[ashwin.terminat]

I was trying the clean the pistons in the front brake today, I had to get it out to clean it of course. So when I removed the pads and pumped the brakes to get the pistons out, only one was advancing! The other stayed put.
I'm sure this isn't normal for a dual piston caliper, or is it?
I again changed the brake fluid but somehow dropped some on the mudguard and I lost some paint. So to everyone, please be careful with brake fluid! Changed the brake fluid on both, front and rear and the braking response as improved, but it doesn't really stop as such. It's lost bite. I'll need to spray a little petrol on the brake pads tomorrow to bring it back up to speed.

[giri1.8]

Originally Posted by ashwin.terminat

I was trying the clean the pistons in the front brake today, I had to get it out to clean it of course. So when I removed the pads and pumped the brakes to get the pistons out, only one was advancing! The other stayed put.
I'm sure this isn't normal for a dual piston caliper, or is it?
I again changed the brake fluid but somehow dropped some on the mudguard and I lost some paint. So to everyone, please be careful with brake fluid! Changed the brake fluid on both, front and rear and the braking response as improved, but it doesn't really stop as such. It's lost bite. I'll need to spray a little petrol on the brake pads tomorrow to bring it back up to speed.

Is it safe to spray petrol on brake pads? I guess it might catch fire when it get hot during heavy braking.Correct me if I am wrong.

[ashwin.terminat]

Originally Posted by giri1.8

Is it safe to spray petrol on brake pads? I guess it might catch fire when it get hot during heavy braking .Correct me if I am wrong.

Haha. I doubt the brakes get hot enough to catch fire as such. It's never happened to me till date. I guess that happens only on F1 cars or cars which can go as fast as them.

[giri1.8]

Originally Posted by ashwin.terminat

Haha. I doubt the brakes get hot enough to catch fire as such. It's never happened to me till date. I guess that happens only on F1 cars or cars which can go as fast as them.

My doubt was about the spraying petrol part of it I think brake pads do get hot enough to ignite petrol,I guess it evaporates quick enough.

[ashwin.terminat]

Originally Posted by giri1.8

My doubt was about the spraying petrol part of it I think brake pads do get hot enough to ignite petrol,I guess it evaporates quick enough.

My answers were keeping spraying petrol in mind! Haha. And I don't know, it's not happened till date. Either that, or I haven't noticed that my rear was on fire.

[ashwin.terminat]

Landmark!

So, another landmark has been reached. 20,000km was completed a few days ago.

Between my last post and this one, a few substantial changes have been made to the bike.

More Horses!

I have got the bike Joel'ed I went in for his big bore kit, 165cc and his Head Work. I was little skeptical at first, but it seems to be holding up just fine. Bolt on fit, so no complications at all.

As you already knew, the Hunk was quite short geared and sprocketing was not recommended because acceleration would take a massive hit. But after being Joel'ed, acceleration was way, way better compared to stock and the bike would effortlessly red line. There is a flyover I enjoy and frequent daily, only once had I managed to get to around 102kmph on it and now, I could always get to 108kmph with some more juice to go before needing to slow down again. Now, it has extra torque to match, so I could afford the sprocketing. Swapped the 14T front for the 15T from the Unicorn and the stock acceleration was back while the bike was more relaxed at cruising speeds and top end would also increase.

The bike now does close to 67kmph at 5k RPM compared to the previous 60kmph odd. Haven't done a top speed run yet, but expecting it to touch 120kmph. Went on a leisurely ride a week or so ago, but limited myself to 80kmph as I had a pillion on board. What I'm most glad about is, 3rd and 4th gear are amazing fun, the bike pulls amazingly well! A 'relentless force' I dare say!

Mileage, the bike returned 43kmpl once after being fitted with the big bore. But once I gave it for service at an ASC, I started getting a mileage of around 35-38kmpl. They even refused to clean the carb though I specifically asked them to do it. I guess I'll try a mech ku69rd had suggested next.

I'm enjoying the bike right now, except for a few niggling issues. Would like someone to tell me what's wrong with the bike so I can get the problem solved in June once my exams are done.

Issues right now

• In the morning, when I start the bike, the bike idles at 1k and after riding around a bit, it goes upto 1.4k RPM. Whack the throttle open a bit and it goes above 1.5k RPM. Is this normal behaviour? Also, when I let the bike idle for a while and then very, very lightly give throttle, the bike shuts off. I'm sure this isn't supposed to happen. Average the bike returns is around 35kmpl. And while starting the bike, the bike seems to need very light throttle input sometimes. Could someone please tell me why this is happening?

• Only once, after a 40km ride, when I tried to push start the vehicle, the trip meter reset. Not to 0. Trip meter was showing 112km, I rode for around 20 km and then see the trip meter again at 100. Then I tried starting the vehicle and it went back to 97.2km. Now what I also noticed is, when I tried to push start, very rarely, the bike acted like the ignition has been switched on. The Tacho needle did a full circle along with the fuel gauge and the Speedo shows 188(It's a digital speedo) and dropped down to 0.

Just to remind you guys, I've changed over to DC lighting. Coil rewinding+RR Unit change was done. The headlamps and all the electricals work just fine otherwise though.

• Brakes, the front brake lever can almost be pulled right upto the handle bar and the rear disk brakes have lost bite ever since the ASC changed the rear pads. The rear used to lock very quickly before, but is barely effective now. Also, the rear brake squeaks ever since they changed the pads.

• And oil is leaking from the head, this only required a head gasket change, so an easy fix.

[(Alok)]

Thanks for updating the thread ashwin.
If possible please try post snaps of your DIYs.
From where you have got the idea & after that the material (bore & head).

[ashwin.terminat]

Originally Posted by (Alok)

Thanks for updating the thread ashwin.
If possible please try post snaps of your DIYs.
From where you have got the idea & after that the material (bore & head).

Will try to post pics of the DIYs from next time.

Well, Joel resides in Bangalore. So I just had to drop in at his workshop and the new bore was fit and the headwork was done as I'd informed him a day earlier that I'd be coming for the big bore and the head work. He had stock of it in his workshop. The mechanics were working with Joel itself.

[ashwin.terminat]

I'd gone to Motor Cycle Components, official Motul dealers today. I'd gone with the intention of buying the 3000 4T 10W30 or the 5100 10W30. More inclined towards the 5100 because it was Semi-Synth. But unfortunately, they didn't have stock of either and no oils in the 10W30 grade from Motul for now. 7100 was 20W50, so out of question. Only option left was 10W40 300V, I considered it a bit and took the plunge, cost me 920. MRP was 985.

Apparently, there is a new 5W30 grade of 300V coming according to the Motul India Facebook page. I guess this would be more suited for the bike?

Anyway, I got the engine oil changed at the mechanic I got the bike serviced at a week ago. Mohan Automobiles, a small mechanic near Vasavi Convention Hall, always had some RD350s to be serviced, so I figured he must be good, my mileage before I changed the oil, with a 4000km old Hero Honda OEM oil shot up to 44kmpl from 32kmpl using the 15T sprocket from the Unicorn and Joel's Big Bore on both mileage tests with only runs inside the city.

Coincidentally, I also happened to go on a 120km long ride today. The true essence of this oil is at high RPMs, at speeds above 100, the bike usually vibrates a lot, but with the 300V, it felt amazingly stress free. I am really impressed with this oil and hope it lasts 7000km as they said as 900 rupees every 3000km is quite heavy on the pocket.

Also this would be the first time I've gunned the bike after getting Joel's big bore. I've a question in this regard, the bike even before the Big Bore upgrade never used to get to the 9000 RPM mark, why is that? Even today, the transition from 60 to 117(My eventual top speed today with a pillion on board and very slight incline, no crouching) was seamless, barely took any time. But only during an incline did the bike hit the 9000 RPM mark, before that, it would hover around the 8000 RPM mark. Is it because I had a pillion with me?

Overall, Joel's Big Bore, 300V and Mohan Automobiles, thumbs up from my end.

[jkdas]

The older issues fixed or you still have those? Idling and odo read error?
How much did the kit and swap work cost? And what all comes with the kit?

I used to hit redlines in my modded Avenger very fast than the stock and was able to do higher speeds. Don't have rpm read as it doesn't have one.

[ashwin.terminat]

Originally Posted by jkdas

The older issues fixed or you still have those? Idling and odo read error?
How much did the kit and swap work cost? And what all comes with the kit?

I used to hit redlines in my modded Avenger very fast than the stock and was able to do higher speeds. Don't have rpm read as it doesn't have one.

Idling was fixed with a DIY carb clean, the jets were clogged. Cleaned them up and idling issues were gone.

Odo read error, well, haven't been able to reproduce the error, seems to happen when I crank the engine with headlamp on I guess. Not sure.

The big bore kit cost 5.5k, Headwork another 3.5k odd. The Big Bore contains the bore, piston, gaskets and piston rings. I might have missed out something, not sure.

Oh, the bike travels across the rev range a lot quicker now, but doesn't get to the redline as such.

[ashwin.terminat]

I had tried changing the Brake Fluid from DOT3 used by the mechanic to DOT4, which is supposed to assist in better braking.

I've done it before but I guess this time I over tightened the Bleeder Nut. Result? The thread was stripped and brake fluid was all over the place and my front brake was rendered absolutely useless.

I head over to the mechanic who serviced the biked earlier. To save myself the embarrassment, I told him I have no idea how it happened. He examined the damage and said the can try re-threading at a Lathe and use an oversized nut and check to see if it works, else, he would have to replace the entire caliper unit(At a whopping 1400 rupees!).

Since the brakes were going to get some special treatment anyway, I decided it was time to overhaul the brakes completely. This meant a replacement of the Major and Minor kits that I felt were long overdue to increase the bite of the brake since I always found them to be a tad on the softer side.

So I got a list of the parts of the items I would require, they were:

Cylinder Set Master(Major Kit):

45530-KCC-841

OR

45504-KCC-841 BOOT COMP.
45525-KCC-841 PUSH ROD
45526-KCC-841 SPRING , PUSH ROD
90651-KCC-841 CIRCLIP
45503-KCC-841 PISTON
45506-KCC-841 SPRING

Minor Kit:

06451-KCC-841 SEAL SET, PISTON (2)
45107-KCC-841 PISTON, 26 (2)

To my surprise, the authorized stockist, Parshawa Motors, didn't have a single part of the Major Kit in stock, so I ditched the idea of replacing the Kits altogether. Dropped off the bike at the Mechanic's and had to wait for 12 hours to get it back.

And when I got it back, boy was I glad! The brakes seemed sharper than they ever were and the leakage was gone. The lathe thingy worked! It cost me Rs.450 and I believe the cost was justified. To add to the good news, my mileage is now 45kmpl. I guess using all that engine braking when I didn't have the front brakes had its own benefit.

Now the only problem is oil leakage from the head. The threads of the head cover are stripped there too and this seems to be a common problem in Xtremes and Hunks many users have reported this on an ownership thread on another forum. The same mechanic said he'll need to re-thread and it'll be as good as new. My question is, in the event the head needs to be opened again, say, to adjust valve clearance, will the threads get stripped again?

[SunnyBoi]

Originally Posted by ashwin.terminat

I had tried changing the Brake Fluid from DOT3 used by the mechanic to DOT4, which is supposed to assist in better braking.
...

And when I got it back, boy was I glad! The brakes seemed sharper than they ever were and the leakage was gone. The lathe thingy worked! It cost me Rs.450 and I believe the cost was justified.

If you want sharper brakes, replace the rubber hose with a steel braided hose from a Pulsar 220. It is impossible to flush all DOT3 all at once. Check your fluid now, it would have already turned pink. I needed 5 complete drain and bleed before I could get the brake fluid to remain clear.

If you have a Nissin master cylinder, replace it with a Pulsar Master Cylinder (KBX/Bybre not ETS). I've junked the Nissin master cylinder on both my Hondas (ZMA and NSR) and use Pulsar ones since these clearly outperform the OE ones.

[ashwin.terminat]

Originally Posted by SunnyBoi

If you want sharper brakes, replace the rubber hose with a steel braided hose from a Pulsar 220. It is impossible to flush all DOT3 all at once. Check your fluid now, it would have already turned pink.

Well, the mechanic used DOT3 fluid again. And right now, I am not going to risk messing up my brakes again with any DIY for a while(After a few months, perhaps?)

How useful are the steel braided hoses? Will it be a direct fit to the Hunk?

Originally Posted by SunnyBoi

If you have a Nissin master cylinder, replace it with a Pulsar Master Cylinder (KBX/Bybre not ETS). I've junked the Nissin master cylinder on both my Hondas (ZMA and NSR) and use Pulsar ones since these clearly outperform the OE ones.

It's not a Nissin for sure. But I do remember reading on another forum that the master cylinder of the Hunk/Xtreme can be swapped with the one on the Karizma. And if the one on the Karizma can be swapped with the ones on the Pulsar, safe to say that the Hunk's can be swapped with the ones on the Pulsar too, right?

My brother has an ETS-fit Pulsar 150 from 2006, I find his brakes to lack feedback, they're very, very sharp, but lack feedback like the ones on the Yamahas. How different are the new ones when compared to the ETS? I've not ridden a new Pulsar in ages, so don't know how good their brakes are. Is it possible to swap the Master Cylinder with those on the R15? Those are possibly the best brakes I have ever used.

Sorry for the umpteen number of questions, but I would really love better brakes.

[SunnyBoi]

Originally Posted by ashwin.terminat

Well, the mechanic used DOT3 fluid again. And right now, I am not going to risk messing up my brakes again with any DIY for a while(After a few months, perhaps?)

I had snapped off the nipple once. Got the caliper to a lathe where they took out the broken part. S##t happens, but do not stop

Originally Posted by ashwin.terminat

How useful are the steel braided hoses? Will it be a direct fit to the Hunk?

Check for the lenght of the hose. If its the same/longer, go for it. Steel braided hoses make a huge difference in the feedback and modulation of brakes.

Originally Posted by ashwin.terminat

It's not a Nissin for sure. But I do remember reading on another forum that the master cylinder of the Hunk/Xtreme can be swapped with the one on the Karizma. And if the one on the Karizma can be swapped with the ones on the Pulsar, safe to say that the Hunk's can be swapped with the ones on the Pulsar too, right?

Any MC can be fitted from any bike. My RX is running a master cylinder from an Aprilia RS125. Its just a matter of whch MC works best for you.

Originally Posted by ashwin.terminat

My brother has an ETS-fit Pulsar 150 from 2006, I find his brakes to lack feedback, they're very, very sharp, but lack feedback like the ones on the Yamahas. How different are the new ones when compared to the ETS? I've not ridden a new Pulsar in ages, so don't know how good their brakes are. Is it possible to swap the Master Cylinder with those on the R15? Those are possibly the best brakes I have ever used.

ETS ones lack proper feedback and are the on-off variety, i.e., brake modulation is difficult.

On my ZMA I'm running a Pulsar 180 MC, Avenger brake lever (longer and more leverage), Pulsar 220 SS braided hose, stock ZMA caliper with EBC HH sintered brake pads, slightly modified front suspension. Well the EBCs ran out and have replaced them with RTR pads. My front wheels would lock up at 80KMPH if I panic braked ever, brakes were too much for my tyres and suspension. No locks however with RTR pads but brakes feel bit mushy.