What to check on your motorcycle before a ride

Before you ride, check tyres, brakes, steering, controls, lights, fluids, the chain, belt or shaft drive, and the stands. Then secure your luggage, remove locks and check that you're ready to ride too. Work in the same order each time so you're more likely to notice a new leak, damaged tyre or loose strap.

The Motorcycle Safety Foundation recommends a check before every ride. It uses T-CLOCS to help you remember the main areas: tyres and wheels, controls, lights and electrics, oil and other fluids, chassis, and stands. Its inspection guidance points you to your owner's manual for the details. Use the list below for everyday preparation, and keep up with scheduled maintenance too.

Start with a walk-around

Leave enough time to deal with anything you find. Keep a tyre gauge handy and bookmark the manual pages you'll need. Work in good light on firm, level ground. If you can't hold or move the bike securely, ask for help.

Make a note from your manual with front and rear cold tyre pressures, their units, the load they apply to, and the fluid-check page numbers. Keep solo and loaded settings separate where the manufacturer gives different figures. You'll spend less time hunting for the right page. Use your bike's instructions for pressures and chain slack rather than a generic figure from the internet.

Look under the bike before moving it, then follow the same path around it each time. Give recently changed parts another look: a wheel after a tyre change, luggage you've just packed, or a newly fitted phone mount. A recent service isn't a reason to ignore something that looks or feels different.

Do these checks while parked. You can save the list for reference, then put the phone away before moving off. If the bike has been sitting for a long time, start with the more thorough post-winter and pre-season checklist.

Check tyres and brakes

Use a gauge; looking at the tyre won't tell you its pressure. Find the bike manufacturer's cold-pressure figures, including any different setting for a passenger or luggage. Check before riding, while the tyres are cold. Don't let air out of a hot tyre to bring it down to the cold figure. Michelin explains this in its motorcycle tyre pressure guide.

Roll the bike a short distance by hand with the engine off so you can see the rest of the tread, then park it securely again. If you find a nail, leave it in place and get the damage assessed before riding. Plenty of tread doesn't rule out other problems; Michelin's tyre replacement guidance also covers damage, uneven wear and ageing. Follow the local wear limit and the tyre manufacturer's advice.

Apply each brake while stationary. Does it feel as it normally does? Look at the pad wear indicators you can see, and check for wet hoses, damaged discs or contamination. A spongy lever, grinding or weaker braking needs attention, as Honda's brake maintenance guidance explains. A stationary check can't prove how well the brakes will work on the road. Only after you've completed the inspection and dealt with any faults, check that it stops normally at walking pace in a clear, level area before joining traffic.

Controls, fluids and final drive

Check that the steering and cables move freely and the throttle returns when you release it, including with the bars turned. Test the lights and horn; a reflection or a helper can let you see the brake light. The MSF's full inspection checklist shows what to look for.

Follow your model's instructions for fluid checks. Some oil levels need a warm engine and a waiting period; other bikes use a different procedure. If the manual says to hold the bike upright, a reading on the side stand won't do. Use the specified method and fluid, and find out why a level has dropped or a leak has appeared. Keep hot cooling-system caps closed.

For a chain, look up where to measure, the allowed slack and how to position the bike. A belt or shaft needs its own checks. Don't guess an adjustment or use a generic slack figure from the internet. If the work is beyond your skills, book a service; Honda's maintenance advice also distinguishes basic owner checks from mechanical work.

Check yourself and the route

Decide whether to go before starting the engine. Are you alert enough for the ride? Can you see clearly through the visor? Will your clothing suit the coldest or wettest part, including the way home? Does the luggage move when you push it by hand?

Check the forecast along the route as well as at home. Our route-weather guide walks through rain, wind and temperature checks before departure. Look at official warnings and road closures too, and be ready to change the route or postpone if needed. A forecast can't tell you what the road surface is like around the next corner.

When to leave the bike parked

Don't set off with a sticking throttle, brakes that aren't working normally, a damaged tyre, a fuel leak, loose luggage or an unresolved critical warning. Arrange a repair or inspection first. If you're not sure the bike is safe, you can have it transported to a workshop. You don't have to ride it there.

For a longer trip, use the motorcycle travel abroad checklist too. Reset this list before every ride so you're checking today's bike, not reading yesterday's ticks. This checklist saves its ticks separately in this browser. Use Print / save PDF for a copy you can take with you; saved progress doesn't make the website available offline.