Road Test

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When riding the motorcycle the rider must always wear a safety helmet, eye protection, gloves, boots, trousers (close fitting around the knee and ankle) and a brightly coloured jacket. Brightly coloured clothing will considerably increase a rider's visibility to other operators of road vehicles. Although full protection is not possible, wearing correct protective clothing can reduce the risk of injury when riding.
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A safety helmet is one of the most important pieces of riding gear as it offers protection against head injuries. Your safety helmet should be carefully chosen and should fit your head comfortably and securely. A brightly coloured safety helmet will increase a rider's visibility to other operators of road vehicles. An open face helmet offers some protection in an accident though a full face helmet will offer more. Always wear a visor or approved goggles to help vision and to protect your eyes.
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Do not attempt to test the ABS function of the motorcycle’s braking system during road test. The ABS function is for use in emergency situations only. Any attempt to artificially create an emergency situation is extremely hazardous and could lead to a collision with a following vehicle or loss of motorcycle control and an accident.
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For the first 1,000 miles, the motorcycle should be ridden within the running in procedure (see Owner’s Handbook), checking for abnormalities, unusual noises and for satisfactory operation.When checking the brakes on road test, a suitable safe place should be found to carry out the test.
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Faults detected during road test or post road test inspection, must be rectified before the motorcycle is released to the customer. The distance covered on the road test should be long enough to allow a satisfactory check to be made in the following areas:

Engine Cold Start Performance

Standard required:

The engine must start quickly and idle smoothly.

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This check is to be carried out when the engine is cold.

Action:

Turn the ignition switch to the ON position.

Start the engine and allow to idle.

ABS (anti-lock brake system) indicator light (models fitted with ABS only)

Standard required:

Refer to the Owner’s Handbook for further information regarding the ABS indicator light illumination sequence for the relevant model.

The ABS indicator light should flash on and off and continue to flash after engine start up until the motorcycle first reaches a speed exceeding 6 mph (10 km/h).

Clutch

Standard required:

The clutch should engage smoothly, without judder, slipping or noise.

Gear Change

Standard required:

Changing between gears must be smooth and easily accomplished.

Throttle Response

Standard required:

The engine should be quick to respond to any movement of the throttle.

There should be no pronounced misfires.

The idle speed must not change when the handlebars are turned from lock to lock.

Brakes

Standard required:

The brakes should have a firm, responsive feel.

The brakes should act smoothly and silently without judder.

Upon activation of the brakes, the motorcycle should come to rest without deviating from a straight line.

Instrument Panel

Standard required:

All instruments must operate correctly.

Check:

Check that the warning lights on the instruments operate correctly.

Steering and Suspension

Standard required:

The motorcycle should be easy to steer and should not pull to one side.

Cornering should be precise with the motorcycle leaning naturally into the corner and returning to the upright position upon exiting the corner.

The front and rear suspension operation should be smooth with no excessive stiffness, roughness or tight spots.

Check:

Check the correct action of the front suspension, including the damper action.

Check the correct action of the rear suspension, including the damper action.

Cruise Control (if fitted)

Standard required:

All cruise control switches must operate correctly. All functions and displays must operate as described in the Owner’s Handbook.

Check:

Once the relevant conditions have been met as described in the Owner’s Handbook, turn the cruise control ON and OFF.

Check the functionality of all following actions:

Cruise control function - all models except DS1 DSA DSB DSX

  • SET the speed

  • Resume the SET speed

  • Increase the SET speed

  • Decrease the SET speed

  • Throttle cancel - twist the throttle fully forward to cancel the cruise control

  • Brake cancel - make sure the cruise control is cancelled by use of the front brake, then the rear brake

  • Clutch cancel - make sure the cruise control is cancelled by pulling the clutch lever in

  • Gear change cancel - make sure the cruise control is cancelled when changing gear

  • Sixty second overtake cancel - make sure the cruise control is cancelled after increasing the speed with the throttle for more than sixty seconds.