For us real bikers, the biking season already began some time ago (and indeed, for some guys last year’s biking season never ended), but when the summer holiday season begins to call you, the immediate temptation is to hop on your Mandello two-wheeler and take off without looking back, to get away as far as possible from the humdrum of daily life and to discover distant places and lose yourself amongst great bends and unknown landscapes.
The dream becomes somewhat less attractive however if that temptation, combined with the mad haste to leave, causes you to forget all about a number of important things to do and precautions to take before heading off on your summer biking holiday.
LUGGAGE AND ACCESSORIES
Bags, cases, panniers, soft saddle bags and rucksacks: there’s tons of stuff out there in the marketplace, but how many times have you left, loaded down with stuff tied down more or less with bungees and then found yourself wearing the same three T-shirts for the entire trip? Whatever you holiday destination, you will always find a handy washing machine that you can use, so our first bit of advice, although it may seem somewhat clichéd, is to try and enjoy the trip on a bike that is less weighed down and more rideable by leaving behind anything that is not strictly essential.
We’ve all realised that when it comes to strapping down luggage on a bike, a good imagination is never a good ally. Use as few bungees and luggage nets as possible (although it’s always a good idea to take a few of these along), but rather focus on soft, canvas or leather tank or saddle bags designed specifically for your bike. It’s not just about practicality, but above all about safety! Browsing through the Moto Guzzi accessories catalogue is the quickest way to figure out how to load up your bike while retaining its ergonomics and your riding pleasure and style: http://www.motoguzzi.com/us_EN/accessories/
A final precaution: even if you’re the old-school type and only rely on good, old-fashioned paper maps, a 12v or USB plug mounted on your dashboard could prove to be essential to charge your phone in many different situations! You will also find these gadgets in the Eagle accessories catalogue.
BEFORE HEADING OFF
Every trip will, by definition, have a few surprises in store for you and that’s precisely why we so love hopping on the bike and heading off somewhere! The major difference between one trip and another, however, is the type of unforeseen event that you encounter, whether positive or negative. Forget about being able to prevent any problem (after all, that’s the beauty of going on trips), but all you need to do is to take a few basic precautions in order to avoid potential problems due to wear and tear on your bike’s components.
Let’s talk about tyres. It’s never a good idea to head off on holiday on tyres that are more than 50% worn. Firstly, the performance of certain tyres drops away more quickly in the latter stages of their life span and the last thing you want to do is to ruin your riding pleasure out on new roads that you’ve never ridden on before. As regards the tar, an interesting option is to fit mixed-compound tyres that will provide both excellent cornering grip and good tyre-life. If, instead, you’re not scared to “get your hands dirty” and you really have no intention of stopping where the tarred road ends, then it may be better to fit “on and off-road tyres” that are slightly “knobbly” (depending on how much “off-road” riding you want to do) and be a bit more careful with regard to grip on tarred roads, especially when wet. In any event, you shouldn’t immediately discard the idea of taking the time to change tyres “on the road”: if you’re not too fussy regarding the choice of tyres, you could even get a good deal, depending on the place where you need to do this.
A proper full-service is precisely what your two-wheeler needs, particularly if you haven’t used the bike much since the end of winter and there’s a long trip ahead of you. Fresh engine oil, new oil and air filters and total brake-fluid replacement would be a good start. Next is obviously a proper inspection of the brake pads, particularly the rear ones: you should expect greater brake-pad wear on your trip due to the difference in riding style with the additional weight that you will be carrying, so it’s better to be prepared.
Final precautions: check all the headlight, tail light and flicker globes (and perhaps take along some spares), check the clutch and throttle cables for signs of wear and thoroughly lubricate all the control levers.
