How Do I Make My Motorcycle Go Faster?

Every motorcyclist has these pure, lizard-brain thoughts that only gearheads can relate to: How do I make my bike go faster? Oh, our dear, sweet MOrons – the answer to that question is a can of worms worth cracking open! The ways that riders hunt for higher speeds and faster lap times are as colorful as a rainbow. Still, instead of focusing on complicated builds, we will discuss a few handy tips that at-home mechanics can handle all by their lonesome. Get ready because we’re about to chat about making your motorcycle faster.

Defining Fast

Okay, let’s try to clear the air a little bit. What do motorcyclists mean when they say they’d like to go faster? Well, it could have several different answers, depending on who you’re asking.

If you’re talking to a trackday enthusiast or racer, they will probably be angling for lower lap times. Oddly enough, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll have a higher top speed, but likely a higher average speed throughout a lap.

If there is one thing that no self-respecting motorcyclist will pass up, it’s more horsepower. We touched on this subject when discussing what to look for in an exhaust, but we’ll double down on it here. Simply put, increasing peak horsepower and torque figures will allow your motorcycle’s engine to accelerate harder and achieve higher top speeds.

Achieving higher dyno figures can lead owners down an expensive rabbit hole, but arguably, there is no better bang-for-your-buck performance engine upgrade than an unrestricted or less restrictive exhaust system. Yes, changing your exhaust system could void your warranty and violate local or federal laws – consider that your friendly reminder. Suffice it to say, if you are using products designed to be used on closed courses, then we’d strongly encourage you to do so. Educate yourself as well as possible before installing parts on your bike that might land you in legal trouble. Okay, disclaimer done.

Unrestricting an exhaust allows your engine to breathe better. More accurately, it allows your engine to expel gasses more efficiently, which will pump up those peak performance figures. That means you’ve got a motorcycle that will accelerate faster and, ostensibly, hit a higher top speed. When installing a performance exhaust, it’s also recommended that owners replace the stock air filter with a high-performance option, as it will allow for increased airflow, potentially improving power gains.

Tuning and exhaust go hand-in-hand. A motorcycle will never realize the actual benefits of an upgraded exhaust system unless the ECU’s fuel map is retuned to get the most out of that exhaust. In fact, your engine’s performance will suffer, which could cause damage due to lean fuel conditions. The best way to avoid this is with an ECU flash and, thankfully, the aftermarket supports in a handful of ways. Riders can send their ECU off to a tuner for reflashing, use plug-n-play hardware to flash at home, or opt for a piggy-back system that works with the ECU to modify fuel tuning.

That said, tuning alone can have enormous benefits, as seen with recent bikes such as the Kawasaki ZX-4RR or BMW S 1000 RR that suffer from performance-hindering fuel maps specific to the North American market. The ZX-4RR gained over 20 horsepower simply by reflashing the ECU! That’s a massive boost without turning a single wrench on the engine.

Looking past the ponies and ECU, flashing has a few other benefits, chiefly improving ride-by-wire throttle response. Manufacturers have made great strides in this department in recent years, and snatchy throttles are becoming less frequent, though aftermarket tuners will often exceed expectations by a large margin. As evidenced by Trizzle’s modified Yamaha MT-10 project.

Geared Up

Final-drive gearing is another interesting topic to discuss when making a bike faster. Your gearing dramatically affects how well your motorcycle accelerates and its top speed. For example, a bike with short gearing will accelerate quickly, though it sacrifices top speed due to that short ratio. In contrast, a motorcycle with long gearing compromises its ability to accelerate in favor of higher top speeds.

Think about what applies to you and the situations you ride in. If you’re a street rider dealing with tighter roads, then slightly shortened gearing might benefit you. Many road riders opt for this simply because it improves bottom-end response. Likewise, if the racetracks or roads you frequent are incredibly tight and technical, then shortened gearing is something to consider.

On the other hand, riding environments like racetracks with enormous straightaways, such as Circuit of The Americas, present an opportunity where longer gearing can be utilized. High-speed desert riding also lends itself to longer gearing, too. Again, it all comes down to what you’ll be doing, and going up or down as little as a single tooth on either sprocket can have a noteworthy impact.

Hit The Gym, Bucko.

The gym sounds like a whole lot of work, but if you ask me, putting a motorcycle on a diet is much easier – it can be hard on your wallet, though. The fact is that less overall mass (weight) means that your engine isn’t working as hard, and there are tons of lightweight components available for motorcycles these days. Anything you can do to shed weight will see positive gains, however incremental they may be. All joking aside, professional racers watch their diet and train hard to help their bodies perform at the highest levels and their bikes, too. Maybe just one scoop of ice cream instead of three, okay?

A great weight savings option is upgrading old-school lead-acid batteries, which weigh significantly more than modern lithium-ion batteries. The weight disparity between them can be over 10 pounds. Not only that, but lithium-ion batteries have much longer lifespans and hold their charge significantly longer. That’s a basic one. If you can spare some serious coin, reaching for lightweight wheels will profoundly impact your motorcycle’s handling while also improving its ability to accelerate and stop.

See, lighter wheels unlock a double whammy of performance improvements in that they reduce all-important unsprung mass from the bike and reduce the gyroscopic forces of the spinning wheel. The last part has the most significant impact felt by the rider because it radically improves handling capability, letting a bike turn in much faster, thus allowing you to corner more aggressively and potentially make your bike faster. In addition, lighter wheels take less energy to influence, meaning that accelerating and stopping are improved. Those types of things help when you’re searching for better lap times. The downside to lightweight wheels is the price: Forged aluminum, magnesium, and carbon fiber wheels can come with hefty price tags.  

Wanna Really Go Fast? Get Training

It’s a hard pill to swallow, but the main thing preventing our motorcycles from going faster is us: The riders. Every MO staff member has visited riding schools, and we all need rider training, regardless of our skill levels. Even MotoGP and AMA Supercross stars work with rider coaches, so if professional riders of that caliber are still seeking the advice of others, just imagine what it could do for you.

There you have it, fellow MOrons. There are plenty of ways to get a motorcycle to go faster, but we merely scratched the surface of a few of them. What we can encourage above any mods is seeking advanced rider training from reputable schools. Of course, once you’ve ticked those boxes, it might be time to start looking at the bike and customizing it with some parts to give it a bit more punch. Until next time, kids! Do you have any more helpful content suggestions? Drop them in the comments section below.