<img width="200" height="125" class="floatleft" src="https://motorcycleinth.com/images/articles/Yamaha_FZ1_choke_system_problems_1.jpg" alt="" />The misunderstanding and problems of the 2004 Yamaha FZ1's 'choke' system, some of you would say that is easily answered the 2004 Yamaha FZ1 has officially no choke. The Yamaha FZ1 uses, like many other carburetor motorcycles, it instead uses a cold-start enricherner system involving separate fuel-metering circuits in each carburetor.

When you turn on the enricheners, you open a plunger valve in each carburetor that allows engine vacuum to draw a very rich fuel mixture into that carburetor's bore, just on the engine side of its butterfly valve. It has much the same effect as a choke but achieves it in a different way.

Second, if you are encounter an explosive bang out the exhaust when you open the throttle, it is called 'fterfiring', and not be mistaken by 'backfiring'. It is so named because it occurs in the exhaust, after any unburned mixture has left the combustion chamber.

<img width="200" height="149" class="floatleft" src="https://motorcycleinth.com/images/articles/The_Custom_Motorcycle_Paint_Job_0.jpg" alt="" />A good motorcycle paint job can be expensive, why is that. It is because once the motorcycle is ready for the final color application, things slow down a lot, the final paint can be sprayed on in numerous layers; it's kind of a “paint, dry, paint, dry” process until the colors are as vivid as desired. The skill is walking the fine line between putting on too much paint or too little. If there are graphics involved, each color must be left to dry, then the next area needs to be masked off before spraying.

The first stage in masking off graphics is to use a thin ultra-flexible, plastic lining tape; this can create really smooth curves. Next, masking tape is laid partially over it and partially over newspaper to fully cover the rest of the bodywork.

<img width="200" height="159" class="floatleft" src="https://motorcycleinth.com/images/articles/Suzuki_GSX1300R_K8_Hayabusa_recall_1.jpg" alt="" />Suzuki Motor Corporation has decided that a defect which relates to motor vehicle safety exists in certain 2008 model year GSX1300RK8 motorcycles. Suzuki Motor Corporation is conducting a voluntary Safety Recall Campaign. According to our records, you are the owner of one of these motorcycles.


Suzuki Motor Corporation has determined that certain GSX1300RK8 motorcycles may have the ignition switch lead wire improperly routed. Handlebar movement can result in abnormal flexing and damage to the ignition switch lead wire. Damage to the ignition switch lead wire can result in intermittent or complete loss of electrical power, which can result in loss of lighting and/or stalling of the engine. This could result in a crash.

The most effective big-bore engine is the 250cc four-stroke. By going to a bigger piston, enough to get it up to 262cc, you get a two horsepower gain. On the second place comes the Kawasaki KSR110, with a 4mm bore up.

For some four-stroke engines, which are in basic already a bore up when the leave the factory, the engine's tipping point is much lower. For example the Honda CRF250's tipping point is 256cc. That is a 1mm increase in bore size.

For the bore up of Kawasaki's popular KSR-110 and other smaller play bikes, most of them 150cc and smaller play bikes use cylinders with steel liners. Even with the benefits of a steel sleeve, it's not recommended to overbore more than 2mm. However, if you're already having the cylinder bored, it's just as easy to punch out the old sleeve and replace it with one that accepts up to a 6mm larger piston.

<img width="200" height="150" class="floatleft" src="https://motorcycleinth.com/images/articles/Heavy_Modifying_on_the_Yamaha_FZ450F_1.jpg" alt="" />I've lived with, ridden and raced my project Yamaha YZ450F for a few months now. After the first stage basic mods. I was ready to get some more modifying work done. The basic modification of the Yamaha YZ450F where we customized the ergos, beefed up the suspension, and fitted a slipper clutch, we figured it was time to look at some more engine work.

It's obvious the new shorty muffler has robbed the stock 2008 Yamaha bike of its bottom-end and throttle-response and, being a bigger guy, I was even having trouble getting off the startline in second gear. So my best friend, in mechanics, and I started talking about the new CDR Performance Kit being developed by Team CDR Rockstar Yamaha for the YZ-F series, and put out hands up for one.

Thanks to the CDR guys, we where one of the first in Thailand to get decked out. And belief me, it absolutely transforms the 2008 Yamaha YZ450F!

<img width="200" height="149" class="floatleft" src="https://motorcycleinth.com/images/articles/Crash_Protection_and_Renthal_Grips_1.jpg" alt="" />This month sees a couple of minor but effective mods for my Suzuki GSX-R600. The Gixer already wears R&amp;G frame crash protection so I've added more of our favorite name in damage prevention to the fork bottoms and bar-ends.

The other modification was replacing the OE grip with some Renthal race jobbies. I've gone for the soft compound for maximum tacky grip. Thinner rubber will increase feel through the bars too.

They also look better, simply because they're the same as on BSB bikes.

<img width="200" height="135" class="floatleft" src="https://motorcycleinth.com/images/articles/The_Basic_Air-Box_Mod_1.JPG" alt="" />One of the most asked question is probably how can I increase the performance of my motorcycle, we hear this from people riding 100cc to all the way up to 1000cc (and a few over). The answer and one of the simplest ways of unleashing a fraction more power is to have a look at your air-box.

On a track-bike, you're less likely to encounter mud, debris or flying stones, so you can afford to minimize the guards and funnels that guide the inflow of air and protect the engine's lungs. If you can reduce the resistance that restricts airflow into the air-box, it should breath more easily, like giving it a packet of Tunes to suck on.

When you increase the cylinder's bore, you increase the surface area on top of the piston. This spreads the fuel/air mixture's workload and produces more power without taxing the force of combustion. Even with standard cranking pressure, you gain better performance because of the extra size of the combusted explosion.

Conversely, to make more power with a standard-size bore requires that you compress the constrained explosion with more pressure. More compression forces the engine to work harder, resulting in more stress and an engine that wears out quicker.

Making horsepower with a bigger bore has no ill effect on reliability. Running the standard compression means that you can use 91-octane pump petrol. A bore increase equal in thickness to a ten Baht coin turns a regular 250cc into a 262cc.

My GSX-R750L is coming up to four years in my care. Bought on a high-interest, hard-sell loan, I'll never sell it. Quite like the look of a cheap Suzuki TL1000R, though....

Early this year I looked at the boxes that contained the dismantled bike, drink beer, look at them, have a fag, try to assemble some bits, watch TV, assemble some more bits, lose interest, feel guilty, go back out to the garage, and finally completed the reassembling of the bike.

Now after 6 months that the Suzuki GSX-R750 is back on the road, I'm thinking of doing some work on it again. To make it handle better. I can't change physics, so I'm just going to make the best of a bad job. A front suspension rebuild would go down well - I've run out of compression and rebound adjustment, and action is spongy. It desperately needs a new rear shock for the same reasons, too.

Nobody likes a noisy bike. Not only are they obnoxious to the ear, but bikes with poorly-packed or blown-out silencers are robbed of precious horsepower as their finely tuned exhaust systems cease to work at peak efficiency. But what if, your bike sounds like a bee in a biscuit tin, and no longer performs like it used to. Then it's time to learn how to repack your exhaust.

Remove the exhaust system from the motorcycle. This is easy, if you take a few thinks into account. All the muffler bolts get very hot. The constant expanding and contracting can cause fasteners fatigue and will dry out the threads. Spray some penetrating spray on the bolts before removing them. Dig all the mud and dirt out of the thread and fasteners before you start, while taking note of any gaskets you might need to replace as you disassemble.

For the second step you need to separate the silencer. Have a look at the muffler and work out how it comes apart before you start attacking it with a hammer.