Technical Features

In our dreams our garages are full-on WSB-spec palaces, with wall-to-wall Snap-On tools, and all the Motul products we can eat. But like most folk, we have a selection of 'must-have' little helper tools. Usually nothing fancy, but they get us out of a hole on a regular basis...

The connection between ‘man-made’ CO2 and global warming is, depending on who you believe, incontrovertible, tenuous or a fallacy. Either way it’s worth taking seriously, in a sort of green Pascal’s wager, because we’ve nothing to lose by accepting it and a whole planet to lose if we don’t...

Modifying the fuelling on engines is an essential part of any tuning process. The traditional way has been to use an aftermarket fuel injection computer, like the Dynojet Power Commander​, but ECU flashing is the latest in fuel-injection tuning, and they've been doing it with cars for years. But what is it and how does it work?

How far back in history would I have to time travel to win a GP on my GSXR Fireblade ZXS1000RR? Jerez in Spain is the best circuit to answer the question as the layout hasn't changed since its Grand Prix debut in 1987...

Bikes go round corners because the rider is balancing a large number of physical forces to a high degree of accuracy – at least, accurately enough not to crash, hopefully. To explain further may break the internet or your attention span. But here goes...

At a superficial level, tyres wear out because otherwise tyre manufacturers wouldn’t sell as many. But the physical reason a tyre wears out is because it grips. Or sticks. Well, both. There IS a difference...

Bought in 2003, Lyndon has been slowly bringing the bike up to date with carefully selected modifications, starting with an Ohlins steering damper then snowballing from there – he’s a self-confessed SP-1 obsessive. “I collect anything SP-1 related and have a collection of stuff including a laser-etched paperweight"...

People often assume engine designers must get frustrated by being asked to make their engines super-efficient or super-powerful, then told to plug them up with a catalytic converter, and make them whisper-quiet too. But that’s a misunderstanding of what an engine designer does...