Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127540
WORKBENCH c:..... By Mi chael Ross SEE THE GREATEST SUPERCROSS RACERS IN HISTORY! ~~~ --.:s M Workben ch is a we ekl y co lu m n dealing with motorcycl e maintenance. iperformance and equipment. Have something that Workbench can add ress? Dr op a line to Work.ben ch , Cycle News, P.O. Box 498, Long Beach, CA 90801-0498. TI C H E T ~c::» The Shocking Truth o to rcycle igni tii on coi ls h ave a p rimary side where ba tter y vol ta ge is a p p lied a nd a seco ndary side wh ich steps up th is voltage on th e order of several thousand times' to fire th e ga p a t th e spark p lug. DC or co lla psing field co ils found on th e majorit y o f mu lti-cylinder four- stroke mo torcycles have two leads on the prima ry side 'a nd th e polari ty of the vo ltag e app lied here is essen tia l to to p ig ni tio n pe rforman ce. T h ere is a good possib ility that your motorcycle 's co ils have been wi red in cor rect ly a nd you are losin g engi ne per for ma nce because o f .th at. T he re is a simple test an d a n even si m p ler cu re th a t cos ts noth in g bu t ma y pay b ig dividends in improved ga s mi lea ge a nd perfor ma nce. T he spar k a t the p lug is' designed to trav el from th e cen ter elect rode to th e groun d or side electro de bu t it ca n travel the o the r wa y; j u mping from th e side electro d e to the cen ter, If thi s is th e case o n yo ur b ike , th en yo u are ' losing spa rk ef ficiency a nd wearing out you r p lu gs a t a sl ig h tly faster ra te tha n n eces sary. Pl u g s we re n ot designed to work this way , an d th er e is a sim p le test to detect whi ch way the spark is tra vel in g. Take o ne p lug o u t o f your bike a nd cu t th e side elect rode o ff with a p ai r o f wire cu tters (o f co urse th is p lug must be rep laced wit h a new o ne ), P u sh yo u r test plu g back in to the p lug cap an d 'tu rn the eng in e over whi le h olding the spa rk p lug in dose eno u gh p roxim ity to th e cyl in der head th at yo u ca n observe th e sp ark jumping. Ta ke a reg u la r lead pe nc il a nd in terpose th e poi nt in to th e spa rk. O bse rve ca refu lly as th espa rk tra vels thro ug h th e pencil lead . If the spa rk is tra veli ng in' th e co rrect directi on , fro m center electrode to grou nd, th e sp ark wi ll be n ice a nd b lu e at the top o f th e p encil p o int an d orange a t th e bott om . ff the co n verse is tru e, th e spa rk wi ll n ow appea r b lue a t ' the bottom o f th e pen cil point and orange a t th e top. 'Man y street bi kes h ave two spade co n nectors on the p rimary side o f th e ro il whe re th e w ires fro m th e ignition bo x or points p lugolllo. T here is a good poss ib ili ty tha t th ese wi res have been sw itched in advert entl y d uring a tu n e-up or ove rhau l, reversin g th e ma n u factur er's in tended pol arit y. ff yo u tested th e spar k as p revio us ly descr ibed and fou nd it to .be traveli n g in the wrong d irec tion, now is the time to rever se th e leads. Mark th e co rrect pos itio n for fu tu re referen ce. The pola rity is no w cor rect. a nd yo u c a n enjoy th e benefi ts of th e h o ttest spark yo ur bike ca n generate. THURSDA Y NIGHTS ..p/il I/~ . J TEL E V I SI 0 N f; RiCk Joh nSon Brae Glover , Jeff Ward and many, many more!, , TITLE OF SHOW SHOW DATE # March 26 , 1992 April 2, 1992 April 9, 1992 April 16, 19 9 2 9123 9124 9125 9126 " TI M E '88 Pontia c S up erc ross '88 Meadow lands Supercross '88 Tampa S upercross Bes t of Supercr oss '88 . 5:30 5:30 5 :30 5 :30 - 6 :30 6 :30 6 :30 6 :30 pm pm pm pm "Times su bJect to cha nge base d on LA King s games · che ck yo ur loca l listi ngs on Prime Ticket. On Tw o Wheels presented by: Pi7f9M'J/.g 5 ~l . and you r lo c al : $ SUZUKI pro-level dealers TICHET Hosted by Larry Huffman Suzuki of Riverside Riverside (714 ) 788 ·6050 Anahiem Suzuki, Inc. Anah iem (7 14) 774 -6621 Nor co (714) 734 -0640 Cole Broth ers North Hollywo od (8 18) 980 -37 15 Orange Co. Suzuki Costa Mesa (714) 646 -2428 Fun Bike Center San Dieqo (619) 27 8-6635 Del Amo Suz ukiInc. Redondo Beach (213) 542 -73 81 ..pN7j'/~ . Southl and Cycle Center Garden Grove (714) 893 -509 1 Bert 's Motorcycles Azuse (8 18) 334;-1288 Saddleback Suzuki Laguna Hill s (714) 770-6701 Escondido Cycle Center Escondido (619) 745 -16 15 La Habra Suzuki La Habra (2 13) 691 -3273 (lJillllJ2CD Simi Valley Yam & Suz Simi Valley (805) 522 ·3 434 Inland Empire Suz & Kaw San Bernard ino (714) 788 -7110 Suzuki Count ry LOOK FOR THESE VIDEOS AT YOUR LOCAL DEALER THE MATAZATTACK VIDEO " I' M NO CHICKEN '" 1991 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX The 199 1 GP Ser ies starte d out at Suzuka, J apan, wh ere the '90 series left off .:.with red-hot racin gI The ingredients for the new series showe d great promise: Wayn e Rain ey on th e Yamaha and Kevin Schwantz on the Suzuki had switched to Dunlop r ubber. whi le Honda's Wayne Gardn er and M ick Doohan chall enged all comers on Mic heli ns and Eddie Lawson moved to the Italian Cagiva team dur in g the w int er. Un known quantit ies w er e 2 50 ch am p J ohn Koci nski starting the season in the 500 class. along w ith up-and -comi ng riders Garr iga, De Radigu es, Pons, Ruggia and M orill as. New comer US Superbi ke Champion Doug Chandler filled out t he promisin g This 60-minute tape w ill take you to every major Supercross race 'in t he US as well as famou s M ammoth Mtn . MX to see " t he Chicken" rip the compet ition . Wheth er he' s riding a 125 or 250 , Jeff w il l help you develop your ow n individual style of riding and show why personal technique is the most important aspect of ridi ng motocross. field. Wh at t ook place at Suzuka '9 1 is.one of the most GP Videos evert stu n ~ i n g 800-356-9168 / FAX 608-356-9188 DEALERS CALL -------------------------------------~--~--------------, Attentiof!. - Subscriber.s, - 1 . Fo r FASTEST service attach old ma iling label in space below. If mailing label is not ava ilable. print yo ur name and add ress in this box . P lease a llow 3 weeks for change to take effect . 2 , P r i n t your NEW address h e r e. NA M E •• L _ ~ ADDR ESS CITY _ STATE _ ZIP 3. Mail to : Circulation Department CYCLE NEWS, P.O. Box 498, Long Beach, CA 90801-0498 J 21