[r_nairtvm]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Didnt even realize when I crossed 3000kms mark

Attachment 1236552

Avi What is that Sparko switch for ? I didn't realize you had some extras on the bike already

With Bonney and impromptu rides - its going to happen more and more. To borrow from our Bravehearts its always a case of "Yeh Dil Mange More".

Best Regards & Ride Safe

Ram

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by r_nairtvm

Avi What is that Sparko switch for ? I didn't realize you had some extras on the bike already

Ram, you have a keen eye

I wanted to update this minor addition to Bonnie but, forgot to share it before.

A night before our Bangalore ride, myself and Mani (T100) decided to install a simple mod of "Hazard Lights"

Triumph Dealership sent over one of their technician at home and he installed this switch and connected to indicator wiring. It was a 10-15 mins job !!

How it works :-

1. Pull the switch UP
2. Switch on indicator-----Both indicators will flash

1. Push DOWN the switch
2. Switch on indicator----Functions like normal indicator

This installation was very helpful for our Bangalore ride ( especially for our night ride, as we can switch it on at appropriate times to make our visibility at night better)





A closer look at the switch



Cost: I was charged INR 500/- for this installation as it would cover petrol, labour and switch expenses of the technician who visited my home for this job work

[Scarlet_Rider]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Thats a nice question. Iam wondering why you would think the bike engine oil would reduce significantly when it was serviced at 800kms and topped up with fresh oil and next oil change is at 10,000kms?

Even though the next oil change is at 10,000 kms, it is better to check the engine oil level periodically especially after the bike is used for long trips. Engine oil consumption increases slightly when the bike is run at higher RPMs for longer periods of time. Hence my question.

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by Scarlet_Rider

Even though the next oil change is at 10,000 kms, it is better to check the engine oil level periodically especially after the bike is used for long trips. Engine oil consumption increases slightly when the bike is run at higher RPMs for longer periods of time. Hence my question.

If the bonny is equipped with an oil pressure warning indicator on the instrument cluster and/or an engine oil reservoir window, then checking oil level via a dipstick or such methods is not required. A mere look at the reservoir window is enough to judge if oil level is falling below the min level.

[r_nairtvm]

Originally Posted by Scarlet_Rider

Even though the next oil change is at 10,000 kms, it is better to check the engine oil level periodically especially after the bike is used for long trips. Engine oil consumption increases slightly when the bike is run at higher RPMs for longer periods of time. Hence my question.

To give you an example of Bonneys tollerences.

1. In 20,000 KMS half of it in ambiant temperatures in exces 36 Deg, I have done only 2 oil changes. The take out quantity has been almost equal to whant went in for the refill
2. Have run my Bonney for 1,600 KMS (Salalah, Oman to Dubai) in 18 hours on a single day in July (which is peak summer in Middle East - over 42 Degs minimum) and oil level did not alter significantly enough to be noticed).

Hope this give you reasonable comfort on this issue

Further I don't suppose this is unique to Bonney/Triumphs in any way. All well made modern engines are this way isn't it - incliding Marutis. Tatas & Mahindras will reach there some day soon I hope.

Best Regards & Ride Safe

Ram

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by Scarlet_Rider

Even though the next oil change is at 10,000 kms, it is better to check the engine oil level periodically especially after the bike is used for long trips. Engine oil consumption increases slightly when the bike is run at higher RPMs for longer periods of time. Hence my question.

I find it hard to beileve you even said that

In this age, you think the engine cannot take a 1200kms round trip over 2 days?

As Aditya already called out, there is an oil indicator on the instrument cluster that lights up in such events

Originally Posted by r_nairtvm

Have run my Bonney for 1,600 KMS (Salalah, Oman to Dubai) in 18 hours on a single day in July (which is peak summer in Middle East - over 42 Degs minimum) and oil level did not alter significantly enough to be noticed)

<< Shaking my head in disbelief>>

Woaah !! 1600kms in 18 hours in a single hot sunny day on a Bonnie? Were you attempting a guiness book of record or something like Bonneville set in the salt flats long long time ago?

Jokes asides, sounds like an interesting marathon trip Ram.

Can you please share more details about this trip with regards to how the Bonnie performed (likes/dislikes...etc)...Such anecdotes will surely add valueble inputs in terms of anticipation from a Bonnie during long road trips

[Scarlet_Rider]

Originally Posted by r_nairtvm

To give you an example of Bonneys tollerences.

Thanks Ram! This was the exact information I was looking for!

Originally Posted by mobike008

In this age, you think the engine cannot take a 1200kms round trip over 2 days?

I never doubted/mentioned that the engine cannot do a 1200 kms round trip in 2 days. Modern engines are well designed to keep revving all day! My query was regarding the engine oil consumption which Ram has answered with very good examples.

[mobike008]

Post my 1200kms ride to Bangalore and back, I noticed one small glitch.

As a matter of fact, noted this during my ride back itself

Horn was not working. It sounded very feeble. I thought maybe the effect of ignition switched on for long times with engine switched off (during breaks and while taking pictures) took some toll on the battery

This problem remained so I visited dealership on Monday for 3 reasons :-

1. They seemed not interested to collect the 1st service bill money (INR 6315) till date. Imagine paying this bill after almost 2 months and after me following up with them. Sweet of them, Isn't it?

2. Wanted to get the horn checked up. One of the service guys was heading out for the day and he simply pulled the horn which somehow got stuck to the structure of the bike and voila, horn is back to its usual self. Does anyone know any options for a better/louder sounding horn that can be fitted to the Bonnie?

3. Harsha Muvva (FZ1 Owner on forum) donated me with a couple of bar end mirrors and wanted to check if I can fit them. Since, I went it late in evening, they requested me to drop in during weekend so they can experiment and see if they can fit it.

I understand there is no need to tinker with handle bar but, will need some tinkering with bar mirrors to get them fitted



Adjustable flaps and looks pretty neat. Except that they are a bit smaller than stock ones

[Haroon]

Avi- On your horn query, like I had mentioned earlier, I had gone thru this a long time back and although some people may find a loud horn on a bike bizarre, from a touring point as well as for the Indian car/truck drivers behavior, I sincerely recommend a loud horn if you want to do some bit of touring. Firstly, a 'louder' horn is needed for our highway pedestrians as they have got immune to the normal feeble horns that dont bother them much. Secondly, in many cases car & truck guys simply fail to notice that a bike is around them, whereas when they get too close, one honk of loud horn will get their attention (mainly they feel another car is about to bump into them) and they actually get attentive. Ofcourse, even a nuclear blast wont affect the idiots driving & talking on cell phones.....

Coming to the OE horn, most probably its a single horn unit like all others, whereas all aftermarket horns are the dual unit type (hi & lo frequency). Therefore the current draw on a dual horn will be marginally higher. Hence in most cases its not a straight plug n play solution as you risk overheating your horn switch, fuse etc. The electricals are fairly simple and any good car electrician can do it. You have to basically run a direct wire from the battery positive terminal (thats the 'power source') to the horns. The wire from horn switch goes into a small 4-way relay (to be purchased separately or some aftermarket horns come with the relay). The existing wire of the OE horn also goes into the relay (thats the 'trigger source'). 2 wires to the new lo & hi horns also go into this relay.

My suggestions on a good aftermarket horn for bikes- Roots Vibromini. The Hella Supertone is also good but the red color stands out! OR the famous 'skoda sounding horn' which is basically made by Roots as well as Hella. While testing the horns, they all sound loud inside the shop. So ask them to take it to your car outside and try connecting to your battery and hear them out.

Happy honking

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by Haroon

Avi- On your horn query, like I had mentioned earlier, I had gone thru this a long time back and although some people may find a loud horn on a bike bizarre, from a touring point as well as for the Indian car/truck drivers behavior, I sincerely recommend a loud horn if you want to do some bit of touring. Firstly, a 'louder' horn is needed for our highway pedestrians as they have got immune to the normal feeble horns that dont bother them much. Secondly, in many cases car & truck guys simply fail to notice that a bike is around them, whereas when they get too close, one honk of loud horn will get their attention (mainly they feel another car is about to bump into them) and they actually get attentive. Ofcourse, even a nuclear blast wont affect the idiots driving & talking on cell phones.....

Haroon, what you have penned down is exactly my thoughts. Though Iam bit averse to using a horn as i find it quite insulting but, iam forced to use for the reasons you mentioned.

Infact, these days horn has become an important weapon for our own safety as there is an increasing amount of fellow road users who are perenially on phone, dreaming while driving or jay-walking

Louds horns on a motorcycle is akin to installing a indicator sound (Chim, chim, chim) signal on a Bullet. Blasphemy

I asked my service advisor of Bullet to install one during one of the service of my Classic 500. He gave me a look that froze me in my tracks...LOL

Originally Posted by Haroon

Therefore the current draw on a dual horn will be marginally higher. Hence in most cases its not a straight plug n play solution as you risk overheating your horn switch, fuse etc. The electricals are fairly simple and any good car electrician can do it. You have to basically run a direct wire from the battery positive terminal (thats the 'power source') to the horns. The wire from horn switch goes into a small 4-way relay (to be purchased separately or some aftermarket horns come with the relay). The existing wire of the OE horn also goes into the relay (thats the 'trigger source'). 2 wires to the new lo & hi horns also go into this relay.

Perfect, this is exactly the information that I was looking at. Will get a nice horn over the weekend as OE horn is neither feeble nor loud enough to be useful

Originally Posted by Haroon

My suggestions on a good aftermarket horn for bikes- Roots Vibromini. The Hella Supertone is also good but the red color stands out! OR the famous 'skoda sounding horn' which is basically made by Roots as well as Hella. While testing the horns, they all sound loud inside the shop. So ask them to take it to your car outside and try connecting to your battery and hear them out

Skoda Sounding Horn....I thought you live abroad? How are you familiar with this quintessetial terminogly for horn? infact, i have the skoda sounding horn on my car ( it is indeed the Roots vibronics)

I tested several of such horns for my car and settled for Roots because they arent too loud and neither are they subtle. Some are so expensive ( 3K and upwards) but, the Roots one cost around 750 bucks

[mobike008]

Its been raining heavily in Hyderabad from last couple of days and it rained quite a lot till late last night and we were not sure if we can do this ride

Everyone was on stand-by mode on whatsapp "If it rains heavily, we jump right back in bed" And " If its a light drizzle, we still ride but, for a shorter distance and perhaps return for a kheema kichidl breakfast at Paradise"

Thankfully, it was dry when we got up this morning but, there was a lovely chill in the air. Perfect for a ride

We rode on the Nagpur highway and this hotel Malgudi on highway was exactly 100kms from my doorstep. Iam begining to like this highway the best, as its filled with twisties and perfect to exploit Bonnie's primary skill.

Great variety of bikes and lovely varying style of riding. Ninja's, GT650, Bonnie and ofcourse, speed monster FZ-1

It was a fun morning !!!

The Ride



The Group

[

The Distance

[mobike008]

Just a simple query :-

I have completed 3,500kms and havent lubricated the chain of bike yet. From a visual glance the chain doesn't look dry to me

Last it was lubed was during its 1st service (800kms-Odo reading)

Any related risks of not lubricating the chain?

Since it comes just with a side stand, Iam being a tad too lazy of cleaning the chain and then lubing it

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by mobike008

I have completed 3,500kms and havent lubricated the chain of bike yet. From a visual glance the chain doesn't look dry to me. Last it was lubed was during its 1st service (800kms-Odo reading)

Any related risks of not lubricating the chain?

Avi, it is highly recommended to clean and lube the chain every 500-1000 kms. Also, it is best to get the chain slack checked and adjusted if required every 5k kms.

Open chains require more maintenance and not giving them the required attention will lead to the chain and sprockets wearing out a lot faster.

I clean and lube the chain on my Ninja every 500 kms whether it looks dry or not. The OE chain and sprocket set on my bike lasted me 30,000 kms while I know many others who changed it at 20,000 kms itself. Even the mechanic who works on my bike was surprised that the set lasted this long.

While only the sprockets required replacement, I changed the chain too since it will have uniform wear and tear.

With regular maintenance, you'll save a lot of money in the long run as these parts can be insanely expensive. Just to let you know, the OE Kawasaki chain and sprocket kit costs Rs. 16,000 and this does not include labor charges.

Also, it's highly recommended that you clean and lube the chain after a ride. The heat would have expanded the moving parts and the lube will penetrate the links more easily. Leave aside for at least a few hours before riding out again.

Avoid using diesel or such solvents to clean the chain as they break down the rubber bushes between the chain links. Use a chain cleaner and lube specifically designed for your bike or what the service center uses and recommends. I use Motul products for my bike and they work like a charm.

[Bluu]

I think you should lube it. The 390 has a 500km time frame for lubing. It's easy and quick.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by n_aditya

Avi, it is highly recommended to clean and lube the chain every 500-1000 kms. Also, it is best to get the chain slack checked and adjusted if required every 5k kms.

Nice. Thanks for this info. So this means, I visit the dealership and get the chain tightened in another 1500kms

Originally Posted by n_aditya

With regular maintenance, you'll save a lot of money in the long run as these parts can be insanely expensive. Just to let you know, the OE Kawasaki chain and sprocket kit costs Rs. 16,000 and this does not include labor charges.

This is an eye opener. Now I should stop being lazy and get down and make my hands dirty to clean and lube the chain if i want to save some real bucks. Will do it over the week

Any guidance on cleaning and lubing a bike with JUST a side-stand? Also please share the name of the chain cleaner and lubricating products and will the same MOTUL products hold good for the Bonnie as well?