Thumpers and Rockers

Days before Rider Mania

2012-01-17T10:56:00.001+05:30

Rider Mania is around the corner and what does this mean to us? It means sleepless nights... Working on presentations, preparing the bike, working out the ride plan, getting the riding gear ready and many more... This also means the week before RM is the least productive week at the office. Your boss is breathing down your neck to get the job done before you go on leave and you feel like giving him the finger and ask him to leave you alone. Many of my friends have asked, "How do you feel when you go for a ride?" I guess the answer should be " I feel alive!!!". But nothing prepares you from anxiety attack before a RM ride. It doesn't matter its your 1st RM or your 10th you get sucked into this feeling. But at the end of it all these feelings put together is what makes Rider Mania so special.

The Hindu : Life & Style / Metroplus : A cosy corner for bikers

2012-01-04T16:16:00.000+05:30

The Hindu : Life & Style / Metroplus : A cosy corner for bikers

Jaiganesh Ranganathan has a sore throat and an incipient fever. Feeble-voiced and weak-legged, he mumbles a greeting to his friends as he walks up to a seat at Cozee, a restaurant overlooking the Elliot's Beach in Besant Nagar. Saravanan works at Kancheepuram but makes the long trip to Cozee twice a week. He is part of a group that assembles at this restaurant, often ignoring the little problems of life, to discuss their common love — bikes.

The group has bikers of various stripes. Introducing those who have assembled this evening — Shanthanu is a moderator of the Bullet club Madras Bulls, Rajagopal is an independent biker, Jaiganesh and Gokulram are members of the Jawa-Yezdi group Roaring Riders as well as Madras Bulls, Saravanan, who rides a diesel Bullet, is a newbie, a Bulls' jargon for a newcomer on probation, and Ajay Srinivas and Srinivasan Kasyap, members of Roaring Riders, swear by a 1976 Yezdi and a 1979 Jawa.

Adventurous

Besides associating with one or more bike clubs, members of this informal group embark on road adventures and biking projects independently. Gokulram Vasanthi, for example, likes to prove that the humble Bajaj M-80 is good enough for long-distance rides. Jaiganesh has a fascination for exotic machines: he used to have a rare Jawa Type 638 that he meticulously restored and now tests its power.

At Cozee, there are two tables — joined end to end — where these bikers meet from 5.30 p.m. to 10.30 p.m. “The chairs around these tables are vacated and occupied many times during the evening. After drinking two cups of chai, I may place twenty rupees on the table and leave. The guy who leaves last hands over the money to the cashier. There's an unspoken rule that the last man settles the bill with the money collected over the evening.”

While biking is the main topic, the conversation drifts to other topics too. In fact, the banter is so interesting, it's often continued online. They have a closed Google group called Nathari Sangam, where discussions range from the farcical to the profound. “It's geared towards having fun and establishing a sense of community among bikers,” says Shanthanu.

All of them believe the management of the restaurant has played a role in forging this unity. Explains Rajagopal, “We often order only tea, but hang out for hours together. It does not make business sense to let us stay for so long, yet they don't mind. Even when there is a rush, we are not asked to leave.”

Bulls of Shimoga - 1A

2011-12-21T12:01:00.001+05:30

The paint was fresh and the mods were new. After a host of changes on my bike in lieu with the preparation for Rider Mania I was itching for a ride after Ooty. Thank God for BOS for having their 1st anniversary and thank God for hosting it in an off beat location. Ballavara is 15km from Kemmangundi, Karnataka. Hopes were high for a scenic ride. We decided to leave on Friday evening hoping to reach B'lre by mid-night.

The riders were Harish aka Chairman, Sailesh aka B-Ro, Dr. Raja aka 1gm and I. Hari and Ram aka Partner for some reason decided to ride out after 9pm and still reach B'lre. Shocking!!! Anyways we rode out from Sriperambattur by 7.30pm and I was leading the group. Night riding is tough as we need to come to terms with the headlight glare from the opposite lane. Just when I thought things cant get bad and there came the rains. It started off as a drizzle and then into a downpour. With the trucks and cars spraying water and dirt on to our visors visiblity was 0 when we had to overtake them. That didnt deter us and still rode in a single file formation and reached Krishnagiri by midnight. All were socked to their bones and decided to halt at TTDC and head out early next day. Riding with a wet boxer is no fun. Hunting for food that late in the night is a joke and we had to settle with some chips and such foods. Finally hit the bed by 2pm only to be woken up by Hari and Partner by 4am. Damn!!! Grrr!!! I being a darling wanted to share this experience with everyone so I decided to wake up everybody. All were up and finally we rode out at the break of sunlight.

The morning ride was not as cold as expected and we stopped at Shoolagiri for breakfast for both men and machines. We took the NECE road to by-pass B'lre and was joined by Amith aka Itham and Ashok Aka Aunty Hero who made us wait for 45mins. Paid 50/- as toll which is outrageous for a two-wheeler roared our way past Tumkur, Arasikere and reached our destination for lunch. I think its the first time we have reached for lunch for an anniversary event.

The event in itself was organized brilliantly the BOS boys. Music was great, food was even better and the liquor never stopped flowing. On top of that it was clear sky witnessing a lunar eclipse. Man!!! It was surreal.

The next day we decided to ride out after breakfast taking a longer route Kemmangundi, Mulayangiri... It was a forest route. The roads were bad at the beginning and then became non-existent. It took us more than an hour to cover 20km. Just we were about to give the road a mouth full we approached a clearing and the view was breath taking. We couldn't resist stop and enjoy nature at its full glory. After soaking in the scenery we decided to move on. After riding for about 50km we reached the same place from where we started. Damn!!!! Cus words started flying and swearing on anything and everything which moved. We were back to where we started even after riding for 3 hrs and we still have 600km to home and the time is already 12pm. Somewhere a dumb ass bugger showed us the wrong way.

We just decided to go "Patrang". Partner was leading and I was sweeping. After a while when Partner pulled out to fill fuel Harish was leading. We stopped at a Dhaba for lunch and decided to rest for half hour. The ripping again started and we reached NECE road by 6pm. I was getting dark and I took the lead. We stopped at Shoolagiri for dinner. By this time it was already very late (past 9pm) and we still had 300km to cover. The long lunch break started to hunt us now. We decided to make a dash for home. Started to rip and we had to negotiate some traffic till Krishnagiri. After that it was home stretch. That piece of 250km highway is home stretch for most Madbulls and they know it like the back of their hand. We took a total of 2 breaks and we reached home by 1.30am. The daily grind would start in another 5 hrs.. Grrrr!!!!

Highlights: Road to Mulayangiri
Lowlights: 50/- toll on NECE road, B'lre and the surface quality is shitty.

Long way up - RTMC 10A @ Ooty

2011-10-29T23:30:00.000+05:30

It has been months since I last went for a multi-day ride and as usual I was too eager to make up for it. RTMC 10A @ Ooty was a great excuse to satisfy the itch. But riding from Chennai to Ooty and back is fun but I had something bigger in mind. Instead of riding 1200km ride 1800km with more than 600km of twisties which I like to call as "twist-tease".

The problem of being in Chennai is that we have arrow straight four lane highways on three sides. Now don't ask me whats on the 4th side. For a regular road user this should be a blessing, but we aren't a regular bunch are we. Bikers crave for corners, ups & downs and a few potholes to dodge. One of the worst stretch of road in from Chennai to Trichy. Its dry, straight and the best place to sleep and ride. So we wanted to get that over with at October 4th night. Harish and I (poor Prat could not join us) started from Meenambakkam at 7pm and just avoiding the mad city rush. Gunned down the highways dodging pedestrians and slow moving traffic till we reached Chengalpattu. We decided to halt at Perambalur for the night and I called up my cousin to make place for 2 of us. We reached Perambalur by 11 pm. We were glad we got over that section.

We rode out from Perambaur at about 6.30am and decided to halt at Dindugal for breakfast. Amidst the regular stares of people we had our breakfast and it was time to hit the state roads. Yippeee!!! Finally this is why we came here. Just as we started to get into the groove we saw a lonely rider on a brand new C5 slowly coming from the opp. side. As always both of us stopped to say hello and it was Junaid from RTMC. Bid goodbye and "see you in couple of day" we pressed on. After about 50km we got bored again. The problem with state roads in Tamilnadu is even the those are arrow straight with very little turns and twists. One good thing was there was plenty of greenery around. Crossed Theni and Kumban and it was bloody humid. Before we knew it we were at Kumily and the roads started winding up. We crossed into Kerala and before we knew it we were dodging craters on the road every few hundred feet. This continued for 20km we decided to break for lunch. We couldn't help but think and worry about the state of the roads ahead. But just as we started after lunch the roads magically turned into butter smooth tarmac with twists. Hell.. there was no straight roads itself. The lefts flowed into a right followed by a long fast sweeping left hander followed by a downhill sharp 2nd gear right and then going up the gearbox before braking hard into a steep downhill 1st gear left. Phew!!! The next 2 hours was sheer bliss. Scrapping footpegs and what not and putting all we have learnt on how to handle twisties into practice. Harish and I split at Kottayam. I stayed in Kottayam to see my ailing grandfather while he went to Ernakulam to attend his friends wedding.

The next day it was quite uneventful day at the saddle as I rode only 50 odd km from Kottayam to Mulanthuruthy. I had asked Harish to join me there at my cousin's place. The uneventful day became an eventful day for the tongue. We had Toddy with prawns fry at a Toddy shop.. Yummm.. My cousin made some beef steak, chicken sausages and some beacon and had it along with some black label.. Yumm Yumm...

The next day morning we rode out towards Ooty and asusual we took the long way. Via Munnar, Chinnar and Udumalpet. The climb to Munnar was as scenic it can get. We were just enjoying the view, the greenary and the weather and decided not to scrape any of our foot pegs. Took it easy. We kept the same pace till we reached Chinnar and decided to halt for lunch. Now we realized that we have behind schedule and started to open-up once we hit the plains. Came across many windmill farms near Palladam. I always wanted to be there. After a couple of hours we were at Metupalayam (4pm) waiting for the gang from Chennai. Big mistake. By the time we re-grouped and started in was 6.30pm and it was dark and there was heavy traffic. The group rode at 20kmph.. Seriously I'm not kidding and I had the unfortunate task of sweeping. Finally we reached Sterling Resort, Fernhill by 9pm and was welcomed by a mouth full of words ;) That was for being late. We quickly got ready for the PARTY....

The event carried on Saturday and we had a local ride were more than 100 bikers rode around Ooty in a formation. The people were awe struck. Heck even I could not keep my mouth shut. The sound of all the bullets were intoxicating. It was indeed a Rolling Thunder at Ooty.

Sunday and its time to head back home. The very thought of riding between Vellore and Chennai made me fall asleep. But there was plenty good roads to look forward too. About 6 of us started together by 8am. I was still pissed off for climbing up Ooty at 20kmph. So I just decided to go make it up for the climb. Within few corners i knew everyone had that same thought in their mind. After few km Unni and I were in the front and pulled away from the gang. Rode our wheels off and we stopped at Black Thunder to re-group. Re-shuffled the group based their speeds and started towards Chennai. The state roads we great till Thoppur and from there we hit the four laned highways. From that point everything is a blur. We were doing 120kph till we hit Vaniyambadi were we stopped for a late lunch. From then on it was home stretch and those roads were as boring as ever. Bloody hell I feel sleepy even I think about it. All of us reached home by 7pm without any incidents.

The next day I got restless and want to ride more but I have to put it off for a few months. Till then ECR should keep me happy. :D

Group Riding Etiquette Hand Signals

2011-10-29T22:31:00.000+05:30

Group Riding Etiquette Hand Signals
please pass all signals to riders behind you.

START ENGINES:
With your right or left arm extended, move your
LEFT TURN:
Raise your left arm horizontal with your elbow fully extended.
RIGHT TURN:
Raise your left arm horizontal with your elbow bent 90 degrees vertically.
HAZARD LEFT:
Extend your left arm at a 45 degree angle and point towards the hazard.

HAZARD RIGHT A:
Extend your right arm at a 45 degree angle and point towards the hazard.
HAZARD RIGHT B:
Extend your left arm upward at a 45 degree angle with your elbow bent to 90 degrees and point towards the hazard over your helmet.
SPEED UP:
Raise your left arm up and down with your index finger extended upward. This indicates the leader wants to speed up.
SLOW DOWN:
Extend your left arm at a 45 degree angle and move your hand up and down.

STOP:
Extend your left arm at a 45 degree angle with the palm of your hand facing rearward. SINGLE FILE:
Position your left hand over your helmet with your fingers extended upward. This indicates the leader wants the group in a single file formation. Usually this is done for safety reasons. STAGGERED or SIDE-BY-SIDE FORMATION:
Extend your left arm upward at a 45 degree angle with your index and pinkie finger extended. This indicate that it is safe to return to staggered formation. TIGHTEN UP:
Raise your left arm and repeatedly move up and down in a pulling motion. This indicates the leader wants the group to close ranks.

TICKED OFF:
Extend your left arm straight out with your elbow bent 90 degrees. Carefully extend your middle finger to clearly demonstrate your dissatisfaction with the other guy. NOTE: It is not recommended you do this when you are alone.

The months that were...

2011-09-29T12:54:00.001+05:30

It has been a while since I updated anything on this blog. I want to say that I was busy but unfortunately no one is going to believe that. So lets simply say that I was lazy. A lot of things happened since my last post. So let me get myself upto speed now.

Just after RM 2011 ride to Kolkata the Madras Bulls was covered by a french team for their documentary. Even though the footage was very little its always nice to see us in it. Hey any publicity is better than no publicity. Here is a link to the video and please note it is in French.

Then the biggest surprise happened. Motor Vikatan, a leading regional auto magazine covered by Kolkata ride. Man that was a surprise. I'm sure most of you won't understand Tamil but again something is better than nothing.

Following month I was made moderator of Madras Bulls. It is an honor because you can proudly say so but its a nightmare because the 9th anniversary of Madras Bulls was on the month of May. Organizing an event for a group of 150 bikers is a nightmare!!! But somehow managed to get it done with a lot of help from other members.

In the month of April, 2011 my favorite mathematical law, "Law of averages" caught up with me. If you are riding so many kilometers you are bound to crash and the probability of a fall increases with every passing crash free mile. It happened in the month of May on our way to Sathyamangalam forest to celebrate KTMC's 5th anniversary celebrations. It was a scary crash atleast that is what I'm told because from were I was sitting everything happened so quickly. The bike low-sided on a curve and my bike and I flew in two different directions. Luckily it happened at a remote place with no traffic and finally all the money spent on the riding gear paid rich dividend.

Two weeks after this incident I wanted attack the ghats once again and boy what a ride it was. Thanks to Trooper, Kaushik and Pelu. We were tired of riding on arrow straight highways so decided to head to the hills. The route took us from Chennai-Sathy-Coimbatore-Valparai-Chalakudy-Munnar-Kumily-Thekkadi-Theni-Trichy-Chennai.

My work took me too Toronto, Canada for the more than three months and everything was put on hold. In the months I was there I could think only about hitting the road again. I was off the road quite literally from May to September and during that time public transit was preferred mode of transport not by choice but due to lack of options.

I finally hit the roads with the gang last week on a day ride to Gingee fort and found myself lacking ride fitness. My butt starting burning, my back started giving up, the heat was getting to me but the only thing that didn't change was the urge to keep moving. Will be hitting the rode again next week to celebrate the 10th anniversary of RTMC at Ooty. But as usual the route is going to be a long one. Chennai-Trichy-Kumily-Kumarakom-Ernakulam-Munnar-Ooty-Chennai.

Rider Mania East 2011 - Where the Bulls met.

2011-01-31T23:52:00.002+05:30

I thought I would do the write up sometime later because I was still in the RM mood but reality struck me pretty hard when I was asked to work on the weekend by my boss. So here it goes.

All bikers know "There are bullets, then there are bikes" and all bulleteers knows "There is Rider Mania (not the RE Rider Mania), then there are other events." Ever since the roads became my best friend I was so keen to attend Rider Mania and this made the wait till the event date nerve wracking. The event was hosted by Eastern Bulls this year at Lake Land Country Resort near Kolkata. I started prepping up my Bull and myself well in advance. Getting all spares, changing the handlebars, changing the seats and heck I even did the 4th service on my Bull myself because I know it had to be perfect. As for me I got ample exercise especially around my neck and lower back.

The ride plan was to start on Jan 19th and reach the regrouping point ob 21st. But things took a tragic turn when one our fellow rider's dad passed away. We are all sorry for your loss Unni. However each people have their own coping mechanism and being the biker he is he still wanted to ride. He had to finish the 13th day ritual on 19th in Kerala and reach Chennai the same night so that he can ride out on 20th morning. I decided to stay back and ride out with him and 1800+km in 2 days seemed doable.

Day 1:

The Bulls were tanked up the previous night itself and we rode out by 5.00am on the 20th. The lead group which started on 19th stayed at Vizag on the first night so we had to cover atleast till Vizag (850km) on the first day.

The first day first session was damn brisk. Cruising at 100+kph was a breeze on both C500 and LB500. Its a good think to ride with similar bikes because you pretty much stop at the same time for fuel and you pretty much ride at the same speed. We had our breakfast at Ongole and continued to Vijayawada for lunch by 2.00pm.

After that the heat started to get to us the paced dropped. We hit Vizag by 8.00pm and decided to halt at Srikakulam. We got excellent accommodation there and having ridden almost 1000km the first day our bodies were crying for a break. We slept with a big smile on our faces. Rode for more than 18hrs out which 5 hours of night riding. Thanks to my flood lights it saved our asses and atleast couple of hours. Nothing untoward happened. Yeah the usual close calls when pedestrians were darting across the road.

Day 2:
We wanted to have an early start by 6.00am hopefully catch up with the lead group by evening. I just took a look through our windows to see the view and bloody there was no view. It was completely covered in fog.

Usually this is a bad thing because our ride timing will go for a toss. But on the other hand we could catch up with our sleep. Took the later option and slept till 9, had our breakfast and rode out by 10am. So decided on the same pattern as Day 1. Full blast morning session, a sedate noon session, a brisk evening session and a safe night session. The morning blast session abruptly came to an end when Unni's LB500 pucked oil all over my C5 and me after ripping for 100+ kph for 2 hrs straight. The reason being we over filled the oil before starting. It was a "Oh shit!!!" moment though.

Anyways marched on and we enter Orissa. The NH in Orissa is only partially completed and this made life difficult and we started to bleed time. However you can forgive them for this because they have one of the best seafood cuisine I ever had. We halted for lunch at a Dhaba about 50km after Chilika and we had the best lunch of our entire trip. We proceeded towards Bhubaneshwar and in the traffic chaos we got seperated. With the help of base contact (Maggie) we regrouped before Cuttack. It was already 5pm and we were about 400+km from our destination. Had a minor problem with Unni's light and took care of it in Cuttack. The sunset and my flood lights came on. We stopped at Bhadrakh for fuel and butt break and we were mobbed my locals at a chai shop. They have been seeing a lot of bullets passing through for the past few days and they had a lot of questions. But nevertheless they were a very friendly bunch of people.

It was about 8pm and we were about 275km from our destination. The temperature started to drop pretty badly and this made life miserable. We were not carrying any winter gear and had to improvise by keeping the shoulder back on the front of the body to keep our self warm. Even we had to stop at a Dhaba and run into the kitchen to warm ourselves up on their furnace. I didnt realize hot it was until by hair on my hands started to burn but I couldn't feel the heat. We somehow huffed and puffed our way to Kholaghat, West Bengal. We had to cross a long narrow bridge which got blocked from both sides when a bus tried to overtake a truck. Total grid lock. Crazy ass dumb drivers. We were just 2km from the regroup point and this was really frustrating. Just then when were about to give up we thought to lift the Bull on to the pavement and ride it there. Mind you Bulls are not light motorcycles but somehow manged to do it and was able to clear that bridge while others were watching us as if we were crazy. By 2.30am we reached the regroup point and was received my Sailesh and Harish.

Day 3:
This was the day I was waiting for because all Madbulls will be riding in to the RM venue in formation for the Grand Entry. Everyone were saddled up by 9am and hit the road. The sight of 40+ Bullets thundering down the road is a visual treat. Just as when the ride started Prat's Bird developed some electrical problem and refused to move. No time to check and fix. Then the towing happened. I clearly remember it being towed at more than 80kph by Dodo and Chezian on the now defunct Bird. Apparently Prat chickened out and Chezian took over.

All were set for the Grand Entry and the Madbull war cry started... "Beep Beep.... roar roar". However after seeing InddieThumpers entry I thought Madbulls were playing it safe. Next time maybe.

RoadMelters from Pune also gave a very good entry.

All of this kick started Rider Mania and it was just the beginning. The day was followed by a lot of events like figure of eight, slow race etc and night started with the DJ playing hit songs. Everyone took to the dance floor and the Madbulls rocked. Be it Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Punjabi or Tamil songs "kuthu" dance was the order of the day and we bloody owned the dance floor.

Day 4:

I was up early. I dont know what made to get up but the view was amazing. I thought I will see the entire resort and started off on a nice morning ride. A lot of people were up to clean their bikes, pictures etc.

A lot of events were lined up for the day but some of us were busy fixing the Bull for the next days ride out. Guys there is something I need to mention here. Eastern Bulls did a great job in arranging a Service center inside the venue, however due to the sheer no. of vehicles there was a lot of delay. I didnt see any of them fixing their own bikes except out very own Hari. The bugger carries enough tools to take apart a bike in minutes and he was working on his own bike (complete rear end overhaul.. I guess). The service center guys kept wondering that did Hari take their tools. Anyways the point I wanted to make was that Bullet is relatively simple vehicle to work on by yourself and if you mess it up you can always get help.

The evening started of Rock Show and various bands performed very well. The Iron Maiden, The Eagles covers still play in my mind. Mind blowing stuff!!! There was this bike beauty show and the finest bikes participated. Some were real vintage and others were radically modified. My personal favorite was a Royal Enfield LB500 off-roader.

Day 5:

After 2 days of fun it was time to hit the road again. A lot of people wanted to do different things. Some wanted to get into Kolkata city and do some shopping and some wanted to go to Konark and Puri on the way back and some wanted to do both and some just wanted to get back home. Myself, Unni and Hasan decided to get back home and skip everything and started the ride back by 12.00 noon. The initial plan was to halt at Bhubaneshwar and if time permits hit Konark. We were riding leisurely as Hasan was nursing a seized engine and Unni a busted exhaust gasket. It was starting to get boring and then Hasan's chain lock gave way. But he was ready with the tools and spares and was on the road again within 10-15 mins. As the night approached it started to get cold and fog started coming in. We rode through thick fog for about 30 odd km. The group which followed us got the worst of it. Even for us at some places visibility was just 5-10 feet. The flood lights really helped. We decided to crash early and found a place 50km before Cuttack.

Day 6:
We started early so that we could get the Bulls checked at RE, Cuttack. The address we got was not updated so ended up going to Bhubaneshwar. It literally was a suck fest because the RE mechanics were so ill trained they couldn't even bleed the disc brakes properly. We spent about 3-4 hours there and it started to get frustrating. i could not even get a horn clamp which broke earlier. However I had some spare exhaust clamp with me and managed to get it fixed by myself. Meanwhile Santhosh (beer guzzler) was passing through and he was telling about the lack to mechanics, spares and everything at Bhubaneshwar. He wanted to a seat done just like mine and asked whether I could get it done from Chennai and ship it across. But we decided to head to this tinker and take measurements of my seat so that he can fabricate it there itself. All this while our initial plan to head to Rajahmundry for the night was going down the drains and even hitting Vizag looked bleak. We somehow started from there and decided to halt at Srikakulam.

Day 7:
990km lie ahead of us and its gonna be a repeat of Day 1. We started by 7am from Srikakulam and decided to half at Rajahmundry for brunch. But things not at all went according to plan. After we entered Vizag we lost Hasan and there was no sight of him. We decided to have breakfast and wait for him so we asked the hotel people to serve us food on the road so that we could catch Hasan if he passes by. Even after an hour there was no sign of him and he had lost his mobile phone the previous day. We were a little worried but reluctantly proceeded towards Rajahmundry. The only thing that was good was there were couple of groups riding behind us and if there is any emergency they could take care. After we crossed Vijayawada we got a call just as when we were stopping for a break. Thank God it was Hasan and all was well. Some wheel bearing issue and he decided to halt at Rajahmundry and ride out with the next group the following day. We were so relieved and started towards Chennai. We could not get a move on due to traffic and when the sun went down we were so tired. Took plenty of breaks coupled with extended saddle time and we were at Nellore by 11.30pm. There was still heavy truck traffic and we took our final break at Tada. Both of us were too sleepy and both of us had different ways of coping up. Unni was riding steady and I just blasted of from there. Once I overtook few trucks at good speeds I bacame alert and continued to ride like that and reached home by 2.15am. Unni reached home by 2.45am and RM 2011 officially came to an end and the daily grind started in another few hours.

Special Mention.

1. Maggie and Chidambaram for providing constant support. They definitely made life easier.

ECR Ride - Alamparai and Pondy

2010-11-21T15:44:00.001+05:30

"The journey is in itself a destination." This quote was experienced first-hand yesterday. The ride through the ECR (East Coast Road) to Pondicherry which is about 130 odd kilometers may be a routine thing for many bikers in Chennai and a total of 300km ride in a day is definitely not a "Saddle Sore" ride. But the different weather conditions which we encountered along the way in such a short distance was awesome. Torrential downpour, sunny sun, sandy sand, knee deep water, wet roads, damn roads, bone dry roads etc.

The day started for most of us at 5.30am and everyone one where geared up and ready at the starting point (Besant Nagar beach). As everyone ready to leave the heaven's opened. We waited for 15 mins there was no sign of rain stopping. We decided to start anyway and Amith on his C500 took the lead followed by Siva on his C350, Ramkumar on his C500, Mothi and Selvam (pillion) on TBTS, Rajesh on his spanking new Apache RTR 180 and I was in the sweep. Before we could hit ECR we had to ride through almost knee deep water at places and everyone got wet to their bones in the first few kilometers itself. We hit ECR and the within 10 minutes of riding the rain stopped but the roads were really wet. We road on a single file formation. We took a couple of breaks in-between. I was forced to ride behind Rajesh and he couldn't go more than 60kph because he was running-in his bike. It was very frustrating and finally we reached Mahabs were we had a decent breakfast.

We were in no hurry and slowly puttered our way back to ECR from Mahabs and kept riding. The roads were damn neat, damp and so no dust and pleasant weather but overcast but all of us were still wet. And 60kph speed didn't help the drying process either. After Kalpakam I lost my patience and ripped. The Megaphone was roaring to glory and comments I got from the fellow riders was that even their listening to music and riding at 60-80kph the only thing they heard was me zipping past them. Maybe thats when I realized that Megaphone was a bad idea for group rides as its prone to irritate others. But that being said "Loud pipe does save lives." I saw people crossing the rode at intersections and when I was riding slow I had to blow my horn considerably to alert my presence. But that also didn't help sometimes because these folks are used to blaring horns. Different story when I ripped. People were running for their lives and no one in that vicinity had the balls to step on the road.

Reached Alamparai Fort by 10ish. Scouted the place for few minutes and decided to take the bike up the sand path up to the backwaters. Here where all the fun started. About 400m of off-roading. The bikes slipped and slided. It never for once go in a straight like and the OEM zappers are no good for off-roading. By this time Amith and I reached the backwaters and headed back on foot to help the others. Everyone struggled except for Mothi :D. All the bikes picked up sand and sprayed it on the brand new Apache. But eventually everyone made it to the top and were satisfied.

The location was perfect and the sun started to shine. Perfect place to relax and dry our clothes. Some explored took a swim in the backwaters, some explored the fort and some just lazed around. We spend mre than an hour and next time we have to buy some ration before coming here.

We started to Pondy and reached Promenade by 12.30pm... Relaxed for while at the Leather Bar and headed towards "La Terresse" for pizzas and sizzlers. We tanked up the bike and by that time we were ready to head back it was 4.15pm. We decided to have just one re-grouping point at Kalpakam. Mtself and Amith maintained and good speed of 80-90kph while Mothi was at a brisk 70-80kph and Ramkumar at a sedate 60kph and Siva didn't have an option and had to tag Ram. Myself and Amith stopped at a backwater for some final snaps of the trip and reached Kalpakam for the re-grouping.

Now it was officially dark and we could see thunderstorm at the horizon. Me wanted to get back home at the earliest because a headache started to creep up. Switched on the driving lights which proved to be a life saver when traffic from the opposite side were on high-beam. Ripped through the damp roads and then it started raining for a bit. The headlight glare was blinding but didn't give a damn. Concentrated hard and reached home by 8. Within 30 minutes everyone reached their home safely. Me had after effects. The food at La Terresse made me sick and had to throw up what ever I had for lunch. Grr.. I guess the meat was not cooked well and decieded not to go there from here on and stick with Promenade or Rendevous for food.

Butr whatever the be the case, ride along ECR has no parallels. Flawless roads with beautiful scenery. We never get tired of riding there. As far as I'm concerned, "There is ECR then there are roads".

Exhaust backpressure myth busted

2010-11-12T15:36:00.000+05:30

Destroying a myth.

Some say that "an engine needs backpressure to work correctly." Is this true?

No. It would be more correct to say, "a perfectly stock engine that cannot adjust its fuel delivery needs backpressure to work correctly." This idea is a myth. As with all myths, however, there is a hint of fact with this one. Particularly, some people equate backpressure with torque, and others fear that too little backpressure will lead to valve burning.

The first reason why people say "backpressure is good" is because they believe that increased backpressure by itself will increase torque, particularly with a stock exhaust manifold. Granted, some stock manifolds act somewhat like performance headers at low RPM, but these manifolds will exhibit poor performance at higher RPM. This, however does not automatically lead to the conclusion that backpressure produces more torque. The increase in torque is not due to backpressure, but to the effects of changes in fuel/air mixture, which will be described in more detail below.

The other reason why people say "backpressure is good" is because they hear that cars (or motorcycles) that have had performance exhaust work done to them would then go on to burn exhaust valves. Now, it is true that such valve burning has occurred as a result of the exhaust mods, but it isn't due merely to a lack of backpressure.

The internal combustion engine is a complex, dynamic collection of different systems working together to convert the stored power in gasoline into mechanical energy to push a car down the road. Anytime one of these systems are modified, that mod will also indirectly affect the other systems, as well.

Now, valve burning occurs as a result of a very lean-burning engine. In order to achieve a theoretical optimal combustion, an engine needs 14.7 parts of oxygen by mass to 1 part of gasoline (again, by mass). This is referred to as a stochiometric (chemically correct) mixture, and is commonly referred to as a 14.7:1 mix. If an engine burns with less oxygen present (13:1, 12:1, etc...), it is said to run rich. Conversely, if the engine runs with more oxygen present (16:1, 17:1, etc...), it is said to run lean. Today's engines are designed to run at 14.7:1 for normally cruising, with rich mixtures on acceleration or warm-up, and lean mixtures while decelerating.

Getting back to the discussion, the reason that exhaust valves burn is because the engine is burning lean. Normal engines will tolerate lean burning for a little bit, but not for sustained periods of time. The reason why the engine is burning lean to begin with is that the reduction in backpressure is causing more air to be drawn into the combustion chamber than before. Earlier cars (and motorcycles) with carburetion often could not adjust because of the way that backpressure caused air to flow backwards through the carburetor after the air already got loaded down with fuel, and caused the air to receive a second load of fuel. While a bad design, it was nonetheless used in a lot of vehicles. Once these vehicles received performance mods that reduced backpressure, they no longer had that double-loading effect, and then tended to burn valves because of the resulting over-lean condition. This, incidentally, also provides a basis for the "torque increase" seen if backpressure is maintained. As the fuel/air mixture becomes leaner, the resultant combustion will produce progressively less and less of the force needed to produce torque.

Modern BMWs don't have to worry about the effects described above, because the DME (car's computer) that controls the engine will detect that the engine is burning leaner than before, and will adjust fuel injection to compensate. So, in effect, reducing backpressure really does two good things: The engine can use work otherwise spent pushing exhaust gas out the tailpipe to propel the car forward, and the engine breathes better. Of course, the DME's ability to adjust fuel injection is limited by the physical parameters of the injection system (such as injector maximum flow rate and fuel system pressure), but with exhaust backpressure reduction, these limits won't be reached.

- Adapted from Thomas V.

The Science of Exhaust Modifications

2010-11-11T12:19:00.004+05:30

I chanced upon couple of images which gives a good understanding of exhaust systems.
Click on the images to read it.

RTMC 9A

2010-10-11T23:56:00.004+05:30

I got back from a 1600km ride last week but that was a solo ride. Though I was a very good ride I wanted to ride in a group. Well I didn't had to wait for long. The following week itself a ride to Yercaud was planned by the Madras Bulls Motorcycle Club to join RTMC Bangalore who was celebrating their 9th anniversary. I had just did some upgrades to my C5 and was eager to test it out. The plan was to ride out on Saturday (9th October) at around 6am. I reached Shell Petrol station at Porur which was the starting point at around 5.30am where 3 members (Hari, Nedu and Bobby... well early comers has to be mentioned) where already present and waiting. Slowly people started trickling in and by 6.30am about 15 bikes, 1 car and 1 jeep gathered. The ride plan was briefed and every one set off with Bose Sir in his lean mean machine (LB500 crank and gearbox with C5 head) leading and Hari in his "Diesel Rocket" (definitely not the speed but the smoke produced) sweeping along with the Mageshwar and Co. in the Figo.

I started along with the lead group and all of us followed a single-file formation until we hit the highway. Everyone were asked to keep their head lights on so that it will be easier to spot other members in the rear view mirror. And boy oh boy what a sight it was to see a long string on lights in the rear view mirror and thump and roar of the Bulls from up front. Immediately after we hit the highway the group fell into a staggered file formation taking up an entire lane and starting rolling towards Vellore for breakfast. I wanted to test out my bike so took a "pee" break and starting playing catch up was very much satisfied with the performance. I got settled in the formation and the lead group of Bose Sir, Amar, Saran, Unni, Prabhu, Danger (he was riding without any lane discipline) and myself started pulling away. We reached Vellore by 8.30am and stopped at Saravana Bhavan. Everyone had their breakfast for the day but our table (Amar, Saran, Unni and me) had a feast with atleast 3 orders per person. Slowly people started to trickle out of Vellore where myself and Unni had to catch up to the lead group. As Unii was riding his newly acquired AVL 500 he was also keen to test it out. Both of us opened up the throttle was hitting and cruising at 3 digits with easy. Caught up with the lead group within 10 mins and continued along with them. Suddenly we realized from the lead group of 5-6 people we didnt find a single soul behind us. We stopped waiting for the group catch up and took the chance to get acquainted with each other. We called up "Maggie" who was the central co-ordinator told us Prathamesh had a fall. Thanks to his riding gear his upper body was scratch free but had a scrapped knee. His ride suffered a broken foot rest and it has to be welded. Good they were still in Vellore when this happened so got this fixed easily. Meanwhile we decided to move ahead, tank-up and wait for others at Vaniyambadi.

After a quick re-group we started only to find the stretch between Vaniyambadi to Tiruppathur was bad. Every had their own ways of to deal with bumpy roads. Some preferred to find a way across/between/around bad patches, some standing and while some riding over each of the pot holes. Anyways everyone made through that patch and from there on in was bliss. Smooth twisty roads with tress on both sides and excellent weather making the that section wonderful. In the mean time among all the pot-holes Unni took the lead and was charging on they smooth roads and clearing the way for others with finger pointing, hand gesturing, head taping or sometime plain aggressive behavior. Met up with the other group near Uthrangai. We reached Kuppanur in no time and started our climb. Unni, myself, Bose Sir, Harish, Prathamesh and Saran started climbing together. But the torque figures of the 500s meant that 500s could take the hair-pin bends in 2-3 gears and still pull away while the TBTS had to work their gears pretty hard. All credit to Harish for keeping up his TBTS with the 500s in the climb. Reached Shevoroy by 2.45pm. Got ourselves registered, dumped our stuff in the rooms and had a sumptuous lunch though we were late. I was so excited to see about 100 odd bikes in the parking lot and the thump of few others who were riding in. I could feel the "Biking Brotherhood" in the air. We had arm wrestling competition and some other stuff which I dont know coz I went for a quick nap. While got back Bose Sir was giving a tech session and explaining his new creation. Samrat/Samrith not sure the exact pronunciation took the bike for a test ride and when he came back he had his teeth showing from ear-to-ear. The gathering was adjourned till 7pm for dinner.

The evening gala started about 7.30pm with the distribution of prizes for winners in competition that happened earlier in the evening. I could not see even 1 person without a plastic bottle in hand carrying all sorts of drinks. Some looked like diesel, petrol and even burnt up engine oil. But one thing is for sure all were having fun. The dance floor and dinner were open a little later and people started to feast and groove to various numbers. The party went on till 12.30am.

Woke up to the ringing of the door bell at 7am with hotel staff serving tea and coffee. Almost everyone were up by that time and it was time to have breakfast. Slowly people started to trickle out and later we decided to leave but couldn't decide which route to take. Anyways we saddled up and decided to take Uthrangarai-Gingee-Tindivanam route. With Hari's "Diesel Rocket" smoking its wake in the front people like me who started a little later did not have any trouble finding the way down and just traced the nauseating diesel smell. Had a couple of photo sessions. The climb down was not without incident with me running over a cat and a fellow rider taking a fall and continuing as if nothing happened only to be forcefully stopped by Hari. Quick job to remove the front mud fender which got bent and was scraping the tyre. A quick re-group at the bottom and Amar led the way while Nedu and Hari sweeping. We had a small confusion at Harur but we were well on our way to Uthrangai. The roads were little more familiar with the lead group scrapping foot peg at every turn only to realizer that Nedu who was sweep was already waiting for us there. Man that Std 350 can fly. Had lunch at Uthrangai and the nightmare began. Pathetic road with pot holes all over and we had to give our butts a break every 45 odd kms. Finally hit a piece of tarmac about 30 km before Polur. The road extra wide, beautifully cambered and with the right mix of curves and straights except for 3 bike breakers (speed breakers). The road was so inviting and I saw Kaushik in his A350 flying past me. Told to myself what the heck and began the hot pursuit. With speeds above 95kmph even in curves we were pulling away for the group. We thought we were in front only to see Unni in front. Then we all set of an amazing 15-20 mins taking curves, scrapping foot peg literally. I wanted to test the top speed and crouched down when we got a straight piece of empty road. Gunned it down to reach about 140kmph. I was not that confident to take curves at higher speeds coz I was worried how the bike might handle. We reached Polur and waited for the others to come. Surprisingly the TBTS triplets (Saran, Harish and Ashok) were not that far behind immediately followed by Prathamesh who was nursing a bruised knee. A little while later the entire group came. The roads became bad to worse and some of us couldn't take anymore. We regrouped and the group split into 2. 1 group heading towards Tambaram and the other towards Kanchipuram-Porur. I, Nedu, Unni, Harish and Ashok decided to go through Tambaram hoping to reach GQ and the promised ice cold beer by Nedu at Porur. It had got dark and we passed through Kanchipuram, Sriperambathur and reach Porur by 7.30pm. Bid good bye to Ashok who was running late already and four of us just relaxed in an AC bar having some cold beer and chicken. By 9pm all of us bid good bye to each other and headed towards home sweet home.

Man is was such a memorable trip for me which might be evident from the number of lines I had to type. Wishing many more trips like this and thanks to RTMC for organizing flawlessly. Bravo!!!!

Notable mentions from the trip:

Bose Sir Frankenstein bike.
Abhishek's Electra 350 which had to be topped up 2 times to go one way.
Hari's Diesel Rocket which disinfected the entire stretch.

I realized that leading or sweeping a group is no mean feet. The lead requires patience and good knowledge of road and road sense while the sweep requires even more patience and good hands-on skill. Thanks to all who participated.

http://picasaweb.google.com/cherian.rajith/RTMC9A#

Day 4 - Final Day

2010-10-03T00:08:00.001+05:30

Met couple of my friends and had a sumptuous and delicious lunch. The lunch made my start back to Chennai a little late. I started from Bangalore at 4pm and after filling fuel I hit the elevated highway. Whenever I tried to red-line the bull it felt like it was getting chocked for air. So decided to try out something. The road was pretty clean and dust free so rode with my air-box open. Free flow baby... free flow. Man the characteristics of the bike changed drastically. The thump turned into a roar and it was revving pretty easily. Rode the entire elevated highway like this and thoroughly enjoyed it. Now I'm seriously considering to change to K&N filter. I personally feel that the air intake in itself is flawed as its not able to supply enough air at higher speeds. Anyways thoughts on that later. I had to pay 20/- as toll for using that road which I feel is absurd and ridiculous because I never come across any other place except Elevated highway and NECE road. I have been on better roads and no tolls for two-wheelers. Crossed Hosur in a jiffy and a bad thing happened. I dosed off for a couple of seconds. The lunch was really getting to me. Quickly stopped in a petrol bunk which incidently had Cafe Coffee day. Had a King Cappuccino and I was feeling vigilant now. Decided to up the tempo a bit to make things more interesting. I pushed my speed from 80kmph to 95+kmph and there was no looking back. Reached home by 9.30pm. 5 hours from Banglore. There are lot of things to say but I'm too tired now. Rest later.

Day 3

2010-10-02T00:14:00.002+05:30

A vibrating phone woke me up this morning. It was my friend from Bangalore giving me the updates about the situation. He said everything was fine and if I want I can come. Now confused I decided to go for it. and complete my round trip. Started at 10.30 am to Bangalore and stuck to my initially planned route. The thought of negotiating a total of 50 hair-pin bends made me very excited. Reached Ooty at about 1pm. Nothing special about route except for 14 hair-pin bends. But descend was the best. Decided to come down through Masinagudi. 36 hair-pin bends. Bloody hell some were real steep thought I would fall over the handle bar when I braked. Had to work the gears pretty hard to keep the bike in low speed. After that the route took me through Mudhumalai Tiger Reserve and Bandipur forest. Man it was heaven and I felt like God. Clean air pleasant breeze and greenery everywhere. Saw few spotted deers and a couple of elephants. I didnt want to stop because I was running late because negotiating 36 hair-pin bends took a lot of time. Reached Mysore by 5pm. I kept riding towards Bangalore but it started raining. Put on my raincoat and kept riding until it became really difficult to see as the glare of the on-coming vehicles started blinding me at places where the centre median was not that high. I decided enough is enough. Tilted one of my HID lights up and that didnt the trick :) Reached Bangalore (Sarjapur) by 8pm. It was one of the longest time I have spent on the saddle, about 10 hours. Phew my back was fine but my bum lost its senses. The back of my neck hurt big time. The AGV helmets are pretty heavy and plus the wind blast is not helping. I have to look for a lighter or more aerodynamic option. For now some Vodka should do the trick.

Day 2

2010-09-30T22:13:00.004+05:30

Today was the ayodhya verdict and this made me to put off all my plans. I was not worried about any riots or any such things but the sheer volume of security personnels on the road made me thing twice and also the chances of petrol bunk and other utilities made me decide to stay in Karunya and call off the rest of my trip. Also me in my riding gear and cramster saddlebag I'm bound to be stopped at most of check posts. The main problem is C5 has a range of 375km at best. Now that's a bummer considering most of the C5 customers are tourers. Surely we need atlleast 25litre capacity fuel tank so that we can cover 600+ km in one go. First I wanted to clean my bull. Took her to siruvani watercrossing and cleaned her up. Anyways wanted to make the best of the situation of decided to go for a ride to siruvani dam. Normally this is off limit to public. Luckily one of the engineers was present at forest department office. I begged and pleaded to give me permit and after half hour of begging they allowed me provided I leave my camera behind. I was so excited because the ride is 18km through pristine forest with teak trees on both sides. The ride was better than expected. Came back collected my camera and went to siruvani falls and spent couple of hours there enjoying the ice cold pure water. FYI siruvani water is one of the world's best naturally available water. Now you know whats the fuss is all about. Tomorrow I'm riding back to chennai.

Day 1

2010-09-29T21:33:00.002+05:30

The initial plan was to start 3 in the morning but the sleep got the better of me. I missed the alarm. Woke up at 4 and I hit the road at 4.30. With the 3 hids lighting up the road I felt like I was riding at noon. Took the best route and it was the bangalore highway. Maintained a steady pace of 80kmph. The bull feels at home at this pace, cruising along with a third of the throttle. didn't want to stress the machine or me. Reached vellore in 2 hours with the sun cracking up the dark sky in the rear view mirrors. Had a tea break with the onlookers staring at me because of the riding gear and a loaded bike. Reached krishnagiri by 8:30 and decided to top my bull up. I had used about 9 litres of fuel. So the average was 31kmpl. I decided to take the route via mettur. Boy that was a good choice. The roads were great and scenic with greenery on both sides. Reached coimbatore at 2 pm. On my way I felt a burning sensation on my leg. When I checked it was a bee which stung me through my jeans at 80kmph. grr.... Checked into a lodge near Karunya and off I went to meet by lecturers. Man felt so good to be back after 5 years. Later met a couple of friends and had a long chit chat with some ice cold beer. Now its time to get some sleep.

Preparation for the ride.

2010-09-28T22:52:00.001+05:30

In another 5 hrs I'll be starting my longest motorcycle ride ever. I have been wanting to do this for a very long time. Since I couldn't get anyone who was free during this time to join me I decided to do this solo. So this makes it all the more special. I started preparing my ride for this ride for the past one week. I serviced the bike and checked everything is in order. Since RE Classic 500 EFI is a new vehicle in this market the spares are a bit difficult to find.

Following are the things which I'm carrying for this ride.

Spare accelerator and clutch cables.
Spare front and rear tire tubes.
Jerry can with about 100km worth of petrol.
1 bungee net and 2 bungee cords.
Cramster colt saddle bags since I have a up-swept exhaust.
All original documents.
AGV helmet.
First Gear riding jacket and gloves.
Sketchers shoes.
WD-40 spray and Motul chain lube.
And of-course my camera. (Olympus SP 570UZ)

Even though I feel that I'm prepared I am little nervous. But I'm sure this nervousness will go once I hit the road.

I'm looking forward for an exciting trip.

Chennai-Siruvani-Ooty-Bangalore-Chennai

2010-09-01T15:37:00.001+05:30

========================================================================
Chennai -375km - Mettur - 180km - Siruvani: (600 Approx)
========================================================================
Start Date & Time: 29-September-2010, Wednesday Time: 0400 hrs

Driving directions from Chennai to Karunya University
National Highway 47
528 km 8 hours 42 mins

A. Chennai, Tamil Nadu
204 km – about 3 hours 20 mins
B. Vaniyambadi, Tamil Nadu
89.8 km – about 1 hour 18 mins
C. Thoppur, Tamil Nadu
37.9 km – about 43 mins
D. Mettur, Tamil Nadu
172 km – about 2 hours 58 mins
E. Karunya University,Tamil Nadu 641 114

End Date & Time: 29-September-2010, Wednesday Time: 1400 hrs
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

=======================================================================
Siruvani - 115Km - Ooty (125 Approx)
=======================================================================
Start Date & Time: 30-September-2010, Thursday Time: 1400 hrs

Driving directions Siruvani to Ooty
115 km 3 hours

A. Karunya University, Tamil Nadu 641 114
115 km – about 2 hours 18 mins
B. Ooty, Tamil Nadu

End Date & Time: 30-September-2010, Thursday Time: 1700 hrs
----------------------------------------------------------------------

=======================================================================
Ooty - 263km - Bangalore (300 Approx)
=======================================================================
Start Date & Time: 1-October-2010, Friday Time: 1400 hrs

Driving directions Ooty to Maruthi Mandir, Bengaluru, Karnataka
SH 17
263 km 4 hours 57 mins

A. Ooty, Tamil Nadu
126 km – about 2 hours 19 mins
B. Mysore, Karnataka 570001
137 km – about 2 hours 38 mins
C. Maruthi Mandir, Vijaynagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka

End Date & Time: 1-October-2010, Friday Time: 2000 hrs

----------------------------------------------------------------------

=======================================================================
Bangalore - Chennai (400 Approx)
=======================================================================
Start Date & Time: 2-October-2010, Saturday Time: 1500 hrs

Driving directions from Bangalore to Chennai, Tamil Nadu
National Highway 4/NH 4 and SH 113
352 km 5 hours 45 mins

A. Bengaluru, Karnataka 560001
40.5 km – about 44 mins
B. Hosur, Tamil Nadu
175 km – about 2 hours 36 mins
C. Vellore, Tamil Nadu 632001
137 km – about 2 hours 25 mins
D. Chennai, Tamil Nadu

End Date & Time: 2-October-2010, Saturday Time: 2100 hrs
----------------------------------------------------------------------

======================================================================
Summary:
======================================================================

Total Distance: 1425km + 200km misc = 1625km
Bike kmpl: 25
Average Fuel Consumption (Litres): 65
Average Fuel Cost (Rs): 57

Total Expected Fuel Cost: 4000
Accomodation: 1 night at Siruvani + 1 night at Ooty (500/- per night) = 1000
Food & Water & Misc: 4 days x 500/- per day = 2000/-
Procurring bike spares: Tyre tubes, clutch and accelerator cables etc = 1000/-
Others: 1000/-

Total Cash required in-hand: 9000/-
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Royal Enfield Classic 500 review

2010-07-05T15:10:00.001+05:30

“Selfism” is a term which can be only realized and not explained. I realized it when I took delivery of my Classic 500 (Black) after waiting for six months. Since that I have ridden over 600 in the span of 10 days including a Pondicherry trip which is about 300Km up and down from Chennai. Here is my first impression.

Style:
There is only one word for it. “Classic”. On my trip along ECR I was so busy waving back at people that I found it difficult to concentrate on the road. I even got a wave from a guy who was riding a Honda CBR. The Classic looks great with the single saddle seat and the huge fenders not only keeps water/dirt out but also adds charm. The overall height is little low coz of the 18” wheels but the overall appearance is impeccable.

Engine:
This is the new UCE technology from RE. My initial feel was the engine was modern and more responsive. RE has adopted this engine so as to minimize the no. of moving parts and there by improving performance. The produces around 27BHP and 42NM of torque. Even after a 300km ride there was not even a single drop of oil. Surprise!!!!...

Performance:
The bike weighs around 190kg which is about 40kg more than your average bike. Yet it is no slouch. Classic 500 is one of the fastest accelerating Indian bikes. The bikes come good when you are in 4th/5th gears. The torque is amazing. 40-80kmph is the strongest region in this bike. You can cruise all day at 80-90kmph without breaking a sweat.

Handling:
The angle of the OEM bars puts a little strain on your shoulders. One thing you could do is tilt it towards your side. Trust me it is much more comfortable. There are has been a lot of flaks thrown at the zappers. Personally, I loved it. It looks good and it performance nicely. At least in Chennai. The heat makes the zappers to soften up and stick to the tarmac. It performed equally well in the rains. Probably MRF didn’t do much of cold weather testing and people in colder parts of India finds the zappers a handful. Softer after market tyres is always an option.

Mileage:
Lets face it people who spend 1.5L for 500cc bike will be very happy if they get 25kmpl. This is no “Hoodibaba”. Oh my previous bike was Bajaj Caliber 115 and it returned 60kmpl. :-o

Bajaj Pulsar 250 Parallel Twin On The Cards�|�Indian Cars, Bikes

2010-03-19T12:37:00.000+05:30

Bajaj Pulsar 250 Parallel Twin On The Cards

The wait seems to be nearing an end with news about the upcoming Pulsar 250 pouring in. According to Motoroids’ sources in the component industry based around Pune, Bajaj is in the final stages of developing an all new 250cc bike for India. The engine has been under development for quite some time now and the new Bajaj Pulsar 250 will feature a parallel twin, four-valve per cylinder liquid cooled 250cc engine. Power output is expected to be anywhere between 27-30bhp with top speed of 160kmph. But the most important piece of news is the pricing, which is expected to be south of Rs. 1.5 lakhs!!
With the Pulsar 250, Bajaj will take a major upward shift in technology. On the cards is a new aluminum beam frame (used mainly on superbikes), rising rate link type mono shock rear suspension, front and rear disc brakes, clip-on handle bars, projector headlamp, new digital instrument console and most importantly a completely new design. When launched, the Pulsar 250 will undoubtedly set the benchmark for ride, handling and performance in the premium biking segment in our country. What do you think should Bajaj offer on the Pulsar 250? Please share your views in the comments section below.
Source – Motoroids

Something everyone with a license should know....

2010-02-22T17:05:00.002+05:30

I have always believed that driving is an art and not just getting from point A to point B. Its something you are born with. I started driving from the age of 10 and I knew how to drive even before I got a chance to lay my hands over the wheels. Even as a child I would keenly watch how others drove and the had a pretty good understanding about why there are gears and what is the purpose of a clutch.

If you are one of the people who have been driving an automatic car since they got their license then chances are that you haven't learned how to drive a manual transmission car, or "stick" as most people say. For some people it's hard to understand how much gas to give it, how much to let off the clutch, how to get going, ect ect. I'll give you a few tips on how to drive stick and hopefully you can go out and learn something new.

First let's talk about how it basically works. When you push in the clutch, the clutch pulls off the transmission(read as the connection between the engine and the wheels) and is sitting there freely with no friction. As you release the clutch it closes down onto the gears in the transmission and starts to go because the gears are set in motion based on what gear you put it in with your hand. So think of it as if you have a record spinning and you put your finger on it slightly the record will slow down unless you turn up the speed on the record, and if you push down to hard, it just stops it because you have too much pressure without enough force to keep the record spinning. This is just like your transmission, you need enough force to keep the transmission working while allowing the clutch to sit on it. Lets start with the basics.

A good thing to do before actually starting the vehicle is to play around with the shifter and kinda get a feel on how to put it into the different gears. Make sure the parking brake is on so that you don't roll away. After you get a feel for it, put the car into neutral by moving the stick to the middle of the gears where it feels loose and free. Once there push down on the clutch (make sure the P-Brake is still on) and turn the key until it starts. I recommend you doing this on flat ground so that you don't roll away and it's easier to learn. After the vehicle is started, let go of the clutch and release the parking brake. Take a deep breath and push the clutch in and put the vehicle into first gear while holding the clutch in. Slowly release the clutch and you'll feel the vehicle start to move, once you feel that give it a little bit of gas to keep it from stalling. If you let the clutch out without giving it gas, the car will jerk and buck and then stall out. You want to release the clutch as you are giving it gas so that it equals out. This first part is usually the hardest and a good way to get a feel for it is just to keep practicing letting off the clutch and giving it gas so it moves. When I first learned how to drive stick, I would wait till I could feel the car start to move and then give it gas. After you give it gas it won't be long till you have to shift. You should shift gears around 3000 RPM or before it gets to the red area on your RPM reader. When shifting just push in the clutch all the way and let off the gas. Once you let go of the gas just shift from 1st to 2nd and release the clutch smoothly while giving it gas again. Continue to do so up to however many gears you have. Now comes for the stopping.

Stopping isn't your normal just push on the brake and everything is good. If you vehicle is any gear besides neutral then you have to push in the clutch all the way while you push the brake. If you have the car in a gear while pushing the brake and you stop then the car will jerk and buck and then stall out and you will look like a fool as you sit there at a stop light and have to turn your car back on. So when coming to stop just push in the clutch and hit the brake if you are in gear, or you can just put it in neutal and put on the brake. If the vehicle is in neutral then you can put the brake on without having to put in the clutch, this is because there is no gear for the clutch to rub up against and stall out on if it is in neutral. Another way of slowing down is to downshift, to downshift just put the car into a gear that is lower then what you're in, i.e. if you are in 4th then put it in 3rd gear. After it's in gear just slowly release the clutch. The RPMs will go up more so but you will slow down a little without putting on the brake. All you have to do is put it in a lower gear then slowly let off the clutch and the vehicle will start to change gears and slow down. This can be hard to get used to, so I don't recommend it to new stick drivers.

So there you have it, you now know how to drive stick...kinda. Just remember to give out equal gas to clutch pressure and put in the clutch when stopping. Getting to get going is the hardest part because that requires the most attention. Once you get going it's really just simple because all you do is switch gears and hit the gas. After driving stick for a while you'll find that it is a lot more fun to drive at times. When you have a fun small sports car it can be really fun because you can accellerate quicker and more precise that way. Also a lot of times you forget you're driving stick because it becomes so natural. I know at times I forget im driving stick and I almost stall because i forget to put int he clutch when i come to a stop. Hope this has been useful. Always wear your seatbelt, or else i'll pull the car over.

Royal Enfield sees huge order backlog in its Classic 500 retro bike�-�WheelsUnplugged Automobile Industry News

2010-02-18T17:01:00.000+05:30

Royal Enfield sees huge order backlog in its Classic 500 retro bike�-�WheelsUnplugged Automobile Industry News

There are reports that Royal Enfield's recently launched Classic 500, priced above Rs. 1 lakh, is witnessing a huge backlog in its orders. Globally, the Classic 500 was launched in European markets in October 2008 and has now been made available to Indian customers, while Classic 350 is a new launch mainly for the domestic market. The retro-look bike has been designed keeping in mind Royal Enfield's British character with the company's design team worked in close collaboration with Xenophya Design, UK. The engine was engineered in Italy while the fuel-injection system has contributions from Japan. It is to be mentioned that Classic 500, benefit from improved reliability and modern components (e.g. electronic fuel injection), stimulating demand in overseas markets. Its heavyweight models, which are homologated in Europe and the US to meet their specific rules and regulations connected to emissions and safety, is being tweaked to meet Indian conditions also.
"Orders have been beyond our expectations and we have a back-log of 3,000-4,000 bikes in the domestic market and around 2,000 for export. We will be able to clear up the backlog only by June-July," a senior official was quoted as saying to PTI, adding that the company has delivered over 1,000 units of the Classic 500 in the Indian market since the bike's launch in November last year.

Just when the model got rolled out during Nov’09, the company’s official spokesperson had stated, “We are in the process of attending to all enquiries which has come through the web, telephone, walk-ins and it is very early to predict the future bookings at this time and we can give the guestimate by month-end.”

Shaji Koshy, head, sales and marketing, Royal Enfield India, had earlier told reporters, “While other bike players are shifting gears towards mainstream our appeal is towards leisure, relaxation and travel. As of now, we have no plans to open other segments or capacity.”

According to Royal Enfield’s recent official release, “The reverence for motorcycle designs from the Royal Enfield stable is one of the reasons for its cult status. The ‘retro’ look of the Classic 500 is inspired by Royal Enfield’s –‘J2’- a model that shot to prominence around the early 1950’s. The colour ‘classic green’ – inspired by colours in vogue during the acme of the British motorcycling era – gives the Classic 500 a distinct yet timeless aura. The technology is avant-garde with enhanced combustion and tight caps on emissions. So, the ‘classic green’ also epitomises Royal Enfield’s commitment to a greener environment.”

Courtesy - WheelsUnplugged Automobile Industry News

Modify your ride - Part 4

2010-02-18T12:45:00.002+05:30

STAGE THREE MODIFICATIONS

1.Performance brake systems:
By the time you reach stage three, chances are that your current braking power is ineffective toward handling the additional engine punch. Upgraded boosters, performance discs and street / performance brake pads are available to improve your cars stopping power. Approximate cost = Rs.3,000 – 40,000.

2.Turbo-chargers:
Turbo's offer high power gains but don't exceed 6-8 psi on a stock motor. If you want to go higher than that, get ready for a seriously expensive investment in forged internals, sleeves etc. For a complete guide on turbo-charging, click here : Turbo-charging your car. Approximate cost = Rs.1,25,000 upward.

3.Super-chargers:
Super-chargers or "blowers" (as they are called in the tuner circle) are another method of forced induction. More expensive to install, they are driven off the engines crankshaft, unlike a turbo which is driven by exhaust gas energy. Super-charger kits are readily available for some engines, though Indian tuners prefer turbo-charging. For a detailed comparison, click here : Turbo chargers vs. Super chargers, and take a look at this link if you're considering supercharging. Approximate cost = Rs.1,25,000 upward.

4.Engine swaps:
When you have maxed out the power of your current engine, or simply want a bigger powerplant, engine swaps are a good option. Many tuner-friendly cars have a ready list of options available. D16 and B16 engines into Honda City’s, twin-cam Suzuki Swift GTi swaps into Maruti Zen’s and even Honda mills into Suzuki bodies are popular. Mitsubishi Lancers have various Mivec and EVO options. Swapping the engine is changing the "heart" of your car so consult only with tuners who have the necessary experience, knowledge and infrastructure; this is a very important consideration. Some swaps may not offer a bolt-on transition and will require heavy modifications to accommodate. Approximate cost = Rs.30,000 upward.

5.Upgrade clutch:
In stage three, a performance clutch may become a necessity to transfer the additional power effectively and quickly. Consider what the usage of your car will be before installing a performance clutch as varied options are available between street, drag and race applications. Some are a pain to use in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Approximate cost = Rs.10,000 – 50,000.

6.Lighter flywheel:
A lighter flywheel will improve throttle response at all rpms, since the inertia is lower. It works well with balancing the crankshaft. However, don’t add one to a stock engine else you will lose torque at low-rpms. Lightened flywheels are a good option for racing and make for a superb modification with a short (close-ratio) gearbox. Approximate cost = Rs.15,000 – 25,000.

7.Gearing:
The gearbox is one of the most important tools in extracting power from your engine, exactly where you want it (low, mid and high-rpms). You may choose to alter the final drive or go in for an entirely new custom gearbox. Your transmission may also require stronger drive-shafts to cope with the additional power. Approximate cost = Rs. 6,500 upward.

8.ECU replacement:
The ECU (engine control unit) is the brain of your car and controls various engine parameters and functions. Custom ECU's can be tuned for specific engines where power gains vary from 5%(stock engine) to more than 30% (heavily modified engines). A stand-alone engine management system (Link, AEM, TEC-II etc.) allow great flexibility. With that flexibility comes complexity, custom fitting, and cost. As you progress within stage three, a replacement ECU will become necessary. A great feature of some stand-alones (with a toggle switch) is that they can be switched between performance and stock modes. Approximate cost = Rs.25,000 upward.

Modify your ride - Part 3

2010-02-18T12:42:00.001+05:30

STAGE TWO MODIFICATIONS

1.Performance suspension kits:
With the additional power that your engine is churning out by now, increased grip levels are a must. There are plentiful branded options available for performance struts, coils, coil-over springs, dampers (shock-absorbers) and camber kits (Polyurethane bush kits). Approximate cost = Rs.10,000 – 1,00,000.

2.Head Porting & polishing:
Cylinder head porting and polishing refers to enlarging and smoothening of the ports on the intake and exhaust. This results in better quality and quantity of gas flow-rates. Power gains are very noticeable from a high-quality porting and polishing job. Remember that the intake ports need to be finished rough while the exhaust ports should have a mirror finish. Approximate cost = Rs.9,000 – 15,000.

3.Removing the revv-limiter:
A fairly simple modification which any ECU specialist can implement in a very short time. Your cars manufacturer-set rpm limits will be raised but you also need to check if your engine internals can take the additional stress. It wont lead to a power increase with all engines; yet can be a useful tool in improving lap times (holding a gear longer) and acceleration (one less up shift for 0 - 100). Approximate cost = Rs.3,500 upward.

4.Nitrous oxide systems:
NOS, as they are popularly called, are cheap power shots and a favorite with drag racers. Due to the inherent nature of the gas, it is a very risky installation. Don’t go overboard with the dose else your engine will end up blown. Also make sure that you back the timing off by a few degrees. Take a look at this guide on setting your car up with nitrous. Approximate cost = Rs.22,000 – 75,000.

5.Performance camshafts:
Performance cams are a superb modification and can add upto 10% - 20% more power, with options available for low, mid and high-rpm gains. An increase in compression ratio is highly recommended. Also insist on a cam adjuster (variable cam pulley for adjusting cam timing) to realise the full gains of the cam. It is important to avoid over-cam'ing while the more extreme profiles will surely require head work. High lift cams cost a packet and are not recommended for daily-driven cars since the low-end response is compromised, fuel-efficiency takes a beating and you will need to fiddle with idle settings to get it right. Approximate cost = Rs.12,000 – 35,000.

6.Map sensor signal modifiers:
These can improve part throttle performance, but will result only in marginal performance gains. Approximate cost = Rs.12,000 – 25,000.

7.Valve angling:
A multi-angle valve job can lead to noticeable street performance gains by improving the head flow. Note that this is a highly precision-oriented task. Approximate cost = Rs.3,500 upward.

8.Over-boring / Stroker kits:
Over-boring is increasing the CC (cubic capacity) by changing the piston size and stroke of the engine. Pistons, connecting rods and the crankshaft will need to be replaced. Simply put, bigger engine size = more power. For e.g. a 1.3 liter can be overbored to 1.5 liters in capacity. Approximate cost = Rs.12000 upward.

9.Piggy-back ECU's:
Piggybacks are additional engine control units that work along with the standard ECU. They enhance engine performance and leave the non-engine electronic work to the standard ECU. A piggyback modifies some signals (sent back to the ECU) and plays around with the performance parameters only (fuel injection, timing etc.). Fuel controllers adjust the fuel mapping and allow the engine to increase its power output. An example of a fuel computer is the ApexI S-AFC. They offer a multitude of adjustments whereby you can run rich or lean, depending on the driving conditions. It is imperative for the piggy-back to be compatible with your ECU. Remember that the AFR signal adjustment is to be done only in tandem with a wide band AFR kit. Leave the tuning part to an expert. Approximate cost = Rs.12,000 – 35,000.

10.Engine remaps:
An ECU flash will give you higher power gains than a piggyback, by changing the entire characteristics and settings of the factory software. There are ready performance remaps available for a wide range of Indian cars and the installation procedure is fairly simple. If you plan on going further to stage three modifications, do the remap at the very end. Any reputable company is going to account for your full mod list in order to give you the best remap. Do the remap last, unless you want to do it twice. Approximate cost = Rs.23,000 – 60,000.

Modify your ride - Part 2

2010-02-18T12:40:00.001+05:30

STAGE ONE MODIFICATIONS

1.Upgrade tyres and alloy wheels:
Before adding more power to your car, it must have the adequate grip levels for current & future power delivery. Alloy wheels are not always necessary for a tyre upsize. A detailed guide on upsizing your tyres is available here : Choosing the right set of tyres for your car. Approximate cost = Rs.12,500 – 50,000.

2.Air-Filter:
A stock replacement performance filter requires no modifications and is very simple to install since it fits exactly in place of your factory filter. The performance gains are marginal. Approximate cost = Rs.2,000 – 7,500.
A Cold air intake (CAI) is the more serious of performance air-filters. With a CAI, proper installation is very important and it should not suck in hot air. The colder the air available to it, the better will be the gains in performance. A true CAI sucks in outside air, while short rams and most CAI applications take air from under the hood. Even if it's 35 degrees outside, that is still significantly cooler than the air under your hood. You can also opt for a good conical / universal filter without CAI. The plumbing needs to have minimum restrictions with most experts recommending mandrel bent aluminium pipes. The diameter of the pipe through its entire length should be uniform and greater than that of the throttle body. Do note that the sound levels with significantly increase with a CAI, and some precautions must be taken when driving in the monsoons. K&N recommends a shroud for use in dusty conditions. Approximate cost = Rs.5,000 – 17,500.

3.Free-Flow Exhaust:
A well-designed free flow exhaust system improves the breathing abilities of your engine and can lead to good performance / fuel-efficiency gains. It is important to get a complete free-flow kit (including headers) and not a muffler / end-can kit only. A good header design is very important and you may specify to your installer a preference of low, mid or high-rpm gains. Very little time is actually spent at high-rpms so you might be better off asking for a low to mid-range power gain. The appropriate back pressure must be maintained else you will lose out on torque. An exhaust system is like a chain and only as strong as its weakest link. The most restrictive part is usually the cat-con or the mid-muffler. Some tuners will remove the cat-con, which will result in difficulty toward meeting the emission norms. Also, try and insulate the exposed part of the exhaust system within the hood with asbestos wire (cheap) or ceramic coating (expensive). Approximate cost = Rs.7,500 – 25,000.

4.Spark Plugs:
Performance plugs are pointless on a stock / marginally modified car. Iridium plugs have hardly any benefits and you will never notice them anyway. In case you do install the same, ensure that you pick up plugs with the correct heat range for your engine. Approximate cost = Rs.800 – 3,500.

5.Plug wires:
Same as above. After-market wires don’t add any performance to a stock or marginally modified engine. Only if your eventual modifications require an upgrade to a custom engine management system (or a high-performance ignition system) will your plug wires have some benefit. But at this stage, don’t opt for plug wires as you will only waste your money. Approximate cost = Rs.1,500 – 6,000.

6.Temperature signal modifiers:
These devices are fairly simple to install and result in marginal (if any) performance gains. They modify some signals that are delivered to the ECU, which results in altered fuel / ignition maps. Approximate cost = Rs.900 – 9,000.

7.Synthetic Oil:
Synthetic lubes are highly recommended by Team-BHP for the superior protection and enhanced lubrication on offer. For a detailed explanation, click here : Synthetic oil vs. Mineral oil. Approximate cost = Rs.500 – 1300 per liter.

8.Strut braces:
Strut braces / tower bars reduce flex, and help in increasing the grip levels / stability of the car through corners. However, it’s only under hard cornering that the difference is noticeable. Approximate cost = Rs.1,500 – 5,500.

9.Short-shifters:
Short-shifters shorten the throw of your gear-lever, and result in quicker gear shifts. Be advised that there is an optimum length of the shifter depending on the throw, ergonomics and your preferences, and it will take some getting used to. Most drivers are better off with a stock-shifter! Approximate cost = Rs.4,500 – 7,500.

Modify your ride - Part 1

2010-02-18T12:39:00.000+05:30

BEFORE you modify your car

• Remember to practice SAFE DRIVING on public roads! With additional power comes the need for additional responsibility. Keep the racing restricted to track days and in other forms of competition (within a controlled environment).

• Enroll with a professional rally / racing / driving school. This will not only make you a faster driver but also a safer one. To quote a popular Pirelli tagline : Power is nothing without control.

• Ensure that you are with the right tuner. The quality of install and product is most important. Get your work done only by a tuner who has the relevant knowledge, infrastructure and dedication to carry out a high quality installation. The product quality is equally important and it is generally recommended to stick to reputed brands (wherever available). A bad modification can actually make your car slower than in stock tune. Poor reliability may also result from a bad installation, causing a great amount of heart-burn to you.

• Remember that the engine is a very complex system and each component has to work in harmony with everything else. Only then will you benefit from the performance modifications.

• Tune your car via a step-by-step method. This will allow you to gauge improvements in an incremental manner and fine-tune one modification before moving on to the next.

• Choose a “mod-friendly” car to start with. Most Japanese brands like the Hondas and Suzuki’s have tremendous after-market support in terms of parts availability and tuner capability. Simply put, there are some cars which inherently respond better to performance tuning. On the other hand, it is a pointless exercise trying to make heavy cars like the Contessa or a Mahindra Jeep go any faster! Pick your car based on what you want to achieve.

• Beware of cheap “go-fast” gimmicks like the Surbo and electric superchargers, which are nothing but an absolute waste of money. Common sense plays a vital role out here; why would you need a DTM corner slammer on a front wheel drive car that spends most of its time below 120 kph.

• Remember that Vitamin M (or Money!!) runs the show. Tuning your car can be an expensive proposition, so outline a detailed budget before moving on from stage to stage. Not only will the modifications cost you big $$$, but lowered fuel efficiency (almost certain) will cause another dent on your wallet. Some highly-modified cars or engines running an increased compression ratio may also require high-octane fuel to run efficiently.

• Invest in a popular timing device like the G-Tech series. This range of timing equipment will help you to gauge the benefits of your modification, and whether that actually translated into making your car faster.

• Remember that your warranty will almost certainly be nullified, if your car is within the coverage period.

• Think before you try to alleviate the visual appeal of your car via body kits and spoilers. Be warned that a badly-designed body kit will ruin the aerodynamics of your car and may cause it to become unstable at high speeds. Also, spoilers are merely for looks and, in any case, work only above 175kph.