How do I know if my bike is roadworthy?

If you are buying a second-hand motorcycle from a dealer you can expect it to be at least roadworthy when you ride it home – be wary of a loud aftermarket exhaust, though – but the private market has a few traps you should be aware of.

If your motorcycle is to comply with various state or territory regulations, a machine examiner will focus on a number of core areas: tyre wear, brakes, lights and indicators. The more thorough operators will also check things like chain wear, fuel and fluid leaks and anything else they deem could cause a danger to you or other road users. For example, is your luggage rack held on by cable ties or ocky straps, and is the bike fitted with a muffler likely to wake the dead?

Machine examiners don’t test ride a motorcycle like they test drive cars, so it’s usually a far more basic test. If your motorcycle looks complete, doesn’t have a massive oil leak, the tyres aren’t worn out, the brakes feel fine at the levers and the lights and blinkers work, then you’re usually right to go.

The vagaries of each state’s rules and regulations are too involved to go into detail here, so I’ll give you some tips on how to check if your own motorcycle is safe and will pass a roadworthy test by the authorities.

This is perhaps the easiest test you can do yourself. Most modern bikes have the headlight and taillight come on as soon as you turn the ignition on. Funnily enough, my 2015 Norton Commando doesn’t; it has a headlight switch like the old days. Anyway, does the headlight work on low and high beam? It does. Good, and does is the taillight on too?

Now, squeeze the front brake lever to see if the brake light works. Also, check the foot brake, as both have to illuminate the brake light. Not together, but separately. Test the horn and also the indicators.

Check the levers. If the front lever comes partly back to the handlebars and then firms up, you can safely asusme the front brakes are working. If the lever comes too far back either the pads are very worn, there is a fluid leak, or there is air in the brake lines. It’s the same with the rear brake.

It’s easy enough to check the condition of the pads and/or to ascertain if there are any leaks. Motorcycle brake pads are much thinner than car brake pads, but if there’s less than 2mm of brake pad material left then it’s time to change them.

There are always exceptions to any rule – and one of those is a front brake with an adjustable lever. Your lever may be adjusted so it’s closest to the handlebar and easier to grab with your hand, and this can give a false impression that there’s an issue with the brake.

And while you are checking the brake pads also look for fork oil leaks. Slight weeps are okay, but bad leaks can flow down onto your brakes and impregnate the brake pad material, rendering them much less effective.

Is there a big puddle of oil every time you leave your bike parked anywhere? Does petrol flow out of every carburettor orifice or fuel injector rail? This is bad for your health and will be deemed unroadworthy by examiners and police alike.

Sometimes the origin of these leaks is hard to pin down, but big oil leaks are a safety issue – as are minor fuel leaks. To be fair, this isn't usually an issue on modern motorcycles but on older ones can be a constant battle.

Generally speaking the odd drip of oil after standing overnight isn’t too much to worry about but if it starts dripping as soon as you put it on the stand then get it looked at pronto.

Radiator leaks can also be a problem and hard to detect if your bike is covered by a fairing. Like oil, if it’s dripping as soon as you pull up for your roadworthy certificate then it’s unlikely to get one.

The wear indicators on the tyre will let you know if your tyres are well past their best on tread wear. That said, the bike might have done loads of highway work on those tyres and be worn flat in the middle. Tread depth might be below the legal requirement there but totally fine on the sides. It doesn’t matter if that’s the case, the tyres are not roadworthy.

Front tyres tend to wear more on the right in this country due to the camber of the roads. I’ve seen lots of front tyres totally worn out on the right side but legal on the left.

Uneven tyre wear can really mess with the bike’s handling, too. Rear tyres worn flat in the middle tend to resist the bike tipping in to turns, and unevenly worn front tyres can do the same and also present a vague feeling. Low tyre pressures can also give the rider this feeling and accelerate tyre wear too. Something to keep an eye on.

It’s an easy 10 minutes work to check if your motorcycle is safe and roadworthy, and something you should look at weekly if your bike is everyday transport. If you are unsure just drop into your local motorcycle shop to get an expert opinion and learn something along the way.

This article was originally published on September 10, 2018