Motorcycle maintenance guides and tips
Beyond fault diagnosis, these guides walk you through the key moments in your motorcycle's life: preparing for the technical inspection, buying used without getting caught out, winterising properly then getting going again in spring, or simply learning to read what your bike is trying to tell you. Each is written in plain language, with concrete step-by-step checklists.
When a guide states a rule, a date or a legal duty, it cites its official source so you can check for yourself; the rest is common-sense maintenance advice. And whenever a point deserves a deeper look, the guide sends you straight to the matching diagnostic tool.
- Motorcycle technical inspection: what's checked and how to prepareFrance's motorcycle technical inspection, mandatory since 2024: who's concerned, how often, what's checked, and a checklist to prepare your bike.
- Buying a used motorcycle: the mechanic's checklistBuy a used motorcycle without getting caught out: paperwork, free HistoVec report, test ride, smoke, noises and leaks. The mechanic's checklist.
- Winterising your motorcycle: the checklist to store it wellHow to winterise your motorcycle with no nasty surprises in spring: battery, fuel, tyres, protection. The complete winterising checklist, step by step.
- Recommissioning your motorcycle after winter: the checklistYour motorcycle is coming out of storage? The recommissioning checklist: battery, tyres, brakes, fluids and first start, to get going safely in spring.
- Read your spark plug: the colour guideBrown, dry black, oily black, white or wet: learn to read your engine's health from the plug's electrode.