Slapping on a bunch of random aftermarket parts will likely leave your motorcycle handling and looking worse than before you started.

A basic rule of thumb is to avoid combining 'bling' items with performance parts. On a limited budget it typically results in a mishmash machine. Instead, pick a theme and stick to it.

A good way to start modding you motorcycle is by upgrading the parts that are likely worn out anyway, think braking system (master cylinder, lines, rotors and pads, exhaust and rear shocks. Then you con expand the modifications list as you budget permits.

A chronic problem with older motorcycles is that many ancillary items like clip-ons and rearsets show severe signs of age. With their deteriorated appearance comes hindered performance, and as a solution for both issues a set of fully adjustable modern rearset can do the trick.

We all searching for the perfect suspension setup, but the problem is that there is no such thing as an optimal motorcycle suspension setup when it comes to riding on the road, well there is but it's ever changing. The thing is the incredible amount of variables such as tarmac conditions, moisture levels, temperature, and the day-to-day difference in how quickly you feel like riding.

However, it is possible to setup a motorcycle suspension with the best compromise for the majority of the conditions you'll likely be riding in. Which is exactly what motorcycle manufacturers do.

Your first job should be to check that your motorcycle's suspension is set to factory settings. The previous owner may have got creative with the spanners. Thankfully, although most suspension if fully adjustable these days, the range of adjustablility is intentionally pretty small to prevent people completely ruining the handling of their motorcycle and crashing it on the first bump they hit, but returning the suspension to standard is still a must. If you haven't got the motorcycle user manual, you can search Internet.

Just think, a few weeks ago there was rain so much. Even out on the hottest locations in Thailand, it was so wet that nobody really was troubled by the idea of the temperature of the engine. But, just think like this, when you're hot, so is your motorcycle. With temperatures in Thailand soon well over 32c degree, we have need to start thinking how to keep our engines cool.

There are a number of different coolants and coolant additives that make big claims about keeping your motorcycle engine cooler. The only good 'cooler' experience we have with coolants that actual cool better are waterless coolants. Most of this waterless coolants have a boiling temperature that is crazy high, so your motorcycle won steam unless it's about to melt. The only hitch is that it contains no water and won mix with water, also it's not a good thing to mix different waterless coolants, so you have to drain every drop from your cooling system beforehand.

Another point to look for to keep our motorcycle engines cooler is the radiator cap. Your radiator cap isn't just a lid. It's a valve, designed to open at a certain pressure and allow coolant to blow out before your radiator starts looking like a balloon. But manufacturers are by nature conservative, and your radiator can take a bit more pressure before it starts to distort. If your motorcycle came with a 1.1 stamped on the radiator cap (which stands for 1.1kg/cm2) you can probably replace it with a 1.3 or 1.4 without worrying about any ill effects. That might just get you out of the bottleneck before your motorcycle engine starts to boil.

Most of the time, installing a clip-type master-link on a chain is an absolute no-brainer. You either grab the ends of the lower run between the sprockets and slip the link in place, or drop the ends onto the teeth at the back of the rear sprocket, which should hold them them in place until the link is installed.

Should. But sometimes, the chain just won cooperate, either because you don have enough hands to hold both ends of the chain while inserting the link on the lower run, or because the sprocket and/or the chain is worn just enough that the holes in the ends won line up with the link. What is by the way a good sign to start thinking about a new chain and sprockets.

Nothing lets a motorcycle down like a split, marked or faded seat. Therefore re-covering a motorcycle seat is something ever motorcyclist should at least have some knowledge about how to fix it.

First you need a sheet of vinyl. Vinyl is available in many different colors and textures, you can find it on markets and upholstery stores around Pahurat area in Bangkok. Failing that try one of the many online web-stores. Vinyl is typically supplied in lengths 54 inch wide; a meter will do about two seats. 1.2mm is a thickness for motorcycle seats. The following advice assumes a plastic seat base. If yours is metal, use contact adhesive instead of staples. Let the coat of glue dry fully. Start work when the second is fouch-dry.

For re-covering your motorcycle seat you will also need

Pen and measuring tape, scissors, scalpel, ruler, staple remover, a heat source (hairdryer will do), a decent staple gun, 6 and 8mm staples and pliers or pincers.

Remove old staples from the motorcycle seat

Pluck them all out. Staple removers are handy because by twisting the handle you wrap the staple around the tool, letting you pull it out. Tap stuborn bits of staple out with a hammer, or winkle them with pliers. Sweep you bench afterward; old staples will scratch and punch you new vinyl and if they get caught between the foam and the new vinyl they'll be troublesome and highly annoying and visible.

We all heard about it we all know what it can do, but how does it work? Nitrous oxide, or 'laughing gas' as it's also known, is not actually flammable at air temperature, which is a real relief to dentists around the world.

But this soon changes when it's heated. Increase the temperature to approximately 1300 degree Celsius and all hell breaks loose. At this point, it decomposes exothermically into nitrogen and oxygen, which is why it's used in engines to increase power.
An engine works on an explosion of fuel and oxygen. The problem is that air is only about 21% oxygen, so it's not a very efficient explosion and not all of the fuel is burnt. This soon changes with the introduction of nitrous oxide.

Inject this gas into the combustion chamber, or add it to the fuel/air mix beforehand, and the explosion is far more efficient as the nitrous gives off extra oxygen to fuel the detonation.

Did you know that they have suck a thing as a dyno for suspension? They're called shock dynos, although the name is a little misleading as a shock dyno are equally capable of dynoing forks too. Like anything, there are different brands and methods.

The one I've seen most often is a 5VS made by a company called Roehrig Engineering. It's a 5hp, multiple stroke, variable speed system, which simply means it's capable of doing most things.

Roehrig Engineering's most popular model, the 5VS, is a fully computer controlled, variable motor speed model. It is capable of testing at four specific English or Metric stroke settings, up to 50mm (2 inches). The SHOCK™ Test Control and Damper Analysis software enables you to perform static and dynamic gas tests, temperature or time based warming of a damper, as well as stop the 5VS at bottom dead center of the damper stroke. A standard 5VS has force capacity up to +/- 1134kg (2,500 lbs.) and damper velocities up to +/- 990mm (39 inches) per second with a 50mm (2 inch) stroke.

If you're trying to start your motorcycle with the electric starter and the starter motor is spinning but it looks like it not 'catch' the engine. So your motorcycle engine will not start, the problem is likely the sprag clutch.

A sprag clutch is a mechanism that only allows rotation in one direction between two concentric components. Most electric-start motorcycle engines use a sprag somewhere between the starter and the crankshaft, and even the slipper clutches that are being incorporated on a growing number of sporty motorcycles use a variation on the sprag clutch concept.

Sprag clutches generally look kind of like roller bearings, with an outer 'race' built onto one of the two affected components (the crankshaft, for instance, in an electric-starter system) and an inner race connected to the other (such as the electric-starter motor). Instead of round rollers, seen in most classic roller-bearings, most sprag clutches these days have dogbone- or figure-eight-shaped elements held in place by light springs. The elements fit between the races at a slight angle so that when the outer race is turning and the inner race is not (which is the case when the engine is running), the tilt of the elements lets them slip harmlessly across both races surfaces, having no effect on the inner race.

The Honda PCX 125i is the perfect scooter for commuting around town, it's even capable of doing some out of town trips. But if we ask the average Honda PCX rider if he could comment on his or her scooter they will probably mention that it could use a bit more power.

As the Honda PCX is one of Honda's latest creations almost everything is controlled by electronics, not something an average tuning shop would be able to mesh with. Therefore a relative small Thai company called A.P.I Tech have developed a system which gives you the ability to modify the performance of the Honda PCX 125i. Think of it as something similar as the world famous Dynojet Power Commander III, with one piece, a black-box which is connected to the electronics of the Honda PCX, and a software program which runs on a MS Windows computer.

The Honda PCX tuning software shows the performance in both numbers and a 3D data presentation, with different colors the PCX tuning software indicates if it is increasing performance or its losing performance at the rpm-level the Honda PCX is currently revving.

Tire changing is probably the most unbearable part of riding a motorcycle. It takes time away from other things in life, but it needs to be done. Some riders put it off until the tire turns seriously dangerous to ride, they make use of every millimeter of tread on the tire profile, but that's not a good plan. We want to help you get better at changing tires. It doesn't have to be that bad. And learning how to get better at changing a tire is a bit limited to the owners of smaller motorcycles.

With all mechanical things involving your motorcycle it's important to not loose your cool. So smile a lot. The first good tool to own is a valve core remover, which makes life more wonderful. Once you've used that valve core removal tool to let all the air out, you can use your quality tire iron to break the bead on the tire. It's easier than trying to push on it with your hands.

Don't remove the nut all the way off your rim lock, just back it off like this and then push in. This will make removing the tire easier. Trust us, we know what we are doing... we think. So, you've got the bead off and the disc brake side. Good job. Now flip the wheel over and remove the bead on the sprocket side. This will allow the rim to slide into the tire and tube. Now you can run your tire iron like this and slide both the tube and the tire as one off the wheel. Front tires are even easier to do than this. Pretty cool.