Engine Tuning

The first job for BSD Performance with regards tuning an engine is to find out what the customer is using the bike for, and what they actually want to achieve by uprating their engine’s output. Using our experience we then establish the expectations relative to application; road riders and club racers have very different needs and this part of the process is, we feel, one of the most important.

The average road rider might just be looking to make their engine a little sharper and more responsive, so a light tune – focusing on intake and exhaust, and dealing with the noise and emissions equipment – is all that’s needed. We offer many options in this instance, with a range of Performance Parts plus an ECU Reprogramming and Dyno Tuning service that all guarantee excellent results.

Most modern sportsbikes are in a high state of tune as they leave the manufacturer, but there are always areas to improve within a mass-produced engine. In many instances it’s the sum of a host of small, marginal gains that matter but cylinder-head porting and cam re-profiling can make big differences to an engine’s output and feel.

Sometimes, especially on the road, the customer requirement is for much stronger mid-range drive with outright horsepower less important; often an improved, well-balanced delivery more suitable for how the bike gets ridden is the goal. In these cases moving power down the rev-range is achieved by re-timing the inlet and exhaust camshafts, completely transforming an engine’s feel and drivability in real-world situations away from a racetrack.

A quick club racer looking to step up will be looking for an engine that’ll punch out of corners – and down the straights – that much harder and faster. BSD Performance takes a ‘sensible’ approach here; the engine will need to last a season and not need a refresh every three meetings so reliability plus horsepower has to be the goal. This equates to a higher compression cylinder head plus porting, new cams, pistons, con rods, a crank balance and attention to the gearbox, depending on how far the customer wants to go.

Tolerances for a full race engine, especially in term of squish and cam profile, valve duration and overlap are much tighter than you’d use for the road. It’s an exact science that rewards both patience and experience and our aim when tuning an engine is always to reliably meet, deliver and where possible exceed, expectations.