Following on from a post by Benelli Boy in praise and shame, someone kindly pointed out a side light wasn’t working, I just thought it would be interesting to see how often everyone checks their lights, indicators and brake lights.
Must admit I do it twice a day before I set off for work in the morning and before I head home again in the evening.
What about everyone else?
i dont check…but strangely i notice things very quickly when they dont work!
Got used to daily checks while being a courier. I was always hoping that something isnt working, trying to find an excuse for a day off in the winter.:D ( Mornin. Its K-48, can I have a day offcoz my rev counter isn`t working :w00t: )
i checked it when i dropped it… after that never… has only been 3 weeks or so… in my defence tho… i need to enrol in some bike maintenance classes, cos bikes is a whole new world to me 
Daily, just because they’re always failing on my bike.
Weekends are for the real bike stuff. Monday mornings are for the lights stuff. Try/clean the brakes on the drive each day before setting off.
And going by my wife’s routine with her car, I’m obsessive.
There is no need to ‘check’ indicators on the majority of cars/motorbikes. The circuits are dependant on a full circuit of bulbs, if one blows the indicator will flash faster - including the indicator warning light.
I check the headlight daily - I start the bike and see it running while putting my gloves on. I check the brake lights atleast weekly.
A much more important question, how often do you check your tyres for foreign objects? I do this every 2-3 weeks. I find quite a few bits of glass or small pebbles embedded quite deep into the rubber.
I check the tyres at least once a week, but if I’ve been off road they get checked when the bike gets hosed down.
So at the moment it’s at least twice a week.
KTM = Killer To Maintain!
Used to check every morning when I commuted on the bike, but now I do a quick check before I ride out. Which at the moment is once every week or two.
Lights (especially rear) and brakes every morning before I set off for work, tyres for FOD every evening when I get home and pressures about once a week. Don’t bother checking indicators, if one isn’t working I’ll know by the end of my road!
The VFR blew a headlamp bulb when I switched on to come home from work a few weeks ago, after 38,000 miles, unreliable Japanese crap. Fortunately it’s twin-headlamp and both have main and dip so it was no big deal to go home on one - sadly I keep spares in the garage.
I don’t check mine often enough, as I found out yesterday (ooops) :D.
I expect I’ll check them more often in future.
check tyres weekly but lights every now and then…
should check more often now it gets dark sooner :ermm:
Check mine while on commute. Rear brake light when stationary and looking at the reflection off the car behind via the mirrors. Ditto rear indicators. Can see the front indicators and headlights get checked in stationary traffic too.
Tyres, brakes and chain tell me when they need servicing. That said I do a full check if shes lucky enough to get a wash.
When I wash it…which isn’t as often as it should be.
I usually spend about an hour getting the mud off my bike lubing the chain etc. then about half an hour generally admiring it (!). It’s in this second stage that I check the electrics, the brake fluid, oil levels, chain play and glance at the tyres (although they’re usually still covered in mud so not so easy to see any damage)
I’m more aware of my brake light as a couple of the LED’s work intermitently- although I think this actually makes my bike more visible since they flicker a bit when the brakes go on. Having said that I did get a replacement from R&G so really should fit it…must do next time I wash my bike.
Do a check every time I ride, most importantly Tyre pressures
