Modern Vespa

I had a friend stop by the other day on his Honda 919 or whatever and the first thing I noticed was his rear tire wear was wierd in the middle. So I asked him what pressure do you run? he said 40. I asked to check it for him and it was only 28. So while airing it back up he said the last time he checked was at the beginning of the riding season. DUH. I could have choked him. Anyway I just thought of people here and thought I wouold give a shout out for a reminder as the first of the month is fast approaching.

Uneven pressure lead to noticeable effects in the MP3 I find, so I do it whenever I notice or every couple of weeks, whichever is shortest.

Oil I check every month.

Other fluid levels... I really must look up how to check them again... and then check them...

probably not often enough, but about every 2 weeks or 100 mi. whichever comes first. usually check oil and the other fluids at the same time although the hub oil check is the most difficult for me. try to evaluate the brake fluid level as per the manual, but for the life of me, i can't tell what i'm looking for and it's hard to see.

I check my tire pressure and my oil level..

Every Sunday night, before the work week starts.

+1 OnsiteAudio

Lights and horn every ride, tire pressure and engine oil about every other ride, hub oil about half that.

It pays to do a general "crawlaround" inspection, peering and jiggling things. Today I noticed the lower attachment of my air box was broken. Wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't been checking the hub oil anyway.

Don't forget your coolant!

Agreed that the tiny, dark brake-fluid sight gauges are nearly useless.

They aren't dark, they are clear, lean the bike over a bit and you'll see. And the industry has been using the same sight glass on motorcycle for ever with no complaints.
May want to flush your brake fluid.

Wayne B

Tires: Once per week on all bikes.
Oil: Before every ride on bikes with a sight glass, once per week on ones with dipsticks.
General: Walk arounds on every bike throughout the week as I piddle in the garage.

Yes, sorry, I meant that they're deep within a dark recess. I still can't see a thing, even with a good flashlight. So the reservoirs are either all the way full or all the way empty. Since the brakes work fine, I guess they're full. I'll have to remove the reservoir covers, reluctantly, to be certain.

Why don't they make the reservoirs out of clear/translucent plastic, as carmakers do? Then we wouldn't have to rely on that teeny little sight gauge. (IMO the fact that it's been done that way on bikes for years means only that a change is long overdue.)

Aahh, the 250 and 400 have it under the plastic. I see what you are saying now.
And if you look, you will know when they are low. I tilt my bike to each side a few degrees when checking. This is when the tilt lock comes in handy.

Wayne B

At a guess I'd say a couple of reasons: the car brake fluid reservoir is under the hood (er, bonnet?) and hence out of the sun's UV rays whereas on the Mp3 it is exposed routinely and the thermoplastic used for the reservoir is resistant to UV damage (clear and translucent, in my experience, is not); as well, it may see more 'activity' on the handlebars of an Mp3 and is tough, thicker plastic, more resistant to scrapes and dings. Also, I assume the reservoir might see some pressure or residual pressure from brake operation as opposed to the thinner car type units, but not sure about that.

Maybe a simpler solution is a classic external sightglass approach, like fuel tanks on a boat; i.e., make a bulge out the side of heavy glass that can be viewed without having to look through it into the reservoir.

I agree with you, change is overdue.