Detailing = Safety….. Part 1 of 2
Clean-It, Inspect-It, Alert or Repair-It
by Scott Sharer
Whether it is due to carelessness, lack of a proper regular maintenance schedule or lack of familiarity with the need to perform daily safety checks before riding, a lot of the bikes that we see come into us for cleaning and detailing have physical or mechanical problems that can have a direct impact on rider Safety. Even if the motorcycle has come in to the shop for Service prior-to then being fully Detailed, we have observed that many Safety problems may not even be detected by the Service Technician, especially Safety issues that are not even remotely related to elements that are the focus of the work-order for the Technician. This is not in any way an indictment of the Service folks - - especially in a very busy and hectic Service shop one would generally not expect that a motorcycle that was in for an oil-change and a new sissy-bar would also be checked for completely non-related items like tire-wear & pressure or pipe-clamps & mounts. The result is that the Detailing Specialist has, I would say, an obligation to think “Safety” as much as they think “Clean-&-Polished”. Another way to look at it is to ask: “What good is it to ride on a super-clean motorcycle if by doing so you run unnecessary risk at having an accident?” Of the dozen or so bikes I have seen after an accident, I have never seen any motorcycle wreckage where my first thought was “Wow- - these pipes sure are shining and clean”.
In this “Part 1” of our two-part-newsletter we will talk about only a few of the more-obvious items that can be checked while the motorcycle is in the process of being cleaned and polished. The following two-part article is for Detailers and non-Detailers alike.
Wheels and Tires: Generally, my first thought when it comes to wheels and tires is more along the lines of seeing if the wheels have any scratches or damage, finding out if they are chrome, polished aluminum or powder-coated, and checking to see if they have spokes (the most challenging type of wheel to clean and polish). In terms of thinking “Safety”, while the topic of the operational condition of the wheels and tires might appear to be an “obvious no-brainer” item to many people, it is in our experience the most frequently neglected and poorly attended element, and is one that has the potential to have the greatest direct impact on the safety of the bike. Let’s start with the wheels.
Be practical during your inspection of the wheels. Check to see if they have any deformity or extreme scars. Motorcycles that have made contact with large road objects or with curbs or path-guides may have heavy gashes in them. This should be a red-flag to you. It is possible that these extreme scrapes and scars may visually indicate a dangerously deformed wheel (one that is no longer “properly round and individually shaped”), even if your eye-sight cannot detect such deformation. Deep scrapes and scars may also indicate potential areas of a weak seal between the wheel and the tire. Even if a heavy scrape or gouge does not result in actual deformation of the wheel, it will often throw the wheel out-of-balance or alignment, or indicate damage to the wheel-hub. As a result, in most cases such extreme scars or scrapes will manifest their presence to the rider in a change in handling and smooth tire rotation. In the face of such extreme damage, a new wheel should probably be recommended to the owner.
Another less glaring yet simple practical element to look for was pointed out to me by a true old-school custom-Harley guy who is the Parts Manager for Low Country Customs. Dutt has taught me a lot about old-school bikes and new-age customs, as well as standard production bikes, and he came walking by a motorcycle I was Detailing one day and pointed out that there was an after-market item that had been added to the wheel that could potentially impact wear-and-safety over time. He reached down and to my complete surprise un-screwed one of the valve-stem caps. He pointed out to me that few people recognize that the really cool valve-stem covers that come in various interesting shapes (like skulls or dollar signs or some other metaphoric artistic piece) are often made of solid aluminum and may even have a chrome finish. That these could impact the wheel and, as a result, long-term wear and Safety was something I had never considered. Dutt even pointed-out that the bike I was cleaning had already begun to exhibit unusual and unnecessary tire-wear as a result of the valve-stem caps that it was sporting (a really hot-looking set of skulls with ruby-red eye sockets). He handed me the valve-stem cover he had removed and asked me if it was lighter or heavier than the counter-weights used to balance the wheel. It was heavier - - by a LOT. The next time you see one of these (on a bike or as part of a display of “bling-parts” for sale), pick it up and you will quickly realize that Dutt is right - - it weighs quite a bit - - much more than any single counter-weight that was or might-be used to balance the wheel. Remember – these are “after-market”, added to the bike after it was built and had the original wheels perfectly balanced. Adding these can actually make the wheel just enough out of balance as to cause an unusual wobble and wear-pattern in the tire over time. Seems like a little thing, but this is actually a very real problem. I am certainly not saying that these items should be avoided – I personally really like skulls with ruby-red eye sockets (both of my current bikes are painted in a “skull theme” and both of my helmets and our logo have skulls). I am merely saying that if the bike you are Detailing has these items on the valve-stems, ask the owner (or the builder, if this is a custom-fabricated bike) if the wheel was balanced before or after the addition of the valve stem caps, and if the answer is “after”, then recommend that they have the wheels re-balanced to account for this weight.
There are several additional obvious “Wheel & Tire” elements that the Detailer can and should be looking for, and the first I will mention is the condition of any spokes on a spoke-wheel. While cleaning these (ugh!) try to be observant for any loose spokes, missing spokes or any spokes that are misshapen. The spokes are the element that keeps the wheel properly balanced and in the proper alignment with the wheel hub. If there are any problems here, immediately alert the Service Tech or the owner of the motorcycle.
Speaking of the wheel – hub - - be sensitive to how well or how freely the wheel spins on the hub while the tire is off the ground. If the wheel does not spin smoothly and without noise, this can be an indication of worn bearings, improper lubrication, incorrect alignment or incorrect brake-pad adjustments. Any of these conditions, if not corrected, can result in a failure during the operation of the bike on the road, leading to “negative” results for the rider and others.
Tires – The 100% hands-down most neglected item on the motorcycles that we Detail. Aside from looking for any deep gashes in the tread area or the side-wall of the tires, when it comes to tires I get all of my Detailers to look for two things – the condition of the actual rubber and the inflation. When it comes to the rubber you want to check for proper tread depth and “even” tread wear patterns. Tread- Depth: If you are unsure about the tread depth, have a Service Tech take a look. Some people say that if you can insert a copper penny in the tread groove and the tread is deeper than the distance from the edge of the penny to the top of Lincoln’s head, you are ok. There are also tread depth gauges you can purchase to make your inspection. I always check the depth of each groove at 4 or more places around the perimeter of the tire.
We had one bike come into us that didn’t even require us to use a depth gauge to measure the tread depth. There was no tread to measure. There was so much rubber gone that the inner fabric ply of the tire had begun to show. I saw the tire as soon as it arrived and the rider dismounted the bike to go inside the building to speak with the Service Tech. The tire was completely worn and out-of-proper-pressure. When I touched the rubber it was so hot I could not leave my hand on it for more than about 2 or 3 seconds. When the rider returned, I indicated that he was headed for a “non-standard dismount at-highway-speed” if he took the bike out on the road with that tire, but he just huffed at me, fired-up and raced-off down the road at about 70 MPH. God-speed, my friend.
Inflation / Pressure: In our experience, this is often incorrect. In an unscientific look at this we checked a random series of bikes. Out of 20 different random bikes that came to us for Detailing over a 3 month period from August to November, 17 of them had incorrect tire pressure on one or more tires, with the most often out-of-specification tire being the tire on the front wheel, and the front tire is, as the Truckers say, “Yur steerin’ tire”. Seasonal temperature change, load (weight of the rider(s) plus any gear they may have packed to take along with them) and generally encountered road conditions all can have dramatic impacts on the measured tire pressure on the motorcycle (or any vehicle). Check the pressure when the tires are cool, either before a ride or after waiting for at least 10-15 minutes after a ride. Verify that the pressure is at the level or range as specified by the tire and/or motorcycle manufacturer. Under-inflated tires can result in imprecise cornering, higher running temperatures, irregular tread wear at the edge of the contact patch, fatigue cracking, overstressing and eventual failure of the tire. On three (3) different motorcycles I checked in early November, the front tires had less than 20 pounds of pressure, and each should have been at either 36 or 40 PSI. In every instance the owner was completely unaware that the tire was low. Even when I pointed this out and they looked at it (I could “see” it was low, but they could not), their guess as to how-low the tire might be was always “low by about 5 pounds”. Each person was shocked when I showed them the true pressure was off by as much as 20 pounds, and very grateful when we inflated the tires to the proper specified level.
NOTE: “More” is NOT “better”: Over-inflating tires does not increase load carrying capacity, but will result in a hard ride and accelerated tire wear in the center of the contact patch.
Loss of tire-pressure may also occur due to worn out or badly seated valve cores. Check the valve cores on the tire. If necessary, tighten or remove and replace them. A metal or hard plastic valve cap with an inner gasket should be used and installed finger-tight to protect the valve core from dust, moisture and to help maintain a positive air seal. If you are experiencing repeated loss of inflation pressure it will be necessary to dismount the tire to complete an inspection for internal damage and any need for repair. Only certain punctures in the tread area may be repaired, and only if no other damage is present.
That is about it for this portion of our discussion of “Detailing = Safety”. Please keep these lessons in mind as you clean and care-for your motorcycle, or as you clean motorcycles that belong to others. In our “Part 2” of this article we will explore the elements “beyond the wheels and tires” that we can look at in order to maintain the safest conditions possible on the motorcycle.
Every Detailer at Chopper Detailing.com is personally experienced with:
American Ironhorse, Bourget Bike Works, Martin Brothers, Big-Dog, Titan, Harley-Davidson, Victory Motorcycles, Jailhouse Choppers, and many others.
We're eager to Clean, Polish, and Protect your valuable pride-and-joy, and we look forward to seeing you and your "ride" real soon!
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Call them at 912-965-0505, or visit www.lowcountrycustoms.com
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HEY: Pass this article on to others who could benefit from the special tips and techniques that we have described, and visit us often for more information on caring for your motorcycle, or Call & Stop-by for Services or Advice ….