[Added_flavor]

Originally Posted by ashkamath

Hi Ashwin, could you please provide me with the contact details of Joel Joseph of Race Concepts?. this is Ashok from Goa and Joel is a dear friend of mine and we rode together in mid 2000 while he had a Suzuki Fiero and I had a Pulsar 180.
I ride a Duke 390 now and intend to do some performance mods on my bike.

Ashwin sorry for hijacking your thread.

Ashok Sir it's good if you know Joel personally. But recently there have been multiple people coming out with their horror stories after getting the bike "Joel'd". As the above post mentions, you need to look at the power house FZ 18 thread on xbhp. Oh and please start reading from the last page.

PS:

1. I don't have any personal experience with RC, nor do I intend to defame them. Just sharing information.

2. And the duke already is such a hooligan, I wonder what you want to do further! My general belief is that any such mods invariably bring down reliability by a couple of notches. It's ok if it's for an event or for track riding, but AFAIK you are more of a tourer, so do give it a thought.

[ashwin.terminat]

Originally Posted by Rachit.K.Dogra

In my experience its not a big deal. You should be able to get a 130mm jet from any local motor cycle spare parts guy. I think even fitting the jet in the carb should not also be a big chalange.

Are all main jets cross compatible? I mean will one meant for, let's see, an Apache work on my bike?

Originally Posted by ashkamath

Hi Ashwin, could you please provide me with the contact details of Joel Joseph of Race Concepts?

Please check your inbox for requested details. And I see that the 44bhp engine isn't enough to satisfy your need for speed!

Originally Posted by Akhilash95

Please think twice before doing any core performance mods to your bike like headwork, camshaft, etc. There is enough evidence regarding this in the " FZ18" thread on xbhp.

PPS- U could get a remap or orangetronic ECU and the official akrapovic exhaust for extracting more power.

Well, most of it has already been done. In my defense, there are loads of people who are happy with their mods as well. In my case, it's been a year now and 9000 kilometers and the big bore is doing really well. I even got a mileage of 46 consistently with Shell Super Petrol.

And my bike has a CDI. And Akrapovic, haha, too expensive for a colllege kid!

Originally Posted by Added_flavor

Ashwin sorry for hijacking your thread.

you need to look at the power house FZ 18 thread on xbhp. Oh and please start reading from the last page.

2. And the duke already is such a hooligan, I wonder what you want to do further!.

Think nothing of the hijacking!

I did read that and I did voice my concerns to Joel, he reassured me that if anything goes wrong, he would fix it for me. In my case, it was fitted with the big bore right in his workshop, with his people. And it's been a pleasure since.

[ashkamath]

Originally Posted by Added_flavor

Ashwin sorry for hijacking your thread.

Ashok Sir it's good if you know Joel personally. But recently there have been multiple people coming out with their horror stories after getting the bike "Joel'd". As the above post mentions, you need to look at the power house FZ 18 thread on xbhp. Oh and please start reading from the last page.

PS:

1. I don't have any personal experience with RC, nor do I intend to defame them. Just sharing information.

2. And the duke already is such a hooligan, I wonder what you want to do further! My general belief is that any such mods invariably bring down reliability by a couple of notches. It's ok if it's for an event or for track riding, but AFAIK you are more of a tourer, so do give it a thought.

. Hi JP, Yes I know Joel since over a decade now, but not in touch with him since many years now.
You are perfectly right that I am more of a tourer rather than track rider and an extremely cautious and pretty sedate rider and the present performance is more than enough for my needs.
But I do want to meet him for old times sake and seek his advise on some finer aspects at least, if not go in for a major work with the bike. afterall my duke is only 75 days old. But it is always nice to learn from an expert and gain from his knowledge and experience.

Originally Posted by Akhilash95

Please think twice before doing any core performance mods to your bike like headwork, camshaft, etc. There is a high rate of failure in these kits and mods where hardly any scientific calculations done. There is enough evidence regarding this in the " FZ18" thread on xbhp.
PS- I have nothing personal against the tooner just stating facts.
PPS- U could get a remap or orangetronic ECU and the official akrapovic exhaust for extracting more power.

Hi Akhilash95, thanks for your advice. I appreciate it and well taken.
During my pulsar 180 days over a decade back, I had taken my bike to Somendra singh in mysore and got my bike engine grooved (Blue printed), initially the performance increased but slowly I did face many issues and my dear friend Venkat Shyam (Auto service) helped me to resolve many issues that cropped up later.
here is the link to his website: http://somender-singh.com/component/...page/Itemid,1/
I am not sure how many have heard this gentle man, but in those days when DTSi technology was not yet introduced, Mr. Singh had visited Bajaj at Pune with a bike grooved ( the idea is to make a groove inside the engine cylinder surface all the way down so that the spark travels through the groove completely and faster burning the fuel and generating more power) after this idea was shared with Bajaj, suddenly after some time DTSi technology was introduced ( a coincidence or Bajaj were already working on it) and Mr. SIngh's idea to introduce the grooving in Bajaj engine were turned down.

The performance mods always take a toll on the bike, it is like you gain some and you loose some in the bargain and tinkering with a brand new bike is not really good idea as one could mess up a perfectly cool bike.
But as you rightly pointed out, an ECU remapping or an aftermarket exhaust does the needful without as much tinkering with the heart of the bike and keeping her safe and good.

and thanks to Ashwin.terminat for providing valuable information on this offtopic subject.
Appreciate all of you guys.

Best Regards,
Ashok

[Rachit.K.Dogra]

Originally Posted by ashwin.terminat

Are all main jets cross compatible? I mean will one meant for, let's see, an Apache work on my bike?

As far as my knowledge serves me, I think all might not be cross compatible but yes there will be jets for like Karizma which should fit your bike. While buying you can mention the size and the bike and you should be good to go.

[ashwin.terminat]

Originally Posted by Rachit.K.Dogra

As far as my knowledge serves me, I think all might not be cross compatible but yes there will be jets for like Karizma which should fit your bike. While buying you can mention the size and the bike and you should be good to go.

The ZMA uses 125 size jets apparently. But which bike uses a 130 main jet?

[Rachit.K.Dogra]

Originally Posted by ashwin.terminat

The ZMA uses 125 size jets apparently. But which bike uses a 130 main jet?

Yes, the stock jet for Zma is 125. When I had upjetted my Zma I used a 130mm. I dont remeber which bikes jet it was but I remember it was not an issue fetching it. Then the bike was running very rich so I went to 128mm. I think you should try a couple of good spare parts shop. You should be able to find it.

[ashwin.terminat]

Originally Posted by Rachit.K.Dogra

Yes, the stock jet for Zma is 125. When I had upjetted my Zma I used a 130mm. I dont remeber which bikes jet it was but I remember it was not an issue fetching it. Then the bike was running very rich so I went to 128mm. I think you should try a couple of good spare parts shop. You should be able to find it.

I guess I'll be spending next week looking for a 130 jet then.

Will the bike behave noticeably differently?

Some pictures:

[aargee]

Originally Posted by ashwin.terminat

I did read that and I did voice my concerns to Joel, he reassured me that if anything goes wrong, he would fix it for me. In my case, it was fitted with the big bore right in his workshop, with his people. And it's been a pleasure since.

How many Kms completed since the bigbore was fit? Could you share that please?

[abhinav.s]

Originally Posted by ashwin.terminat

In my case, it's been a year now and 9000 kilometers and the big bore is doing really well. I even got a mileage of 46 consistently with Shell Super Petrol.

Originally Posted by aargee

How many Kms completed since the bigbore was fit? Could you share that please?

As per his previous post, its 9000kms since the big bore was fit.

[ashwin.terminat]

Originally Posted by aargee

How many Kms completed since the bigbore was fit? Could you share that please?

9000km, my good man!

Originally Posted by abhinav.s

As per his previous post, its 9000kms since the big bore was fit.

Thanks for the clarification Abhinav.

[ashwin.terminat]

Update!

The head still leaks oil. The threads that hold the head cover had been stripped(By me, I think) when the tappets were being adjusted. Haven't found the time to get the bike serviced. Need to get this done.

On the bright side, I have now switched to Shell Super Petrol. Sure, it costs Rs. 89.25 here in Bangalore. But it seems to go well with the Big Bore and the Head Work.

I recently filled Super Petrol for Rs. 200 and the bike returned 111.1km for (200/89.25) liters of fuel. That was about 49.6kmpl which is the highest my bike has ever managed to return. This was with sedate riding with no sudden acceleration, deceleration, unnecessary revving etc.

Experienced that other fuels don't give me the same results. Although, I am yet to try Speed petrol.

Also, a few suggestions required. Bike is about to hit 27000km now. What would you recommend I get checked up or changed during the service?

[ashwin.terminat]

Another update, today, I found this anomaly in the reflector. There seem to be tiny bubbles just above the bulb holder. I assume it's because of the increased heat from the 55/60W bulb I fit more than 18 months ago? :(




And the following pictures are results of an unknown incident that occurred while I was waiting inside the Basavanagudi Post Office.

The mudguard is scratched.

These are closeup pictures, so the scratches aren't as big as they seem to be.





About to be 27,000km, what do you guys suggest I get checked up/changed? I'm eager to have the Front Fork oil changed this time as the bike makes a kat-kat sound when I play the front shocks, and also get the Oil Filter cleaned. It's never, ever been cleaned. Besides these, I need to get the leaky Head also fixed.

[abhinav.s]

Originally Posted by ashwin.terminat

.... and also get the Oil Filter cleaned. It's never, ever been cleaned. Besides these, I need to get the leaky Head also fixed.

With regards to what has to be checked/changed, go as per the manual and replace everything that is recommended if not already done. I am very curious how the oil filter is not cleaned at all for nearly 30,000kms!! I guess the Hunk has a Centrifugal oil filter and probably if my memory serves me right, it has to be cleaned once every 10,000 kms. So if you have never done this then its high time you get it done unless Hero recommends to clean it once every 30k kms.

With respect to the Khat sound, try adding a few ml of fork oil to both forks and see if the sound goes away. If it does not then get the entire fork oil changed. Don't add too much oil though as it will make the front very stiff. Just a cap full which might amount to around 5-10ml should be enough.

[ashwin.terminat]

Originally Posted by abhinav.s

With regards to what has to be checked/changed, go as per the manual and replace everything that is recommended if not already done. I am very curious how the oil filter is not cleaned at all for nearly 30,000kms!! I guess the Hunk has a Centrifugal oil filter and probably if my memory serves me right, it has to be cleaned once every 10,000 kms. So if you have never done this then its high time you get it done unless Hero recommends to clean it once every 30k kms.

With respect to the Khat sound, try adding a few ml of fork oil to both forks and see if the sound goes away. If it does not then get the entire fork oil changed. Don't add too much oil though as it will make the front very stiff. Just a cap full which might amount to around 5-10ml should be enough.

Yes, the Hunk does have a Centrifugal Oil Filter. To be honest, I'm not sure if it has ever been cleaned in any of the services because there is no way to verify the same without opening the Clutch Casing. And it needs to be cleaned every 6000km according to the Owner's Manual!

And the Front Fork needs to have the oil changed at 30,000km. I guess I'll just get it done in the next service which is due soon. Replacing it a little earlier won't do any harm.

I might also upjet finally. I think I'll try a 130 main jet. If I can source one in Bangalore by the time the bike goes in for service. That being said, the Super Petrol from Shell is working well with the bike. Getting 47kmpl+ consistently. While riding only inside the traffic congested parts of Bangalore. So don't know if the upjet will be a good option. The folks at Race Concepts recently posted that those with the big bore will need the bigger jet for better fueling.

[girimajiananth]

Originally Posted by ashwin.terminat

Another update, today, I found this anomaly in the reflector. There seem to be tiny bubbles just above the bulb holder. I assume it's because of the increased heat from the 55/60W bulb I fit more than 18 months ago? :(
.

Probably . I had upgraded the bulbs on Indica long ago from stock bulb to a higher wattage philips bulb. Slowly the reflector lost its shine and the light throw became very poor over the years. We had to replace the reflectors.

I read that you have upgraded the bore kit , will the ASS service your bike ?
If not where do you get it serviced ?