I'm sure this has been done before, in which case i will drink myself to death, but it dawned on me that there are a heap of good ideas out there, some I know and some I don't, so I thought I'd get a thread rolling for good ideas. I have picked up a few along the way, but would be keen to hear some more. And hopefully I'm not talking too much crap.
1. Use your trip meter as a fuel guage by setting it to zero every time you gas up. As long as you know how many ks to reserve/fuel light or out of gas you know how far you can go before you run out so can gas up before it's too late.
2. Safety pin a spare key to the lining of a pocket in your riding jacket. I have lost my keys and had to hotwire my bike, but now if that happens again I have a key handy (as long as you haven't lost your jacket as well).
3. Buy a handpump for $40.00 from Torpedo 7 and keep it in your shed. Before I go for a ride I check my tyres and pump them up at home which saves grovelling around on a gas station forecourt bending their attachment to fit.
4. Tape a film canister under your seat with a $20.00 note, spare fuses, a couple of cable ties and spare ear plugs.
5. On a long ride a sheepskin is your best friend.
6. In traffic don't blend in. It's my belief that 99.99% of car drivers genuinely don't want to hit you but probably aren't looking for bikes, so if you blend in with the traffic etc, they won't see you. I always get to the front of the queue at an intersection and then make sure I'm a good distance ahead of the cars behind me so i stand out. I also use my whole lane and if a car is waiting to turn I accelerate or brake and move towards them as a moving object (relative to the background) is always easier to see.
7. In traffic make sure you can see the car driver's interior mirrors. They don't use their wing mirrors as much as they should and being in a blind spot is bad for bike condition.
8. If a car does something unexpected like slow down or move in their lane, expect them to do something else like turn across your bows or stop suddenly.
9. If a car is stationary the brake lights are on then go off, watch them because they have taken their foot off the brake and are probably about to move.
10. In cold weather newspaper is the best insulation there is.
11. Lube your chain regularly - I normally only need to adjust my chain when I get a new back tyre but lube the crap out of it in the meantime. Also keep it at the loose end of adjustment because an overtight chain kills bearings and stretches.
12. Oil is your best friend. Change your oil and filters too often and your bike will love you for it.
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Originally Posted by shrub
DAMHIK...
Shaken, not stirred in the shakey city!
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