Clutch Basket
A motorcycle clutch basket is a bowl-shaped gear-driven housing bolted onto the end of the clutch shaft. Its job is to hold the entire clutch assembly together. When servicing your clutch it is important to inspect your clutch basket for cracks and wear. Your service manual will generally provide service specifications for your motorcycle.
Read More...Clutch Springs
Clutch springs can be found in use on most motorcycle clutch assemblies. The function of these short coil springs is to continuously hold the friction and driven plates together through spring tension, preventing slippage except when the clutch lever is engaged. Most often, five or more clutch springs are used per motorcycle clutch assembly. Stiffer [...]
Read More...Café-racer
Customized motorcycle built in the style currently categorized as a sportbike; popular in the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s. The term originated in England when it was popular to modify a motorcycle for better performance and riders would race from cafe to cafe. Sometimes a jukebox would be started to play a particular song at [...]
Read More...Cavitation
The mixing of air with a fluid. When air is allowed to enter the oil pump of a motorcycle engine it can cause a situation where the oil is displaced and unable to flow properly through the pump. A solution is often to bleed the air out of the lubrication system. Cavitation can also be [...]
Read More...Cylinder Bore
Refers to the diameter of the cylinder that the piston fits into in a motorcycle engine.
Read More...Cylinder
A precisely machined hole in the cylinder block of a motorcycle engine. The cylinder guides the piston as it travels up and down inside it.
Read More...Cam Chain
A chain running between the crankshaft and camshaft on overhead camshaft four stroke engines. This is often called a timing chain because it “times” the crankshaft to the camshaft so that the valves open and close at the proper time. Motorcycle cam chains can be a roller type (similar to the chain driving the rear [...]
Read More...Compression Gauge
A compression gauge kit usually includes a hose and fitting which screws into the spark plug hole in an engines cylinder head along with the gauge itself. When a compression test is performed while cranking the engine, the gauge provides a reading of the cranking pressure in the combustion chamber and provides some idea as [...]
Read More...Cold Cranking Amps
The measurement of cranking amperes a battery can deliver over a period of 30 seconds at 0°F (-18°C). Commonly used to rate automotive batteries, it is not usually used to rate motorcycle batteries. Motorcycle batteries are rated in Amp/hours (A/h), that is, how many hours can a fully charged battery supply one amp of current [...]
Read More...Capacitor
Also known as a condenser. An electrical component that is made up of two metal sheets separated by an insulator. It is designed to store an electrical charge.
A popular “hop-up” in the racing and off-road community is to replace the battery in a motorcycle with a large capacitor. The capacitor stores enough electrical energy from [...]
