Motorcycle Repair & Maintenance

Motorcyclist’s How-To section showcases technical articles on motorcycle repair, motorcycle maintenance and service procedures from our staff. Find motorcycle safety information and expert street bike riding tips and racing techniques.

Motorcycle Tips & How-To

	How to Shim a Sportbike's Rear Suspension There are two basic ways to alter a sportbike's chassis geometry. The first is moving the fork tubes up or down within the triple clamps,... more

	How to Change Brake Pads Today's brakes—even the spiffy new radial-mount variety—need little in the way of maintenance save for periodic fluid bleeding and... more

	10 Cheap Tweaks Making your bike perform better doesn't have to cost a ton of money. In fact, there are ways you can improve you motorcycle that don't cost... more

	How to Avoid Online Bike Sales Scams This just in from our Penetrating Glimpse Into the Obvious Department: If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.... more

	How to Cut Down Your Seat Sometimes the simplest approach is best. If your bike is (or merely feels) too tall, you can shorten the suspension or go straight to the... more

	Strung Straight: Simplified Wheel Aligment Let it not be said that we at Motorcyclist are unresponsive. Recently (er, make that about three and a half years ago), after running a... more

	How to Swap Handlebars One of the great benefits of the old-fashioned tubular handlebar is that you can, usually, replace the stock item with something that fits... more

	Spark Plug R&R Your bike's plugs do their job without a whimper, so you stop thinking about how long they've been in there. You're not alone: One of our... more

	How-To: Thread Repair Made Easier Now you've done it. After that little get-off bent the footpeg bracket and demoted the shift lever to bench art, you've finally got the... more

	How-To: Screen Swap Replacement windscreens are one of those great accessories that are in good supply for just about every sportbike made, and are blessedly... more

	How-To: Headlight Aiming Explained Pretty soon now, night will begin creeping back into our riding hours. And while you spent the summer using the headlight to alert other... more

	How-To: Pack It In Did you know that most pipe manufacturers expect you to repack the mufflers from time to time? Didn't think so. Because these mufflers use... more

	How-To: Brown Eye Be Gone It's been a couple of years, maybe, and the fluid in the eye of the clutch-side reservoir looks more like mocha java than peachy... more

	Motorcyclist Magazine: How-to: Carb Snyching Suddenly, your bike runs like hell. It's hard to start, idles erratically and feels down on power. What you need is a good sync, a carb... more

	How-to: Shock Replacement Sooner or later, you'll want to remove your sportbike's stock shock--maybe to replace it with an often superior aftermarket item or to send... more

	Rearset Installation Sometimes the motorcycle ergonomics guys get it right, sometimes not. Whether you're planning to take your bike to the track or just want... more

	Replacing Fork Seals Leaking fork seals are more than a messy eyesore. Let them go long enough and the oil can ruin brake pads and, when the fluid's gone, the... more

	Suspension Adjustment There's a delicious irony in all this. Motorcycle buyers demand all the bells and whistles, particularly on sportbikes. And they complain... more

	The 600-Mile Service You've probably faced the dilemma of the 600-mile service. All new bikes need to have this service performed, according to scripture, in... more

	Motorcycle Riding Emergency Tips - First Aid Think quick: Your buddy just crashed and now he's bleeding. Or unconscious. Or both. And you're not sure if he's breathing anymore. Do you... more

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Latest News

	All The World's A Stage For Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup At Laguna Seca Some of the most exciting contests of the 2008 AMA season.... more
	Metzeler Radial, Vanson Jacket And More! - Gear Box It's So...Big!For those requiring extra-large rubber, Metzeler's massive 240(!)/40VR-18 low-profile rear radial ($268.95) should fit nicely. Designed for an eight-to-nine-inch custom-cruiser rim,... more
	Aprilia SL1000 Falco - Road Test We loved Aprilia's RSV Mille very much when we finally got the chance to have one around for a while (April '00). In the curvies it was a hoot, on the track it was even better, but on the ride home... more
	1979-1980 Suzuki GS1000S - Archive In the late 1970s Suzuki suffered from an image problem. Although Wes Cooley was kicking unbridled ass on his factory Yoshimura Suzuki, winning the AMA Superbike Championship in 1979 and 1980,... more
	Racing 2 Save Lives Takes To The Track At VIRginia International Raceway On August 11-14 Racing 2 Save Lives is a unique organization that brings together motorcyclists to help raise funds for children's charities.... more
	Performance Sportbikes - Mega Phone We have re-entry riders, so you might as well call me a re-entry motojournalist. Way back in 1982 I started with Cycle Guide magazine as a shop guy and eventually got promoted to a writing position.... more
	Kawasaki W650 And Triumph Legend TT - Retro-Activity There Are Two constants in motorcycling that we take for granted. One, the British motorcycle industry lived and died on charismatic twins and singles (and, OK, the occasional triple) that stuck to... more
	Suzuki GSX-R600, Honda CBR600F4, Kawasaki ZX-6R And Yamaha YZF-R6 - Reality Check 600cc ComparoFantasies are good for you, even Freud would agree. They make tolerable the dulling grind of gainful employment, make bearable the hellish commute and the vacuous elevator banter.... more
	Motorcycle Riding Emergency Tips - First Aid Think quick: Your buddy just crashed and now he's bleeding. Or unconscious. Or both. And you're not sure if he's breathing anymore. Do you know what to do? If it's just you and him and 20 miles of... more
	Jeremy McGrath Is Ready For X Games 14 The "Supercross King" looks for a great ride at Home Depot Center.... more

	STURGIS!!!! IF any of you guys are coming, make sure to stop by our Progressive booth on Thunder Road for your FREE Exclusive Sucker Punch Sallys T-Shirt. All you have to do is this, go to... more
	1995 HD ultra classic-need help My 95 ultra has had a drain on the battery for a while. No mechanic can seem to solve my problem. Since I last got out from a dealer my radio is not working and my brake light does not work. But... more
	93 NSR250 MC21 Need a New Home I am leaving the country on beginning of August, so need a new home my sweet bike. It is a 93 NSR250 MC21 SE mode, fresh rebuild engine, new brake, clutch(dry), adjustable rear shock, new Rothman... more
	I Hate Star Trek I have a 2004 2000 Vulcan and it's been in the shop over the past 3 years for roughly 1 year under warranty. The problem, per the mechanic, is the HDL's. I've read many forums that Kawasaki and... more
	Seeing Red Jim Millers article on running red lights is right on the money. Red light runners in Florida have gotten out of hand. Any day of the week I can see drivers that just can't wait for a light. Some... more
	i got a sort of important quetion- i guess it needs to start with an intro, i'm eighteen i just got my license, for a car and a motorcycle but i'm way more into bikes than cars, so i want to get a bike of coarse i am kinda curious if... more
	Harley versus Victory The Big American Motorcycles Let me start this discussion by getting to the bottom line. Harley is Harley. Only Harley is Harley. Victory is not Harley. Victory will never be Harley. The other... more
	Quite Mufflers Hi.. My first post ! I am searching for QUITE motorcycle Mufflers I have looked at several and they all brag about how they have a nice deep growl / not to noisy. I have a 1987 Suzuki intruder... more
	Lux Custom Choppers $500 Gas Card W/Purchase Lux Custom Choppers announces a $500 Gas Card with order of a new Lux Custom Choppers or Hooters Motorcycles. All bikes are built to order and completed in 3 months. Two Hooters Motorcycles... more
	Looking for a fast, low-maintenence commuter bike As the subject says, I'm in the market for a new commuter bike. I ride about 110 miles around trip from home to work everyday. 45 miles are on I-24 into Nashville, TN and the other 10 miles are on a... more

	BMW F 800 GS delayed due to sibling popularity Woodcliff Lake, NJ - January 24, 2008... Motorcycle enthusiasts eagerly awaiting the arrival of BMW's new F 800 GS will need to be a bit more patient, as production of the middleweight dual-purpose... more
	BMW Motorcycles: The Name equals Change. Part V So what about the numerous model codes that we have also become acquainted with over the years, such as R, RS, S, CS, C, CL, GS, RT, RS, GT and LT? ... more
	BMW Motorcycles: The Name equals Change. Part IV The decision of BMW to produce motorcycles with in-line engines saw the bikes in these model series receive a totally separate designation. ... more
	BMW Motorcycles: The Name equals Change. Part III BMW took the new instructions as the signal to introduce a new internal naming system. ... more
	BMW Motorcycles: The Name equals Change. Part II BMW acted to simplify the system in the mid-1920s. The references to the number of cylinders and model series were abandoned. Now the only entry in front of the project number was to denote an... more
	BMW Motorcycles: The Name equals Change. Part I Ever wondered how BMW motorcycles get their names? The history of the nomenclature for aero engines, motorcycles and cars is marked on the one hand by enduring lines, and on the other by surprising... more
	McQueen Kawasaki goes on Auction International auction house Bonhams & Butterfields will be offering for sale motorcycles previously owned by screen legends Clark Gable and Steve McQueen (pictured) at next month's auction at... more
	New BMW Zumo Navigator Is Smaller, Feature-Rich Woodcliff Lake, NJ -- September, 2007 -- Ever since the introduction of BMW's original Motorrad Navigator several years ago, sales of maps to BMW riders have fallen dramatically. ... more
	Motorcyclists Get Bluetooth Courtesy Of Land Down Under New York, NY, March 27, 2007 – Motorcyclists can now enjoy the freedom of handsfree mobile communication following the release of the BlueAnt Wireless Interphone Handsfree and Intercom. ... more
	Aerostich Press Release Can you hear me now? These revamped WWII-era field phones come with no frills, fees or frustrations. Just wind up the generator, dial the number and you're good to go. ... more

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