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Motorcycle Views Newsletter for 04/26/2015

By Walter F. Kern

 Motorcycle Views Newsletter

Vol. 9, No. 10, April 26, 2015

Articles of Interest on Motorcycle Views:

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Today's Motorcycle Views Poll:

I am running one new Motorcycle Views Poll in the newsletter for each issue.

Here's Poll No. 12: How many accidents have you had on motorcycles in the last 5 years?

The latest Motorcycle Views Poll is now also appearing on the front page of my website.

ALL Motorcycle Views Polls

Today's How-To:

I will be featuring one of my How-Tos for each issue.

How To Ride a Motorcycle at Night

ALL Motorcycle How-Tos

Recent Additions to the Motorcycle Views Website:

Reflections: Motorcycle Specifications Terms

Today, I'm going to reflect on the terms used when you read motorcycle specifications in motorcycle magazines. You usually find a table of specs wihout the actual terms being described. I'll try to cover some of the most common terms you'll see.

Making Sense Out of Motorcycle Specifications - Page 1

The following provides definitions of terms to demystify motorcycle specifications as usually listed in the motorcycle magazines and on Internet Websites. These definitions of terms should be easier to understand by riders who would rather ride than learn the technical complexities of their machines. Bear in mind that whole books could be written about each term. We are only touching the basics.

The following message, posted on a motorcycle forum that I used to run, was the motivation for me to provide these definitions of terms used in motorcycle specifications.

    "OK, I admit I am probably the polar opposite of a gearhead, whatever that is. But yesterday, I had an eleven-year-old grilling me about my bike, and I suddenly realized that I could probably compute this stuff if someone would translate it into non-gearhead language for me. I have the stats for my bike in front of me. What do they mean? I would really appreciate a translation that lies somewhere on the technical jargon continuum between 'it goes really fast when you turn the throttle' and what appears in these specs."

To help this forum member and probably countless others seeking to learn more about their bikes, I'm supplying these definitions of terms used in typical motorcycle specifications.

Engine:

  • Type:
    • No. of Strokes: Engines in motorcycles discussed on this site are all four-stroke. There are two-stroke engines as well. Also, don't confuse four-stroke with four-cylinder or two-stroke with two-cylinder. They are totally different. The four strokes in a four-stroke engine are defined as follows:
      • Stroke 1 - Intake valve(s) open, piston moves down, sucking in the air/fuel mixture.
      • Stroke 2 - All valves closed, piston moves up, squeezing the mixture.
      • Stroke 3 - All valves still closed, spark plug ignites the fuel/air mixture, pushing the piston down.
      • Stroke 4 - Exhaust valve(s) open, piston moves up, blowing the old charge out the exhaust valves.
      • A short version is Suck, Squeeze, BANG, and Blow.
    • Cooling: An engine can be liquid-cooled by running coolant through the engine and exchanging the heat via a radiator like a car. It can also be air-cooled by airflow over fins on the engine. Another variation is oil-cooling where engine oil is circulated in the engine and its heat exchanged by a small radiator. There are even oil/air/fan cooling systems.
    • Valves: Valves are used as mentioned above. There may be one or more valves used for intake and exhaust. The specs may indicate how many valves are used per cylinder or for the whole engine. Terms such as SOHC (Single OverHead Cam) and DOHC (Double OverHead Cam), etc. are used to indicate how the valves are opened and closed. There are other methods to operate the valves as well.
    • Number of Cylinders: Engines can have one to six cylinders.

      A single-cylinder engine, sometimes called a thumper, is used in small bikes.

      Most bikes have engines with two-cylinders arranged in many configurations including: V-twin where the cylinders are spaced at a particular angle to each other; Parallel twin where the two cylinders are right next to each other in a vertical position; and Flat-twins where the two cylinders are opposed such as in BMW Boxers.

      Engines may have more than two cylinders such as: Triples where three cylinders are lined up next to each other in a vertical position; In-line fours similar to a triple except with another cylinder added; V-4 engines such as used in Honda ST1300; V-6 engines such as used in Boss Hoss; Flat-six engines such as used in Honda Gold Wing 1500/1800s.

      There are other engines not described.

  • Displacement: Displacement is the volume displaced in the cylinders of an engine as the pistons move from their bottom position to their highest position in the cylinders. Displacement is measured in either cubic centimeters (CC) or cubic inches (CI).
  • Bore and Stroke: Bore is the diameter of the cylinder in the engine in which a piston moves up and down. Stroke is the distance that the piston moves up and down inside the cylinder.
  • Fuel System: Either carburetor(s) or fuel injection is used to control the mixture of air and gasoline and prepare it to be sucked through the intake valves and into the cylinders during Stroke 1, described above. Specs usually identify the carburetor name and how many carburetors are used. Fuel injection comes with different names such as Fuel Injection (FI), Digital Fuel Injection (DFI), Electronic Sequential Port Fuel Injection (ESPFI), Programmed Fuel Injection (PGM-FI), etc.
  • Compression Ratio: Here's a definition from Motorcycles Forum moderator, Bill Wood:
      "Think of Compression Ratio this way: When the piston is at the bottom of the cylinder, say you could pour 100cc of water into the sparkplug hole (both valves closed) and it would be full. When the piston is at the top of its stroke, you can only pour 10cc of water into the hole to fill it. The compression ratio would be 100 to 10 or 10 to 1. That's about as easy to understand as I can make it. Oops, forgot to say -- Higher compression ratios (in general) will let the engine make more power, require higher octane gas and be harder for the starter to turn over."
  • Maximum Torque: Torque is described as twisting force. This is the maximum amount of twisting force the engine can put out and at what value of engine Revolutions Per Minute (RPM). Put simply, torque is the "grunt, stretch your arms, push your eyeballs into their sockets" quality when you aggressively use the throttle and accelerate hard. The higher the number, the more forceful that feeling is.
  • Maximum Horsepower: This is the maximum amount of horsepower delivered by the engine. It occurs at a particular engine speed. Horsepower (HP) and torque are interrelated with RPM by the formula HP = TORQUE X RPM / 5252.

Now learn the terms that apply to Drivetrain, Brakes, Suspension, Tires, and Dimensions by going to Page 2 or clicking the picture to read the complete 2-page article on my Website..

Motorcycle Picture of the Month:

Motorcycle Picture of the Month - May, 2015 - Pre-1953 Cushman Motor Scooter:
See the May, 2015 Picture of the Month and previous pictures. If you'd like to be considered for Picture of the Month, send me a picture and description of your bike. Submit Picture.

My Book, 50 Wild Motorcycle Tales, Now Has an Audiobook (Audible) Edition on Amazon, iTunes, and Audible:

I mentioned in previous Motorcycle Views newsletters that I would soon have an audiobook edition of my book, 50 Wild Motorcycle Tales. On April 14, 2015, that became a reality. The audiobook is available on Amazon, iTunes, and Audible.

If you click the book cover (or click here), you can listen to a 5-minute sample of the audiobook and hear all three narrators, including me.

Should you decide to buy and download the audiobook, I'd welcome any Amazon online reviews you might want to write after you have listened to the audiobook.

Remember, this new audiobook edition is also available for download on iTunes. That means you can access it on all your Apple devices including your iPhone and iPad.

Here are the Most Popular articles on the Motorcycle Views Site. Take a look:

My Motorcycle Books:

I have reduced the price of my three Kindle editions to $0.0 (FREE) IF you also first purchase the corresponding paperback edition. That way you can always have the book with you if you have a tablet or smartphone with you. None of the paperbacks has color pictures in them owing to the high price of producing a book with color. However, every Kindle edition has color pictures, so the Getting Started Riding a Motorcycle and Motorcycle Haiku Poetry Kindle books are in full color.

I hope you will take a look at my three motorcycle books, available in paperback and Kindle editions on Amazon.com. These books make great, inexpensive gifts. In fact, you can purchase all three for less than $25 total. As I mentioned above, you will also be able to download each of the three color Kindle books FREE, IF you buy the corresponding paperback first.

My first book, Getting Started Riding a Motorcycle, was first published in 2011 but only as a Kindle edition. It was revised in 2014 and also made available in a paperback edition. Click the book cover to learn more about the book and how to buy it on Amazon.com.

My second book, 50 Wild Motorcycle Tales, contains a collection of stories that originally were only available on my website. Fifty of these stories were selected, intensively edited, and compiled into the book. I wrote five of the stories. The book is available in both paperback, Kindle, and audiobook (Audible) editions. Click the book cover to learn more about the book and how to buy it on Amazon.com. The Audible edition is also available for immediate download on iTunes and Audible.

My third book, Motorcycle Haiku Poetry, also available on Amazon.com in both paperback and Kindle editions, contains haiku poems about motorcycles. A surprising number of visitors to my site quickly caught on and enjoyed haiku poetry that had been submitted to me over the years from motorcyclists. Haiku is a simple poem of three lines with five syllables in the first and last lines and seven in the second line. They are easy to write, and most riders like to read them. I coupled each haiku poem with a motorcycle picture and description that tied into the poem itself. I wrote seven of the haiku poems. Click the book cover to learn more about the book and how to buy it on Amazon.com.

Polar Bear Grand Tour Pictures and Videos:

Since the last Newsletter, the Polar Bear Grand Tour has completed all of its scheduled runs. Cheeburger Cheeburger in Easton, PA and Cape May, NJ were the last two runs. Click this link (or the picture) to see some of the pictures as they appear on Facebook.

All the pictures and videos for these runs can be found by clicking the following links: Cheeburger Cheeburger Easton, PA and Cape May, NJ.

Special: The Polar Bears held their End of the Season Get-Together at the Pic-A-Lilli Inn on Saturday, April 25, 2015. I was able to get the pictures done before this Newsletter went out. Here's a link.

The Polar Bears consist of 550 riders from New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Delaware, who ride each Sunday to a different prescribed destination where they sign-in and receive points. There is, usually, a restaurant at or near the destination. It gets cold, windy, and snowy on these rides. I've been a Polar Bear member for more than 20 years, and I built and continue to maintain their website.

The picture to the right was taken at Cheeburger Cheeburger, Easton, PA where the street was blocked off for this run.

Help Grow Motorcycle Views:

The Motorcycle Views Website is here for you. We encourage you to submit a story, picture, poem, salvage yard recommendation, user review of your own bike, tattoo, YouTube video you made of your bike, motorcycle tip, etc. These will be evaluated for inclusion into one of our major features. Send us a submission today and share part of your motorcycling experience with our many readers. Read how to make a submission.

Send In Your Pictures:

We love pictures of your motorcycles. Even better is a picture of you with your bike. We also like descriptions of bikes so tell us all about your bike. What accessories do you have? What special paint job do you have? How long have you been riding? Tell us more. Women riders are especially requested to send their pictures in. Submit a Picture.

Social Media:

See me on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, and YouTube.

My Website:

My website, forum, and blog are all available on your PC or MAC and your smartphone or tablet (in a new format).

Be sure to check out the Home Page on Motorcycle Views. It keeps changing daily, now containing links to hundreds of my original articles and features including Makes and Models, Picture Galleries, Motorcycle FAQ, Motorcycle Tips, Motorcycle How-Tos, Rallies, Videos and Movies, and User Reviews.

Walter F. Kern's Author Page on AmazonThanks again for coming along for the ride in this new edition of the Motorcycle Views Newsletter. -- Walter.

For New Subscribers:

Expect newsletters on Sunday afternoon every other week.

Please understand that the Motorcycle Views Newsletter is NOT the Motorcycle Views website. The newsletter provides a few links to content on the Motorcycle Views website. Once you click a link in the newsletter, you'll be getting access to content on the Motorcycle Views site.

If you'd like to view some recent newsletters, just go to the newsletter sign-up page and look below where my three motorcycle books are described for links.

Thanks for signing up for the Motorcycle Views Newsletter. Using this Newsletter, I'll keep you up-to-date with what's going on in the Motorcycle Views Blog, the Motorcycle Views Website, and the Motorcycle Views Forum. The forum has a new look as of February 13, 2015. Take a look. Not sure what a blog is? It's like a daily readout of what I'm thinking about, similar to a diary at times. Most often, I'm using mine right now to tell my visitors what has been added to the Motorcycle Views site.

See me on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, and YouTube.

My website, forum, and blog are all available on your PC or MAC and your smartphone or tablet (in a new format).

END OF NEWSLETTER

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2015

2014

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