Here in the northern hemisphere, as we edge into riding season, it’s great to be back. It’s also incredibly important to set yourself and your bike up for success on the long rides ahead, rather than hurriedly rushing to get out the door and not getting all your pre-ride checks in order after the bike has sat for (potentially) months.
That’s exactly where seasoned enduro and ADV rider Adam Riemann’s latest video comes into play. While his focus is (of course) on adventure riding, the overarching principles of what he has to say here can apply to street bikes as well.
Before you go on a big ride, one of the best things you can do to make sure it goes well is take your bike out for a shakedown ride, doing whatever type of riding that you’ll be doing (within reason). Obviously, if you’re planning on a track day, you won’t be able to fully experience how your bike goes until you’re at the track. Still, particularly if you’ve made any recent adjustments or installed any new equipment, you can take it out for a street ride and get the feel of the changes you’ve made, as well as how you like them.
That test ride applies to anything, big or small. Maybe you have a favorite tire compound that you love, and you tend to keep reinstalling all the time. Tire feel changes with use—so even if you’ve been using that same model of tire for a while, check out how the new one feels right after you’ve changed it, because it will be a little different than the last time you rode. Did you recently adjust your chain tension? See how it is before you go on a big ride, and make sure that it’s where you want it for your particular riding style.
Riemann also suggests adjusting your brake and clutch lever on your handlebars before you’re going to spend long hours in (or hovering above) the saddle. He’s not just talking about bringing them closer in or further away from the handlebars, however. In his case, he has large hands—so adjusting the levers (and the front brake master cylinder) from side to side on the handlebar was key to dialing in exactly where his fingers naturally want to grab the lever for maximum control of the bike.
That’s a smart move on any type of bike, because the more effortless your level of control is, the better. This entire video is about minimizing all those little distractions that can be caused by tiny things not being quite right on your bike. Anything that takes your attention away from actually riding—be it a stone in your boot or something more serious—can make the experience both less fun and potentially more dangerous.
In the case of the clutch lever, the same adjustments are key—although the situation may be different if you have a hydraulic versus a cable-actuated clutch. Either way, the key is putting the lever where it works best with your hands and body position on your bike.
For riders utilizing tubed tires, Riemann also advises spraying the inner tube with silicone before sliding it into the tire. Undoubtedly, different riders will have different opinions about that advice, as riders always do. However, he swears that’s been helpful to him for years in the past in avoiding pinch-flats when he’s riding hard. He says that he’s even had bent rims and still avoided a flat by using this technique—but every rider is different, so it’s rare that there’s only one way to get a task accomplished. (Obviously, tightening/loosening bolts and torquing things down to OEM specifications is a significant exception.)
