Keep an Ear
to the Ground
By: Nate T.
E
ach and every one of
us that gets out on two
wheels knows that
putting some miles on
with our face in the breeze is
a very personal thing. They
call it “wind therapy” for a
reason, after all. For some, it
gets us a bit back in tune with
ourselves. For others, it helps
cope with the everyday grind.
Sometimes, it’s just a way
to feel like we’ve got a bit of
control in all of the chaos around us. All of the time, it has a lot to do with the thrill of
carving out some twisties on our pride and joy. So why is it that when we’re in the middle
of getting in touch with our inner child, outer hippie, or other such excuse to stay out of a
therapist’s office do we forget to stay in touch with our machines?
Putting it blunt, as motorcycle owners, we can be pretty selfish. We’re sometimes so
concerned with twistin’ the wick to get that grin going that we forget to keep an ear to
the ground and be good listeners. I don’t mean to our better halves…although listening
in that department tends to be a pretty good plan too. Obviously when I tell y’all that
you need to be better listeners to your sickle, I don’t mean that you need to fluff its ego or
listen to its woes about being bullied by the other bikes at the rally last weekend. What
I’m getting at here is that we need to pay closer attention to what our bikes are telling us
all the while tarmac is passing under us.
We all take a certain pride in knowing our machines like no one else can, right? We
know just how she (or he) has to be stroked to get the fires lit on a cold day. We know
just exactly what type of fuel it likes to eat. We know what tire pressure gets us around
our favorite curves in the shortest time. We know just how much grunt we have left
going light to light. We (hopefully) know just how many miles we have after going to
reserve. So it wouldn’t be that much of a stretch to notice little changes in how your
bike runs before it turns into a bad day. Consistency is the name of the game here. If
your ride starts heading towards inconsistent, you might just find yourself getting some
unscheduled walking experience.
First off, the easiest thing to keep track of is how your bike starts. If its cold blooded
normally, it should be that way all the time assuming you don’t change something. This
goes the same if the bike starts up if you just shoot it a sideways glance. When you’ve put
some miles on and she’s warmed up a bit, this might be a little different, but it should be
consistent. You see, once a bike is set up with timing, air/fuel ratios, ignition mapping,
and the like, it should consistently start the same way. If all of a sudden something
changes, even if it seems like an improvement, there might be a problem
Next thing you want to pay attention to is how the brakes are working. Same as with
how the bike starts, it goes without saying that your ability to stop should be something
that happens the same way every time. If your brakes act different when the bike is hot
and cold, you probably have a problem. If every once in a while, you get a “mushy” feel
to one of the brake controls, this is something to take a look at. If you have to put brake
fluid it pretty regular, you’ve got an issue. Again, the name of the game is consistency. If
something in your brake system changes…even if it goes away, don’t ignore it!
Third, your clutch is really important to getting power to the ground and smiles on your
face. More importantly though, the clutch is a safety device as well. It lets you unass
your engine from your rear tire so that you can stop. In between balls out and unassing, it
also lets you control the amount of torque to the rear tire
so that you can really control the bike at slow speeds.
If it changes how it acts and has tantrums from time
to time, that’s something screaming for attention. It
very well could decide to try and drag you into a busy
intersection, should that tickle its fancy. Annoyingly
enough, fending this off isn’t as simple as the others.
Clutch components wear in and out over time, making
adjustments and part replacement necessary every
so often. Still, making sure it performs the same way
every time makes sense to me, so I guess you’re gonna
have to make this happen by paying attention to it and
looking in your manual for what you’re supposed to do
for regular maintenance.
Now, its time to talk about listening to your sickle’s
heartbeat. I went over the others first, because paying
attention to those can keep you on this earth a bit
longer. Engine and trans issues can definitely put a dent
in your safety record, but for the most part those issues
just end up putting a dent in your wallet. So, if your
engine runs smooth all except for “that one time”, or
“sometimes”, don’t ignore it. If it’s normally a dog and it
starts running like a raped ape, this might not be a good
sign. Clogged jets (air and fuel), electrical shorts, intake
air leaks, fuel filters, and fuel quality can cause these
little symptoms that lead up to something requiring a
broom to clean up later. Think about shoulder pain and
heart attacks.
So, while you’re out watching those lines run by you,
getting in touch with your inner child or outer hippie,
try being a better listener. That machine betwixt your
legs brings you a whole lot of grins per mile. Make sure
it keeps doing that by keeping your ear to the ground.
Listen and feel for changes to how she goes, turns, and
stops…and for cripe’s sake, if the bike tells you there’s
something wrong, man (or woman) up and take care of
it! Until next time. Keep it between the lines and shiny
side up. Shovel on!
22 Thunder Roads Magazine Louisiana/Mississippi | August 2018 | www.thunderroadslams.com
Photo Credits:
http://www.thelanguagelab.ca/posts/communicat-
ing-is-more-than-good-listening/
Katie Welsh; http://atheistnexus.org/photo/photo/
show?id=2182797%3APhoto%3A398519
www.thunderroadslams.com | August 2018 | Thunder Roads Magazine Louisiana/Mississippi
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