The Bike Shack

04/21/2026

🏁 Big News from The Bike Shack 🏁

Well… it’s official.
Russ is really going to retire this time.

After many great years, The Bike Shack will be closing its doors on June 1st.

To everyone who stopped in, shared a story, trusted us with your bikes, or just came by for a chat—thank you. This place has always been about more than motorcycles… it’s been about community.

From the bottom of our hearts—thanks for the ride. 🏍️

— The Bike Shack Crew
(aka “The Misses”)

03/26/2025

02/26/2025

Part 3.
Hopefully everything has gone to plan so far:) Now time to look at the back end.
Sit on the bike and bounce up and down. Listen. You shouldn't hear any clicking, grinding or other weird noises. When you rise up the bike should lift with you and not bounce. Both sides should rise together nice and smooth. Noises while you're doing this indicate a shock, swing arm or wheel bearing issue.
If you have a jack for your bike it's a good time to get it up in the air an inch or so. If not you can do almost everything on the ground.
Same as the front, check your tire, wheel and valve stem. Look at the brake pads. Check for any oil leaking from the shocks or brakes.
There are three types of drives on bikes. Chain, belt and shaft.
If you have a chain get a chain brush and clean it with chain cleaner. Then some chain l**e and check the tension. Shouldn't be tight, or loose. Just a bit of slack is good. You can usually Google how much play should be in it. Check the sprockets for wear. Rotate the tire and it should turn smooth with no tight spots or binding.
Belt drive. Rotate the tire and take a close look at the belt as you turn it. Check for cracks, worn spots and if the belt tracks properly on the sprocket. Check the tension. There are tools for this that come in handy.
Shaft drive. Change the final drive fluid. It's not hard to do but most people ignore it. It should roll smoothly.
Hopefully all is well and you feel confident you're ready to ride. If something doesn't feel right to you, it probably isn't. Time to go visit your favorite mechanic before small problems become big ones. Again, go to someone you trust and are comfortable with. There are some great mechanics around, you just have to find yours. Biking friends are a great resource.
Finally check your paperwork. Registration, insurance and safety inspection. Keep it on the bike or on you. No one wants to see those silly red and blue lights behind you.
Hope everyone has a safe and amazing riding season!!!

02/25/2025

Part 2. Continuation of yesterday. Hopefully not boring anyone. Lol.
One thing on the front end I forget yesterday is to check your throttle snap back. Twist your throttle all the way and let it go. It should close quickly back to it's original position. If it's slow or doesn't at all it's a huge safety concern. Your cables may need to be l**ed or replaced.
Now the middle part of your bike, the engine. Hopefully you have a fully charged battery. If not charge it up. Remove the seat. Look at your gaggle of wires. Take a look and see if you have any bare wires or cracks etc. Great time to fix them. Install your batter and tighten the cables. Tight. If there's some corrosion clean it off before installing. A little rub with some sandpaper will clean them right up. If you leave your battery in the bike all year make sure the battery terminals are tight.
Turn the key, don't start it yet, just power it up. Check your lights, brake and turn signals included. Turn it off.
Now check the rear brake fluid reservoir, if your bike is water cooled check that too. Then check the oil. The lifeblood of any engine. Make sure it has some. If it needs to be changed, change it, and the filter.
I know a lot of people who don't take notice of milage. They just change it once a year. If you don't put a ton of miles on each year that may work. I'm a nut for changing oil when it's due. I write my milage down and put it in a book. That way I know when to change it. Sometimes a few times a season. I do quite a bit of long distance riding so the miles pack on pretty quick. Here's what difference it can make. All my bikes have over 100,000 km. One has 340,000. None of them have had any major engine work done. Lesson learned.
Cool. Engine oil os done and it has some. Open the gas tank and have a sniff. Does it smell like rotten eggs? If so you want to dump it and get some fresh stuff in there. Fuel is usually good for about a year so it's probably ok if you rode it last year. Take a look in the tank. See anything floating around? There shouldn't be. All good? Close it back up.
Flip the ignition and pull the choke if you have a carb. Crank the throttle a couple of times after you open the fuel petcock. Fuel injected bikes are a little different. Electronic choke and usually they don't have a petcock.
Start the bike up. You shouldn't need the throttle. Don't rev the s**t out of it. Just don't. Please. Let it warm up on its own. After the winter your first crank of the engine is the worst. Over the winter the oil has drained down to the pan. You're doing what's called a dry start. For a couple of seconds until the oil pump starts pumping your engine is not fully l**ed up. Let the oil get around and l**e everything up.
Let the engine warm up so it's nice and toasty at normal temperature. Shut it off. Wait for about 5 minutes and check your oil again. Best to check the oil warm.
Put your seat back on and look at your bike and pet it. Lol. Almost ready for a summer of fun and wind therapy:)
I'll do the last part tomorrow. Hopefully to this point you're a happy camper and everything Is going amazingly. If not you have some stuff to do.
If you aren't mechanically inclined or don't know much about bikes get someone to help you out if you need it. No shame in that, it's how we learn. I've worked on bikes for decades and still ask someone if I run into something I can't figure out. Great to learn new things:)

02/24/2025

The end of February:) For the people like me the itch to get riding again is starting.
Will be a little time to go yet but soon enough we'll be getting the rides out of storage and into the sunshine. Time to start doing it safely.
I'll do a few part post on getting back to the road hopefully with a bit of peace of mind.
I usually start with a good cleaning. Wash, wax, polish etc. It's amazing the little things you notice when doing this. Missing bolts, screws, loose ones, parts that should be tight that aren't. Great time to take the tolls out at tighten that stuff up.
Look at your tires. Closely!!! Not just the tread depth but look for any cracking on the sidewalls and the valve stem. Anything look a little sketchy? Might be time to put on some new ones. Pump them up to pressure and check them again. You will have lost some pressure over the winter, that's normal.
Then start at the front and work your way back. Check your front brake pads. Make sure there's pads left. The more the better. Are they wearing evenly and both the same? Grab your front brake and try to push the bike. Make sure the handle isn't too soft and the brakes grab solid.
Check the forks and brake calipers. Any drips of oil? If there is there's probably a problem. Good to get checked out.
Grab the handlebars and slowly turn them from one side to the other. Full left to full right and back again a few times. Do it slowly. It should feel smooth through the whole movement. Really smooth. Give them a shake back and forth in a few different positions. There shouldn't be any clicking noises or any movement. If there is you may have some steering head issues.
Check all your cables, brake and clutch lines etc for any cracks or anything that may look off. Nothing worse than starting the year off looking for parts.
Enough for part one. Looking forward to feeling some wind again:)

Note: This isn't to drum up business. I'm just a little fanatical about riding safe. If you think there's an issue, take your bike to whoever you trust and have them take a look if you're not sure. We all have our places we trust and like.
If you're mechanically inclined and do things yourself, that's great too. Looking forward to seeing everyone on the road:)

08/02/2024

And then it's onto the Goldwing. Am I a**l retentive about general maintenance? Yup. Lol

08/02/2024

Spyder oil change day. Shout out to Full Throttle Powersports for always having the stuff I need on hand:) Always have great service and the oil change kits make it a breeze:)

07/18/2024

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Welcome to the 1st Riders United: Breaking the Silence in support of ending Domestic Violence. It is our wish to create awareness surrounding situations of domestic violence and to lend our support to women and children living in such situations.

We are bikers. Women and Men. We welcome all riders to come out and show their support.

Friday the 13th September 2024. Bad Dog Cycles. 6pm Kickstands up. Peggy's Cove Loop with a stop at the lighthouse. Free will donation to ride, proceeds to Shelter Movers.

Wendy Knowlton

Riders United: Breaking the Silence (Speaking Out Against Domestic Violence).

05/15/2024

What happens when the clutch in your M8 decides it's time to s**t the bed.