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AC Schnitzer
Adler
AJP
AJS
Aprilia
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ATK
Avinton / Wakan
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Benelli
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Big Dog
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BMS Choppers
BMW
Borile
Boss Hoss
Boxer
Brammo
BRP Cam-Am
BSA
Buell / EBR
Bultago
Cagiva
Campagna
CCM
CF Moto
Curtiss
CR&S
Daelim
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DP Customs
Ducati
Excelsior
GASGAS
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Gilera
GIMA
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HDT USA
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Horex
HPN
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Hyosung
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Jawa
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Kawasaki
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KYMCO
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Mash
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Matt Hotch
Midual
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MZ / MuZ
NCR
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Paul Jr. Designs
Peugeot
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Revival Cycles
Rickman
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Roland Sands
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Ural
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Walt Siegl
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XTR / Radical
Yamaha
Zero
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Acronyms, Terms & Definitions |
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| ABS | Anti-lock Braking System |
| APRC | Aprilia Performance Ride Control |
| ASC | Automatic Stability Control |
| Auto Blipper | |
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Relationship between the diameter of a cylinder and the length the piston travels |
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| Brake Calipers | Fixed and Floating Calipers |
| Camshaft | Single or Double Overhead Camshaft (SOHC or DOHC), Pushrod |
| Carburetor | Blends air and fuel for an internal combustion engine. |
| Catalytic Converter | Converts harmful emissions to harmless compounds |
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Acronyms, Terms & Definitions |
|
| ABS | Anti-lock Braking System |
| APRC | Aprilia Performance Ride Control |
| ASC | Automatic Stability Control |
| Auto Blipper | |
|
Relationship between the diameter of a cylinder and the length the piston travels |
|
| Brake Calipers | Fixed and Floating Calipers |
| Camshaft | Single or Double Overhead Camshaft (SOHC or DOHC), Pushrod |
| Carburetor | Blends air and fuel for an internal combustion engine. |
| Catalytic Converter | Converts harmful emissions to harmless compounds |
| Cellasto | Microcellular polyurethane elastomers that enhance driving comfort |
| Clutch | Multi-plate, wet, dry |
| Compression Ratio | Ratio of the volume of a combustion chamber from its largest capacity to its smallest capacity |
| Counter Steering | "Steer left to turn right" |
| Crankshaft | Transforms the energy from the pistons (lineary) into a rotary motion |
| CVT | Continuous Variable Transmission |
| CDI | Capacitor discharge ignition |
| Desmodromic Valve | A reciprocating engine valve that is positively closed by a cam and leverage system |
| Disc Brakes | Difference between fixed and floating disc brakes |
| DOHC | Double Overhead Camshaft |
| Drum brakes | Single or twin leading shoe |
| DSS | Ducati Skyhook System |
| ECU | Electronic Control Unit |
| EFI | Electronic Fuel Injection |
| ESA | Electronic Suspension Adjustment |
| EXUP | Exhaust Ultimate Power Valve |
| Floating Sprocket | To help keep the sprocket properly aligned |
| Four Stroke Engine | Most popular modern motorcycle engines |
| Gear Ratios | Explaining the relationship between various components and how it impacts on power delivery |
| GVWR | Gross Vehicle Weight Ratio |
| High Side | Losing control as a result of extraordinary power added to the rear wheel |
| Hub-center steering | An alternative front-end steering/suspension system |
| Knucklehead Engine | Harley-Davidson motorcycle engine |
| Leading shoe | Drum brake - single or twin leading shoe |
| Monolever | |
| Multi-plate clutch | The most common motorcycle clutch |
| Paralever | Eliminating "jacking" in a shaft driven bike |
| PCM | Powertrain Control Module |
| Power and Torque | Both are needed to get your bike moving. But what is it? |
| Pre-unit just & Unit construction is |
Pre-unit just means that the engine crankcase and gearbox are two separate
units bolted into the same frame, whereas unit construction means the
gearbox and crankcase share the same casing. Early motorcycles were largely pre-unit as it was simpler to cast gearbox and engine casings separately at the foundry, and manufacturers could buy in engines and/or gearboxes and pair them up without any major issues. Unit construction is used for essentially all modern motorcycles, it results in a lower total weight, much better rigidity, fewer places to leak oil, and improved simplicity. |
| Pushrod | Camshaft located inside the engine rather than in the head and driven by pushrods |
| Quick shifter | |
| Radial Brakes | Radial or Axial Brake Calipers |
| Rake | The angle between the neck a bike and a vertical line |
| Ram Air | Increasing engine power through the use of airflow |
| Reed Valve | A valve opening under vacuum to allow fuel/air mixture to enter the crank of a 2-stroke |
| RFVC | The RFVC indication on the head off the engine means: Radial Four Valve Combustion. RVFC or Radial Four Valve Combustion was a proprietary valve arrangement created by Honda to make a four valve head flow more like a hemi head. The splayed valves arrangement allows quicker flame propagation across the combustion chamber, allowing the engine to produce more power at a given RPM. |
| Ride by Wire | The use of electrical or electro-mechanical systems for performing vehicle functions traditionally achieved by mechanical linkages/acruatiors |
| Seamless Gearbox | Also referred to as seamless shifting, seamless transmission or Zeroshift transmission |
| Shock Absorbers | Single tube, double tube, front, rear |
| Slipper clutch | |
| SOHC | Single Overhead Camshaft |
| Steering Damper | Inhibits undesirable movement of the steering mechanism. |
| Supercharging | How these forced air induction systems work and why they are the way of the future. |
| Sump | Wet and dry sump |
| Suspension adjustment | Also covering both front and rear suspension rebound and compression settings |
| Swingarm | The main component of the rear suspension to hold the rear axle firmly, pivot vertically, allowing the suspension to do its work. |
| Tank Slapper | An unwanted, quick and scary oscillation of the front wheel |
| Telelever | A BMW patented front suspension system |
| Torque | Refers to force - read power and torque |
| Traction Control | Designed to prevent loss of traction of road driven wheels |
| Trail | The distance between tyre surface contact and a vertical line from the axis to the surface |
| Triple Tree | Central to the steering mechanism of a bike |
| Turbocharger | Boosting an engine without significantly increasing weight |
| Two Stroke Engine | Mainly used on smaller bikes, such as 50 cc. Reducing in popularity due to pollution |
| VTEC | Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control |
| Wheels | A discussion on spoke and alloy wheels |
| YPVS | Yamaha Power Valve System |
Tech Videos
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