A Mechanic’s Guide To “When your Bike Breaks Down”

It is a heart-stopping moment and not less a nightmare for any biker if their motorcycle suddenly sputters, and dies in the middle of the trip. It becomes tough for you when your bike breaks down in the middle where you can find no mechanic shop, a place where you can get your bike fixed. You have no choice but to pull your bike to the nearest mechanic shop. But wait, there are alternative options which you can opt for when your bike suddenly dies. Following these tips when your bike breaks down can save your time, and fix your bike when it is broken in less than 5 – 10 minutes.  

#1 Puncture

[caption id="attachment_2584" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Credits: panmoments.com[/caption] One of the most common breakdowns is you a getting flat tire. You never know what is on the street that can result in flat tires. While you are riding, your bike may wobble or lose power. There may be a possibility that your rear tire is affected and you might hear a humming sound at speed.

Motorbikes Puncture Repair Kit

[caption id="attachment_2585" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Credits: Wikipedia.org[/caption] Do not ride your bike even for shorter distances. If you feel like your bike has gotten flat tires, try to stop slowly. Now, after stopping time to check which tire is affected, you also need to know what kind of tires your bike is having - either tube or tubeless tires. If you are carrying tire repair kit, it is possible for you to fix the tubeless tires.

#3 Dead Battery

Someday, you try to crank the engine of your bike, but it won’t start. It can be because of the dead battery. So, how can you check that your battery is dead? First, check the instrument cluster of your bike. If it seems faded and the battery icon keeps blinking, then it is the indication that battery is out of power. Now, how to fix your dead battery? You can do this by connecting the positive terminal of your battery to the positive terminal of your friend’s battery and negative to negative. If you don’t have connecting wires then do not worry, there is an alternative way to fix your bike when it is broken. Get on your bike, put it in second gear, hold the clutch and let your bike attain a quite bit of speed. When it attains a good speed say of 20-30kmph, try to maintain that speed. Ater that, suddenly leave the clutch and you will feel the jerk. Try this 2-3 times and twist the throttle which will make fuel pass into the engine, and then your engine will start!

#4 Faulty Clutch Wire

[caption id="attachment_2582" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Credits: hdforums.com[/caption] This problem is not frequent but you never know which part of the bike may give up on you while riding. Whenever your clutch wire snaps, you need a spare to fix it. But every time you go on the trip, it is not necessary that you have a spare clutch wire. If clutch wire snaps, you can continue riding the bike by holding the clutch just in one gear. You can shift the gears without using the clutch, but you need to be careful in performing this step as it might affect the gearbox badly if not done properly. Keep your bike in a little motion until you find a garage or a mechanic shop.

#5 Brakes

[caption id="attachment_2583" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Credits: summitracing.com[/caption] If there is no proper care taken off the brakes, it might bring a disaster to your bike and most importantly - you. Now, how will you feel whether your bike brakes are not responding correctly? So, imagine this situation, you are riding your bike and suddenly, you have to apply the brakes. But, after applying the brakes, you feel like brakes are not responding as smoothly as it supposed to. That’s when you know your breaks are fading. This actually happens due to high use of brakes during riding. What you need to do is to stop the bike, and let the brakes cool down. After letting it cool down, if it does not perform well, then it might be a possibility that brake shoes are rugged up. That means you need to get it changed and continue your smooth bike rides without losing hope.

#6 Spark Plug

[caption id="attachment_2581" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Credits: pxhere.com[/caption] A Sparkplug is a small device that delivers electric current from an ignition to the combustion chamber. Sometimes when you try to start your bike it makes a crank sound when you press self-start switch but it does not start. This can be because of the defective spark plug, and not the battery. You need a spare spark plug to fix it. Before buying or carrying a spark plug, it is much important to know the unique code of your spark plug. These are the typical designations for spark plugs which you should follow before buying a spare. There is a combination of 8 letter-numbers in every spark plug so be sure to find out which ones you should be buying! The first four-letter combination indicates the thread diameter, spanner width, and design. The 5th position which is a number stands for heat rating, 6th letter identifies thread length, the 7th letter tells you about the special spark plug construction features, and the 8th position is a number that codifies electrode distances.  So, those were the quick tips on when your bike breaks down and how to fix your bike when it is broke.