Top tips to take care of your bike during coronavirus lockdown

Not just India, but the whole world is fighting to contain the coronavirus pandemic and several countries around the world are in lockdown states.

During this period, all the vehicles will spend their entire time parked inside the house garages. Our first request to the readers would be to stay at home inside the safe-zone, and for other pressing matters read on to know the top tips HT Auto has listed down to take care of your bike during this period.

First things first, your bike won't catch a flu or virus so you don't need a mask for it, puns aside, it may need a whole lot of other things to stay fit after 21 days of non-activity.

Arrange a safe parking:

If you have a covered parking then half of your matters are solved, and if you don't then make sure you have a good quality plastic cover which can save your bike from natural calamities which in time may cause exterior damage to the bike's paint, seat and plastic panels. Also, some electrical parts may blemish when the vehicle is left in the open and unaddressed.

Check battery:

If your battery is older than 3 years, or the bike hasn't been used much in the last few months, chances are that the battery's health might have depleted over time. And the 21 days period is enough to make things worse. So the best solution is to disconnect it which will break the circuit and stop charge from flowing outwards, in short it will keep the battery alive.

Even if you have recently changed the battery, it is always a good idea to warm-up the engine and keep the revs on idle for a few minutes. This will charge the battery automatically. Repeat it after every five-six days.

Park on centre-stand:

It is always recommended to keep you bike parked on the centre-stand. This way, the oil won't be stranded on one-side of the engine chamber, and also weight on the tyres will be balanced/reduced.

Keep the tyre pressure on the higher-side:

Make sure to inflate both the tyres one unit above the recommended pressure. Tyres tend to lose out pressure automatically over time, this way you won't end-up with a flat patch on the surface when you roll it out after a certain period. Or else, your tyres may bear a permanent damage (though 21 days period is a too little time for that).

Drain the carb:

If you have a carburetor fuel system in your bike, make sure you drain all of the fuel from the system by simply turning off the fuel switch and running the engine on idle for a few minutes before the carb fuel runs out. This will ensure that the carburetor remains unblocked from stranded fuel.

Double-check the safety lock:

Last but not the least, make sure that your motorcycle is properly locked since we sometime tend to overlook it when its not in frequent use. Also it is better to lock with additional safety of disc locks, or spoke locks.

P.S: If you live in a high-rise apartment and have a shared parking, it's better to leave the bike as is. Since stepping out put you at a greater risk of infection. The bike, on the other hand, is a machine and there is always a way to turn it on.