Motorcycle Suspension Maintenance Tips

A big part of owning a motorcycle is caring for your bike regularly, and that doesn’t just apply to the parts you can see. In fact, most of the essential parts of your bike are hidden away behind a flashy exterior to protect them from damage. Motorcycle suspensions are one of those vital parts of a motorcycle’s anatomy that need consistent care and maintenance.

Here at Peak Powersports LLC in Sheridan, WY we work with our customers by providing the best in motorcycle parts replacement, and by advising them on proper maintenance practices. Below are a few ways you can ensure that your motorcycle suspension remains functional to ensure your safety whenever you take to the open road.

Keep Your Shocks Clean

Your suspension mechanisms rely on oil for lubrication. The energy from bumps and braking is converted to heat during the process. The more exposure that oil has to oxygen, the more you can expect sludge build-up and clogging to occur which results in erosion. The best way to combat this is to clean your shocks and forks and keep them free of grit as often as you can.

Also, avoid any strategy that entails getting your suspensions wet as the water will only mix badly with the oil in your shocks, seals, chrome surfaces, etc. Cleaning under your external wipers and scrapers is a great place to start when it comes to shock maintenance and will extend the life of your suspension.

Check for Wear and Tear

Damage to any mechanical parts of your motorcycle will reduce the efficiency of your suspension unit most of the time. Exhausted linkages, for example, will cause less traction when steering which results in an uncontrolled amount of suspension during your ride. This is only one of the crucial parts of your motorcycle that can hurt your suspension without you realizing it.

The solution is to constantly check for wear and tear across your motorcycle to prevent further damage to your suspension. Our motorcycles are great at telling us something is wrong, too. That’s why as a rule of thumb for beginners, it’s good to practice listening for any differences in your motorcycle as you take it out on the road. Most of the time you’ll be able to hear or even feel that something is wrong and needs to be looked at.

Service Your Bike on Time

Based on the recommendations of your trusted mechanic, be sure to take your motorcycle in for servicing, primarily for oil changes at every prescribed time. The more hours you spend on your bike, especially if trekking through roads that will leave heavy dirt on the underside of the motorcycle, the more often you’ll need to service it. Most experts recommend changing the oil in your forks after your bike has endured between 9,300-12,400 miles of use (approx. 15,000km-20,000km). Leaving the oil to become gritty or overheated will cost you in the form of other damages to your bike down the road.

Motorcycle suspension maintenance is a vital way to keep your motorcycle alive and healthy for a longer period. Give us a call at Peak Powersports LLC in Sheridan for more maintenance tips and we’ll be happy to help! Our reps are also available to assist all customers from Buffalo, WY.