Getting the bike out of hibernation

Yesterday was a reasonably warm day, so I decided to fire up my bike. Since it's sat for a while, I first made sure the cables were OK and the brakes were holding pressure, and lubricated a couple of the points the factory service manual says need periodic oiling. I also made sure to check the tire pressure and the general condition of the tires. This is pretty important on a bike, since having a tire go flat on a bike can be a much worse disaster than on a car. The rear tire is showing enough signs of wear that I'll probably need to replace it after April.

Then I primed it up (you have to let the gas flow for a while on a carbureted bike if it's been sitting for a while), turned the choke on, and hit the button. Much to my relief, it fired right up. (It's possible for carbs to get rather gunky if they sit too long.) Took a while for it to warm up.

While I was getting the bike ready, I noticed my next door neighbor Mike was getting his Harley prepared too. He asked me if I'd like to go for a trip, so we rode down to Jackson Lake and back. It was a nearly traffic-free ride, which was definitely a good thing as I wanted to get back into practice before taking on rush hour traffic. If you haven't ridden for a while, both your bike and your skills may need a little checking out before trying something too demanding.

Looks like everything's working on my bike and other than the note about the tires and needing an oil change, it'll be ready for April.