General Motorcycle Engine Maintenance

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Changing a Spark Plug on Your Motorcycle Material : Socket Driver 3/16 or 5/ !eep socket 3" an! 6" !rive e#tensions Swivel a!apter $or the !river allows $or tight spaces

Procedure : %et a service/repair manual be$ore you start any o$ your own work on your vehicle.

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Make sure your motor is o$$ an! cool be$ore you start. &ake 'ust one spark plug wire o$$ one plug by grabbing the spark plug wire boot an! not the wire itsel$. (r use a spark plug wire puller. Make sure there is no !irt an!/or oil aroun! the spark plug. )$ nee!e!* wipe the area aroun! the spark plug hole being care$ul not to brush the !irt an! oil away $rom the hole. &ake out that plug with the proper tools by turning the plug to the le$t +counter clockwise,. -sually the tool is a 13/16 or 5/ !eep socket. .ou may have to have a swivel 'oint an! an e#tension also. /eplace it with a new one turning the spark plug in by han! until han! tight. -se the same tool you use! to take out the ol! plug to snug up the new plug. 0onnect the spark plug wire onto the new plug. Make sure it is on. &hey usually kin! o$ snap on. 1ollow steps three through eight until all spark plugs have been replace!. Note : 2hile you are at the parts store you might want to get a spark plug gaper an! spark plug wire puller. 3ven though the gap is pre set on new plugs it is a very goo! i!ea to check it +ask the counter clerk at the automotive parts store $or the recommen!e! gap,. &he wire puller saves the wires $rom pulling apart $rom the boot. Doing 'ust one plug at a time helps you to keep everything in or!er. 4 crosse! plug wire means the vehicle will miss $ire or $ire out o$ or!er. &ake a goo! look at the ol! plugs. &hey can tell you a lot on how your vehicle is running. Engine Compression Testing .ou can have the hottest cam* per$ect ignition timing* clean carburetor* an! $resh gas* but without goo! compression... that engine is not going to run. &he $irst thing to !o* when a non running bike comes in* is to run a compression test. )$ the engine !oes not have at least 155 6S) +6oun!s per S7uare )nch, in each cylin!er* then !on8t work on it* e#cept to rebuil! it. )t woul! be a waste o$ the customers money i$ you "&rie!" to make it run. &he !rill is simple. /emove all the spark plugs* groun! all the spark plug wires or turn o$$ the ignition* i$ possible. Screw or push the en! o$ the gauge into the spark plug hole* open the throttle wi!e* an! kick away. ) like to kick +or turn the engine over with the electric starter, about $our to $ive times an! then check the gauge. /emember the rea!ing* release the pressure on the gauge* by pushing the little releases* an! !o it again. )$ the rea!ing changes* !o it till you get several rea!ings that are all the same. &hat woul! be the correct pressure. 2hen you remove the spark plug* it might be a goo! i!ea to loosen the plug a bit an! then blow out an! aroun! the plug with compresse! air. &his is to blow out any bits o$ !irt that might $all into the engine through the spark plug hole* as you remove the plug. &his is an especially goo! i!ea on !irt bike engines with !eep* $orwar! $acing* spark plug holes. &echnically* .ou shoul! !o this when the engine is hot. 4 hot engine woul! probably rea! a $ew poun!s more* but a col! rea!ing will tell you what you nee! to know. /un the test on each cylin!er. 4ll the cylin!ers on an engine shoul! be within ten poun!s o$ each other. )n other wor!s* a $our cylin!er engine rea!ing 195 6S)* 155 6S)* 19: 6S)* an! 155 6S) woul! be consi!ere! goo!. )$ it ha! 135 6S)* 155 6S)* 155 6S) an! 155 6S)* it woul! not be consi!ere! goo!. Something is starting to go wrong with that $irst cylin!er. (;* you have a cylin!er that rea!s low. )s it valves or rings* leaking that compression < 4 7uick* !own an! !irty test is this. S7uirt some oil* maybe a teaspoon8s worth* into the cylin!er through the spark plug hole. =ow run the test again. &he oil will hol! compression $or several turns o$ the engine. )$ your retest with oil gives higher compression* you will know the rings are worn. )$ there is no change in compression* it8s the valves that are leaking. )$ you think it8s the valves* it8s always a goo! i!ea to check the

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valve tappet clearance. )$ the valves are tight* they coul! be leaking compression. )$ the valves are tight* reset them to the proper clearance an! test again. i$ your compression comes back !on8t thank your luck* thank >esus ? He 'ust save! you an engine rebuil!. )$ you have an engine with 0onstant @elocity carbs the test is still !one the same* with the throttles wi!e open. .ou might think they woul! rea! !i$$erent* but they !on8t seem to. Sometimes the spark plug holes are kin! o$ weir! in the siAe !epartment an! you will have to use an a!apter on the en! o$ the compression tester gauge. .ou can get a lot o$ !i$$erent types o$ a!apters* but sometimes you may nee! a special a!apter that no one sells. .ou can try to use the push type o$ tester. )t has a rubber tip that $its into the spark plug hole an! is hel! there by han! pressure. Sometimes* !ue to the position o$ the spark plug* that will not work. )$ you can8t buy the right a!apter you can make one out o$ an ol! spark plug. &o make one* simply take a spark plug that $its the engine you want to test an! remove the part o$ the metal base that is crimpe! over the ceramic portion o$ the spark plug. .ou can !o this with a hack saw* an! the crimpe! part will come loose like a ring. =ow you can knock the ceramic part o$ the plug out with a !ri$t $rom the nose en! o$ the plug. &his leaves you with 'ust the metal portion o$ the plug. =ow you can cut threa!s insi!e the en! with a tap* like the one above* or wel! it up with metal an! re!rill it to the right hole siAe i$ the plug is too big to tap as is. )$ you !on8t have a compression gauge han!y* all is not lost. 4 !own an! !irty way to !o it is to simply press your thumb over the spark plug hole an! hol! it there tight. =ow have someone kick the engine over. =o matter how har! you push your thumb* the compression pressure shoul! blow it o$$ the hole smartly. )$ it won8t* you !on8t have enough compression to start the engine. Hard Starting Motorcycle Engines Turn Over Slo ly BigCinch* highCcompression motorcycle engines can be a bear to start. &hey $ire o$$ when they spin* but getting them to turn over can be ta#ing on motorcycle parts like starters an! electrics. &here are a $ew things you can !o to make li$e easier on your starting system* some mechanical* some electrical. 1irst you nee! to !etermine i$ the slow cranking is mechanical or electrical in nature. 2e like to !o a cranking compression check with the throttle open. High per$ormance motorcycle engines will rea! about 1 5psi* more than that suggests too mil! a cam $or the compression ratio. )nstalling a cam with more overlap will help this. 4ltering the !egree on your cam can also help* this re7uires special timing tools an! is usually a motorcycle parts shop 'ob. )$ your cranking compression is within reason* other mechanical causes $or slow cranking coul! be a worn or bin!ing starter or !rive* melte! stator !ragging on the rotor* hy!raulic li$ter blee! !own* seiAe! piston* or oil/gas sumpe! motor. )n a!!ition* high viscosity oils run at lower temperatures will cause sluggish cranking. 2e run 55 or 65w oils in the heat o$ summer* but when morning temps !ip into the 558s we switch back to D5/55w an! it makes a worl! o$ !i$$erence in the way the motorcycle engines start an! warm up. 3lectrical causes are common too* so an amp !raw check on the starter is in or!er. 4 weak battery* corro!e! or un!ersiAe battery cables* poor wiring connections* or ina!e7uate ignition timing will cause problems. Some very large motorcycle engines re7uire a special a!vance curve with more ignition retar! at the beginning to keep them $rom kicking back an! spewing the starter gears. (n race bikes you can also reCwire the han!lebar kill switch so that the engine will crank with the ignition o$$* then $lick the switch on once the engine is spinning. &his is also help$ul in service applications. ) like to put my han! on battery cables a$ter cranking the motorcycle engine $or a $ew secon!s an! check $or heat. )$ the wires get very warm*

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they may have internal resistance or be too small $or the amount o$ current in them. 4 secon! groun! cable $rom the battery !irectly to the starter can help many times* but heavy !uty cables like the 1isher setups are the best. (n large motors* SES recommen!s leaving the throttle close! until the engine $ires* it makes most enrichener systems $unction better an! because it a!mits less air* it re!uces cranking compression. 1or e#traCstubborn cases* you can install compression releases. (n motorcycle engines with !ual plug machining like /evC&ech or the new SES &0 hea!s it8s easy* but on earlier or stock engines it re7uires !isCassembly an! machining an e#tra plug hole in the hea!s. Motercycle Engine area !atails "e#t side engine area details $attery : &he motorcycle battery can be locate! in various positions on the bike. )t can be hi!!en $rom sight. Some motorcycle batteries re7uire that you check their level in each cell perio!ically. (ther batteries are seale! an! re7uire no maintenance. Choke : &he motorcycle 0hoke is use! when the engine is col!. &he 0hoke may be locate! on the han!lebars or on the si!e o$ the motorcycle in the motor area. &he motorcycle 0hoke is pulle! out or otherwise activate! when the motor is col! be$ore you attempt to start the bike. 4$ter the bike has warme! up an! be$ore you start ri!ing* push the choke back in or otherwise place it in its running position. Cylinder : &his @C&win motor has two cylin!ers. Since the @C&win is airCcoole!* there are cooling $ins on the e#terior o$ the cylin!ers. Bikes being sol! to!ay have one* two* three* $our* or si# cylin!ers. Many o$ these are li7ui!Ccoole!. &he cylin!ers may be arrange! in various con$igurations inclu!ing @Ctwin* @C9* parallelCtwin* FCtwin* inline triple* inlineC9* $latC9 an! $latC6 Cylinder Head : 4t the top o$ the cylin!er is the 0ylin!er Hea!. )t $orms the top o$ the combustion chamber an! contains the spark plug+s,* valves* an! other intake an! e#haust components. %oot Peg : 1oot 6egs are the place where you place your $eet on a bike. 1oot 6egs can be !irectly un!er the ri!er as shown or $orwar! so that the ri!er8s legs are stretche! out in the cruiser position. )n some cases* the pegs may be $arther back $or a more sportbike or racing position. &here are a variety o$ shapes an! !esigns $or $oot pegs. 1loorboar!s sometimes take the place o$ pegs on some touring machines. %uel Petcock &alve : Most motorcycles have a 1uel 6etcock @alve on the engine to shuto$$ the supply o$ gasoline. )t has at least three positionsG (=* (11* an! /3S3/@3. &he ri!er turns the petcock to /3S3/@3 when the reserve area o$ the gas tank is reache!. Some motorcycles !on8t have petcocks an! instea! have gas gauges in!icating remaining $uel. Many o$ these bikes have lowC$uel in!icator lights as well. (nce the motorcycle 1uel 6etcock @alve is turne! on* the ignition switch turne! on* the transmission place! in neutral* the choke pulle! out* an! the ;)FF switch turne! to the run position* the motorcycle can be starte!. 'ear Shi#t : &he motorcycle gear shi$t is on the le$tChan! si!e o$ the motorcycle 'ust ahea! o$ the $oot peg. &he motorcycle gear shi$t controls a ratchet mechanism that shi$ts the gears. Most motorcycles use a 1C=CDC3C 9C5 positioning o$ the gear shi$t lever with the "1" being all the way !own. -pshi$ts $rom $irst gear are accomplishe! by a har! upwar! thrust with the top o$ the boot on the un!ersi!e o$ the shi$t lever a$ter $irst pulling in the clutch. &he $irst upwar! kick $rom $irst gear goes through neutral !irectly to secon! gear. &he gear shi$t lever is release! a$ter each upwar! kick. Successive gear shi$ts upwar! take the machine to thir!* $ourth* an! then $i$th +or higher, gear. Downshi$ts occur by pulling in the clutch an! kicking !own the gear shi$t lever one gear at a time an! releasing it a$ter the shi$t in preparation $or the ne#t kick !own. &here is a comple# motion involving the le$t han! operating the clutch* the le$t $oot operating the gear shi$t* an! the right han! opening an! closing the throttle to accomplish smooth shi$ting both accelerating an! !ecelerating. High ay Peg : Motorcycle highway pegs are the place where you place your $eet to stretch out on a long ri!e. Highway pegs are always $orwar! so that the ri!er8s legs are stretche! out in the cruiser position. )n the

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Harley picture* you can actually see two !i$$erent highway pegs place! at !i$$erent positions. &here are a variety o$ shapes an! !esigns $or motorcycle highway pegs. 1loorboar!s sometimes take the place o$ highway pegs on some motorcycles. Horn : -sually motorcycle horns are pretty pathetic. Some ri!ers have chosen to upgra!e the siAe an! noise level o$ their motorcycle horns to be hear! better. )t8s probably better to be prepare! !e$ensively to keep your bike out o$ trouble than to rely on warning someone else with your motorcycle horn (gnition S itch : &he ignition key goes in the )gnition Switch. Many motorcycles have the )gnition Switch in the mi!!le o$ the han!lebars. (thers such as the Sportster have the ignition on the le$tCsi!e o$ the engine as shown. (nce the ignition switch is turne! on* the transmission place! in neutral* the choke pulle! out* the $uel petcock turne! on an! the ;)FF switch turne! to the run position* the motorcycle can be starte! Oil %ilter : &he motorcycle oil $ilter is 'ust like the one on a car e#cept many ri!ers will chrome them since they appear as part o$ the engine. Many ri!ers !o their own oil changes. )$ you8re one o$ them* make sure you know which oil an! oil $ilter to use an! seek out speci$ic instructions on how to !o the motorcycle oil change proce!ure. Passenger Peg : Motorcycle 6assenger 6egs are the place where your passenger places his/her $eet on a bike. &here are a variety o$ shapes an! !esigns $or motorcycle passenger pegs. 1loorboar!s sometimes take the place o$ passenger pegs on some touring machines. Primary Chain Cover : Behin! the motorcycle primary chain cover is the primary !rive* clutch* an! transmission. HarleyCDavi!son still uses an e#ternal !rive that connects the engine an! transmission. (ther manu$acturers have gone to a unitiAe! engine/transmission system. )ocker $o* : 4bove the cylin!er hea! is what is calle! a rocker bo# on this Sportster. (ther engines may have valve covers or other components. &he rocker bo# contains the mechanisms that control the rocker arm assemblies that open an! close the valves. Spark Plug : Motorcycle Spark 6lugs provi!e the spark necessary to ignite the airC$uel mi#ture in the engine to cause combustion. Some Spark 6lugs are rea!ily visible as in this Sportster picture. (thers are completely hi!!en behin! plastic an! other bo!ywork. &here can be more than one spark plug $or each cylin!er. &here is a techni7ue $or replacing a spark plug. 0heck out Basic Motorcycle &ips in the /elate! /esources section in the si!ebar. )ight side engine area details Crankcase Cover : &he crankcase cover is the rightCsi!e cover to the bottom en! o$ the engine. Most o$ this cover is actually the gearcase cover where the cam an! pinion gears resi!e. Mu##ler : &he motorcycle Mu$$ler* $or purposes o$ !escription here* inclu!es all pipes an! ba$$les necessary to 7uiet the e#haust noise an! match with the carburetor 'etting. 1actory mu$$lers are o$ten change! to a$termarket pipes to get the right soun! an! per$ormance !esire! by the ri!er. Oil Tank : &he motorcycle (il &ank is a $amiliar sight on HarleyCDavi!son motorcycles. )t is not seen much in other bran!s where the oil source is integrate! with the engine. &he (il &ank contains the oil an! !elivers it to the oil pump through hoses. )ear %oot $rake Pedal : &he motorcycle rear $oot brake pe!al is locate! on the right si!e o$ the motorcycle 'ust in $ront o$ the $oot peg. )t is connecte! to the rear master cylin!er. 6ressure on the brake pe!al by the right $oot controls the rear brakes o$ the motorcycle. )ear Master Cylinder : &he rear $oot brake pe!al on the right si!e o$ the motorcycle works through the rear master cylin!er to control the rear brakes. +hat Every "u,ricant Must !o &hough the ability to minimiAe $riction is the number one $unction o$ a lubricant * there are other ma'or $unctions that must be consi!ere!. Here are some o$ the basics without getting to technical. 4 lubricant is likely to be also re7uire!

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toG Clean : 4 lubricant must maintain internal cleanliness by suspen!ing contaminants $rom a!hering to components Cool Moving Elements : /e!ucing $riction will re!uce the amount o$ heat that is generate! an! lower the operating temperature o$ the components. 4 lubricant must also absorb heat $rom components an! trans$er it to a location where it can be sa$ely !issipate!. Prevent Contamination : &he lubricant shoul! act as a !ynamic seal in locations such as the piston* piston ring an! cylin!er contact areas. &his minimiAes contamination by combustion bypro!ucts +$or e#ample, in the lubricating system. Fubricants are also relie! upon to support mechanical seals $oun! elsewhere an! to minimiAe e#ternal contamination an! $lui! loss. !ampen Shock : &he lubricant may be re7uire! to cushion the blows o$ mechanical shock. 4 lubricant $ilm can absorb an! !ispense energy spikes over a broa!er contact area. Trans#er Energy : 4 lubricant may be re7uire! to act as an energy trans$er me!ian as in the case o$ hy!raulic e7uipment or li$ters in an automotive engine. Prevent Corrosion 4 lubricant must also have the ability to prevent or minimiAe internal component corrosion. &his can be accomplishe! either by chemically neutraliAing the corrosive pro!ucts or by setting up a barrier between the components an! the corrosive material

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