This week I want to hit on a topic that ties in closely with last week’s topic on warming up the engine and the concept of thermal expansion. Piston ring end gap is extremely important to the health of your dirt bike or motorcycle engine. I'll break this topic down for you as well as provide some math as to why ring end gap can make or break your engine. Let’s talk piston rings...

Whenever I’m out and about either riding my motorcycle or participating in racing events occasionally I see things that just make me wonder “why”? One of those moments is when I see someone take a cold bike and fire it up for the first time and bang it off the rev limiter, start riding it immediately, or annoyingly continuously blip the throttle as if it will never idle on its own.

These actions beg the question, “Why is it important to warm up an engine”?

The answer lies in a simple explanation of science and mathematics. Before you quit reading because you may not have been an ace at math and science in high school, just give me a minute to break it down. It is actually really simple...

I’m really excited at the opportunity to start blogging because I’m finally going to have an outlet to express my passion for picking flowers, going for walks, and singing songs. I can’t imagine anything more exciting than doing these three things except... maybe, just maybe, riding motorcycles. On second thought, riding motorcycles and figuring out how engines work is definitely much more thought provoking and certainly what I came here to discuss... so lets get started!