Paperback: 159 pages
Dimensions (in inches): 0.38 x 10.60 x 8.22
Publisher: MBI Publishing (July 1, 2004)
ISBN: 076031635X
I absolutely love books like the Motorcycle Fuel Injection Handbook! My wife thinks I’m nuts, because this is my favorite type of book to bring on holiday at the beach. A leisurely holiday gives me all the time I need to slowly absorb each word and sentence; gazing at the photos and gaining lots of new knowledge.
Adam Wade sent us an email way back when this book was in development letting us know it was coming, and I anxiously awaited its arrival. I’m not disappointed — this book is an outstanding reference and it provides excellent information that anyone interested in motorcycle fuel injection needs to know.
Fuel injection is a relatively new technology to motorcycles; the Kawasaki KZ1000G was the first fuel-injected motorcycle, and it was available in 1980. Fuel injection is finally here to stay and will probably be the dominant motorcycle fuel delivery system very soon for several reasons, not the least of which is its ability to better control wasted fuel, which lowers emissions.
The problem is that motorcycle mechanics, both amateurs and professionals alike, have gobs of knowledge about carburetors, how they work, how to tune them and what to do when they go wrong. That knowledge definitely does not exist on the same scale for fuel injection, so we need to know much more about it.
There’s also lots of development yet to evolve with fuel injection systems. Carburetors have been with us since the beginning of internal combustion engines, and they’ve been pretty much perfected. But fuel injection technology is still in its infancy, relatively speaking.
Adam Wade does a fantastic job in pulling together all the knowledge and information necessary for a deep understanding of how fuel injection systems work. It’s a technical book, no doubt about it, but it’s written in a conversational style that definitely keeps it from being a stuffy academic textbook. There’s lots of pure information, but it’s never boring.
Starting with a basic rundown of the internal combustion engine and a walk-through of an engine’s fuel/air/exhaust system, he methodically lays out all the pieces, including the fuel loop, the injectors, sensors, the ECU (electronic control unit, or computer) and more. There’s even an interesting chapter devoted to the history of motorcycle fuel injection that can help you win some bar bets. Several of the most common systems are described, and Adam discusses tuning tips, remapping, race bike systems, modifications and more.
The only complaint I have is that the font that’s used in the book is a bit too small for these old and tired eyes. It would have been nice to have both larger text and maybe some more white space between paragraphs. The photos, graphics, charts and drawings are very good and help to illustrate the text. The infrared fuel system airflow photographs from Bosch are something to be seen.
I also wish there was a bibliography included, so that anyone crazy enough to want to learn more could have a reference of books, literature and websites. Hopefully this can be added to future editions. Adam knows his fuel injection, and it’s obvious by reading the book that he is aware of much of the technical literature that’s available, so it shouldn’t be that hard to provide the reader with the list.
I get as much enjoyment and satisfaction out of working on my motorcycles as I do riding them. I really liked this book because I learned from it. I’m not sure I could rip apart a fuel injection system, but I certainly now know more than I did before. Anyone who has a passing interest in how motorcycles work should buy this book. I’m starting my second read through it!
By the way, if you like this book, I strongly suggest purchasing Kevin Cameron’s outstanding Sportbike Performance Handbook (see the wBW review).
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