richmond then down the back roads to finish in Ripley for a first Ice Cream of the year. Follow the link below for exact route but beware, if the weather is unkind another more expedient route may be chosen to avoid snow and ice!!!
Note, the route is 155 miles so plan fuel accordingly
Ride out 20 March 2016
Before you go on the ride out please prepare your bike.
It doesn’t seem long since many of us were spraying our bikes with ACF 50 and the like and putting them out of harm’s way into garages etc. For those of you who have forsworn riding over the winter, I would urge you to consider some minor checks before getting the machine back on the road:
Do:
Check the bike over as per POWER.
Beyond this take a careful look at the condition of the tyres to ensure they are not perished or have developed flat spots.
Check tyre pressures.
If you have a trickle Battery Charger ensure battery is charged up before starting.
Double check all instruments and warning lights are coming on and then going off after start up.
Do static brake test and whilst dong it ensure suspension is moving and not seized.
Move bars from stop to stop to make sure there is nothing binding or nesting in there!
Don’t:
Assume everything works.
Just jump on the bike and ride off!!!
Riding
If your bike is difficult to start, and has had the same petrol in the tank since you laid it up it may be necessary to drain the tank and put some new petrol in there. Modern fuel contains ethanol which evaporates out of the fuel, creating starting difficulties. In extreme circumstances the residue left can block carburettors and injectors
If you have not ridden your bike for two or three months then take it easy. You are likely to have lost some of your skill, particularly cornering and braking. Once everything seems to be working ok do a low speed moving brake test. If that is ok try a more positive check and finally do a firm brake test.
Whilst riding along make sure there is no notchiness in the steering and that the bike is not tending to steer to one side, solidified grease in steering head bearings can cause this.
Finally, please take care and remember, a lot of roads have debris on them following the winter wetness, many have damaged surfaces due to frost and if that’s not enough, service machines used in clearing up can and do spill diesel.
Once you have done these checks you are ready for the first ride out of the year on Sunday 20 March 2016
Best regards,
Bob
