Read on to learn about machines that live in my Shed, and then my Phil-osphy about Motorcycle Maintenance…

So first up here are the machines that I love & care for. None of them perfect, but all of them loved all the same.

• BMW R1250 GSA, Boxer (Flat twin)
• BMW K1200GT, Flying Brick (inline horizontal 4)
• BMW F800 GS, Rotax twin
• Norton Commando 850, (Vertical Twin)
• BMW HP2, Boxer (Flat Twin)
• BMW K1, Flying Brick (inline horizontal 4)

Motocycle Adventure riders spend a lot of time in their Sheds, for a couple of reasons.

Firstly very few motorcycle owners leave their bikes standard. We rush around buying accessories and installing them. Adventure Riders install more accessories than most, in order to carry more fuel, more water, more stuff. We love extra racks & bars and the uglier our adventure bikes look the more attractive they are to ourselves and other adventure riders. Beware because our adventure bikes are getting heavier the more stuff we put on them, and the heavier the bike the harder to adventure off the bitumen and the beaten track.

Secondly Motorcycles need regular maintenance. The design of two wheel vehicles aims to minimise weight and cram a lot of components & electronics into a small space, maximising function over form (except for Harley Davison who seem to live by the reverse)! A simple example of this is the fact that many modern motorcycles and many not so modern, use the engine as a weight bearing member of the frame, and another good example is the single sided swing arm.

You need to take care of them.

Its helps to have a fully qualified motorcycle mechanic on hand! Lucky for us at AussieKiwiAdventureRider.com we have Leon who is on call 24hrs for the team. He is an expert accessory installer & excellent mechanic. He loves electronics too, which is rare in motorcycle mechanic land.

Leon loves nothing better than to strip motorcycles, and watch my anxiousness grow as I wonder if he can remember how to put them back together again.

In my day, riding Norton Commando’s, we lived by the saying:

“Oil on the motor, ground, and your boots or Goggles is cause it’s a motorcycle, probably a Norton Commando. No need for concern”

Phil Richards

However according to Leon, leaking oil from front forks, oil on brake callipers or in fact Oil anywhere other than in the Engine, brake or clutch cylinder (should it be hydraulic), is a sign of the need for maintenance now or in the near future.

“just cause it starts doesn’t mean it’s safe”

Leon

Clearly the truth is better stated in the second quote by Leon, rather than the first by me. You can dance between the quotes, as the clock pendulum swings in our riding experiences. Whatever your decision on maintenance issues, it sure pays to keep a constant eye on your machine noting its condition and noticing if there is oil where it should not be. That said Oil on forks or brake calibers is immediate grounding, for maintenance, there is no thinking required for that decision.

In addition to presenting these opposing views of motorcycle maintenance, if you have a careful look at the photos below, you can see why having a good knowledge of how to tie bowline knots is also important.

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