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...

O wning a D390 has thought me many things, especially patience in knowing when to rip open and when to ride relaxingly. Therefore, I believe that my expectations for the Royal Enfield’s new 650 Twins, the Interceptor and the Continental GT were well placed. Also, having taken the D390 primarily for touring and offloading frequently, I do believe that I have the required aptitude to compare the KTM 390 to the Twins from a common man’s perspective. Expectations: - The Twins boast the cheapest Parallel Twin with a 650CC displacement paired with a SOHC, expected some cost-cutting. - The bore x stroke ratio is favoured towards the long stroke, like the typical Royal Enfield.     This means that the get-go torque will be high (reminded about the RE500)       But would lose pull/power at top end. - Being a Royal Enfield, the engine could vibrate, a bit sceptical even after multiple the ‘chai cup videos’ The Story Behind the Ride: A fe...

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...

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...