Desmodromic: Desmodromic has to do with valve control in the engine. With desmodromic control, no return springs are used and the engine relies on compression to seat the valves. This is a design used previously by Mercedes and others but became an integral part of the Ducati motorcycle engine. It allowed for much higher rpm and horsepower and immediately proved itself in racing. See the book, Ducati, for illustrations of the Desmo valve control system and a description of its operating principles.
Thanks Walter Kern!
Tags: Desmodromic, Ducati
Hope you have a fantastic Sunday. I will soon be enjoying a hot cup of joe and the morning paper. Later in the day my wife and I will be heading out for a leisurely ride. I hope you get a chance to ride today! here’s this weeks definition…
Enrichener:The Enrichener injects an extra amount of fuel to assist in starting the motorcycle. If the throttle is opened, the function of the enrichener is defeated. The effect of the enrichener is to provide extra fuel to assist starting. This is similar to the function of the choke but the choke only restricts air intake (which has the effect of making the mixture more rich in fuel). The enrichener has been used by BMW and Harley-Davidson. Most motorcycles have knobs or levers to pull out to decrease the air intake for chokes or increase the fuel intake for enricheners. After the engine has warmed up, the enrichener may be pushed back in.
”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 spark plug 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.”
Thanks to Bill Woods for this weeks definition.
Tags: , biker terms, compression ratio
Hope all of you are enjoying your weekend. Springfield is experiencing quite a different type of weather from last Sunday. Today is in the low 40’s with rain snow mix. Here’s this weeks definition…
Bottom End: Bottom End refers to the bottom portion of a motorcycle engine including the crankshaft, connecting rods and bearings, primary chain, cam sprockets, seals, and other components that support delivering the power to the transmission and rear wheel of the machine
Tags: , bottom end, motorcycle engine
Hey it’s Sunday and the weather is going to be fantastic in Springfield. I will be riding most of the day, but before I go here’s the biker terms for this week! have fun today and KTRSD!
Clutch - Dry: A Dry Clutch is more like the clutch found on an automobile that separates the engine from the transmission. There is a dry connection between the engine and transmission.
Clutch - Wet: A Wet Clutch is one that contains many plates that are in the oil spray of the transmission and the oil gets between the plates. The plates on wet clutches have a tendency to stick together when the bike sits. So, when you start the bike in the morning, before you put it in first gear to move off, depress the clutch lever for about 30 seconds to allow the oil on the plates to drain off and the plates to separate. Otherwise, you’ll get a decided clunk and slight movement forward when you put it in first.
Tags: , biker terms, clutch
Good Sunday morning to everyone! Here’s today’s biker term…
Balaclava: A Balaclava is a thin pull-over head and neck cover with eye slits for winter usage under a motorcycle helmet. Pronunciation: Bal-A-Clav’-A • (noun)
Tags: , balaclava, biker terms
Here’s todays definition…
Lunger / Lung-er
Used in statements like “one lunger”, “double lunger”, “n lunger”, etc. where n is the number of cylinders that a motorcycle has. Thus, a Buell Blast is a “one lunger”, a Harley-Davidson is a “double lunger” or a “two lunger”, a Triumph Trident is a “three lunger”, and many Japanese motorcycles are “four lungers”.
* Thanks to Tim Smith for suggesting this term.
Tags: defintions of biker terms
Ironhead:
The first generation of Sportster models (produced from 1957 until 1985). Unlike other models with nicknames that describe the look of the cylinder heads on particular engine (”Knucklehead”, “Shovelhead”, “Flathead”, etc.), the Ironhead name comes from the fact that the cylinder heads on these models were cast iron whereas the heads on other models at that time were made of aluminum.
Tags: , Definitions of biker terms, knucklehead, sportster
I hope all of you are having a fantastic weekend. Springfield’s weather is going to be nice enough to put a few miles on the Aero, so I am going to have a nice breakfast then hit the road.
Todays definition is…
“RAT BIKE” A motorcycle that is usually mechanically sound and well-maintained but that looks as if it has been ridden through a war zone or as if it has been assembled from the wrecked carcasses of several other motorcycles. See the Wikipedia entry on this subject for more information.
* Thanks to Tim Smith for suggesting this term.
It is Sunday so that means it’s time for “Biker Terms” here’s this weeks definition…
ECM
Electronic Control Module
The computer brain that controls various aspects of your motorcycle’s performance including ignition, timimg, and fuel to air ratio.
Hey Gang! Hope you are enjoying your Super Bowl Sunday. Due to the popularity of “Definitions of Biker Terms”, we will continue the segment through February. This feature will be posted every Sunday. By the way, if you would like to suggest a definition, simply e-mail it to rickslark@yahoo.com.
TODAY’S DEFINITION…
Clutch Booster
A device designed to reduce the effort necessary to engage the motorcycle’s clutch mechanism. Often used by people who ride older motorcycles as these clutch mechanisms were notoriously stiff making the clutch lever difficult to pull under normal conditions and exhausting to repeatedly pull in stop-and-go traffic.
These devices have grown in popularity in recent years due to the increase in the number of women riders and the increasing median age of the average motorcycle rider.
* Thanks to Trent Schultz for suggesting this term.
Tags: , biker terms, clutch booster, Super Bowl
