Fabio may be a daredevil on wheels, but as Steve Magnante, of Hot Rod magazine, points out, he knows the correct safety precautions to take in order to avoid accidents and injury. Here are a couple of safety tips that might not readily come to mind: - Never use tire dressing (a glossy finish that conditions and protects rubber or vinyl surfaces) on a motorcycle seat or tires. Although it's fine for use on cars, it can be dangerous on bikes. The slick finish can cause a number of accidents ranging from the rider's falling off the slippery seat to the bike's sliding on curves.
- Be sure the bike's chain is tightened properly: if it's either too tight or too loose, don't ride the bike! There should be about 1/2" of free play on the chain.
To adjust the chain: - Remove the cotter pin from the axle nut and loosen the nut just a little.
- Using the appropriate size wrench, turn the buckles at the back of the frame. Be sure to turn them evenly so the tire moves back an equal amount on both sides. You'll see the chain start to tighten.
- Once the chain has tightened the correct amount, tighten everything back up. Make sure you reinstall the cotter pin.
Web extra: More on motorcycles with Fabio Q: When did you buy your first motorcycle?
A: I rode my first motorcycle at 12 years old. I got my own bike when I was about 14 -- my first dirt bike. Q: Why did you get into dirt biking?
I grew up in Milan, Italy, and my parents had a summer home down in the south, so there was a lot of land around the house. In that place there were many motocross tracks, some of the biggest motocross tracks in Italy. It was natural. Q: Which is more difficult, dirt biking or street biking?
A: It's really hard to go 70, 75 miles an hour on the dirt, because you're dealing with rocks, roots and ruts. It's so much harder to race and to go fast on the dirt than to go fast on the street. The street is smooth, you know. You just open up the bike, and the bike goes -- very simple, very easy. Q: Any recommendations for a beginning biker?
A: Get on a dirt bike first, because you learn techniques. You learn so much about motorcycle on the dirt -- how a motorcycle will handle when it goes sideways, how to bring it back. Most of people on the street only find out about those situations when they're very close to an accident. Q: How far off-road can you take these dirt bikes?
A: You can go everywhere. The technology these bikes have today is unbelievable. You can go in places where people can barely walk. There is nothing these bikes can't do -- they can almost go up to a vertical wall. It depends on you. Q: Where is your favorite place to go dirt biking?
A: California is like heaven: there are so many places. You have so many motocross tracks around. You can go down to Mexico. Living in Los Angeles, you're two hours away by car. That's where they race the Baja One Thousand. And because of the weather, you can go all year round. Q: Why pick motorcycling?
A: You can do everything. I can take a street bike and go for a trip along Pacific Coast Highway, go to San Francisco. Or I can take one of my dirt bikes and go up to the mountains and the desert. You have so many possibilities, and you're really one with nature. Q: How popular is the sport of dirt biking?
A: As a matter of fact, it's one of the fastest-growing sports in the world. Just look the sales in the last few years. I've taken so many people. They got totally addicted. Q: Do people recognize you on the trail?
A: When I have a helmet on, no. But when I take off the helmet.... Most of the people in the industry know I love motorcycles. Q: How fast have you gone?
A: I like speed, coming from Europe and growing up with no speed limit. I once was going over 200 miles per hour with some friends who were cops.
RESOURCES :
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Motorcycles
ISBN: 0028624165
Author: editors of Motorcyclist magazine
Motorcycle Tuning: Two Stroke
Model: 075061806X
Author: John Robinson
(1994)
To order this title from Amazon.com, click here.
Butterworth-Heinemann
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