I’ve been riding motorcycles since the age of 9 growing up on the east coast and during the winter months we weren’t riding. But after the snow melted and the rains went away, that ride was one of the best rides of the year. Here are some tips you can use to make sure your first ride of Spring will be a memorable one.

1. Drop the oil in the crankcase.
If you have a dry-sump system discard the reservoir oil also.

2. Change the oil filter.
3. If you didn’t do it last season, drain any gas from the tank. Also, most motorcycle carburetors have a drain screw on the bottom of the float bowl, open this to let any bad gas out.
4. Check the spark plugs for excess carbon deposits, cleaning and replacing the dirty and befouled.
5. Check the air filter, change it if it's dirty.
Clean/oil if you have a reusable type like K&N brand.

6. Close all valves on the carburetor then fill the fuel tank with fresh gas.
7. Check tire pressure, most bikes have the spec under the seat or on the swing arm.
8. Check tires:
Extreme temperatures can cause dry rot, and dry rot is dangerous. Check the tires manufacture date code. You do not want to ride on a tire that's more than 3 years old. This code is the last 4 digits of the DOT number, the first two digits are the calendar week, the last two are the year digits, for example, a tire with date code 0603 was manufactured in February (6th week) of 2003.

9. If you have spoke wheels, check for broken spokes, and check spoke tension:
You can do this by placing the bike on it's center stand, or using a jack, wrench, or ratchet extension, tap lightly on each spoke listening for consistency in the tone that the spoke produces. While on the stand, check front triple clamp bearings by turning at the front wheel, left to right, try to notice if it's smooth all the way through. Any notched feeling will most likely occur at straight-ahead position. Also pull the wheel forward and release, to check for excess play in bearings.
Fork oil should be changed on regular intervals, I change mine at 5k miles.

10. Check the chain, tension and wear.
Each bike has a different spec for tension, so consult the repair manual for your bike's chain tension. If you can move the chain side to side, more than say an inch, your chain is bad. Keep the chain lubricated about every 1500-2000 miles, and your chain can last a long time. Average life for a chain can be 12k-18k miles. Check the sprockets for wear, pictures of worn sprockets can be found in most repair manuals, but if you check the top of the teeth on the sprocket, they should NOT be pointy.

11. If you have a belt drive, check the mileage interval.
They are a serviceable item that needs replacement at specified intervals.

12. If you have a shaft drive, that's pretty maintenance free, just check the input seals on the final drive for leakage.
13. On liquid cooled bikes, make sure coolant is full and clean. Check at the radiator cap and reserve tank, when bike is cold. If the coolant is dirty, drain coolant and refill with motorcycle coolant, an ethylene glycol 50/50 mix with water, available at most bike shops. Top off otherwise.
14. Battery: After a long winter of not being used, hopefully you kept it on a tender, or maintenance charger.
If it's a lead acid battery, check the electrolyte level, refill using distilled water obviously. Most batteries are maintenance free, and if you suspect a problem, most parts stores will check your battery (out of the bike) for free.

Start your engines!!!! But your not done until your bike is clean and shined, not so much for safety, but for pride in your ride :-).