One Heart - Two Wheels

I ndian roads, be it state, national highways, city roads or country roads, are all considered to be dangerous.   G iven this state of condition and the location of where I live and work (on highways), I have to take extreme caution and situational awareness in surviving the roads in daily commute. And adding several long distance motorcycle rides every few months, I am literally battling the odds in a number game to avoid accidents and have survived so far without any major accidents **touch-wood**. So with that level of authority, I can say that I am qualified to point a few methods and techniques that can be used to avoiding accidents on Indian Roads. >>The Definition of the Word Accident:   "an unfortunate incident that happens unexpectedly and unintentionally, typically resulting in damage or injury." The word implies that it can happen to anyone, can't be predicted. Means, it could happen riding a motorcycle or driving a car, or even when you are sleeping wher...

A breezy evening with nothing but romance and a long ride on my mind. My first love waiting to be taken out. Yet, the confusion arises as I step out. Who should I hang out with? Who deserves my attention? One is a lady, my lady.  One is a chick, but still mine.  Both of them love me to the heart's content and have treated me well. Yes, there has been fights, small misunderstandings but nothing that couldn't be fixed with a lovely Sunday spent with them. Both of them demand attention. If they are let alone for a long time, they either go insane or will refuse to love you the same ever after. But yet, I know that I should not favor one over the other. It just doesn't do justice. Or maybe should I? Does everyone have a favorite from their past? Or do they love what they have with them right now? Neither of them shares anything in common, except that they both show me a good time. But all I know, every guy always ogles at a beauty that they see on the r...

R emember the experiment that you did back in high school? The one using Tuning Forks and Sound? The engine's vibration has everything to do with this important experiment. But wait, are vibrations Good or Bad? How to prevent or overcome them if they are bad? And how are they related to some high school experiment? Read on to understand. Theory of unrefinement states that it is impossible to attain extreme refinement unless the word Yamaha or Kawasaki are involved - actually, I just came up with that :P The engine is a mechanical device that converts energy derived from combustion to kinetic energy of moving piston - which in turn gets converted into rotatory motion thanks to the camshaft. This can easily be seen by the image shown below. The Ideal Engine! But what you see above is an ideal simulation- an ideal that can never be achieved. The engine will always contain microscopic imperfections or the firing of the petrol will happen slightly delayed or advan...

D o you know what is most painful experiences that a bike lover can have? Imagining your bike lying in the parking because it needs repair work being done. If you are a college going youngster, you would probably curse your parents for not giving you enough pocket money; which is very natural -probably I did as well, back then. But if you are employed waiting for the next paycheck. The auspicious date will come by and pass, but some new expenses will always creep up. Making the bike lie in repair state even longer! This is it. Walking Past This Everyday without Repairing it. That is the Worst Thing Ever! There are a lot of people who confuse Cost of Purchase (CoP) vs Cost of Ownership (CoO) of a Bike.  There are a lot of wise wisdom filled quotes that ask you not to bite more than what you can chew. It applies very well to the principle of CoP vs CoO . Being able to afford the bike, its initial payment, the document, and all the rest simply me...

So last week some friends and myself were discussing an interesting topic: Which is more important for a motorcycle - Engine or Brakes? And which is the deciding factor when purchasing a motorcycle?. The discussions started with everyone praising Yamaha’s engine, which is praiseworthy - but it led me to retrospect why engines take up the limelight? Opps! Only if the brakes worked jussst a little better! Most people think that the engine is the most important part of the motorcycle, in fact the word motor itself stands for the engine. This I agree upon, but in a practical scenario- we are not just accelerating forward, but also accelerating backwards aka. braking to avoid being killed. Going one step further, Brakes actually out perform the engines on most motorcycles! How? Let us talk numbers to Prove Something: Motorcycles around 500cc (like Honda CBR650, Yamaha R6, Daytona 675 and lots more) 0-100kmph Usually around 3-5 seconds mark. 100...

There is a lot of misunderstandings of what ABS is and what it does and more importantly, what it doesn't do. Let us discuss it with a listing of what I think are 3 facts and myths surrounding ABS and why it could save your life someday . ABS is Anti Brake-Locking System As the name implies, it prevents brake locks - the heart-stopping panicking moments of wheel locking up if we apply brake too suddenly. Brakes? Kinda are more important than the engine themselves. This can cause awesome skids which could be attractive if you are a stunt rider and are stunnting. Whereas, if you are trying to stop because you are riding head-on onto oncoming traffic; I have no clue why you would be; but that wouldn't spell good for you, so stopping the biking when you want it to stop is critical for riding. ABS is any system that prevents the wheel lock, by releasing the pressure on the brake disc, if it senses a wheel lock. This is done using motion sensors, which in turn...

E asy Question to ask with the answer being- by burning more fuel. But the complication comes into picture when you compare two different engines of the same CC, can we infinitely throw in more fuel to extract more power? Let us take two different engines of the same manufacturer and compare them to answer the question. So how one produces 30% more power while being the same CC with only 500 rises in RPM? Let us look at another figure: Now, this is only 17% rise in torque curves with 1500 rise in RPM. So how does engine produce power? The air-fuel mixture is thrown into the cylinder and ignited. This combustion creates expansive pressure that pushes piston which turns the camshaft. Longer the stroke of the piston - more torque generated Shorter the stroke, More frequent the stroke becomes (higher RPM) - more power. So to increase the power output of an engine, it is important to increase the RPM at which the engine runs. How...

W e often state "That's a Bajaj bike, its engine wouldn't last much.." How do Some Engines last forever? While Some don't?! To state that the life of a particular brand's engine is short is berating the entire RND team's work for that particular company - Let us discuss why Why is Bajaj still in the market if their engines don't last? The overall engine life depends on multiple aspects. Every engine looses power as it runs more Kilometers . The engine life can be defined as the time period cum kilometers ran by the engine before the power loss becomes too high. The engine goes through a lot of stresses during its operation; let us call this abuse as it is inducing wear and tear constantly. Let us take Conrods for example.  These are an essential component of any engine.  They transfer the energy created during combustion to the camshaft which in turn rotates the wheels eventually. Conrods connected to the Camshaft Onl...

I am a proud owner of a KTM D390 since 2016 December and have been extensively riding it for long distance touring. Recently completed a 3300kms round trip from Chennai-Goa   Pic: @alamparai fort backwaters With that as a credential, I write this article stating why some myths are just plain stupid. Stay tuned for future posts on a detailed comparison between various bikes in its class, and also across classes. To describe the D390; it is a middle-weight, sub-500cc class, nimble and a costly girlfriend who can ensure that you have a great time as long as you know to control yourself ;)! without further ado, lets jump into the myths! Myth 1: Duke/RC is Light Weight WTF is this assumption? Where does this come from? I suppose our folks would have heard some genius European/US moto-vlogger mention this. The thing is, those guys are used to superbikes which usually weigh a ton, compared to which D390 is light weight. But by Indian standards, D390 is a heav...