Chris located these tips, I have gont through them and made them my Aussie related, some of these I am sure many of us use and some dont, thanks for looking
TB
– Carry a small, functional first aid kit. If you have it, you won’t need it!
– Carry a small roll of tie wire and some Duct Tape Those two items will fix most anything.
– Carry more tools than you think you need. Of course, towing a rolling Craftsman Toolbox behind your scoot is overkill and makes your bike handle like a water buffalo. What tools to take you ask? When you work on your bike at home, ONLY use the tools in your toolkit. You will eventually acquire the proper amount of tools that you may need on the trail. Murphy’s Law again. Also, don’t forget things like a Swiss Army knife, etc. to help with many types of fixes and repairs.
– Run heavy-duty tubes or mousse tubes and enjoy fewer flats.
– Carry a minimum of two tire irons and learn how to fix tires out on the trail or always ride with chicken
– Carry a spare tube and make sure it’s a 21-incher. A front tube will also work as a rear tube if needed. You can carry it on your fanny pack, backpack or fender bag..
– Tighten the clutch and front brake lever perches just enough so that they can rotate in a crash without breaking the lever. Even better, install Bark Busters
– Use medium strength Loc-Tite on most every nut and bolt on the bike so they don’t vibrate off at the least expected moment or get a can of rum and drill and lock wire the important bolts and nuts.
– Money in your toolbag.
– Bring matches and store them in a zip-lock bag
– Get an odometer that has a trip meter that resets (forward and back) in tenths –
– A $2 shop poncho
– Use a no-fog cloth on the inside of the goggles You can only hold your breath for so long when you fog up in cold weather or rain..
– Wear riding shorts under your pants. Aftermarket companies make these and they will make your cheeks much happier after a long ride. Bicycle shorts also work, but make sure they have something like chamois in the buttocks area. Monkey butt bites!
– Don’t ride by yourself. Your worst riding buddy will suddenly become your best friend when you break down in the middle of Timbuktu. If you do go ride by yourself, let someone know where you’re riding before you leave. A rescue unit makes for an unhappy sweep crew.
– Bring along some food & water. It’s surprising how good even an old, moldy, half-eaten Powerbar tastes when you’re hungry and convenience stores with gallons of thirst quenching fluids are not too plentiful in the forest (fortunately).
– Use an O-ring chain. They will last many times longer than a standard chain, so the benefits more than outweigh the slightly higher cost.
– Connect a wire or chain between the frame and brake pedal. Do the same between the frame and shift lever. This will keep small sticks and low flying creatures out of these sensitive areas and protects them from bending like string cheese. Ballards have them called brake snakes.
– Wear comfortable protective gear like a chest protector, elbow guards and knee guards. It’s worth it in the long run.
– Buy a good quality, rather-large enduro jacket. Buy it big enough so that you can wear shoulder pads underneath. Also, make sure that it is fairly water resistant and has plenty of pockets. There are a few dualsport jackets out now that have built in plastic shoulder and elbow pads
– Lube anything that moves. Use light oil like WD-40, Bel-Ray 6-in-1 or silicone spray to lube important moving points after you wash your bike. Items to oil are kick-starter pivots, folding footpegs, bar levers, shift levers, brake pedal, side stand, etc.
-Oil those cables. Most bike shops will gladly sell you a cable luber thingy and, combined with a light lubricant, you’ll be impressed at how much easier that clutch lever is to pull in afterwards. Your bike will even feel faster!
– Carry spare items in your tool kit like various nuts, bolts and a spare spark plug.
– Carry a good quality backpack. You really won’t notice it that much while riding.
– Buy foldable mirrors. Acerbis makes a small unit that mounts to your bars and will quickly fold out of the way, should you decide to hit some narrow trail
– Carry a towrope – another Murphy’s Law.
– Carry a three-foot piece of spare fuel line. You can store it most anywhere, even inside your handlebars. When your buddy has petrol and you don’t, a three-foot piece of tubing makes life beautiful when transferring gas.
– Be a positive image for the sport. We already have a less than acceptable image to non-riders. Be polite, non-confrontal and happy. Wave to everyone. Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
– Use trail courtesy and be polite to other forest users. They deserve to be there too.
– Carry a small flashlight so you can find your tools at night.
– Carry a 35mm film canister as a container for spare nuts & bolts, razor blade or hand cleaner.
– Carry plastic zip-ties. Smaller zip-ties have a million uses. Six or seven large heavy-duty zip-ties (spaced around the wheel) work well for wrapping the rim and tire if you get a flat that is unrepairable. This will prevent the tire from coming off the rim. If you have no tube (or the one you have stopped working), pack up the inside of the tire with as many sticks and twigs as you can cram in (an old desert racer trick). This will give you a virtual bib-mouse insert to get you home.
– Don’t use the little valve stem nut when installing a new tube. By leaving it off, you will be able to see ahead of time if your tube is slipping around inside the tire.
– When approaching oncoming riders, let them know how many riders are behind you (in your group). Hold up two fingers if you have two riders behind you, etc. A clenched fist or showing a zero says you’re the last one. Refrain from using the middle finger if there’s one more rider behind you. Doh!
– Coat your bike before wet or muddy rides. Spraying liberal doses of Pledge furniture polish or WD-40 on the underside of your fenders allows the mud to fall off quickly. Spraying WD-40 on the motor does the same thing and the mud will spray off with water afterwards.
-Wire your grips to the bars. Before installing grips, insert glue on the inside and then safety wire them to the bars afterwards. This will prevent the grips from coming off in a wet event.
-When the wheel is removed, coat the axle with a thin coating of Anti-Seize compound and then apply liberal amounts of marine grease on top of that. Your bearings will last much longer. Oh yeah, when you do replace your wheel bearings, replace them with double-sealed bearings, not the single-sided ones that come with most.
– Carry a tube of 5-minute Epoxy or other liquid metal. This can seal or weld most anything in a pinch and will let you get home if you bust a hole in your motor cases.
– Fill your brake fluid master cylinder to the top of the reservoir, leaving no air. This way you will not have air in your brake line if you tip your bike upside-down in a crash. To keep from boiling you brake fluid on long downhills in the summer, be sure to install the best high-temp, Dot 4 brake fluid too. Motul makes some great stuff.
– When changing tires, be sure and lube the beads with soapy water or something like silicon spray. Tire changing is worlds easier then. Also, before mounting the tire, use baby powder on your tube and the inside of your tire. This allows the tube to seat inside the tire without pinching or wadding..
– Zip-tie the spokes where they intersect. This prevents a broken spoke from causing more damage if it breaks.
