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Motorcycle Engine Repair
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Motercycle Engine area Datails
- Left side engine area details
- Battery :
The motorcycle battery can be located in various positions on the bike. It can be hidden from sight.
Some motorcycle batteries require that you check their level in each cell periodically. Other batteries are sealed and require no maintenance.
- Choke :
The motorcycle Choke is used when the engine is cold.
The Choke may be located on the handlebars or on the side of the motorcycle in the motor area.
The motorcycle Choke is pulled out or otherwise activated when the motor is cold before you attempt to start the bike.
After the bike has warmed up and before you start riding, push the choke back in or otherwise place it in its running position.
- Cylinder :
This V-Twin motor has two cylinders. Since the V-Twin is air-cooled, there are cooling fins on the exterior of the cylinders.
Bikes being sold today have one, two, three, four, or six cylinders. Many of these are liquid-cooled.
The cylinders may be arranged in various configurations including V-twin, V-4, parallel-twin, L-twin, inline triple, inline-4, flat-4 and flat-6
- Cylinder Head :
At the top of the cylinder is the Cylinder Head. It forms the top of the combustion chamber and contains the spark plug(s), valves, and other intake and exhaust components.
- Foot Peg :
Foot Pegs are the place where you place your feet on a bike.
Foot Pegs can be directly under the rider as shown or forward so that the rider's legs are stretched out in the cruiser position. In some cases, the pegs may be farther back for a more sportbike or racing position.
There are a variety of shapes and designs for foot pegs.
Floorboards sometimes take the place of pegs on some touring machines.
- Fuel Petcock Valve :
Most motorcycles have a Fuel Petcock Valve on the engine to shutoff the supply of gasoline. It has at least three positions: ON, OFF, and RESERVE.
The rider turns the petcock to RESERVE when the reserve area of the gas tank is reached.
Some motorcycles don't have petcocks and instead have gas gauges indicating remaining fuel. Many of these bikes have low-fuel indicator lights as well.
Once the motorcycle Fuel Petcock Valve is turned on, the ignition switch turned on, the transmission placed in neutral, the choke pulled out, and the KILL switch turned to the run position, the motorcycle can be started.
- Gear Shift :
The motorcycle gear shift is on the left-hand side of the motorcycle just ahead of the foot peg.
The motorcycle gear shift controls a ratchet mechanism that shifts the gears.
Most motorcycles use a 1-N-2-3-4-5 positioning of the gear shift lever with the "1" being all the way down.
Upshifts from first gear are accomplished by a hard upward thrust with the top of the boot on the underside of the shift lever after first pulling in the clutch.
The first upward kick from first gear goes through neutral directly to second gear. The gear shift lever is released after each upward kick. Successive gear shifts upward take the machine to third, fourth, and then fifth (or higher) gear.
Downshifts occur by pulling in the clutch and kicking down the gear shift lever one gear at a time and releasing it after the shift in preparation for the next kick down.
There is a complex motion involving the left hand operating the clutch, the left foot operating the gear shift, and the right hand opening and closing the throttle to accomplish smooth shifting both accelerating and decelerating.
- Highway Peg :
Motorcycle highway pegs are the place where you place your feet to stretch out on a long ride.
Highway pegs are always forward so that the rider's legs are stretched out in the cruiser position. In the Harley picture, you can actually see two different highway pegs placed at different positions.
There are a variety of shapes and designs for motorcycle highway pegs.
Floorboards sometimes take the place of highway pegs on some motorcycles.
- Horn :
Usually motorcycle horns are pretty pathetic. Some riders have chosen to upgrade the size and noise level of their motorcycle horns to be heard better.
It's probably better to be prepared defensively to keep your bike out of trouble than to rely on warning someone else with your motorcycle horn
- Ignition Switch :
The ignition key goes in the Ignition Switch.
Many motorcycles have the Ignition Switch in the middle of the handlebars. Others such as the Sportster have the ignition on the left-side of the engine as shown.
Once the ignition switch is turned on, the transmission placed in neutral, the choke pulled out, the fuel petcock turned on and the KILL switch turned to the run position, the motorcycle can be started
- Oil Filter :
The motorcycle oil filter is just like the one on a car except many riders will chrome them since they appear as part of the engine.
Many riders do their own oil changes. If you're one of them, make sure you know which oil and oil filter to use and seek out specific instructions on how to do the motorcycle oil change procedure.
- Passenger Peg :
Motorcycle Passenger Pegs are the place where your passenger places his/her feet on a bike.
There are a variety of shapes and designs for motorcycle passenger pegs.
Floorboards sometimes take the place of passenger pegs on some touring machines.
- Primary Chain Cover :
Behind the motorcycle primary chain cover is the primary drive, clutch, and transmission. Harley-Davidson still uses an external drive that connects the engine and transmission. Other manufacturers have gone to a unitized engine/transmission system.
- Rocker Box :
Above the cylinder head is what is called a rocker box on this Sportster. Other engines may have valve covers or other components. The rocker box contains the mechanisms that control the rocker arm assemblies that open and close the valves.
- Spark Plug :
Motorcycle Spark Plugs provide the spark necessary to ignite the air-fuel mixture in the engine to cause combustion.
Some Spark Plugs are readily visible as in this Sportster picture. Others are completely hidden behind plastic and other bodywork.
There can be more than one spark plug for each cylinder.
There is a technique for replacing a spark plug. Check out Basic Motorcycle Tips in the Related Resources section in the sidebar.
- Right side engine area details
- Crankcase Cover :
The crankcase cover is the right-side cover to the bottom end of the engine. Most of this cover is actually the gearcase cover where the cam and pinion gears reside.
- Muffler :
The motorcycle Muffler, for purposes of description here, includes all pipes and baffles necessary to quiet the exhaust noise and match with the carburetor jetting.
Factory mufflers are often changed to aftermarket pipes to get the right sound and performance desired by the rider.
- Oil Tank :
The motorcycle Oil Tank is a familiar sight on Harley-Davidson motorcycles. It is not seen much in other brands where the oil source is integrated with the engine.
The Oil Tank contains the oil and delivers it to the oil pump through hoses.
- Rear Foot Brake Pedal :
The motorcycle rear foot brake pedal is located on the right side of the motorcycle just in front of the foot peg. It is connected to the rear master cylinder. Pressure on the brake pedal by the right foot controls the rear brakes of the motorcycle.
- Rear Master Cylinder :
The rear foot brake pedal on the right side of the motorcycle works through the rear master cylinder to control the rear brakes.
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