Some concerns.

After working in the industry for awhile and meeting more and more motorcycle/scooter riders, I've noticed a somewhat disturbing trend in how people mistreat their vehicles.  These are simple things that can easily be checked but less than half the people I know actually do it.

1)  Tire pressure.  When a soft surface (tires) meets a much harder surface (road surface) for an extended period of time the soft surface is going to grind down eventually.  One way or another your tires are going to wear down regardless of what your tire pressure is but under/over inflation can cause a number of additional problems.  Under inflation will cause premature wear on tire surfaces as well as stability issues.  Over inflation can cause skidding issues and stress on the tire which may make a blowout more likely.  For your own safety and if you want your bike to perform at its best, check your tires pressures once a week.  Seriously guys, it takes less than 3 minutes.  Always use the factory spec psi labeled on the frame of the bike, not what it says on the tire.

2)  Oil.  This is a no-brainer, at least I think so...  Whatever oil you swear by (and I'm sure there will be tons of debate in the future on this topic) make sure you have enough.  Check your dipstick or look at your oil window.  In the case of Harleys just look on the floor (ha ha.)  Your owners manual will tell you all you need to know about your particular bike's oil needs.  This is important!  Some oil levels will need to be checked while on side stands, center stands, rear stands, at certain temperatures, etc etc. 

Imagine 2 pieces of material rubbing together at high speed.  Both materials are going to wear away and possibly break or lose integrity.  The same 2 pieces under the same circumstances with oil  between them with last much much longer and slide past each other with relative ease.  If the sensitive (and expensive) parts of your engine aren't properly lubricated with the right amount of oil, your bike is screwed.  Check your oil once a week and do your scheduled oil changes as per the manual.  If you see metal shavings in the oil while doing the oil change, ummm... well this is bad.  This can be caused by other things but more times than not this is due to improper lubrication and integral parts of your engine are being destroyed.

3)  Chain.  Chain driven bikes require more regular service than shaft or belt driven bikes.  Check your chain for the proper amount of chain slack.  Check chain for rust.  Check chain for the proper amount of lube.  All of this info can be found in your particular bikes manual as well as how to adjust chain slack.  For my own piece of mind I tend to do chain maintenance about once every 30 to 45 days, after I wash my bike or if I've been in the rain for a long period of time.  After you do a proper chain job, you should notice a huge difference in performance.  Smooth, smooth, smooth riding.
 
All of these 3 things are easily overlooked, are simple and will make your bike run far smoother and efficiently.  Each one will probably be discussed in more detail in later posts.