In India it’s almost become a norm to have your watchman or gardener wash your bike/scooter for you every morning. This is actually more harmful for your motorcycle and reduces the lifespan of both the paint and the mechanical parts of the motorcycle. So instead show some TLC for your faithful companion. To help you out we’ve ironed out the myths and given you a few tips as well.
- Park the bike in the shade and let the engine cool down before you start washing. If the engine is hot and you pour water on it, you’ll ruin your engine.
- Using a high pressure washer, gently hose down all the dirt and grime from the bike. This will allow for a kind of “pre-soak” to loosen and dislodge foreign particles.
- Use a cleaning solution made specifically for motorcycles or cars. Using other cleaning agents can cause problems with discolouring the finish or even damage the chrome.
- Next mix the cleaning solution in a bucket of warm water and using a sponge start scrubbing in a circular motion. The soapy water acts as a lubricant and does not scratch the paint.
- Rinse the soapy residue off with a gentle stream of water and make sure no soap is left on the bike. Also make sure you spray the underneath of the bike with water, as these parts gather the most dirt.
- Use a chamois cloth or any soft cloth to wipe off the moisture from the paint. This will keep the finish from getting scratched, and prevent water streaks and spots on the paint.
- To keep the tyre of your bike clean and looking new, use a tyre cleaner. Do not use any regular soap or shampoo. When cleaning the tyres of a bike, use a nylon bristle brush to get the dirt out from the treads.
- Spray the whole tyre with the cleaning foam and let it sit for some time. The foam will evaporate on its own and the bikes tyre will look spanking new.
Although the Harley Owners’ Group (HOG) has several active members from the fair sex worldwide, ladies and Harley-Davidson bikes were not synonyms in India – at least until now. Sheeja Matthew is the first lady in India to buy a Harley. Bike India talked to this proud owner of an Iron 883
Bike India: You look very comfortable on a bike as big as the Iron 883. Which bike did you own before this? Do you still own it?
For decades, two-strokes have enabled many of us to fly, albeit without actually leaving the tarmac for long. Now, for the first time, we had a chance to soar skywards with a two-stroke on our backs. For more, read on…
Being friends with the right people always pays. A bunch of flying enthusiasts and the right equipment was all that was needed to accomplish the task. The paramotor with us was
When asked, I was told that the single-cylinder unit in the paramotor we used delivered an impressive 14 PS. The conversation, enveloped with the excited cries of how heavenly it felt up there, revealed that many have also used two-stroke production engines from bikes to make a paramotor of their own. Another fine example to prove that energy never dies, but just gets transformed from one form to another and, in this case, one purpose to another. Why paramotor and not old-school paragliding? With an engine-propelled chute, one need not sit with a fixed gaze at the anemometer waiting for suitable wind velocity. 