Maintenance of our "jewel" are more and more expensive, this is a fact.

I had a chat with my mechanic and friend Andrea, and we came to the conclusion that these increases are justified by the technology that increasingly equip our modern motorcycle and scooter.

Now we try to go into detail and see more closely this evolved technique. The differences between the racing motorcycle and the "sporting set" is increasingly thin on the market today there are true "masterpieces" of 200 CV, that bike look like more and more like the GP bikes which we admire in the Moto GP. Two Manufacturers over all have presented two pieces of art: The Ducati Desmosedici RR, and the MV Augusta F4 CC, presented as the fastest motorbike in the world, 315 Km / h; and last, less powerful but very beautiful, the Bimota DB7 Oronero

It is realized that bikes are not for everyone to go for a stroll in the old town, certainly they would not disfigured protected under a glass displayed in a case in open view at the center of our living room. Motorcycle like this sure are the exception and the best place to enjoy them is the circuit!

Solutions and technical drawings used for road sports are increasingly overlapping with those of Racer from MotoGP. The engines, which have become real "racing replicas" ranging between 170 and 200 hp. The result obtained through a constant research and development work, and the continuous exchange of experience between the world of competition and that of mass production. And the frames are not less .. indeed!

The frames that go for the higher ones are the one with great strength and stiffness, which directly connects the two most critical areas, namely the steering tube and the core of oscillating swingarm, whose axes must always be perpendicular to each other, even in the more extreme conditions employment. The basic architecture is a frame in steel tubes and two beams of high section of aluminum alloy. In the latter case, the chassis made of metal sheet (or forged) welded together, the engine is often stressful the integral part of the structure itself. Even shares geometrical (inclination of the steering tube, front stroke, wheelbase), with the increase of the CV and the lower weights, are increasingly similar to those used for competition.

Now there are also carbon frames, see the GP Ducati 2009 for competitions and Bimota DB7 Oronero for the road

For some time the trend is dominated by a inverted stem forks, more stringent and less likely to bend too much respect to the traditional ones, with the best trip of which may benefit the moving parts such as pipes, the pipes that run in the sheaths. The search for improved smoothness, especially in the initial phase of the spring movement, has led to more accurate processing and related showing surface other than traditional chrome plating thickness, Tin, etc. CRN. For the rear wheel is almost always used with a swingarm suspension due oscillating box, aluminum alloy, which works on a single spring-damper group, usually a progressive type of variable. Both front and behind there are ample possibilities of adjustment, spring preload, compression brake and hydraulic extension, length.

Now have taken hold of the attack with radial calipers, which are slightly higher than those in use in conventional boundary conditions. Also important to the adoption of refined radial pumps from various manufacturers. The front discs, with a minimum diameter of 290-300 mm, in some cases are lighter (drawing a daisy), with peripheral non-circular but more or less lobata. For the models to the TOP of the range will also be spreading the use of solid monobloc calipers, for instance those carried out in one piece and it's constructed from two parts connected by means of screws.

Most of the sports production, 600 CC up, take a four-cylinder engines in the line, apart from the engine to "V", who are in the Honda VFR and the new Ducati Desmosedici RR. An excellent alternative is the one of the two cylinder, just look at the results obtained by Ducati in the Superbike World Championship, which for reasons of balancing and transverse dimensions, the architecture have a "V" of 90 ° those of Ducati and 60" those of Aprilia. On the market there are also the "V" of the 75" from KTM and the "V" of 87 ° of the Moto Morini. The only supporters of the glorious three-cylinder engine, are those of the Benelli and Triumph, viable middle way, between two and four cylinders.

The injection systems of motorcycle are "indirect" type that means the injectors spray fuel into the intake pipe downstream of the throttle, and not in the room to bursting. The contribution of electronics, both in design and development, as in the management of feeding and firing, it was crucial to the development of mechanics, has seen in recent years, the firm shift from carburetors to injection by all manufacturers, and even the Honda CBR 125 R single-cylinder four-stroke! For the final assertion of this power system, rather than an opportunity to improve performance are fundamental requirements to contain the exhaust emissions (Euro 3). To control the accuracy of metering of the fuel-air mixture, keeping its precise in all conditions of engine operation and high pulverization of gasoline even at low engine speeds (when the speed of gas in the suction pipe is low) injection achieves performance significantly greater than those of carburetors. A "complementary", but effective and worthy to be remembered, is the one with cornetti intake variable length electronically managed, introduced the Yamaha R1 for 2007.

The filter boxes were replaced by air-box of large size, fueled by the remarkable dynamics taken effect. These vents are open in front of the fairing and this is particularly advantageous at high speeds, when the dynamic pressure of air becomes sensitive. In practice, there is a slight charge free: the air pressure inside the i-box is, in fact, higher than atmospheric. To have any appreciable effect on the power granted by the engine, we must go very high, at 250 Km / hl to increase in power obtained may be of the order of 2,5-3,0%.

Several techniques have long been standardized, in relation to motor sport, as far as the high-performance engines. The distribution is, for all architectures, provided by bialbero head cam, four valves per cylinder, except for the Yamaha R1 which employed 5, but with the new model of 2007 has returned to 4. Compared to the traditional solution with two valves per cylinder, multivalves it's advantageous in terms of performance, as it allows to reach engine speeds higher (due to the reduced masses in alternate motion: valves, precisely), and have more sections of way for gas.

In the distribution sector stands out historically the Ducati, which call for the valve does not rely on the usual soft, but adopts its unique "desmodromico", which is based on the closing rockers driven cam having a shape "married" to the opening. In all the motors, the eccentric cam of the trees will seek to act on the glass, except for those of Bologna and the bicilindric BMW K 1200 R / S (using a finger rockers). To order the camshafts now a little manufacturers rely on chains as "normal exception" is found in the engines of Ducati using two toothed belts.

This in summary is the complete picture of a modern engine that equips our bikes today. You can imagine the complexity of design, and  the pecularity used materials. These engines resemble more and more with the engines that equip the bikes from Moto GP, which flow directly, we know that the manufacturers participating in the World Championship Moto GP have the finest mechanical and engineers to make these bikes always reliable and successful. Us with our "younger sisters" we must not compete in any championship, but to grind km km on roads of all kinds, in some ways, is perhaps more challenging to maintain inorder a technology engine untill our next coupon control. For this reason, the cost of maintenance by specialized workshops in recent years have increased. If you push up the performance of engines, if the rise the quality materials with which they are built, if the reliability grows .. inevitably have to raise the costs of our mechanic.