General Tips For Maintaining the Bike~~. Review on Maintaining a Bike

Hi friends and my fellow commuters this is the <GREATONE>here again. After writing few reviews on Bikes and Cell phones I am writing a review on a general but very imp. topic. This review is regarding taking care of sweet, cute, lovable?no no it?s not ur Girl friend (I know all of u know how to take care of ur GF!) Bike!! These are general tips and should be followed when u have a new bike or during the regular run. Although such tips have been already provided by other ms friends, but I would still like to write about the general maintenance of the bike.

Hope u find my rvu interesting.

Well from where shall I start with? Ok here goes; We purchase a new bike which would provide good mileage and sufficient power for a daily run from office or college to home and vice versa without any sort of heavy maintenance (heavy in the sense heavy on ur pocket!!!) and a trouble free ride. But for this sometimes we miss out even the general things like servicing or minor repairs maybe due to our laziness or maybe becoz of shortage of time. But these are the small things which don?t ensure the bike to perform well.

I am briefing some points which would ensure that ur bike runs fine and trouble free for a long time. These points might seem quite elementary but they are quite necessary.

1)Whenever u have got a new motorcycle be sure never and I mean never go above 40 kmph mark for the first 1000 kms and above 50 kmph mark for next 1000-1500 kms. It?s not that ur bike doesn?t go above 50 kmph mark but this speed control is necessary to rouse ur engine. I have seen most of collegians (even myself) when they get a new bike they have tendency thatarey bike aa gaya abhi bas 50 ke neeche kaun chalaega? Arey bhai abhi agar 50 ke neeche abhi nahi chalaega to zindagi bhar bike 50 ke upar nahi jaayega!!!.

For a new vehicle the engine is new and is not prone to high speeds before it gets tuned in. If we keep on going above 50 kmph during the 1000 km run then the new engine will be prone to more friction and will cause more wear and tear at the early of the bike. (This is similar to when a new baby has just learnt walking and we say run run else u wont get milk today!! Definitely baby would gobble off). Also even after the engine rousing I would recommend that u ride between 40-50 kmph speeds to ensure optimum mileage and trouble free riding.

2) Always during first start up of the bike leave the engine idle for 1-2 mins. Don?t provide throttle during the first start up. This is required because the engine is dry before first start up and it necessary that the engine oil becomes warm & works up to the engine. If we rev the dry engine then it will beat continuously with friction becoz the oil hasn?t yet reached the engine!!

3) During the normal daily run never rev the engine too much. Come on now u r on the city road not on a race track & u have a bike which is made to perform in cities. Its not a Ducati which has a top whack of above 300 kmph. Always provide the acceleration which is necessary. Don?t rev ur bike too much coz it will cause more wear and tear reducing the life of engine. Also avoid frequent gear shifting unless otherwise necessary.The recommended speeds and corresponding gear shifts are: 0-10km - 1st gear

10-20km- 2nd gear

20-30km- 3rd gear

30-40km- 4th gear (for 4 geared bikes)

4) Use performance petrol. I have written this in my earlier rvu and I m writing here too. Use performance petrol?s such as Speed, Power or Premium. They help increasing mileage and also reduce the wear and tear of the bike.

5) Avoid going into reserve everytime. Yea I know all bikes today have atleast 1.5lts reserve so why not utilize it. But remember when bike comes in reserve there are certain number of floating particles in the petrol tank which will come in the jet of the carburettor increasing the size of the jet. Thus now more petrol will be utilized by the engine which will cause a reduction in mileage. The bike manufacturers in India are so kind they have given us fuel gauge which shows how much fuel is there so why not use it. Also try filling fuel from one fuel pump only. There are % variations in petrol mixtures which vary from one pump to the other. The bike?s engine is subjected to such variations & may reduce the mileage.

6) Regular Servicing of the bike-a must. If u want a healthy bike, then regular servicing is must. Give ur bike in servicing atleast once in 2-3 months (for 4 stroke). This helps because all the minor glitches, wear and tear, engine oil changes which are necessary at regular intervals are removed and done in servicing. Also give the bike for servicing in the authorized service stations only. They have the qualified mechanics to do ur bike good.

7) Try going Solo. Avoid taking a pillion rider unless necessary (If gf is there then its necessary!!). It increases load to bike?s engine and in turn increases wear and tear which in turn decreases mileage also. Also never overload the bike-its not a rickshaw!!

8) Use both the brakes while braking. Using only the back brake at times at high speeds may cause skidding. On the other hand only using the front brake will keep the bike steady on the road but u will be steady in the hospital!!! So always use both the brakes and front brake should be used more gently so that u don?t fall of ur bike.

9) Use genuine oils and spare parts for the bike. The unauthentic spare parts may be less costly but they do no good to ur bike. Same case goes for the engine oils also. Use only original engine oil which will provide proper lubrication to engine thereby increasing the life of the bike.

10) Change engine oil every 2000-3000 kms. This is to be done because the oil continuously does work in the engine. As time passes by the oil looses its lubricant character and starts to become a thick useless liquid which doesn?t provide any lubrication to the engine so friction will increase in the engine which should not happen.

11) Always maintain correct amount of tyre pressures. Neither less nor more tyre pressures should be there. If there is less pressure then the engine has to do more work in pulling the bike causing a reduction in mileage and if the pressure is more then u have got a bumpy ride and maybe a flat tyre!! U can get the recommended tyre pressures in the owner?s manual.

12) While climbing high roads, shift to lower gears and try to provide proper throttle to the bike which would avoid engine knocking.

13) When coming to stop signals first reduce the speed and then lower down the gears and apply brakes. If u shift from higher gear to lower gear at high speed then it may cause the rear tyre to skid and there maybe an accident. Also if the stop signal is more then 2 min. then switch off the engine to prevent wastage of fuel.

14) Never try to take the bike to its top speed. These are measured during standard test conditions and should never be tried by us coz it may cause severe accident.

15) One last: This is not for the bike this is for u. ALWAYS WEAR A HELMET WHILE DRIVING for ur healthy run with ur bike!!!!