Most of the time we don’t pay attention to how and where we park the motorcycle due to our busyness and negligence. In some cases insufficient parking space encroaches on road space and footpaths, causing difficulties to vehicular and pedestrian movement. As a result, many times the motorcycle gets physically damaged and gets into legal trouble. Let’s get familiar with the most common motorcycle parking mistakes we make and let’s see how can we avoid them.
1. Not knowing the parking rules
The biggest mistake we make is not knowing the motorcycle parking laws, rules, and regulations that where to park or where not. Parking rules and laws vary according to cities. Some cities have made parking areas, particularly for motorcycles and Some cities will allow you to park your motorcycle with cars in a regular car parking space. Depending on the dimension of the parking area, some cities have some rules to park motorcycles at an angle or perpendicular to the curb.
Notice every sign in the parking area and read them carefully before parking your motorcycle. Overall you have to know about parking rules according to the city you are visiting to avoid your motorcycle’s physical damage and penalties.
2. Not checking the ground surface
Before putting your motorcycle on the kickstand check carefully that the surface is solid enough to take the weight of your motorcycle. If you park your motorcycle on a surface like sand, gravel, or soft soil your motorcycle kickstand will sink into the surface causing your motorcycle to fall off.
Science The entire mass of a motorcycle is concentrated at a small point on the motorcycle’s kickstand, so try to park your motorcycle on solid ground if possible otherwise use a kickstand pad or puck. It helps to distribute the motorcycle weight evenly on the ground. If your motorcycle has a double stand I suggest using the double stand to ensure maximum stabilization.
3. Not ensuring appropriate security
Another big mistake most of the time we do is not parking our motorcycle in front of our eyes. Parking a motorcycle in a lonely place is quite risky and not enough to ensure proper security even after using antitheft gear.
Try to park your motorcycle possibly in front of your eyes or in an area controlled by CC cameras or under a security guard to look after or park where many other motorcycles are parked together. By doing this you can stay tension-free and pay proper concentration on your work even if you are away from your motorcycle. Apart from this don’t forget to lock your motorcycle starting and use additional locking systems like disk lock, chain lock, or an anti-theft alarm.
4. Not leaving enough space
Parking too close your motorcycle to other motorcycles or vehicles can cause your motorcycle physical damage. When you put your motorcycle too close to other motorcycles or cars you will not get enough space to get your motorcycle out.
Park your motorcycle in a such way that there is enough space for you and others to move out easily. Make sure that your motorcycle handlebar is getting enough space for moving and also your feet are getting enough space when taking off.
5. Not covering the motorcycle after parking
Leaving motorcycles without covering exposed areas where the sunlight hits directly and where rainwater falls or hails will damage your motorcycle paint and other electric parts over time.
If you are leaving your motorcycle for an extended period, park your motorcycle under a shade. If it is not possible to park your motorcycle under a shade then cover it with a weatherproof motorcycle cover to avoid this kind of damage.
6. Leaving your gears and accessories with the motorcycle.
This is a bad practice when you think you’ll only be away from your bike for a short period and leave your safety gear with the motorcycle in the parking spot. It damages your gears quickly and on the other hand, it also increases the chance of your motorcycle gear being stolen including your motorcycle. When you make this kind of mistake unknowingly your motorcycle is in maximum focus.
To avoid any kind of unusual happenings take your gear and accessories with you and if you frequently need to leave your motorcycle in such a public place and it is not possible to carry the gear all the time then invest in a cargo box to lock up your gear and accessories will be the best choice.
Learning the right way to park not only improves your etiquette with a motorcycle but also shows how passionate you with the motorcycle. Avoiding these parking errors will keep you hassle-free and ensure peace of mind.