Every biker’s bad dream is a broken bike. But worse is a bike failure mid-ride. Not that you cannot ride, but the issue of being stranded in the middle of nowhere is something we all fear. This is why we have compiled a list of all the possible causes which could cause a bike failure. These are not here to scare you, but they are just to make you aware and careful to take care of stuff accordingly.
- Engine Seizure Due To Engine Oil Leak: Engine oil makes your bike run smoothly and protects the engine, giving it a longer life. But when this oil is absent, the engine may run for a couple of seconds until it seizes up due to no lubrication. Not only will it damage the engine, but also cause issues to other important parts of the internals as well.
- Burnt Piston Rings: Pistons rings are important because they form a bridge to the gap in between the inside of the cylinder walls and the piston. If they happen to burn off, the overall deterioration of the engine oil begins and the bike’s performance gets affected.
- Burnt Spark Plugs: If your bike lacks spark plugs, then you are not moving anywhere, period. So getting burnt spark plugs can be a huge disaster. Though if you have a bike running on multiple spark plugs, you might be in some luck making sure your bike moves to the nearest repair station where you can get your plugs replaced.
- Chain Breakage: All the power that the bike’s engine makes, it is all transmitted to the rear wheel via the chain. The only issue is if the chain is not properly maintained, it tends to snap off and break causing a bike failure. Then it is a huge task to get the chain fixed up and fitted again on the bike.
- Engine Overheating: Mostly it is only an issue with bikes running in extremely hot conditions or else for bikes whose liquid cooling mechanism has broken down. But it could happen, which is why it is important to take regular breaks, not always for you but for your bike as well.
- Tyre Punctures / Blasts: Punctures are an inherent part of biking or any vehicle for that matter. But then the real issue is when you do not have the proper tools to fix your tyre, and sadly with bikes there is also no spare on hand. So one has to be careful about it by checking up on your bike in the beginning of the ride to make sure you can avoid as many surprises as possible.
- Broken Cables: Breaking of the clutch cable and accelerator cable is one of the leading causes of failures among bikes. There are no warning signs here, it just happens out of the blue. So the best way actually is to get an extra one fitted on your bike just in case.
- Brake Failure: Brake failures are caused due to multiple reasons. The main being damage to the cable in case of drum brakes or else brake lever or brake oil failure or brake piston failure in case of disc brakes. Also issues occur in case the brakes heat up a lot causing a drop in bite efficiency.
- Blown Fuses: A lot of bikes these days come with loads of electronics in it which is why a blown fuse can even lead to a breakdown for the bike. Again the problem being you do not get a heads up for this, so it is all a matter of bad luck for you.
- Broken Alloy Wheels: This is an issue if you happen to be a fan of off-roading but have alloy wheels on your bike. It sucks, but alloys are actually a lot better than spoke wheels. But if you have a crack or break in them, you lose out on air slowly causing a flat tyre over time. The only way to counter it is to get it changed.
- Dead battery: The problem with dead batteries is that the issue is not the battery but the alternator which is in charge of charging the battery. Giving the battery a jump generally does work. Very seldom it is a major issue asking for a battery change altogether. So if you get any indication of a weak battery like taking multiple tries to get the bike started or a weak sounding horn or lights, you need to get your battery checked up.
Here is our compilation of the main causes of bike failures. Though if you do happen to have faced any more issues other than these, you can mention them in the comments section below. The idea here is to give our fellow bikes an idea about the issues they might have to face and for them to stay prepared for it.
Stay tuned for the next article which will cover solutions for these issues.
