MOTORCYCLE BASIC

ENGINE SYSTEM:
Power Generation
Engine – This converts the heat energy
generated by combustion explosion of fuel
into mechanical energy.
•Fuel intake system- This converts
the gasoline fuel into a readily explosive
air fuel mixtures and delivers it to the
engine
•Lubrication system – this protects
moving metal parts with a film of oil,
reduces friction and provides cooling to
enable smooth operation
Exhaust system – Quietly discharge
the high pressure exhaust gas to
reduce the pressure and help reduce
engine temperature.
Cooling system – Maintain proper
engine temperature for smooth operation.
Cycle
To allow the engine
operation, the piston must
continue cyclical movements.
With this in mind, the engine
must “intake” air fuel
mixtures, “compression”,
“burn” and “exhaust the burnt
gasses in cycles. This cyclical
change in an cylinder is
called a cycle.
Two complete turns of the
crankshaft is called 4stroke.
Top Dead Center
(TDC) &
Bottom Dead
Center (BDC)
Top dead center
(TDC) is the point
at which the piston
starts moving.
Bottom dead center
(BDC) is the point
at which the piston
starts moving up.
Stroke
Single direction
movement of the
piston. When the
piston moves up from
BDC to TDC or moves
down from TDC to
BDC, the single
direction movement of
the piston is called a
“Stroke”. The distance
of movement is
indicated in mm.
Bore

The bore is the

inside diameter of
the cylinder bore
and is indicated in
mm.
Crank angle
The crank angle is
the angle formed by
the center line of
the crank and the
line passing
through the center
of the piston pin
and crankshaft in
reference to TDC
and BDC.
Clutch mechanism

Transfers or stops the transmission of

engine power to the gear mechanism
Gear mechanism

Enables the required power and engine

speed for riding to be selected as
necessary.
Transmission

Transfers the power from the gear

mechanism to the rear wheel
Starter mechanism

Transmits the rotation of the kick crank

to the crankshaft, and rotates the crank
BORE/ STROKE on ENGINE
PERFORMANCE
Engines of the same displacement vary in character
depending on “bore and stroke”.
Short stroke engines. Stroke is smaller than
bore diameter.
Square engines. Stroke and bore diameter are
even.
Long stroke engines. Stroke is larger than bore
diameter
Short stroke Square stroke Long stroke
Engine starting but stops,
• Choke, ON (rich mixture supplied)
• Carburetor incorrect setting
• Intake pipe leaked
• Ignition: improper timing faulty ignition coil,
or ignition pulse generator
Engine speed doesn’t change
When clutch is released, check the ff:
Clutch: slipping
• Disc/plates, worn or warped
• Clutch spring, weak or due to additive in engine
oil
Engine speed doesn’t increase

• Choke valve: ON position

• air cleaner, clogged
• Fuel line, restricted fuel flow
• Muffler, clogged
• Fuel tank breather, pinched
Incorrect carburetor air screw adjustment

• Carburetor, incorrect setting

Leaking on the intake pipe

• Insulator clamps, loose

• Intake pipe gasket, deteriorated
• Insulator O-ring, deteriorated
Poor Performance @ High Speed

• Fuel flow restricted, no supply reaching to

carburetor due to
• Fuel lines,/ strainer, clogged
• Fuel tank breather/filter, clogged
• Carburetor, clogged
• Ignition, incorrect timing due to faulty ICM
(CDI)/ IPG (pulser)
Engine overheating due to
• Fuel-air mixture, too lean
• Fuel, improper quality
Engine knocking
• Engine knocking (@ rapid acceleration or run at
high speed)
• Cylinder / piston, worn
• Fuel grade, improper
• combustion chamber, excessive carbon build-up
• Ignition, too advanced timing
• Fuel-air mixture, too lean
Incorrect cylinder compression, low comp: check the ff:

• Valve: Small clearance, stuck open,

improper timing
• Cylinder & piston rings, worn
• Cylinder head gasket, leaked
Spark plug, weak or no spark

• Spark plug, faulty or fouled

• ICM, faulty
• Spark plug wire, shorted or broken
• Ignition switch, faulty
• IPG, faulty pulser
• Ignition system wires. Loose or
Disconnected
incorrect ignition timing

• Ignition control module (ICM), faulty

• Ignition pulse generator (IPG), faulty

Spark plug , wet due to:

• Carburetor, flooded
• Choke valve, ON position
• Throttle valve, open
• Air cleaner, dirty
Spark plug, discolored or fouled

• Plug, not cleaned regularly

• Spark plug, incorrect heat range

 Spark plug, weak or intermittent sparking due to:

• Plug, faulty carbon wet fouled

• ICM, faulty
• ignition coil, faulty
• Alternator, faulty
• Spark wire, broken or shorted
• IPG, faulty pulser
• ignition switch, faulty ignition system wires,
disconnected or loose
Engine overheating due to:

• Combustion chamber, excessive

• Carbon build-up
• Clutch, slipping
• Ignition, too advanced timing
Valve train not lubricated properly due to:
• Oil passage, clogged
• Oil control orifice, clogged

• Incorrect oil level & condition due to:

• Oil level, too high or too low
• Oil, contaminated
ENGINE CONSTRUCTION
Upper

• Cylinder head - Forms the combustion chamber.

Radiates heat.

• Cylinder block - Exchanges and burns gas.

Radiates heat
 Internal
• Piston - Compresses mixture. Receives force of
explosion. Opens and closes ports
• Piston Ring - Seals between piston and cylinder
• Piston Pin - Joins piston to connecting rod
• Connecting Rod & bearing - Connecting piston
and crankshaft
• Crankshaft - Converts up-down movement of
piston to rotational movement
Bottom

•Crankcase - Provides primary compression.

Takes in mixture to be sent to cylinder
Cylinder Head:

Cooling
Forming the
combustion
chamber
Fitted with Spark
plug
Cylinder:
Exchanging and
burning gas
Having ports ( for 2
stroke engine)
Having piston
reciprocating inside
Cooling
Piston
• Compressing air/gas mixture
• Receiving force of explosion
• Opening and Closing ports ( for 2 strokes)
Piston Ring
• Sealing
• Conducting piston heat to cylinder
Piston pin
• Fixes piston to small end of connecting rod
Connecting Rod & bearing
• Connecting rod connects piston & crankshaft
• Bearing smooth rotational movement
Crankshaft (Crank assembly)
• Converts up-down movement of piston to
rotational movement
• Smooth rotational movement
• 
Crankcase
• Provides primary compression ( for 2 stroke)
• Contains the lube oil to be pumped or splashed by rotating
connecting rod to lubricate moving parts
VALVE: 2 Valves: intake and exhaust

• Controls the flow of fresh gas mixture and burnt gases

• Makes a good seal with the valve seat
• Sturdy material, made of nickel-chrome steel
Valve Spring

• Presses the valve against the valve seat

• Ensures stable operation of valve at high speed
• 2 springs of variable pitch to prevent natural oscillation and thus
prevent valve surging
Valve Clearance:

• Clearance provided between the rocker arm and the end of valve
stem.
• To compensate the thermal expansion of the valve due to high
temperature of the engine.
• Adjusted by turning the adjustment screw
• Note: MC V-clearance specs provided by the manual.
Chain Tensioner

• Maintains the proper chain tension

• Stretching /tightening of chain due to variations in engine speed, may
cause incorrect timing and the chain becomes noisy.
Valve Guide & Steam seals

• Guides the valve

• Lube oil flows into the combustion chamber & be burned
• Stem seal keeps oil consumption to minimum
ENGINE FUEL SYSTEM
Types of Fuel System
• Carbureted – using carburetor in mixing air and gasoline (atomized) to
form a vaporized mixture ready to be supplied to the engine.

• Direct Fuel Injected – atomized fuel is directly injected to the throttle

body to mix with the entering air and form a mixture ready for engine
consumption.
CARBURETOR
• Functions:
• Atomization of fuel – to facilitate good mixing of air and fuel.
• Control of mixing ratio – mixing ratio varies according to the need of
the engine’s operating conditions.
• Control of engine power – the supply of mixture also regulates the
power (speed RPM and torque) of the engine
Principles of Carburetor
• Venturi Effect: similar with the spraying; that is, an air compressed
and expanded with the increase of air velocity, a negative pressure or
vacuum is created at the point where air is expanded at higher
velocity.
Combustion and Explosion
• Gasoline + Oxygen in air + mixed and shaken + ignited with fire=>> Explosive
combustion

• Three conditions for

• COMBUSTION:
• 1. Temperature
• 2. Oxygen (air)
• 3. Fuel

• If any one of these is lacking, combustion will not take place.

• Mixture Ratio
• The air fuel ratio or the mixing ratio by weight. Such that, 15:1 means
15 g of air mixed with 1 g of fuel.

Mixture Ratio =

Note: To allow the gasoline to burn rapidly, it must be mixed with air in
a specific ratio. Otherwise too much gasoline or too much air, the
mixture will not burn quickly.
Mixture ratios in actual operation:
Starting (cold engine) 2- 3:1 (choke applied)

Starting (warm engine) 7 - 8:1

Idling operation 8 - 10:1

Low speed operation 10 - 12:1

Medium Speed operation 15 - 17:1

High speed heavy load 12 - 13:1

operation
Types of Carburetors

• Piston Throttle Valve and Variable Venturi

• Directly operated by throttle cable
• Varying the venturi diameter regulates the mixture
• Butterfly Throttle Valve and Invariable Venturi
• Throttle valve is directly operated by cable
• Positioned on engine side of the fixed venturi.
• Butterfly Throttle Valve and Variable Venturi
• A butterfly throttle valve & piston valve in the venturi
• Piston automatically moved up and down by variations in the negative
pressure
• Mixture flow is regulated by both valves
Classification by Carburetor Construction
Variable Mixture

Forced variable venturi by the

piston throttle valve varying the
venturi diameter.
The float chamber is positioned
under the throttle valve, and the
fuel passage is divided into the
pilot circuit (slow circuit) and the
main circuit.
An orthodox carburetor used for
motorcycles, mainly by 2 strokes
engine but also for 4 strokes
engines
SU or CV Carburetor

Constant velocity. Venturi diameter

varies so that a constant velocity
mixture flow be maintained. The
piston valve automatically opened
or closed by the negative pressure in
the intake system.
SU has the same construction as
VM, except that of SU’s throttle
valve system
SU used of 4 strokes engines and
ensures smooth running with better
fuel economy
• VM: its construction mainly consists of three (3) systems
• Mixing chamber system: main unit of the carburetor, made
up of individual parts of air and fuel system. These control
the fuel and air then mix to produce the correct fuel-air
mixture required by the engine.

• Float Chamber system: Fuel is kept at a certain level to

provide consistent fuel flow.

• Starting system (Starter Choke): an independent system

to provide richer mixture for need of starting cold engine.
Operation of Mixing Chamber System
• The mixing chamber system is made up of an air
system and a fuel system, each being made up of
a pilot system (slow speed) and a main system.
The chamber has different parts that operate
depending on the engine operation state,
namely the opening of the throttle valve.
bore
• BORE Diameter: Venturi bore, the bore diameter
of carburetor in mm, Ex. BS26
Main jet
• Main jet: controls the flow of fuel in the main
system at medium-speed and high speed. MJ
Number: Flow rate of fuel, ex. # 122.5 Large No.
= large flow rate of fuel Small No. = Small flow
rate of fuel
Pilot jet

• Controls the flow rate of fuel in the pilot

system at low speed and medium speed.
• PJ Number = Flow rate of fuel
• Large No. = large flow rate of fuel
• Small No. = Small flow rate of fuel.
Jet needle
Controls the quantity of fuel-air mixture
discharged from the needle taper section.
needle jet
• Controls the quantity of fuel-air mixture
discharged from the gap between the needle jet
and the jet needle. Atomization of gasoline.
Diaphram & Spring
• Activated by the difference between the
atmospheric pressure and the intake negative
pressure to control the quantity of air intake. A
jet needle is mounted to the center of the piston
valve.
Pilot air jet
• Controls the flow rate of air in the pilot system at
idling to low speed. Quantity of air is adjusted at
the pilot air jet. Ex. # 127.5
Main Jet
• Controls the quantity of air in the main fuel-air
mixture system at medium speed and high
speed. Controls the quantity of air to be fed to
the needle jet,. Allowing easy mixing with
gasoline sucked up through the main jet. Ex. # 70
Pilot screw
• Controls the quantity of fuel-air mixture
discharged through the pilot outlet. Ex. #.0
(return speed)
 CARBURETOR INSPECTION

• Since the quality of fuel-air mixture produced in the carburetor has a direct
influence on the engine performance, proper adjustment is important.
• A problem with the carburetor is for the most part caused by clogging of
dirt and improper synchronization in the case of multiple carburetor
systems. Other causes are wear of parts, loose mounting position,
backlash, and incorrect settings, In this case, the mixing ratio is incorrect,
namely the fuel/air mixture becomes too rich or too lean, resulting in an
engine malfunction.
• Four stage method of adjustment. Since the principally active system has
different functions depending on the opening of the throttle valve, if you
find the opening at which the problem occurs, you may inspect only the
system that is principally active at the opening.
FUEL TANK