Questions
What does cc mean on a motorbike?
Cc on a motorbike stands for cubic centimetres, the unit used to measure an engine's displacement, or overall size.
Displacement is the combined volume swept by all the pistons in one full cycle of the engine, measured in cubic centimetres. A 125cc engine has a total swept volume of 125 cubic centimetres; a 1000cc engine has eight times that. As a rough rule, a larger cc figure means a larger engine with more capacity to draw in fuel and air, which broadly translates into more available power, though tuning, cylinder count and gearing all affect how that capacity gets used, so two bikes with the same cc figure can feel very different to ride. Cc is also the figure UK licence categories are built around, which is why it matters to new riders working out what they are legally allowed to ride.
Whatever cc your bike runs, our motorbike gifts range turns it into art from a single photo. For the other big engine question people ask, see two-stroke vs four-stroke.
Written by Craig Fearn, Throttlefolio.
Transmissions
Questions, answered
Does a higher cc always mean a faster bike?+
Not always - tuning, weight and gearing matter as much as raw capacity. A smaller, highly tuned engine can outperform a larger, more relaxed one.
What cc can a new rider legally use in the UK?+
It depends on licence category and how long you have held it - A1, A2 and full A licences each cap the cc and power a rider can use.
From the journal