[ebonho]

Originally Posted by ast.ggn

JC Moto bash plate seems good in this respect, if something like this happens again, I might go for it.

Yes it looks better with tge perforated skirts. If you plan to do longer distances solo/unsupported, this could be a tour saver.

The thing about sump failure is not tge cost of the casings or the down time but the fact that your bike is paralyzed where it stands, regardless of access or availability of a spare.

My buddy and I were returning to Poona on our Bullets from a 10 day ride in the mountains of Himachal (all 3 axes, whirlwind style). We were fatigued by the high speed non stop riding, that too in winter, with many black ice spills.

Somewhere ahead of Udaipur, early morning one day, my buddy was still groggy with sleep. He misjudged the barriers at a toll while zipping through, and hit a stone slab on the left hard.

The oil dumped put in an instant. I towed him with a parachute cord to the nearest brown. He lost his balance and fell. I realized when I felt the jerk.

Finally we reached a Bullet mechanic. And lost the entire day trying to locate a duplicate sump casing fir a Lightning 535 (imagine the chances of that in interior Rajasthan).

Moral of the story - Buy that better guard now.

Cheers, Doc

[ast.ggn]

My humble Xpulse has conquered mighty Sach Pass. A travelogue will come up for sure. Till then a preview:





Also got a chance to travel through "Atal Tunnel". It was inaugurated by PM yesterday.

[guptavis]

Originally Posted by ast.ggn

My humble Xpulse has conquered mighty Sach Pass. A travelogue will come up for sure. Till then a preview:


Also got a chance to travel through "Atal Tunnel". It was inaugurated by PM yesterday.

Lovely pics. You are really putting that xpulse to good use!!
I have some free days coming up next week and I want to do a 4 day bike trip. Have had my eyes on sach pass as one of the options. Please try to put up the travelogue this weekend. Would be immensely useful to have recent road conditions.

[ast.ggn]

Originally Posted by guptavis

Please try to put up the travelogue this weekend. Would be immensely useful to have recent road conditions.

Thanks, writing a travelogue on the forum takes more effort than writing board exams. I am still wondering how to start.

Jokes apart, travelogue is still some time away as I need to sort pics and videos. Let me know if you have any specific question: which bike are you planning to use and which route? There are several routes to cover Sach pass and it is easily managable in 4 days (assuming you are in Chandigarh, from your location). From Manali side, road condition is good till Udaipur, after that there is no road, just gravel/ small-medium rocks. From Chamba side, road is good till Bairagarh. If you are taking Killar - Kishtiwar route, forget about road for additional 150 kms atleast. There is hardly any snow as of now and weather is pleasant. Sach pass top is extreme cold in case you are planning for camping etc. Hope this helps.

[ast.ggn]

Front Brake Pad replacement done today as bike was squealing a lot. I should have checked the brakes before my travel but totally missed it.

Old Pads. You can see that all that was left was metal plate.



New pads cost Rs. 1280 + Labour. Cost is slightly on higher side in my opinion, given the category of bike.



Also got a shocker for the tyres when I reached service center. Spoke to tyre seller, he has asked to bring it for inspection next weekend. I am not too hopeful though, tyres are difficult to replace under warranty usually.

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by ast.ggn

New pads cost Rs. 1280 + Labour. Cost is slightly on higher side in my opinion, given the category of bike.

Nissin Pad's bro, they used to cost Rs.2400/- before being localized.

My ZMA came with the same;



As an alternative you can use the ones from the Apache RTR's. It used to cost about Rs.280/-



There's more metal in these pads so braking is better but at the obvious cost of rotor life.

Cheers,
A.P.

[ast.ggn]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

As an alternative you can use the ones from the Apache RTR's. It used to cost about Rs.280/-

There's more metal in these pads so braking is better but at the obvious cost of rotor life.

Thanks Ashwin, that helps. Will keep in mind for next time.

[ast.ggn]

Since last few days, bike was giving a jerky feedback upon hard braking. Yesterday did little inspection and found out leakage in front left shock. Took the bike to service center for seal replacement along with regular service. Tried to push for a warranty cover but it is limited to 10k kms only.



S.No. 3 for exclusions (no mention of kms anywhere):



Total bill (with service) - Rs. 1114 (~300 for seal replacement with labour). Odo reading- 18188 kms

[ast.ggn]

Passing through Bheemtal lake on Xpulse today.

[ast.ggn]

Bike continues to deliver. Right from Nanda Devi, Chaukhamba, Trishul, Panchachuli right here. Wish I had a better camera, this pic doesn't do justice to the view. (Pls zoom in for a better view)

[guptavis]

Originally Posted by ast.ggn

My humble Xpulse has conquered mighty Sach Pass. A travelogue will come up for sure. Till then a preview:

Also got a chance to travel through "Atal Tunnel". It was inaugurated by PM yesterday.

Originally Posted by ast.ggn

Passing through Bheemtal lake on Xpulse today.

Originally Posted by ast.ggn

Bike continues to deliver. Right from Nanda Devi, Chaukhamba, Trishul, Panchachuli right here. Wish I had a better camera, this pic doesn't do justice to the view. (Pls zoom in for a better view)

Attachment 2080242

Great Pics and review of the bike.

I'm really envious of all these trips of yours. What do you do? How do you get so much time for travelling? Are you on an extended work from home?

[ast.ggn]

Originally Posted by guptavis

I'm really envious of all these trips of yours. What do you do? How do you get so much time for travelling? Are you on an extended work from home?

No sir, no work from home for me. I have a regular 8 to 6 job which requires me to visit office daily. I try to club festival holidays with weekends/ couple of leaves. Little advantage of staying up in northern parts of our country is that all you need is 4-5 days at a stretch for a Himalayan getaway. Also, lucky to have a boss who doesn't say no and other team who can take responsibility in my absence.

[ast.ggn]

Just as I was bragging about bike behaving very well, the sound of the bike got changed while returning back from Kausani (some 4-5 hours into the ride). Here is the video link to new sound:

https://youtu.be/DsrAGgIRqH8

It now sounds like a muted BS4 Duke.

Previous sound- Not exactly a sound recording video but sharing here again so that it gives some perspective:

https://youtu.be/jbeL0Xg1Azc

Any experts can comment on what it might be? Famous Tappets? Will be taking it to SVC tomorrow.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by ast.ggn

Any experts can comment on what it might be? Famous Tappets? Will be taking it to SVC tomorrow.

Sounds like you've seized her.

Hope that's not the case and it's something small that's broken and making that racket.

Cheers, Doc

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by ast.ggn

Any experts can comment on what it might be? Famous Tappets? Will be taking it to SVC tomorrow.

Sewing Machine sound is from Tappets, I don't think you have that.

Tik Tik clatter is from Timing Chain, that I think you have, even in the 'before' video I can hear it. Best case Tensioner needs replacement, 5 Minute DIY it is.

Metallic Panting/Clatter is from worn valve guides/improper seating.

Listening to an audio I can't or rather shouldn't say anything with certainty, you would have to triangulate where the sound is coming from, use a screwdriver and keep your ear against its knob and the other end touching various parts of the engine.

Personally if there isn't any oil burning and if I don't find metal when draining oil I'd just run it real hard till it completely breaks down and go for a complete rebuild at the Warranty's expense, used to be a hobby of mine with the ZMA's case.

It's funny and sad to see that in almost a decade not much has changed with Hero/Honda products.

BTW, If you're out of warranty then fret not, what you have is a minor inconvenience, just pop the head and inspect, would cost you peanuts to fix if at all something is out of whack.

P.S. Just recollected, the Xpulse does have a reputation for having crappy machining, during the 2019 ISG2G a fellow enthusiast had faced issues with his brand new machine which was fixed under warranty during the ride and then later on fixed again after, most of the threads had given up within 400 or so km's of continuous riding.

Ride Safe,
A.P.