Spring is here, and your motorcycle is beckoning you to hit the open road.

Before you embark on your two-wheeled adventures, take a moment to prepare your bike for the riding season. While the T-CLOCS (Tires, Controls, Lights, Oil, Chassis, and Stands) inspection is essential, let’s delve into some often-overlooked tasks:

1. Check Your Gear:
   • Retrieve your riding gear from storage. It might have been sitting in your saddlebag for months.
   • Clean your gear thoroughly. Run it through the wash or clean it by hand.
   • Apply water repellent or waterproofing for added protection.
   • Remember, rainstorms are not the preferred method of cleaning your gear!
2. Inspect Your Helmet:
   • Your helmet deserves special attention. Start by cleaning the exterior. Those bugs from 2023 should be easy to remove by now.
   • Remove and clean the interior padding following the manufacturer’s instructions.
   • Don’t forget to check every nook and cranny for any unwelcome guests—SPIDERS (not the Can-Am species).
3. Evaluate and Replace Gear:
   • Take a close look at your riding gear. Are your helmet and gloves still in good condition?
   • Remember, you are responsible for your own safety. If something isn’t right, repair or replace it promptly.
4. Give Your Motorcycle a “Colonoscopy”:
   • If you didn’t adequately prepare your bike for winter, it’s time to peek up your tailpipe.
   • Inspect all areas for leaks and ensure everything is in ship shape.
5. Give your bike a rub down: Happy ending optional!
   • Give it a good wipe down to clean off the dust and debris that adhered to your bike over winter.
   • Now is a good time to give your motorcycle a waxing to help preserve the paint.
6. Restock your saddlebags or backpack:
   • If you pack a first aid kit replace what you used last year or what is now expired.
   • Sunscreen and ChapStick…might want to swap them out for new.
   • That candy bar you had for an emergency snack, go ahead, and eat it now and put a new one in its place.
7. Review the owner’s manual:
   •  Get yourself reacquainted with the bike.
8. Check your insurance:
   •  Did you stop or reduce your insurance on the motorcycle over the winter? Give a quick call to your agent to get your insurance up to date.
9. Remind yourself about PANIC STOPS:
   • Find an unused bit of road or parking lot, get up to speed and BRAKE HARD! Get that feeling about what you and your motorcycle will do when you must make a sudden stop.
   • Ride with a passenger? Then run this exercise with them on the motorcycle as well. It is best to know how it feels in a controlled environment before you really need to do it. OH, check your brakes before you do this to make sure they are good to go.

This is not an all-inclusive checklist or recommendations, I am sure each of you can add more items, but it can get you started for the new riding season. Remember, a well-prepped motorcycle ensures both safety and enjoyment during the riding season.

Have any additonal tips…put them in the comments!

Ride on, ride safe