Your riding experience will be smooth and enjoyable, depending on your motorcycle’s engine condition. We don’t usually like it when someone wakes us up from sleep all of a sudden and pushes us to start working rapidly. We require time for our brain and body to wake up properly and adequately for everyday tasks. Think of your bike engine like a human body. An engine plays the role of a motorcycle as your heart does to your body. To ensure optimum performance, there are several things you have to do to improve the health of your motorcycle engine.
For the first start of the day of your motorcycle, you have to ensure that the engine gets enough time to warm up. After starting your bike, don’t throttle up roughly; leave the throttle as it is. Let your bike engine warm up and be happy by giving it 3-5 minutes. Pay close attention and listen to your engine sound. Is there any uneven sound coming out from the engine, or does it sound normal?
1. Change the engine oil.
Determine the right time for changing the engine oil by reading the passing miles every day. Different engine oils require different kilometers to be changed. You should change your motorcycle engine oil based on the oil type or the manufacturer’s recommendation. For example, mineral-based oil after 2,000 miles, utterly synthetic oil after 6,000-7,000 miles, and semi-synthetic oil after 3,000-4,000 miles need to be changed.
2. For new motorcycle
Don’t rev up your motorcycle throttle roughly, and try to avoid over-speeding. Keep the engine speed limited as prescribed, or it will be better to keep it below that limit. Give some time off the engine so that the engine and transmission can saddle up properly.
3. Check the spark plug.
Dirt, worn, or damaged plugs put extra pressure on the engine. A sparkplug ignites into the engine combustion to burn the air-fuel mixture. A faulty sparkplug reduces your engine’s performance, consumes more engine oil, causes misfires, and starts unwanted issues like that. The spark plug must be changed every 6,000 to 10,000 miles. Make sure to maintain the gap between the electrodes when reinstalling the sparkplug.
4. Air filter
Clean your motorcycle air filter or replace it as needed. Otherwise, it may cause damage to different parts of the engine components and decrease the engine’s performance. An air filter is like the nose of the engine. To filter out polluted air and intake the right amount of fresh air to ensure proper ignition of the air-fuel mixture in the combustion chamber, a clean and fresh air filter is obvious. A dirty and clogged air filter resists entering the right amount of air into the engine. Change the air filter depending on your riding environment, though Inspecting the air filter every 5,000 to 10,000 miles is ideal time.
5. Chain
A motorcycle chain transfers power from the engine to the wheels to turn them. A worn, unlubricated, overtight, or overly loose chain impacts engine performance and can also damage the engine’s health over time. Taking care of the driver system is very crucial for optimum performance of a motorcycle engine. Usually, motorcycles come with a chain, belt, or shaft drive system. If your motorcycle is chain-driven and needs additional lubrication, make sure the chain is tensioned correctly, cleaned, and lubricated on schedule. Check for any wear and damage to the belt or shaft drive system, and repair or replace them according to needs.
6. Valve clearance
The main two types of valves are intake and exhaust valves. By using components like rocker arms, valve springs, and cam lobs, the crankshaft coordinated the opening and closing of these valves with the engine crankshaft. After every 10,000-15,000 miles of riding, the valve lash or clearance must be adjusted. There is mainly a gap between the valve tappet and rocker arms. Make sure the valve clearance is perfectly aligned.
7. Cooling system
A motorcycle engine can be severely damaged by overheating if the cooling is not working correctly. To ensure optimal performance, check the cooling system every weekend or at least once a month. Avoid putting any extra load on your motorcycle and follow the correct way of gear-shifting. For a long drive, the most effective way to relieve pressure from the cooling system is to rest the engine after several hours of running, wait until the engine returns to average temperature or completely cools down, and then continue your riding.
8. For storage period
When you are not riding your motorcycle for a long time and are thinking of storage, your first duty is to maintain the engine health during this period by changing the engine oil. At the end of the storage time, before starting the motorcycle, make sure you have changed the engine oil again. Leaving a motorcycle unattended for a long time causes engine oil to turn into harmful chemicals. One more important is the battery. During this storage period, keep your battery terminals clean to prevent rusting, and charge the battery with an additional charger. When your motorcycle battery is fully charged, there will be less pressure on the engine to start the motorcycle.
9. Tune-up
Engine tune-up is a scheduled process that helps an engine increase its performance, run efficiently, and extend its lifespan. This process is done by inspecting, adjusting, and replacing various components of the engine. Maintain a schedule for tuning up the engine so that you can prevent unusual problems and enjoy smooth output from the engine. To maintain the service schedule, follow the owner’s manual properly.
The more careful you can be with your motorcycle’s engine, the more likely you are to have a smooth and trouble-free riding experience. A well-maintained motorcycle engine not only increases performance but also extends its lifespan. Your little effort can make your engine and you happy.
Hope you enjoyed the article. If you like it, leave a comment and let me know what you are interested in learning about motorcycles. I’ll be back shortly with the article.