I have mentioned a few tips I follow for maintaining a bike. I am a certified ANc(Automobile Nutcase) who is extremely fussy about my automobiles. Whatever is mentioned below is what I personally follow, its not hearsay or stuff pinched from some place. I have focused on two aspects
*1) Appearance of paintwork, reducing corrosion(A real bugbear in Mumbai) &
2) Mileage, Carburetor related.
*I had read a lot of rah rah rah about the GREAT quality of the Hero Honda bikes in auto magazines, so when I took delivery of my bike, I was quite disappointed. In fact I would equate the quality of my 2001 Splendor bike with the quality of our 1978 Ambassador car my dad bought. Now do u get the picture. I took delivery of my bike in June by the end of that month there were showers in Mumbai & hey presto there was corrosion @ all the weld joint as well in the chrome plated parts!. I was disappointed, but this is India and this is what one gets around here. So all u can do is find a solution for this problem.(More of that later)
To get good mileage the quality of petrol is important which can be dicey in Mumbai(It?s true) An important thing to remember is that never raise the engine of a bike/scooter/car when u start it first thing in the morning, that?s the worst thing u can do. The oil in an engine sinks to the bottom overnight & when u start it in the morning its bare metal against metal, till the oil starts circulating & hence reducing friction.(Many people who r used to 2 stoke engines do this for whatever reasons). Let it idle gently for about ½ to a minute till the engine oil starts circulating.
Another point from the safety angle is it's in the morning its always better to go onto a main road with a warmed up engine to avoid flat spots(the jerky motion u get when u try to raise a cold engine), so that if the need arises u need speed to get out of a tight corner, it?s possible which will not be the case if the engine is cold & does not respond immediately.
Another point I have noticed is many owners look only to the mileage covered as an indicator while changing the engine oil, please remember take into account the time gap between the two oil changes also. Also in a new bike insist on an oil change with every service in the first year or upto 2000 kms, EVEN if it is not recommended.
Your workshop may try to discourage u on this saying u r wasting money, believe me its not so in the long run. It does not really cost much. In a new engine till its run in properly tends to shed metal particles which is collected by the engine oil & should be trapped in the oil filter, but some fine particles always move around in the oil, so now u see why its better to change ur engine oil with EVERY service in the first year. AND insist in getting the oil filter cleaned when the oil is changed. This SMALL job is ignored by many(to finish a job quickly) mechanics much to the detriment of the bike owner.
At the authorized Hero Honda workshop where I give my bike for servicing, they use engine oil to lubricate the chain whereas the manual says it should be gear oil(EP 90) take care the right grade of oil is used to lubricate ur machine.
For a new bike the ordinary petrol is good enough, but after some time maybe 8 - 10 months u can start using the'special petrol' like(as gum from the petrol starts forming in the tank & carb)
*IOC's Xtra Premium 91 octane,
BPCL Speed,
HPCL Power,
BPCL Speed 93*
When I use Xtra premium petrol I use it'neat' & when I use Speed 93 I also mix it with ordinary approx 50/50 it can be used neat too(only to get more fuel for my buck) Most dealers/workshops will tell u that its bad for the bike. That?s a load of BULL Their gripe is they find a lot of gum deposits in the carb which they have to clean, (more work hence the complaints) so these jokers think it is bad. But that?s what these additives in the petrol r supposed to do! so initially the performance may drop but once all the gum is cleaned out performance will improve.
When u put these petrol the additives in them will first clean the tank of gum deposits which will land up in the carb naturally till they r burnt out in the engine. U might have to clean the carb of gum(if it hinders performance too much). But once these fuels r used on a regular basis u should not have any problem.
Another school of thought is that the high-octane fuels should not be used in these bike/scooter engines. This is again a load of rubbish. I wonder how many people know that when Hero Honda first came out with their CD100 this engine gave the Jap testers 100 kms/ltr in Japan coz of the better quality of fuel there. Incidentally I have used 93 oct petrol in an ambassador engine and got better performance & mileage and that's in the 70's.
The new engines available nowadays have a higher compression ration(than an Amby) & can take these fuels. Incidentally from 1st April 2005 11 cities will get Euro III fuels(including Mumbai) where ordinary petrol will become 91 oct from the current 87 oct. If u want u can clean the carb urself(I do it). I use ABRO carb cleaner(even STP is a good one, used it before).
*This is how u do it.
1) Disconnect the fuel tank from the carb, the rubber tub after the fuel cck is removed.
2) Then empty the carb of fuel. Collect it in a bottle & put in back in the tank(it costs a bomb nowadays:). The carb has a screw to empty the carb in case of overflowing, open the screw & fuel will flow out of the tube leading to the bottom. Tighten the screw.
3) Now that the carb is empty. Do this; connect the thin plastic tube(tpt from now on, usually red in colour) with the carb cleaner to the nozzle of the can. Poke the tpt into the rubber tube u disconnected from the fuel c*ck(u will notice it leads to the carb) & press the nozzle to pump the cleaner liquid into the carb. U might have to do this patiently & slowly(may take abt 2 -3 min).
VERY IMP: U MUST ENSURE THAT THE CLEANER LIQUID DOES NOT COME INTO CONTACT WITH THE PAINTWORK, ELSE IT WILL RUIN THE PAINT. Also if it comes into contact with ur skin wash immediately. **If u follow these instruction u wont have a problem. All the gum deposits in the bowl of the carb will dissolve.
4) Reconnect the fuel pipe back to the fuel cck. Open fuel cck
5) Now start the bike let it idle, (the engine might die out sometimes, no problems, restart) let it idle now the cleaner is going thru the idle jet & cleans it. Then slowly raise the engine rev gently now the main jet comes into play & the cleaner will clean it.
6) Take the bike out for a test drive. IMP run the bike for at least 3 - 4 kms as the cleaners should all be burnt out, also the rubber tube thru which u fed the cleaner should get rinsed with petrol as petrol goes into the carb.
7) Ur carb should be clean now. Sometimes u might have to do this more than once.
In a worst case scenario u might have to dismantle the carb to clean. If u have to dismantle the carb u can use the carb cleaner on individual parts like the jets, float hinges etc.
If u don?t have the cleaner then use acetone(nail polish remover) to do the same & then rinse with clean petrol and reassemble the carb. Usually above-mentioned tip should do the trick. Bcoz of size constraints this article is continued in Part II, U will find it at in;
Automobiles -> Advice/Tips -> Motorcycles Member Advice / Tips -> General Advice on Motorcycles -> Splendor Maintenance Part II'
