Secrets of a Road Tester: Bike Maintenance | MCN

[@mortaljorma69]

I do all services myself. Im always thinking while doing something that its because of my own safety and purely love for the bike. No compromises, everything needs to be 100%.

[@TheDirtyMing]

What a very eloquent and honest guy Stalker is. Very refreshing

[@nomojo1110]

I do love journo's who _bang on_ about tyre pressures. Neevesey in particular (because it's Neevesey). I find once riders physically feel the difference of a couple of psi - even around the manufacturer's spec - that's when tyre pressures get the respect they should. Cheers to Mr. Walker and MCN. All the best from Tassie 👍

[@chrisb792]

Great video. I get my bike serviced at the dealer each year but also do my own maintenance in between. With regards to Chris' comments on paddock stands, whilst i have these from a previous bike, i now use an ABBA stand and prefer it much more. Makes the bike solid, no danger of it coming off whilst raising the bike and no strength required. No affiliation to ABBA but from a customer point of view, i would and have recommended them.

[@WeAreTheTrueMedia]

I did one of Chris's track day schools at Mallory a few years ago. He had so much time to talk to me about improving my riding.

[@scottbailey5644]

Excellent, enjoyed that. I'm a stickler for tyre pressures. Bought a second bike so I can keep my hand in with the servicing. The new one I take to my KTM dealer. Loving this series, cheers Michael!

[@creedm3040]

Great video! I love Chris’s perspective. I think when owning a motorcycle there comes a certain responsibility to taking care of the bike. Quite honestly, I like this aspect of ownership. I research everything and purchase the best products for maintenance. At the end of the day, it is a reflection on the owner, isn’t it? Best!

[@poc329]

Hi Tai. I am 61 in July. Went to Reading Speedway at Tilehurst as a little lad till the Racers moved to Smallmead. Bought my son up on the Racers. Saw you Dad Rob race in the day. Shame the Racers folded. Nice to see you are doing some good behind the scenes things for Speedway. We would not have heard all these things if it was not for the Vlog. Really enjoying it. Nice to see a sports person with personality these days. Most sports are too corporate. Well done you.

[@ragerider6283]

Nice vid. Very interesting. Chris has always appeared to be a nice down to earth chap & seemingly still is. He makes a good point too, why chose to spend a lot on a bike to not take care of it. Bizarre. Personally I'm obsessive about tire pressures, oil levels chain, pads & cleaning it. Really basic but findemental stuff that I find really rewarding from an owners perspective.

[@brianperry]

I can never understand riders who ride with under-inflated tyres, I mean seriously under-inflated... surely they must notice the difference....obviously not...I live in Spain where the ambient temperature is always going to be above that of UK, however I always inflate the tyres to that recommended 42psi rear, 35 psi front... you must start somewhere, so why not the recommended pressures...If you're not on a race track you're not heating, stressing the tyres to the limit anyway...so use what the tyre manufactures recommendations and tweak accordingly. I always feel the suspension feels different on really hot days, possibly the viscosity of the oil ?

[@chrisnightingale6417]

What a star and all round great bloke Chris is.

[@pistolpete6321]

Great tips, if I lived near that dealership I would have all my service done there for sure!

[@4tech69]

What an awesome shop he has there.

[@tHaH4x0r]

I feel there's a serious mishap with this video which could lead to some dangerous situations. Some bikes just dont follow conventions. It is a bad idea to blindly follow tire pressures. It is a bad idea to assume that you should check/fill up the oil when the bike is upright. The key advice here should be: Follow your user or service manual! Every single operation is detailed in there exactly how it should be done, what pressures you need, what type of oil you need etc etc.

[@SladeRenegade]

Very true, for example my HD Iron 883 you check the oil with it on the side stand, but my Triumph STR, level vertically. Get a user manual for the bike and always check it.

[@XtremeCoke]

Service the bike is the cheapest insurance and respect to your own wellbeing(and others)

[@rchrdlndhrst]

Honestly, it‘s near impossible to find a workshop, which does servicing (to which e.g. cleaning brake calipers counts as well IMO) to the extent that I would like it to. If you can do it yourself and know, what you‘re doing, you should. But I have to say, Chris seems like the sort of owner, I would trust to have his crew work on my bike. 👍

[@grahamx8623]

No ivory tower for Chris Walker, he's a proper bloke. Old farts like me take a pride in maintaining stuff but it's a bit out step with modern thinking. Top vid, good advice. Thanks

[@NurburgringBikerBlog]

Great advice, he really knows his stuff!

[@5891jonathan]

As if two or three pounds difference is a matter of life or death . . . I typically inflate to 36/39 for my VFR 800 and my R1200RS motorcycles.

[@vaughanboyce3702]

Comon sense great advice. I buy and sell bikes here and there and the thing that always surprises me what one person thinks is in good condition is way different to what I would consider good condition and many bike I've test ridden with 10psi in tyres. I know exactly what Chris is talking about a little tlc goes along way..

[@ryanmalone2681]

I do almost no service myself. Side result is I have all dealer service history and I don’t ever skip or delay anything. However, nobody seems to care when the service history is available.

[@Jimo368]

With no dealers within 200 miles of me, I’m stuck doing all my own maintenance and tire mounting. So I usually buy reliable and simple bikes.

[@papamelanin]

Brilliant video!! 12:54 - FACTS!!!

[@aubscr3143]

I loved the advice about being proud of your bike

[@martinhughes9769]

Beautiful looking premises simple advice but good advice 👍

[@everydaybiker]

Honestly, apart from the oil, that bike looks absolutely fine to me. My 701 has been washed once in 3 years. The daytona gets more love, but bikes are to be used, not fussed over... in my opinion

[@TweedSuit]

Exact same model as mine. Someone knocked it over when it was parked. Waiting for it to be repaired,

[@Bumbaclot213]

Cleaning your bike throughly and regularly, will help your eye notice any problems - leaking fork seals, leaking coolant hoses etc

[@alandrinkwater9867]

Respect for chris great guy

[@BlackThor15]

Another great informative video from the MCN team, thank you all, well done!! 👍👍

[@stranobikes]

Great video and so much is just common sense.

[@ianpowell6443]

My experience of Chris Walker Kawasaki is that of very poor after sales service and that was CW himself. Bike had 4 year Kawasaki warranty and he was not interested in helping.

[@veeken777]

Saw a nice zx9r in that QuackAttack shop.

[@papamelanin]

Fucking 'ell!! You meant the actual LEGEND that used to battle with Neil Hodgson in 1999!!!!!!!!! 💯❣️

[@ryanmalone2681]

When I got my first motorcycle, the internet wasn’t really a ‘thing’, and I didn’t know anyone who rode. I had no idea I had to clean and lube the chain, instead of just lube it.

[@mathiashammar1]

I don't like the 36(2.5b) / 42(2.9) recommended with big safety margins. Like When Honda has 32psi why does Kawasaki recommend 42psi. Same OEM tyres but Honda was even 50 kilo heavier. Running 3bar pressure on street riding gives rockhard tyre with no flex. TPMS alert danger when tyre drops to about 25-30%. 15psi(1b). So all those claiming anything below 36(2.5b) can be dangerous is overzealous. Its actually never Go Above 44psi(3b) and don't drive below 14(1b) because its dangerous.

[@michaelhayward7572]

Nice shop. Lovely bloke.

[@movem1]

"Missile for the Road." 👍

[@Stanjara]

Basically... buy it from a dealer, service it at the dealer, and if you have water in your brakes buy a new one... from a dealer (since you are there already)

[@aminjan56]

great input on bike!!

[@peterwoodham769]

My CB650R manual says check the oil on the side stand.

[@Mudux]

You need to read the manual again...

[@Mudux]

@flippy66 I just checked the manual of a cb650r. It tells to check the oil with the bike upright. I don't know any modern japanese bike that differs from that, if you can point me to one, please do.

[@raajkumaar16]

I would like to know the bike or bikes that Michael owns .

[@nickrider5220]

Great content 👍

[@mariopaes7872]

what a nice store

[@morri03]

Funny the b roll showed incorrect use of chain lube. You apply it to the inside of the rollers not the outside

[@saidnobodyever711]

Was wondering about that. Was that lube they were spraying on, or cleaner? Either way, seems like a strange way to do it. Overspray everywhere.

[@jimmybe64]

36 front, 42 rear cold. That sounds a bit wrong. You can't compare cold British winter to Australian summer cold pressures I run 36 hot front and rear.

[@tHaH4x0r]

Never mind that blindly following this rule of thumb is a bad idea, always look in the user manual. For example, the africa twin user manual states 33F 36R or 33F 41R recommended pressures instead of the 'standard 36F 42R for most road bikes.

[@ur2slob724]

36/42 here in a hot Brisbane summer. No dramas Bike manual specifically says 36/42 cold. No need to run less unless your tracking it or riding very very hard. Riding on lower pressures just risk damaging the tyres sidewall

[@ur2slob724]

36/42 here in a hot Brisbane summer. No dramas Bike manual specifically says 36/42 cold. No need to run less unless your tracking it or riding very very hard. Riding on lower pressures just risk damaging the tyres sidewall

[@jimmybe64]

@@ur2slob724 I live in Killarney and my bike tyre specialist at Goodna said running radial tyres at that pressure is why they wear out so fast. He said to run 36 hot front and rear. I am trying that on my Ninja 1000sx to see if it helps. Old wives tales everywhere about tyre pressures with no facts to back them. Motor Trade Machinist at Goodna, lots of knowledge and good prices

[@mathiashammar1]

Yeh its all over the place. I found Hondas recommendations to give a nice controllable ride. 32(2.25b)/ 36(2.5) over inflating tyres isn't safe way to ride either. But its huge safety margins. Like running cold pressure 42 in Australia good luck with that :D tyres will be rockhard.

[@specialcircs]

what is that black dual-pipe bike in front of Michael in the intro part?

[@samuelgillard2196]

Ducati Monster 937 plus

[@specialcircs]

@@samuelgillard2196 thanks Samuel!

[@motozest7856]

Serious question: what's going to happen to all these shops when we're all riding electric bikes in 10 years' time? Apart from the tires (and maybe chains), those things are plug-and-play. Amazing for us riders, obviously, but it has to be terrible for all these people making a living out of bike maintenance.

[@modoudrammeh]

Most of the info you provide on your channel can come across very basic Granted very well presented It's basically for beginners or l plates riders

[@fredflintstone4087]

The problems with these bike warranties is that they don’t respect the sport. What super bike do you see without aftermarket mods? So why not keep state that the warranty is good for common mods like exhausts and flashes or blockoff plates. Only heavy duty engine mods etc should not be covered. But everybody buying a sport bike wants exhaust and flashing. Even if they force you to go accredited tuners etc.

[@stephenjohnson7519]

It's like going to Heaven being in they

[@njohnson3331]

I feel like I always put too much lube on, or not enough. I swear I can't get it right.

[@specialcircs]

I don't think chain cleaning is as simple as they make it sound! I use a proper chain brush, paraffin, lube, etc and it's a nightmare. Must be doing it wrong.

[@saidnobodyever711]

Sounds like you're doing it right, but do you lift the rear wheel? Makes it so much faster and easier. If it's a light enough bike, you can get a dirt-bike stand which lifts it easily from the center. If it's heavier, paddock stands are brilliant, but you can get by with a decent car jack if you have one.

[@robertsonmark7392]

Awesome shop, and good guy. But, c’mon, this is covering the most basic stuff imaginable. Also, this bike ‘slipped through the net’ when p/x’d? Because the pads are part worn? Jesus Christ.

[@usbsol]

Yawn... Take care of your stuff, yadayada.