9 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE BUYING A USED MOTORBIKE !!

Not everyone can afford to buy a new motorcycle in their fist year of joining a job that pays them on the basis of a fresher who has just entered college finishing their high schooling and it is also not always about new bikes being better than the used ones. Blame the perception here for an instance.

In India although used bikes doesn’t strike the right chord with the buyers as it’s mostly seen negative, there are several instances where a used bike has proven itself a lot worthier for the money spent on it rather than a shiny one parked in the showroom waiting to be rolled down the ramp. 

The First and foremost thing being the bike itself that takes the centre stage, it is better that the buyer is on his own in inspecting the bike himself for the loop holes and definitely not rely someone who he hardly knows.Some very important pointers to look out for when buying a used motorcycle in your own local region that you belong to;

• Check the Papers of the vehicle, which to be very specific will be the Registration Certificate and the Insurance papers are valid and have not expired which in a case of an exotic like a Jawa belonging to 1970’s might not be which can be compromised at buyers own risk. Make sure the registration certificate carries the correct engine & chassis no. that is punched onto the bike. As this makes sure that the bike isn’t suffering from illegal issues and ensures that the piece of love that you’ve been looking for is pretty legitimate.

• Call up the Insurance agency the bike is registered to and with the help of a little Rapport that you create instantly with them, try and track down if any major claims/ accidents have been registered in the name of the owner or in the registration no. of the bike. This will make sure that the owner is not pushing you a troublesome salvage bike that might have its own legal issues once bought.

• Avoid a modified Motorcycle as modification in India is not as clean as it is seen abroad. Also modified motorcycle can also be a sign of an abused motorcycle that was modified from its original state to take some amount of abuse for whatever reason the owner did it with. Also modified motorcycles will be a Cop/ RTO authority magnet. It’s always better to be subtle than to shout out crying for unwanted attention.

• The frame, forks, engine casings and the fuel tank are the most expensive parts housed in a motorcycle excluding the engine itself. A detailed inspection of the above said things will save you a lot of money in terms of maintenance as damaged forks or fork oil seals or even a leaky tank that leaks once the kick stand is on will again drill a hole in the pocket after the deal is closed that puts a lot of financial pressure to the potential buyer.

• After the bike is visually inspected and when you’re satisfied, proceed to firing the engine. For a safer side, request the owner to start the bike. Keep the bike idling in stationary position. Listen to the engine idle, sharp ears and a good knowledge about Motors will be of a great help. If not pls. call your best mentor in the Automotive field whom you can trust with their decisions and rely them for the final verdict. In general, make sure the bike doesn’t let out too much of exhaust smoke in case of a 4 Stroke and if does, be prepared to look out for other options as a damaged cylinder kit will again cost you thousands additionally.

• If everything goes alright with respect to the engine idle, request the owner to rev up a little and inspect the same. If ok, ask the owner for a small test drive and pls. be polite to take him along if he insists as he would also feel that you are a complete stranger to him. Mutual respect is sincerely advised in this case.

• If something goes wrong or if you feel something is wrong during the test ride, pls. feel free to ask the owner about the same. With the answers given by the owner one can be clearly judge the intentions of the seller. Either it should be a legitimate sale or pushing off a rusted piece of metal.

•  The final stage being the owner and the negotiation part, make sure the owner feels as important as the vehicle itself that you’ve been looking out for. With that kind of feeling subjected to, the owner of-course will be very co-operative in answering almost any question that you throw at him right from the free services availed to the last repair and accident history carried out recently.

• Coming to the negotiations, make sure you enquire the local market price with respect to the year of manufacturing before you offer your deal. Be very polite in the offers and please avoid low balling as much as possible as most of the owners who have kept their machines in spanking conditions wanting to sell do not part them only because of the need for money. They might look out for better homes to put their long trusted steed in.

TWO MOTORBIKES WITH SAME CUBIC CAPACITY BUT DIFFERENT MILEAGE !!! WHY ??

You might have noticed that motorbikes having same cubic capacity gives different mileage. For Example,Bajaj Platina has cubic capacity of 100 CC and it gives mileage of 104 kmpl,on the other hand Hero Splendor is also having same cubic capacity but it gives the mileage of 81kmpl.

It is mainly because the bikes like Platina has been made keeping in mind mileage.Parts are light to keep bike weight low.Carburetor is tuned to extract mileage though it puts a strain on engine which you can judge from harsh engine note.If you race it will shudder as it puts strain on engine.Also it gives Low torque, low BHP, and leaner air fuel mixture. Tyres are slim for less friction with road.All this saves you petrol but at a high maintenance cost & low resale value.High maintenance cost can be curtailed with regular servicing but if you give less petrol to engine then wear & tear will be more anyway.

FORD FREESTYLE TO BE LAUNCHED ON 26TH APRIL 2018:TECHNICAL DETAILS YOU NEED TO KNOW !!

Ford has just pushed back the launch date of the Freestyle hatchback-based crossover from 18th April to 26th April, 2018. The reason for the delay in the launch of the Freestyle may be due to the fact that the facelifted Mahindra XUV500 is launching on the same day, and the first drives of the Tata Nexon AMT are also scheduled for that day.

The Freestyle is the rugged version of the Figo hatchback, which sports black honeycomb grille, faux silver skid plates, beefy front and rear bumpers with black body cladding. The ground clearance of the Freestyle is up by 15 mm as compared to regular Figo Variant.It also gets sporty suspension set up over the regular Figo variant.

ENGINE SPECIFICATIONS:

Ford Freestyle will be powered by a new 1.2-liter Ti-VCT petrol engine tuned to give out 95 bhp of power and 120 Nm of torque. The diesel engine, on the other hand, will be tried-and-tested 1.5-liter unit producing 99 bhp and 215 Nm of peak torque. Both engines will come mated to five-speed manual transmission. Ford claims the Freestyle petrol variants will give 19.0 kmpl fuel efficiency while the diesel variants will come with 24.4 kmpl mileage.

The Freestyle will be offered in four variants – Ambiente, Trend, Titanium, and Titanium+ and six color options – Canyon Ridge, Absolute Black, Moondust Silver, Oxford White, White Gold and Smoke Grey.

Based on the KA platform that it shares with the Figo hatchback and Aspire compact sedan, the Freestyle is a very important vehicle for Ford, and is one of the biggest launches of this year. The Freestyle is supposed to be priced at Rs. 50,000 more than the Figo, variant to variant. This puts the Freestyle’s starting price at the Rs. 6 lakh mark.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BRAKE FADE AND BRAKE DRAG EXPLAINED !!

Brake fade-Since during braking of a vehicle a large amount of heat is generated and the brakes drums and discs are forced to absorb this.Hence brake fade describes a condition where heat is generated at a faster rate than they are capable of dissipating into the surrounding.

Since the brake pad is fixed with some adhesive material hence when such large temperatures are achieved during braking this adhesive material starts to vapourise and forms a layer between the disc rotor and brake pad there by decreasing the braking force(as the layer formed is compressible)which in turn reduces the braking efficiency of the vehicle.Also the friction material overheats and the coefficient of friction drops off significantly which also reduces the braking ability of brakes.

Brake drag-It is the rolling drag that brakes incur at elevated temperatures.This problem can be caused by several occurrences from failing of master cylinder to misalignment of brake calipers.Generally brake drag is caused due to incomplete brake shoe release.

Or by broken or weak springs on drum brakes.Or may be due to corroded or jammed caliper piston.Also brake drums that have defective linig material,out of round(elliptical),have clogged lines or hoses or loose anchor pins can also cause brakes to drag.

KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF YOU BLOCK YOUR ENGINE EXHAUST !!

If someone blocked it successfully the engine would stop because it can't expel the exhaust gas on the second stroke of the piston.Damage to the engine would be highly unlikely.The engine is basically a big air pump. Air is drawn into the engine through the air filter and the fueling system by the movement of the pistons. As the piston moves down, valves open on the air filter side allowing air to fill the piston. As the piston move back up after compression and ignition, the valves on the exhaust side open allowing the air to be pumped to the exhaust system. If the exhaust system won’t allow any air out, the engine won’t run as it won’t be able to draw air and fuel into the engine. Air has to have somewhere to go for it to flow.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN STRESS AND PRESSURE EXPLAINED !!

Stress and pressure are the two important terms used frequently in the science and technology. Though they give same meaning, there are unique characteristics for each term. Pressure is defines as the amount of force applied per unit area.Stress is the amount of force per unit area experienced by a material.Although both have same units of newton/meter^2, they are different only in their context.

Major Differences are:

1. Pressure represents intensity of external forces acting at a point. but stress represent intensity of internal resisting forces develop at a point.

2. Pressure always acts normal to the surface. but but stress may also act either normal or parallel to the surface.

3. Magnitude of pressure at a point in all direction remain same. but magnitude of stress at a point in all the direction are unequal.

4. Pressure can be measured by using measuring device.like pressure gauge. but stress can't be measured directly by using any device.

REASONS FOR ENGINE SEIZE EXPLAINED !!

Engine seize is a condition when engine stops working due to some external or internal cause.In other words,engine seize is when some portion of the engine has lost lubrication and the moving parts have started to abrade each other, either from friction, heat or mechanical failure (example: broken piston ring) to the point that the engine stops turning.Unusual engine noises, low oil pressure, engine overheating, loss of power, misfiring, hard starting and similar driveability and performance complaints can all be indications of problems that need attention.

Causes of Engine Seize :

The major causes of engine failures can be lumped into four basic categories:

• Overheating (excessive heat)
• Lubrication (or the lack thereof)
• Detonation (Spark Knock )(Detonation)
• Misassembly

1.Overheating:

Overheating can be caused by any number of things. It is often the result of coolant loss or a low coolant level, which is turn may be due to leaks in hoses, the radiator or the engine itself. A weak radiator cap that leaks pressure can allow coolant to escape from the system. Not getting the cooling system completely filled after changing the antifreeze can allow steam pockets to form that make the engine overheat or run hot. An electric cooling fan that fails to come on due to a faulty thermostat, relay, wiring or motor may be an overlooked cause of overheating. So too can a slipping fan clutch. Even a missing fan shroud that reduces the fan's effectiveness may be a contributing factor.

Too much heat in an engine can cause serious problems because heat causes metal to expand. The hotter the engine gets, the tighter clearances become until there are no more clearances left. Overheating can cause valve stems to gall and stick, and pistons to scuff and seize. So if you see either of these conditions when you tear the engine down, it is a pretty good clue that overheating caused the engine to fail.

2.Lubrication:

Every engine needs oil between its moving parts not only to reduce friction but also to carry away heat. Oil is the primary means by which the rod and main bearings are cooled, as well as the pistons. So any reduction in oil flow may cause these parts to run hot, gall and seize.Overhead cam engines are even more vulnerable to oil starvation and low oil pressure problems than pushrod engines because the cam and valvetrain are farther from the pump. When an OHC engine is first started, it takes awhile for oil pressure to reach the cam bearings.

If you suspect engine damage may have been caused by a low oil level, check the dipstick to see how much oil is in the pan. A low oil level may be the result of neglect, oil leakage and/or oil burning.

3.Detonation:

Detonation (Spark Knock ) is a form of abnormal combustion that results from too much heat and pressure in the combustion chamber. The fuel ignites spontaneously causing a sudden rise in cylinder pressure. The result is a sharp hammer-like blow on the piston that produces a metallic knocking or pinging noise. Light detonation is considered normal and should not cause any damage, but heavy or prolonged detonation can crack rings, pound out piston ring grooves, punch holes through the tops of pistons, smash rod bearings and blow head gaskets.

Causes of detonation include excessive compression, elevated engine operating temperature, preignition, overadvanced ignition timing (spark knock), lean fuel mixture, spark plugs that have too hot a heat range for the application, low octane fuel, and even bad driving habits such as lugging the engine excessively with a manual transmission.

4. Misassembly:

You can probably ignore misassembly as a factor in a high mileage engine failure. But in a newly rebuilt engine or a low mileage failure, it should certainly be considered as a possibility. Some common mistakes to look for:

• Incorrect engine bearing clearances (too tight or too loose). Galling or seizure would tell you bearing clearances were too tight, while fatigue failure would point to excessive clearances.

• Insufficient Valve-to-Piston Clearance, or Piston-to-Cylinder clearance. Not checking clearances may result in valves hitting pistons (especially with high lift cams or rocker arms) or pistons sticking in cylinders.
• Misalignment. If the center main bearings show much greater wear than the end bearings, the crankshaft may be bent or the main bores may be misaligned. The underlying condition must be corrected by straightening or replacing the crank and/or align boring the block. The same applies to camshafts and cam bearings (pushrod & OHC).
• Failure to clean parts properly during engine assembly (not scrubbing out the cylinder bores with soap and water to remove debris and honing residue after they have been bored or honed, for example). Any junk that is left in the engine can scour bearings and wear surfaces.