Even if you’re extremely satisfied with your motorcycle, a little bump in its performance sounds like a cherry on top, doesn’t it? It’s natural to feel the need to upgrade to a new machine after you’ve ridden your existing bike enough to exploit its full potential. However, it’s always a good idea to explore what more can your existing ride deliver with just small changes. Maybe a bump in its power and torque or sharpening its handling might bring back the fizzling excitement.
That’s exactly what Anuj and Neil have talked about in the eighth episode of The BikeWale Podcast. They discuss the top 7 modifications you can do to your bike to spruce up its performance. The Spotify link to the podcast has been attached below.
Top 7 Performance Modifications For Your Motorcycle | Episode 8 | The BikeWale Podcast
Let’s quickly go through the list of mods they recommend.
Sprocket Change
Adding or reducing teeth from your front or rear sprocket can bring a considerable difference in the top speed or acceleration of your bike. It’s one of the cheapest, easiest and safest modifications you can execute in your machine.
Tinkering with the ECU
Remapping the ECU (engine control unit) of your motorcycle and adding a piggyback module gives you a lot of freedom to tweak different parameters of the engine. Throttle response, acceleration, rev limiter and more such aspects can be altered with certain changes in that small electronic circuit hiding under your bike’s bodywork.
Performance air filters
The better your motorcycle’s combustion chamber sucks in the outside air, the lesser strangled it feels. Now, the performance gain may be marginal on replacing your stock air filter with an aftermarket unit, but it does improve the overall engine character. In most cases, air filters are also pretty affordable than any other modification.
Brakes
Going faster also necessitates having a braking setup efficient enough to slow you down in time. Tune in to this episode to understand the need of better braking hardware and what your alternatives are over the stock setup.
Suspension
A punchy motor with a twitchy or overly soft suspension setup might not be a great combination. It actually acts as a resistance in utilising the engine performance of your bike. Now, changing the entire suspension setup might be way too expensive. But there are ways you can dial up the characteristics of your existing suspension which have been explained in this episode.
Tyres
The only point of contact between you and your motorcycle is your tyres. And a grippy set of tyres not only improve the overall dynamics of the bike but also instil a lot of confidence in the rider to push harder. Having a set of performance tyres that are better than the stock rubbers might result in a drastic improvement.
Exhaust and weight shedding
Weight shedding is another effective way of bumping the overall performance and an aftermarket exhaust could be a major contributor here. Most of the performance exhausts not only have an impact on the horsepower but are also lighter than the stock units. However, there are certain points to remember if you decide to change the exhaust. Give the podcast a listen to know what they are.
