Compression & Springs

We had a question from a fellow rider planning on racing his 05’ 600’s in amateur class.  He had a concern of a very high advertised compression ratio, in the neighbourhood of 13.5:1 and mentioned he read something about a top out spring in the fork and wondered what the heck was that? To address…

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Tech Question & Answer

I have a 2005 CBR 1000 RR, which I use for track only use, right now it is in stock form, except for a pipe, pc3, and brake lines.  My question to you is in the suspension department, which I think is the most important to concentrate on.  I have set the sag front and…

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Suspension: Measuring & Making Changes

I had a gentleman write in with an interesting question.  He is racing an SV 650 and asked how to “measure and dial in rake and swingarm angle”.  These two quantities although being very important to the character of a motorcycle are very difficult to measure.  The easiest way would be to crate up your…

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Steering Head

I thought I would discuss a very important but often neglected part of the motorcycle in this tech column, namely the steering head.  Without a proper working steering head, the motorcycle simply wouldn’t function as we know it.  Yes, motorcycles once under way turn by leaning, but this lean is instigated, controlled and then corrected…

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Shopping for a New Bike?

One afternoon a few summers ago, Mark Orchard and I were sitting astride two new bikes on a sunny afternoon.  We were discussing their pros and cons having just ridden them for the better part of two days. I was helping Mark with another Inside Motorcycles shootout when we started discussing riding comfort and it’s…

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The History of the Motorcycle, Then As Now

The motorcycle as we know it is always in a state of progression.  The manufacturers update their premium sport bikes typically every three to four years when the global economy is poor, but as often as every other year in a strong sales economy.  The top sport bike is quite often one of the most…

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Bike Lowering

I receive many inquiries about lowering motorcycles from people that wish to purchase or have purchased motorcycles that are taller than they are. Riders, both beginner and experienced, gain huge amounts of confidence in their abilities when they can comfortably touch both feet on the ground when coming to a stop. Unfortunately, I see so…

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