Motorcycle Parts

Motorcycle Sissy Bars aren’t so popular so it’s understandable that you might be scratching your head. You’ll generally just find them on cruisers and older motorcycles rather than adventure bikes and practically anything offroad.

So what are they exactly?

A motorcycle sissy bar is a bar that sits on the rear-end of a motorcycle which rises up and above the rear fender. These sissy bars are used as a backrest for pillion passengers, as a rack to hold luggage, to help mount a rear fender to the frame or simply for cosmetic reasons on hotrod motorcycles. You’ll typically find these on bagger motorbikes.

Most manufacturers don’t fit these standard so you’ll need to find an aftermarket version that fits your specific make and model. Some engineering shops do custom-makes and you may find sissybars available as either new or used on eBay.

Motorcycle Sissy Bars

Available in a range of heights, widths and materials, motorcycle sissy bars are used on street cruisers more than any other type of motorcycle. You can find these in fixed sizes though custom designs are quite typical.

For the adventure rider who’s worried about losing their luggage off the rear of their motorcycle, they can be a great idea. You can occasionally see adventure riders sporting these mounted between their two rear luggage boxes.

What’s important is ensuring that you can actually find a good mounting spot and one that’s hard-fixed. Sometimes that will require some of the right tools or taking your motorcycle into a qualified mechanic.

Sometimes you may want to get removable sissybars so your motorcycle can be used for show events, or for weekend overnight cruises. These should be able to be removed within 5 minutes quite easily.

It’s best to use one made from aluminum. These are not only lighter but they’re also resistant to the air, sun, salt and water when you’re riding. You can fit some padding to the sissybar and your passenger has a very comfortable backrest that looks flush with your motorcycle, almost as though it came from the dealership as-is.

In Summary

For most people, installing a sissybar is great for their passengers especially if you have a habit of really throwing on the gas. Trying to hang on to the rider’s body can be challenging and the rear sissy bar provides a lot of confidence.

Yet you’ll still seldom find these on bikes and if you do, they’re often quite small.

Have you heard the term ‘Chicken Strip’ on motorbike tires and ever wondered what it actually means? Well, your motorcycle might have them.

A Chicken Strip on a motorcycle tire is the part of the tyre that isn’t worn. They earn this name due to the rider not being brave enough to lean their motorcycle right over in the corners and make contact with this part of their tyre, thus the rider is considered to be too “chicken” enough to actually rider efficiently. It’s mostly beginners that will develop this stripe along their sidewalls.

Not only does it look different with this stripe, but it also feels different to touch. There is a distinct color change and you can always recognize the ‘new guy’ to the motorcycling world by their evidence of chicken stripes.

Chicken Strips

It’s actually a case of most motorcycle tires looking like this, so don’t feel so defeated if you’ve got your own strips along the sidewall. We would say more than 80% of riders never lean their motorcycle over enough in the corners. Of course, if you’re an adventure rider or dirt bike enthusiast, you’re excluded from this group anyway unless you ride motocross.

Now, just because a motorcycle tyre has developed chicken strips, it doesn’t equate to the motorcycle never being leaned over. Perhaps the rider lives in a city area or out in the country where they have no mountains and tight corners in which to hone in on their skills.

On the other hand, it’s not advisable to start leaning your motorbike over on fresh tires. Allow 100 miles to really break in a new tyre during which time you’ll actually develop chicken strips anyway. Thus, we shouldn’t simply judge someone based on their tires as it doesn’t tell the whole picture.

Rear vs Front Tire

We can except the front tire of just about every motorcycle from being an indicator of a rider’s ability to handle their machine properly. And if you do see chicken strips on a front tire, it’s probably just had a tire rotation from the rear to the front (though that rarely happens, as we evidently know).

Some motorcycle tires have lean guages built into their sidewall which indicates how much someone has leaned over, with 5 being easy corners and 1 being racer boys who are scrubbing their jeans and pegs.

Forget the Judgement

Pass on the critics and noise surrounding chicken tires. These are, in reality, just vanity metrics and shouldn’t be used to determine your lean angle in each turn. While the keyboard warriors may have their own opinion, we’re all about safety and skills development here at Frontaer.

Now – expect a few mates to poke fun at your chicken strips over time. It’s just a few boys messing around and you shouldn’t take such things seriously. They were beginners once too.

As we’ve established, just about everyone develops their own chicken strips over time, including the professionals. And where you ride certainly has an impact as to how much of a stripe you’ll generate. Unless you live in the mountains or have access to race tracks regularly, expect to see strips quite evidently. The type of motorcycle you ride also plays a factor, with cruisers and dual sport riders taking a crown here.

Ride Smartly

Chicken strip shaming is real yet it’s just a way for motorcycle riders to give crap to each other. It comes with the territory and as a beginner, something you will be become acustomed to.

You should be focusing on enhancing your skills, not just debating the nature of motorcycle tires. Enjoy your own ride and stay safe and within your comfort zone, instead of pushing yourself to impress others. Staying upright is just so much more fun than laying down a bit too much and kissing the pavement.

Have you been curious as to what valve shimming is on your dirt bike? Perhaps you’ve heard your mechanic talk about it or your mates when out riding.

For a straight and concise answer:

Valve shimming on dirt bikes, and any other motorcycle for that matter, is the practice of adjusting the valve clearance inside your engine. By using a shim, you create space between the bottom of the cam and top of your engine’s valve bucket. This clearance is necessary for valves which are wearing out, but they too need to be replaced at some stage.

This is generally to be done by your motorcycle mechanic, though some riders who have pulled apart their engines before can fit these themselves with some helpful YouTube videos.

Dirt Bike Valve Shimming

It’s good pratice to use valve shims on your dirt bike if you’re using it regularly and are trying to prolong the life of your valves. These adjustments help in that they help compensate for the internal wear from high RPMs for those who love to twist the throttle hard.

It’s most common to use valve shims on 4-stroke dirt bikes and these shims are helpful. Some say they’re bad (as the shims need to be replaced soon enough) while others say they’re great to help prolong the life of your valves. After all, a valve replacement on a dirt bike can cost $300 to $1,000 depending on availability of parts.

Those riding older dirt bikes where parts are less likely to be readily available domestically are those who generally use valve shimming to prolong the life. Thus, if you do come across a used dirt bike online which says it has had the valves shimmed, it’s because the owner may have trouble sourcing replacement valves and valve train.

A Limited Life

Keep in mind that the use of valve shims on a dirt bike isn’t permanent. It’s literally just a band-aid and something to get you by for now. The shims could last for 700 miles or 12,000 miles, depending on your quality of shims, make/model, how hard you ride and other variables.

You can only use shim your valves once or twice in the lifecycle of your valves. Prolonged shimming can cause the valves to break and cause extensive internal damage, potentially leading to a top-end rebuild on your dirt bike.

Once you’ve used up your ‘shim lives’, we would recommend you replace your valves as well as springs, keepers, all seals and even the seats. This is an expensive and time-consuming process, but luckily, you probably had more than ample time to go riding before then. So understandably, this top-end rebuild is expected after some time.

Sourcing and Installing Shims

It’s always best to get the mechanic from your local dealership to do this for you, though some are reluctant to do this. Dirt bike shims are used on valves which are wearing out anyway, so they may just recommend a full replacement of your valves…especially if they know you’ve got the budget for this. After all, they will make much more money through your purchase of new valves and the labor than just replacing the shims.

To source shims yourself, you can easily find these available on eBay or Amazon, or even your local dealership is likely to have them. For the older dirt bikes (more than 10 years), you may have to dig around online on a few sites to find the right size and thickness for your dirt bike.

Installing shims on your dirt bike is an entirely different topic and one that is painstakingly slow. It’s something you need to do properly, however there are some great tutorials which explain it well for KTMs, Yamaha’s, Suzuki’s and Honda’s.

Going forward

Dirt bike valve shims are often used on older motorcycles as well as those who ride very frequently. You’ll typically see motocross riders using these as they want to save their expensive valves from wearing out fast.

For the weekend trail rider, the use of shims is less important and certainly not necessary if you can afford regular valve replacements. Some manufacturers do send their dirt bikes out from the factory with shims fitted and if they do, it’s best to keep an eye on these regularly and replace them as needed.

So you want to get some colored dirt bike tires for the ‘wow’ factor when you’re riding on the race track or local trails.

Most other offroad riders would think you’re crazy, but you might be on to a great thing.

In this post, we’ll be showing you 5 places where you can source some dirt bike tires.

Sourcing Colored Rims, Tyres and Spokes

We’ve done the searching for you so it’s much easier. You can get camo dirt bike tires as well as colored rims and even some custom designs for your ride.

It’s likely that you’re really just doing this for fun, but either way, here’s where you’ll be able to get colored dirt bike tires online:

1. Buy Them on eBay

You’ll find numerous sellers offering new and used dirt bike tyres in a variety of colors. Simply look in the main feed and you’ll find them easily, with international shipping options available. Keep in mind that you’ll need to ensure the sizing is a perfect match.

2. Source Them Through RevZilla

Often you’ll find stock of colored rims and spokes for dirt bikes on RevZilla especially as they serve a predominantly MX crowd. Unfortunately, tires can be harder to find unless they’re the stock-standard black varieties.

3. Do a Group-Buy Through Alibaba

If you have an LLC or even a Sole Trader business structure, then you’ll be able to source anything you want through Alibaba. This is a place for people to source products in bulk for distribution across North America, Australia, Canada, Europe, the United Kingdom and in fact, for much of the world. The trick here is to ask for a sample product and not come back to actually put an order through.

4. Look on Gumtree and Craigslist

Looking through Craigslist or Gumtree for colorful dirt bike tyres is a smart idea. Generally you’ll find people who simply bought these for novelty purposes but never actually used them out there on the tracks. After all – they’ll get dirty pretty quickly. The rims and spokes are likely to come with them too.

5. Grab Some Spray Paint

We’re not kidding! If you really want some color on those tires of yours, then head to CostCo and get some spray paint. This will create an instant makeover and you’ll be able to get the color back to basic black pretty easily over a few days of constant riding through the tracks and trails. Just be mindful that some spray paints can stain your existing graphics and could lead to pre-mature rust on your rims and spokes.

In Summary

For those looking to create some bling bling attention, you certainly can! People will spot you pretty easily in a crowd of black dirt bike tyres. Play it wise and avoid the rainbow colored designs. Tires which are navy blue could work well with a Yamaha, as can black and orange on a KTM.

By far the easiest thing to source is the rims and spokes, while the tires themselves can be tricky. Then again – a can of spray paint is often the easiest way to stand out and the cheapest too.

Ever wondered if that dirt bike you just saw has a speedometer? Well, it depends.

Most late-model dirt bikes have speedometers fitted as standard. Some unregistered motocross, pit bikes and children’s dirt bikes don’t come with speedometers as they aren’t necessary for closed-circuit MX tracks. To ride your dirt bike on the road, you will need to have a speedometer fitted with mirrors, indicators and a licence plate attached.

You’ll find that these days, most will have them fitted though the dire-hard MX racing bikes don’t have them to consume space on the handlebars and reduce overall weight.

Speedometers on Dirt Bikes

Having a speedometer, otherwise known as a ‘speedo’, can help you track how fast you’re going on the track. However, once you’ve been riding a while, you tend not to notice your speedo and instead rely on your instincts.

To say it another way – you’ll actually feel how fast you’re going as opposed to needing to rely on a gadget. The faster you ride – the more wind in your helmet – and thus, the faster you go!

Most dirt bikes still run an analog system while others like KTM are digital. It really depends.

Can I Ride Without a Speedometer?

You won’t really need a speedometer on your dirt bike for racing purposes in most cases. It’s only a legal requirement if you intend to ride on formed roads. You can even get a recreational registration in some states and territories where you can ride without a speedometer, provided you’re only riding on unsealed tracks and roads in the wilderness.

If you do break your speedo when riding, then it’s unlikely that anyone will know. The police aren’t able to tell that your speedometer isn’t working. In fact, there are riders who have ridden for years with faulty speedos and have avoided detection…so don’t worry too much about this.

If you are riding an adventure motorcycle – then yes – you’ll need a speedometer which is working, as well as the indicators, mirrors, lights and registration.

Alternative to Dirt Bike Speedometer

Let’s say your dirt bike speedometer isn’t working. What you can do is use your smart phone mounted to the handlebars. This technically isn’t a legal replacement, but certainly workable.

There are several apps that show your live speed through data but also work online. These are available in both the Play Store and App Store. Simply look through by searching for ‘speedometer’.

You can also buy replacement dirt bike speedometers on places like eBay and Amazon. Your local dirt bike dealership likely has some in stock too if you need one today. Also consider the used parts on Craigslist and Gumtree.

In Summary

While dirt bikes do typically have speedometers, this is most typical on registered dirt bikes. The MX bikes don’t really have them fitted as standard. If you do need one, you can install one quite easily.

If you do buy a dirt bike and it doesn’t have a speedo, then don’t be alarmed. It isn’t stolen and likely this is how it came from the factory. You can start riding without one if you’re riding offroad and may realize that you actually don’t need one…just like times gone by!