It pains us to say it, but with fuel costs as high as they are, the only way we can save money on fuel is to be more economical with the throttle.

Motorcycles, in theory, are fairly frugal. The engines are small, they don't have much weight to pull and they're pretty aerodynamic, so ridden with a little self restraint they'll return some decent fuel economic figures – and general speaking, the smaller and lighter the better, the smaller and lighter the better. Saying this, on one of the stupidly powerful motorcycles in motorcycle history, without trying to hard, we easily managed to surpass 20 kilometers per liter, riding not faster than 110km/h.

You can buy a Royal Enfield that advertised does over 35 kilometers on a single liter fuel, but then you may get fired for being late. Like with any ride though, you've got the choice of getting up earlier and going slower, or diving out of bed and rushing like hell.

There's a whole lot more to reboring a barrel than simply sticking a cutter down it... With use, there inevitably comes a time when our motorcycles' performance causes concern. It rattles when cold and smokes when hot, you lift the cylinder head off hoping to find the valve guides worn and, maybe at worst, the piston requires a new set of rings but a big lip around the top of the barrel confirms a rebore is necessary. Of course you also have owners who want to rebore the cylinder to enhance performance.

In principal, reboring your engine cylinder barrel and fitting a new, oversize piston is straightforward provided the engineer performing the work is competent and has knowledge regarding the type of engine needed to reborn. Older air-cooled engines, and modern, liquid-cooled engines run tighter piston clearances and finer micron bore finishes that are totally incompatible with another.

When your motorcycle engine was designed, the manufacturer went to great lengths to provide the correct cylinder bore material and surface finish. Consideration was also given to piston design and choice of material that would achieve the optimum balance between performance and longevity. They also had to establish a suitable piston skirt clearance based on the machine's intended use. This essential clearance prevents the engine from seizing.

Touring motorcycle engines normally run cooler with specially designed pistons requiring less clearance than sports and racing engines, although this is not always the case as older ait-cooled trials engines can run as hot as road race engines due to clogged fins and poor air circulation. New pistons are supplied with the necessary technical data to enable the engineer to establish the correct size for the new oversize cylinder bore. This is usually in the form of a specified bore size or a physical skirt clearance. E.g. if the piston measures 76.09mm and the recommended skirt clearance is 0.1016mm the finished bore size would be 76.2mm. It's difficult to quantify when a rebore is required as some older engines can run quite satisfactorily with excessive skirt clearances, but in general if the skirt clearance is twice the recommended figure it's time to consider a rebore.

There are three main causes of chain induced vibration. More correctly, the chain is not the initial causal factor, but a resultant one passing the grief down the line as it reacts to other improper conditions such as chain misalignment, wear, and incorrect adjustment.

Chain misalignment causes grief to the unforgiving sprockets as the chain grates against the inner or outer sprocket, as the case may be, cutting a new path on the teeth. This causes vibration and a plethora of metal fragments that wreak havoc on the moving parts. Misalignment of the sprockets will cut a new path on the inside or the outside of the sprockets depending on which sprocket is misaligned. Of course, this will also destroys your chain.

Lets face it just about every old part we get our grubby hands on has varying levels of rust on them. Sure we all know of a ton of ways to get rid of the metal-eating madness, but some are just way too over the top.

What if I told you instead of brushing, filling and chipping away at that iron oxide that all you have to do is let it sit in a bucket of non-toxic, non-caustic, water-based solution for a few hours to get ride of all the nasty rust. After I seen it with my own eyes there is no doubt that Metal Rescue is an incredible rust remover.

You need not plant a tree every time you got out for a ride, because motorcycles (in comparison to cars) have very little impact on the planet, so we can rest easy., That said, it's always nice to do you bit. Today, we're sharing the details of how we keep our motorcycles looking good, regardless of how far we are from the nearest water hose. The following items, when used effectively, will bring a smile to the face of any motorcycles owner, even if the location is as dirty as dirt itself.

Plastic bucket, it might look tiny and nowhere near up to the job but, with well-aimed squirts, it's possible to clean a motorcycle with one of these, no worries. Soaking your motorcycle isn't the challenge; rinsing off cleaning solutions and soap suds is, for which our plastic bucket shines. The average plastic bucket hold 7 to 12 liters of water; realistically, you'll need to refill it at least once. When you've got the hang of it, it's possible to wash a motorcycle using less than 5 liters of water – less than half the amount you'd use with a water hose.

Cleaning solution is important. We like to use Muc-Off (though other products are available), as it's designed specifically to clean motorcycles. Some car-cleaning solutions will bite into the lacquer on a motorcycle panel in no time. Also, car cleaners might not be designed to end up splashed all over your brake discs, rubber seals, etc. Use the detergent sparingly. If you have time, let it sit for five minutes before you wipe/rinse it off.

Delamination and spectacular tire failures are pretty much consigned to the race track, and even then rarely happen in anything but premier-class prototypes. Road tires are a little more vulnerable to puncturing in the wet, as the foreign object is nicely lubed and ready to penetrate.

Punctures normally occur just at the wrong moment – when you're in a rush, ten kilometer into a 500 kilometer epic road trip, as a thunderstorm lets rip above. If you hurtle up to junctions and ride through all the crap that accumulates there, then you could be more prone to picking up a flat otherwise you could get a puncture just about anywhere.

If you've never had a puncture, let a load of air of your tire and go for a quick ride to know the warning signs. A vague feeling from the rear is the first sign, followed by an inability to soak up bumps. If you're not sure, ride over a cat's eye. A weave may develop soon after, as the tire's walls collapse under the weight of you and the motorcycle. Fortunately, tires deflate fairly slowly if you run over a screw or some sort of splinter.

The best way to break in a motorcycle, this controversial topic has plagues motorcycle forums since the beginning of the Internet. Motorcycle Thailand did some research, called qualified sources and uncovered how you can get the most of of your new motorcycle's engine.

There are multiple schools of thought on the best ways of breaking in a new engine, but no matter how you do it, the more meticulous you are, the less handicapped your engine will end up being. The first 35 kilometers can determine how well your engine is going to perform, how much oil it's going to consume and how much fuel it's going to drink. The corporate manufacturer's opinion on sufficient break-in practices conflicts with that of race tuners and dyno tuners alike, but the goal is the same.

We found that there is a clear difference of break-in procedure between race engines and stock engines from the factory. Race engines may require heat cycles or periodic running and stopping of the engine to 'heat-treat' parts, whereas factory engiens are already pre-heat-treated and do not necessarily require heat cycles. So let's just get that out of the way.

OEM break-in or an 'easy' break-in isn't necessarily the best way to go, which is why some prefer to use a dyno instead. Regardless of conflicting opinions, all processes have one thing in common: in order for the engine to properly break-in, the piston rings must fully seal the cylinder wall under combustion pressure or 'load' without warping or becoming out of round thus causing oil consumption or 'blow-by'.

Spark plugs are on of the few consumable parts in your motorcycle engine, and it's easy to forget about them.We're spoilt these days. Modern motorcycles have ignition systems which are very reliable, and they need almost no effort to stay in top form. Where older motorcycles needed careful attention to contact breakers, condensers, HT leads and the like, current motorcycles use ultra-reliable transistorized ignition systems integrated into the engine management system.

There's only one part that needs any maintenance, and that's the spark plugs. On a modern four-stroke motorcycle, they last well, but an inspection will reveal any problems and fresh plugs can sharpen up throttle response on a motorcycle with a high kilometer count. It's a simple job really, and good for the soul.

Check your motorcycle's manual for the intervals – the usual routine is to check them at a minor service (4,000 to 6,000km) and change them at the major service.

Like many jobs, getting access is half the battle. Even on some naked-bikes, you need to take off the sidepanels and tank to get access to the spark plugs. On a sportsbike with an under-tank airbox you'll probably need to take that off too. Remember the workshop basics: put tanks and panels well out of the way so you don't trip over the fuel tank or put your foot through a sidepanel. Take care with the fasteners – a lost or mixed-up screw can easily add an hour to the job, and make a note of which connectors and hoses go where on the tank.

It's never a good feeling when your motorcycle throws a code indicating anything from a failing O2 sensor to a number 2 cylinder misfire.

Counting the flashes of a Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC) and referring to a service manual is one way to self-diagnose, but its not nearly as specific as using an OBD tool.

Healteach has developed a plug-and-play OBD Tool for Suzuki fuel-injection motorcycle with the functionality of a factory unit at a fraction of the cost. The software instantly reads the DTC(s) and clears them after the problem is repaired.

All quality modern tires have a directional rotation. Yes, I know you're now thinking 'I know that', but if you check some motorcycles parked at the parking of your local supermarket you start to see the problem. Many tire designs are also specifically for front or rear fitment, not both. This is crucial in braking, since the front tire has pushing forces applied while the rear has pulling forces. Acceleration applies a forward torque to the rear wheel while the front is along for the ride. Hence, one reason rear tires cost most of the time more is because there are additional performance requirements and wear factors.

Misaligned motorcycle components, such as wheels improperly installed, are a common cause of vibration and other maladies. It's difficult for me to understand why I sometimes see motorcycles with a front tire on the rear or vice versa since the front and rear tread patterns are usually so different. Much more common are tires installed backward. This is due to plain ignorance or a mechanic asleep at the wheel, so to speak. The raised directional arrow would allow a blind man to change a tire. The arrow direction must be the same as the wheel's rotating on the motorcycle.

I remember a now-defunct tire manufacturer that was the flavor of the day a few decades ago. The molded, directional arrows on the tire sidewalls were backward. Small chunks began to fly off the rear tires followed by larger pieces roughly measuring up to 12cm square. The manufacturer quickly corrected the mistake as the complaints flooded in, but these tires disappeared as quickly as their introduction because of consumer fears. I cut tires in half when we find one installed rotationally backward. I want to ensure that re-installation of a potentially dangerous tire by a frugal, but ignorant, rider is not possible.