[Majumdarda]

Ok, so why I am making this entry. Well, because after I read the suggestion for 3M Paint Protection, off I went to the Baner dealership and below are the observations :-

I interacted with two persons at the dealership. Mr. Swapnil, who informed me about the basics, the options available, the process and the estimated time required and then Mr. Tapas, who was least interested to explain anything. For me, he was more interested in explaining the details to another customer (4 wheeler might be) and therefore the look and feel of his expression was, "I do not care for a two wheeler customer." Anyways, someone who cannot talk looking at the eyes, is someone to be dealt with caution. So, the first impression, was not good, if not bad.

Now the cost estimation. Please find below image for details :-



I had inquired about the petrol tank, the tool/fuse and air filter boxes at the two sides and the front mud-guard. The rate is rupees 462 per square feet. The rough calculation (may change at the time of actual working) was 11.03 sq. ft and therefore the total rough estimation was approximately rupees 5100. The measurements were performed by Mr. Swapnil and he was careful not to gift me any scratches, though while measurement he had accidentally touched the silencer and therefore got the feel of it. I was also showed another vehicle which had received a similar 3M Paint Protection treatment. I was informed that officially 3M had not started services for the two wheeler segment and therefore the rate of rupees 462 per square feet was taken from the cars.

Now the obvious question is, "Is it worth the spent?" The question is not about affordability but about worthiness. I would request forum members to please voice in their concerns and observations.

A similar thread is as follows, but as I was not able to respond over there (might be because of my newbie status) therefore I am updating my observations over here.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/other-...re-pune-6.html

@ajay_satpute, Jimmy_u: Please share your views as well.

@ PGNarain : I had read your comments as below, but sorry I beg to differ depending upon my personal experience

"That brings me to the Owner, Tapas, who I felt is the BIGGEST asset of this center. He is a very enthusiastic and dedicated professional and a real car aficionado. Also he is very passionate about his work and it seemed to me that he treated all the cars there as his own. "

Just in case if anybody is interested about contacts for the Baner 3M Car Care center, please find the details below :-

[Jimmy_u]

Originally Posted by Motormania

Majumdarda,


Congratulations on the lovely bike. I would suggest you take a look at 3M Paint Protection film. They are clear films which can be applied on the painted surface and is almost invisible to the naked eye. That ways you can be mentally at peace as well.

hello Motormania,

I too am looking for this solution, do you know if 3M does this for Bikes ?

[Majumdarda]

Originally Posted by Jimmy_u

hello Motormania,

I too am looking for this solution, do you know if 3M does this for Bikes ?

If I may answer to this query. I had visited them this afternoon and as per Swapnil, they have done the 3M Paint Protection filming on one motorcycle till date.

But depending upon the curvature of the petrol tank, please be advised that it will not be one single piece of film, but two at least. Though he had assured me that the joint will not be identifiable under naked eyes, but it will be there.

My suggestion would be if you can show your motorcycle to them and get a rough estimation and then quote over here like I did. It will give us all a clear picture as well.

[adityasiera]

Originally Posted by Majumdarda

Thank you adityasiera for your wishes. I am really enjoying riding Amun-Ra a lot. It seems that I just need excuse to take a short ride, here and there.

With regards to the Crash guard, our personal favorite was the old Airfly Crash Guard (the one which has two distinct small pillars at both the ends). It gives a much boxy appearance but unfortunatley it seems not to be available with the RE dealers these days. The reason why I choose the AirFly is because the feeling of boxyness attached with it (along with giving protection to the rider). The round edges seems to give comfort to the Machine, creating a protective enclosure.

Probably I am not able to explain, please ignore . Once we meet, I can definitely explain.

And now, for the teaser. Officially Amun-Ra completes 500 kilometers while I was coming to the office.

Attachment 1153642

I also came from your school of thought, till i saw one where the airfly guard actually knurled inside trapping the riders legs. Check any touring Bulls, and you will find the Diamond one.

Regarding run-in, dont go by the Manual. please run her in for atleast 3k-4k kms. you will thank yourself for this later. Also do catch up on some reading..

More run-in information
http://www.nandanmotors.com/running.html

Nandan garu is the best start..
http://www.nandanmotors.com/index.html

My honest opinion - dont waste the hard earned green bucks on 3M coating.

Lastly - Contact Apurva Sawant and join indiethumpers at the earliest.. See you in chennai during RM14

[Majumdarda]

Originally Posted by adityasiera

I also came from your school of thought, till i saw one where the airfly guard actually knurled inside trapping the riders legs. Check any touring Bulls, and you will find the Diamond one.

Regarding run-in, dont go by the Manual. please run her in for atleast 3k-4k kms. you will thank yourself for this later. Also do catch up on some reading..

More run-in information
http://www.nandanmotors.com/running.html

Nandan garu is the best start..
http://www.nandanmotors.com/index.html

My honest opinion - dont waste the hard earned green bucks on 3M coating.

Lastly - Contact Apurva Sawant and join indiethumpers at the earliest.. See you in chennai during RM14

Thank you adityasiera. Now I understand your well valid point. Point taken. Let me first of all set my hands and then wheni start the touring, I will change it. Thank you very much for pointing this out. An obvious design flaw issue with the Airfly.

With regards to the 3M, I understand your statement. But please tell me that how can I protect the gorgeous fuel tank from scratches. Amun-Ra stays at the parking and it is not possible for me to keep him covered. Moreover we have a tendency to see through our hands :(. Please suggest.

With regards to RM14, I am not sure at the moment, though my heart wishes to join all rides. Let me see how things turn from now onwards.

Indiethumpers and Firelords both are in the radar, but now that I have a contact, I will definitely contact him at the earliest.

Best regards,

P.s. Please excuse typos as I am updating from a handheld devise.

[adityasiera]

Originally Posted by Majumdarda

Thank you adityasiera. Now I understand your well valid point. Point taken. Let me first of all set my hands and then wheni start the touring, I will change it. Thank you very much for pointing this out. An obvious design flaw issue with the Airfly.

With regards to the 3M, I understand your statement. But please tell me that how can I protect the gorgeous fuel tank from scratches. Amun-Ra stays at the parking and it is not possible for me to keep him covered. Moreover we have a tendency to see through our hands :(. Please suggest.

With regards to RM14, I am not sure at the moment, though my heart wishes to join all rides. Let me see how things turn from now onwards.

Indiethumpers and Firelords both are in the radar, but now that I have a contact, I will definitely contact him at the earliest.



Best regards,

P.s. Please excuse typos as I am updating from a handheld devise.

Paint protection - No matter how well you take care, you will get a few scratches here and there.

What i learnt from old guys is nothing protects the paint better than a old cotton saree, secured with a bungee net!! too lazy to go down a snap a pic of my bike now.. but you can see how its done.

PS: thats apu with his new ride a tb 500

[Majumdarda]

Originally Posted by adityasiera

Paint protection - No matter how well you take care, you will get a few scratches here and there.

What i learnt from old guys is nothing protects the paint better than a old cotton saree, secured with ...

Yes a very old and most effective technique I must say. Moreover a cost effective one too. Probably I will be doing that sometime years.

But now with the new Bullet, do not want to keep him covered with these. Lets see how things turn up.

By the way, can anyone please tell me the difference between 3M coating and Teflon coating?

[rulerofsun]

Originally Posted by Majumdarda

By the way, can anyone please tell me the difference between 3M coating and Teflon coating?

Refer this Thread: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modifi...ond-brite.html

Regards
RoS

[Majumdarda]

Originally Posted by rulerofsun

Refer this Thread: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modifi...ond-brite.html

Regards
RoS

Thank you RoS. I have gone through the link. Thank you very much for sharing the same.

I have decided to go for 3M PPF coating for the petrol tank (to start with) as I have to save the tank from scratches. (Just not possible for me to stand guard besides Amun-Ra all the time.)

Unfortunately the rate is too expensive with the 3M dealers over here at Pune. Wonder if a different rate can be procurred or some good contacts materialise

Best regards,

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by Majumdarda

I have decided to go for 3M PPF coating for the petrol tank (to start with) as I have to save the tank from scratches. (Just not possible for me to stand guard besides Amun-Ra all the time.)

Have you enquired how much a brand new tank from RE would cost you instead?

I know for a fact that put in 2K more, and you can get your whole bike re-painted - Dupont, and way better depth than the factory paint.

[Majumdarda]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Have you enquired how much a brand new tank from RE would cost you instead?

I know for a fact that put in 2K more, and you can get your whole bike re-painted - Dupont, and way better depth than the factory paint.

Hi ebonho,

I understand your concern and to be very frank with you, the charges are really on the expensive side. Had I been staying at an accommodation with open space in front and myself staying at the ground floor, then all these concerns would never have materialised. I have never faced challenges like this with my Pulsar, but the moment I came to this accommodation, things have changed. Petrol tank of the Pulsar seems to be a piece of art (drawn by a crazy artist) with one nice dent at the side.

With regards to just coating of the petrol tank, the charges would be approx 2500. Way too expensive I know. But procuring a brand new petrol tank from RE, will probably be more time consuming, as with RE there is always the dealer supplier issue. Heavy demand and long waiting period. Probably it would have been cheaper too, but the fact that if I ever have to order a fresh petrol tank puts me into jitters :(

Coming to the point of repainting the motorcycle, I am interested to have my Pulsar repainted. Can you throw some light as to how much it might cost for the full motorcycle (Dupont) and if you know someone who can really do a good job.

Now the story of first opening. Like every Bulleteers, today, I opened up a small part of the motorcycle. (with lots of courage I must add). It was the seat assembly. And came across a peculiar problem. After loosening the front two bolts, the rear bolts went into a rotating fuzzy amongst themselves. Turned out that the nut-bolt combination both are rotating. So dive into the RE provided tool kit. And voila, I have two spanners with exactly the same measurements (10-12). Now how on earth will I hold the rear and loosen the front nut. Off I went to the local hardware shop and got some fresh spanners (12-13). Now I could open the seat.

Observation :- There is a portion right at the center of the rear mundguard, where it seems that the color has gone for a toss. Please find the image below :-



placed some black tape so that it does not go in spreading and to protect from probable rusting.



Also found some oil leaking at the bottom portion. There was no drop on the floor, so I think probably it is from the chain. Please let me know your inputs. Is this worth a concern ?



Below is the way the wires are protected underneath the seat. Looks ok. Please advise do I need to apply black tape to make last longer?



And lastly, below is the image after the seat was opened. A big achievement I must say



P.S., please ignore the picture quality. The lens of my mobile seems to be having some scratches.

[ebonho]

My limited point is that you can get your entire tank painted and laquered to better than factory finish, with the same pin striping, in less money than you are spending on protecting the original paint. So does it really make sense?

Its like KTM Duke guys spending 1500 bucks on fancy tank protectors to protect the orange tank cowl from scuffing etc. - while the original brand new replacement tank cowl from the company costs less than 1000 bucks.

P.S. Incidentally, a brand new tank from the factory would set you back by around 7.5-8.5 K last I checked.

[ArizonaJim]

Majumdarda
The oil you see in your third photo has been thrown off of the chain while you were riding. It is perfectly normal. In fact, the only time you should worry is if there is no oil on that flat shelf. No oil in that area indicates your chain needs to be oiled.

As for the wiring, the photo doesn't show anything unusual.
IMO, it can't hurt to add a additional protective layer of tape to any place where the wires come in contact with metal parts.
Another place to look for wires that may require additional protection is in the left hand compartment where the electrical relays/fuses are.

[Majumdarda]

Originally Posted by ebonho

My limited point is that you can get your entire tank painted and laquered to better than factory finish, with the same pin striping, in less money than you are spending on protecting the original paint. So does it really make sense?...

I understand your point but yeh dil hai ki maanta nehi (this heart does not listen) !

Originally Posted by ArizonaJim

Majumdarda
The oil you see in your third photo has been thrown off of the chain while you were riding. It is perfectly normal. In fact, the only time you should worry is if there is no oil on that flat shelf. No oil in that area indicates your chain needs to be oiled.

As for the wiring, the photo doesn't show anything unusual.
IMO, it can't hurt to add a additional protective layer of tape to any place where the wires come in contact with metal parts.
Another place to look for wires that may require additional protection is in the left hand compartment where the electrical relays/fuses are.

Thank you Jim.
So my next weekoffs have the following two assignments
> A coating of black tape for the wires which are in proximity to metal objects.
> Checking the fuse compartment for wires that may need a coat of black tape.

Okies now's the time for "mileage" calculation. [Kitni deti hai?]

On 17th Oct, Reserve was at 544 km, and petrol intake was intentionally 5l.
On 20th Oct, Reserve was at 700 km, waiting for petrol intake.

So reserve to reserve calculation gave me the mileage at 31.2 KMpl. I am ok with this after the first servicing.

Should I be expecting more? Intend to put 10l this evening after I reach home from office.

[Jimmy_u]

Originally Posted by Majumdarda

If I may answer to this query. I had visited them this afternoon and as per Swapnil, they have done the 3M Paint Protection filming on one motorcycle till date.

But depending upon the curvature of the petrol tank, please be advised that it will not be one single piece of film, but two at least. Though he had assured me that the joint will not be identifiable under naked eyes, but it will be there.

My suggestion would be if you can show your motorcycle to them and get a rough estimation and then quote over here like I did. It will give us all a clear picture as well.

Hi Majumdarda,

sure we can go together and get an estimation from them , however we should also look at other options which can be a little more economical.

I am already a victim of scratches on the Tank :-(

Regards,
Jimmy