Tune Ups
Article #2-09

Tune Ups "It just needs a tune up and she'll be running great!"
Mysterious words that captured my imagination at a tender age. All the men seemed to be in on this great secret 'fix' that women just weren't expected to be able to understand but I just had to know what was going on under the hood.

My dad and his friends, then later my brothers and their friends would pounce on a poorly running car or motorcycle over a wk.end, give it a 'tune up ' and Voila - by Sunday afternoon we had a smooth running machine again. A good tune up seemed to be a magical fix for all things motorized. I guess I really am a born motor head as I always found this extremely fascinating.

Just what really is involved in a tune up? Well back then, the process was actually much more complicated than it is today. In the beginning, a tune up included quite a variety of tasks. The points would be replaced or filed and reset as necessary. All the filters, air, fuel & maybe the oil filter would be replaced or cleaned as appropriate. Spark plugs would be removed and replaced with new ones. If the plug wires were worn, you got new ones at this time. The carburetor might get a few adjustments - maybe the idle speed or other things. Timing would be reset if necessary - no small feat of wrenching in itself. This could involve slowly rotating the distributor around and flashing a special timing light down on a mark on the crankshaft at the same time. A job best done with two people really. Most all the fluids would be checked and topped off or changed as required. No wonder the dang things ran better after a tune up… quite a few parts & fluids were renewed, cleaned or replaced.

These days a computer handles about 90% of the above chores. Computerized Internal Combustion Engines require less moving parts as more and more engine components are electronic not mechanical in nature. Of course the core engine still has lots of moving parts - pistons moving up and down, chains, belts, push rods or over head cams - all moving. The valves still have to open and close, but the ECM or PCM controls all these things today. Through feed-back from sensors all over your motorcycle, the brain decides how the bike should fire, idle and run whether under load or not.

Another factor that minimizes what gets done during a tune up now is the fact that most shops will itemize some of the above items into a different category than tune up. For example: Changing the oil and oil filter is one job to itself. Changing a fuel filter would be considered to be a job to do with a fuel-delivery problem or general maintenance.

So, what do you get today with a tune up? Pretty much, the spark plugs will be checked and or replaced and the air filter will be changed or cleaned as appropriate. Fluids should be checked, but if you need to change them, this will be an additional charge not included in the tune up price. A good shop should check your tire air pressure and will probably take a look at your tires and brakes for wear, though if the bike needs these things it will cost extra.

Well I hope that unravels the mystery for you. It's still important to tune up your motorcycle regularly, check the owner's manual for the schedule. These days most of us can learn to do a tune up on our own motorcycles, since it's mainly just plugs and an air filter. Cool, huh?

Till next time~ Keep the Shiny Side UP ^

Jasmine Bluecreek Clark
www.bluecreekmotorcycletraining.com


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***Disclaimer Repeated: The decision to work on your own motorcycle ~ or not ~ is a personal choice. It is possible to do serious damage to both you and your motorcycle. Jasmine Bluecreek Clark, Bluecreek Art Works and Bluecreek Motorcycle Training Co. creates and shares these articles to be an aid in understanding how your motorcycle works.
They are not a substitute for professional repair or maintenance work done by a certified mechanic or technician.
In some cases, working on your motorcycle could void your warranty, if you motorcycle is still under a manufacturer's warranty.

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