Technique MC

Engine and exhaust - contamination:

• The engine should be dry (not soiled with oil) and may not make black smoke or noice.
• The tailpipe/ exhaust pipe must be fitted firmly and must not have holes, and cannot make noise and emit smoke black.
• ​There must be sufficient engine oil - normally on the right side. In order to check oil level the motorcycle must be placed on the center-stand (if bike has no center-stand someone must hold the bike in level whilst you proceed with the check.
• ​Check this by either screwing and pulling up the dipstick and wipe this clean. Wait a few minutes to allow the oil sink to the bottom. Now screw in the dipstick, and screw it up again. Now you can read the level of oil which must be between min. and max. markings, or reading the level through a glass on the side of the engine.
• ​If the engine is liquid cooled there must also be sufficient coolant in the radiator. Usually a container with lid is to be found on the right lower part in the engine.

​Vision:

• Glazing on helmets visor must be clean and transparent and without dew inside.

​Tires and rims:

• ​Tires and wheel rims must be intact/ undamaged and properly fastened.
• Both tires must have at least 1.0 mm depth in the main pattern.
• Both tires must be of the same type (eg. Summer/ winter/ studded tires).
• Studded tires may be used from November 1st to April 15th.
• It is legal to mount different brands/ labels on front and rear.
• Tires should be inflated to the proper pressure (can be found in your owner's manual and sometimes somewhere on the frame of the Motorcycle - and of course on google).
• In case you travel with a passenger and/or heavy cargo remember to adjust tire pressure according to factory indications.
• Tires should be mounted such that the rotation indication is followed -look for arrow on wall side of the tire.​

Shock absorbers and suspension:

• Front check; pull in hand brake and push down hard/ abrupt on the handlebar and release again quick - fork must result quiet immediately after.
• Rear check; jump down on seat as hard as you can and jump quick back to standing - when you hit the seat you must have a sensation of real resistance and when standing again you should come faster up than the seat.
• Also check for oil spills on forks. It is a normal wear diagnosis that the forks start leaking.
• ​And remember to adjust springs according to the actual load of the bike. This is normally a fairly easy job with a special tool you find under the seat.

​Steering:

• ​The steering device shall be operable Easy, Secure and Fast.
• The steering must be sort of self-aligning (the bike automatically want to run straight ahead). As you turn the handlebars should be no murmurs and at full turns hands must not touch the tank.
• There must be no backlash gearing/ play (backlash gearing is the possible movement that can be made before the front wheel is turning).
• Checking the backlash gearing/ play is performed by placing the front wheel between your knees and trying with big force to move the handlebars from side to side. No play is allowed at this test.
• It is also important to check ball bearings connected to the steering.
• Perform a check of wheel bearings by trying to move the front wheel from side to side out of its axe.
• Perform a check of upper and lower bearings connecting frame to the fork by locking the front brake and trying to move the handlebars back and forward.
• There cannot be any play or ​murmur sounds checking bearings.​

Brakes:

• Must be able to brake the car Fast, Safe and Effective at all speeds and loads. On modern bikes they are all hydraulic.
• Front brake: Hand activated lever must at 2/3 pulling in become harder on a bike with ABS and completely hard on a bike without ABS.
• Rear brake: Foot activated pedal must after 2-3 cm travel become harder on a bike with ABS and completely hard on a bike without ABS. The foot brake must not be slippery and there can be no play from side to side.
• Drum brake rear. This is a mechanical brake. Check the metal-rod connecting the brake pedal and the drum brake​, this can not have any bends that are not factory designed. The metal-rod connects to the brake arm - when brake is fully activated the angle of the arm on the rod cannot exceed 90 degrees. The drum brake has a wear indicator that can be read on some sort of dial.

Brake fluid:

• Tank/ bottle level must be between minimum and maximum - bottles must be in level upon checking. There are separate bottles for front and rear brakes.
• Never top-up filling with brake fluid (requires a professional).
• Also perform a visual check of all braking hoses and tubes - no leaks are allowed.
• Brake fluid should be changed every 2 to max 3 years.

Cables:

• Cables must be well lubricated and without rust and damage. A bike has cables at clutch, gas/ accelerator throttle and maybe at choke.

​Lights:

​General requirements for lamps:

• There must be the same strength and colour if lamps sits in pairs (change bulbs in pairs).
• All lenses must be clean and undamaged.
• Lights must be approved (must have an E approval code written in glass).
• Bulbs must be mounted correctly in the socket.
• All lamps on the bike must work.!

​Position lights/ side lights/ parking lights:

• White or yellowish light.
• Must be able at least one to be seen at least 300 meters.
• Cannot be blinding/ dazzling.

Dipped beam/ low beam lamp:

• White or yellowish light.
• Must light up the road at least 30 meters in front of the bike.
• Cannot be blinding/ dazzling.
• Can be asymmetric, lightening more to right.
• The light must have a fall/ dip of 1%.
• To check dip decrease of 1%: The bike must stand on a flat surface. Stand close to the lamp and mark with your finger on your leg the light upper edge. Go 1 meter away from the lamp, now light top edge must have fallen by 1 cm. It is obvious that this is more precise with a ruler.​

Main-beam headlamp/ long light/ head light:

• White or yellowish light.
• Must light up the road at least 100 meters ahead.
• They may seem dazzling/blinding (used of course only when you are alone on the road (thats why they may blind (you are not blinding when using correct))).
• Must have a blue indicator light on the instrument panel.

Taillights/ rear lights:

• Red light.
• Must be able to be seen at least 300 meters.
• Cannot be blinding/ dazzling.

Brake lights/ stop lamps:

• Red light.
• This light must be stronger than the taillight.
• Cannot be blinding/ dazzling.
• This light is activated by both the front and rear brake so check must be performed with both brakes individually.

Reflexes/ reflector, rear/tail:

• Must be red - sitting and facing back.
• Cannot be triangular.​

License plate lights:

• There must be at least one lamp.
• It must be a white light.
• The light must be so strong that the license plate can be read from at least 20 meters.

Turn indicator lights:

• There must be 4 lamps, two front and two rear.
• Yellow/ orange light.
• Must also be seen in bright sunlight.
• Should flash 60-120 times per minute (1-2 times per second).

Hazard warning signal:

• If the bike has this function the button must be found by the driver (usually red with a triangle on the left side of handlebars).​

Daytime running lights (DRL):

(Not part of the run sample questions).

• Newer bikes is fitted with automated driving LED lights during daytime. If not fitted with automated DRL the driver must activate the dipped headlights (low beam) or fog lights as daytime running lights.
• Daytime running lights – in particular when its LED, unfortunately often don’t turn on the rear/ tail lights of the vehicle. It is therefore particularly important that driver is aware of light/ visibility conditions such as daytime conditions, and lightening up conditions such as sun gone down to the sun has rises, fog, mist, rain, snow and at sunset.

Horn:

• The horn should have a high and constant tone (contact for this usually sits on the left side on handlebars).

Documents:

• In Denmark, it is only necessary to have car registration papers of the car as copies if driving with a trailer.
• Driving abroad, you must always be carry the original registration papers.​

Warning triangle and yellow safety vest:

• Driving motorcycle with a sidecar in case of breakdown/ accident a warning triangle must be placed 50m behind the bike on an ordinary road and 100m on a motorway.
• Always have at least a one yellow safety vest available on the bike. Hazard warning lights are found on some newer bikes and should of course be used together with the warning triangle.

Towing a motorcycle:

• Only a motorcycle with sidecar can be towed, with a maximum distance of 4 meters between the two vehicles.
• Speed ​​is restricted to 30 km/h.
• Towing is not allowed on the motortrafficway and motorway.

Goods/ cargo/ passengers:​

• Dimensions: Handlebars must be at leat 55 cm wide and cannot be more elevated than 30 cm over the seat.
• If passenger is either smaller than 135 cm and younger than 4 years this must sit in a special elevated EU approved seat.
• Read carefully the allowed max cargo weight. Many bikes allow only 140-160kg which is only the weight of two persons.
• Cargo must be max as wide as the handlebars and must not obstruct view behind through the mirrors.
• If goods are more than 1m longer than the bikes front or tail, this must marked with something that can be an empty carrier bag from the supermarket or a T-shirt.