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Motorcycle · Starting and Stopping

Before starting the motorcycle, what should you check?

  1. A Only the fuel level
  2. B FINE-C: Fuel, Ignition, Neutral, Engine cut-off switch, Choke/clutch — a pre-start checklist used by many state and MSF programs
  3. C Only that you have your keys
  4. D Nothing — just start the engine

Why this is the answer

FINE-C is the standard motorcycle pre-start checklist taught by the MSF and used in state motorcycle manuals: F — Fuel (verify fuel petcock is on if equipped, fuel is adequate); I — Ignition (turn key to ON); N — Neutral (transmission in neutral, verified by the green neutral indicator light); E — Engine cut-off (switch in RUN position, not OFF); C — Choke (set if engine is cold) and Clutch (pull in clutch lever as a safety measure when starting). Going through FINE-C every time becomes automatic and prevents the common new-rider mistake of trying to start in gear, with the cut-off switch off, or with the petcock closed.
Source: MSF Basic RiderCourse, FINE-C

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