Five quick ways to make your bike faster

There is no such thing as cheap speed. Well, apart from nitrous oxide. And a steep hill. So it will cost you a little.

Going faster can be as much to do with your state of mind as it is your bike but as we at Visordown are only halfway through our Open University psychiatry degree, we will can only give you tips on the machine.

Here are five quick ways to find some pace:

Power Commander and exhaust

Putting a shiny Arrow or Akrapovic full system on your piece of joy not only saves weight but will allow the engine to breathe better, especially when mated to a Dynojet Power Commander which a qualified tefal can adjust to match the fuelling and reveal some hosses you may have been missing.

Try the stout chaps at BSD, FW Developments and B&C Express

New, properly set-up suspension

Adding fully-adjustable suspension is lovely and shiny, especially when it's Swedish and gold, but if you don't actually adjust it to suit you and your riding, then it's a waste of time. If you do, it will completely transform the way your bike performs, which can only be good, right? 

Try Ohlins or K-Tech

Buy the right tyres

There is always a temptation to stick with the OE hoops your bike came with or, if it was used, continue with whatever was on it when you bought it. However, time and tide wait for no man and neither do rubber companies. The big brands are making leaps and bounds with tyre technology every year, so whatever is on your ride now is more than likely obselete, unless you bought it yesterday.

Different brakes

Front and rear discs have been around forever. And the four or six-pot setups you have are probably OK. But adding some steel-braided hoses, some uprated pads, some aftermarket discs or even changing the whole shebang will put a stop to you.

Try Hel Performance and Brembo UK

Engine tweakery

No, we don't mean add a turbo or supercharger. But you could. Having the engine re-built, or blue-printed as it was known back in the day, removes some of the manufacturer-built tolerances and the motor will work better as compression ratios are upped, valves are lifted and cams are timed differently to increase power.

Try Big CC or Track Pro