The trioka of achieving higher speed: power, wind and weight

The phase of speed beyond a certain normal speed range and sometimes what your machine gives you in terms of a super acceleration in a certain range is exhilarating, surprising,  awesome and a little scared. The acceleration beyond 75 km/hr upto 95 km/hr or so without full throttle is amazing. Beyond that, going full throttle is usually a necessity on the peripheral roads of cities as they are never enough to slowly increase speed towards and beyond 100 km/hr.

There are 3 main forces at play at speeds above 95km/hr: wind/wind speed and its direction, weight (of the bike and the riders on it) and the power of the engine (juice to go each and every extra kmph).

Stillness of air is usually the best scenario for achieving high speeds as wind from an angle or blowing at your body makes it difficult to maintain balance of the bike. A higher weight of/on the bike is definitely a good counterbalance to overcome wind along with not wearing a jacket (they are usually not body-hugging and are not aerodynamic and wind can enter from the hands and bloats the jacket further offering air resistance and allowing the wind to play havoc to the balance the rider is trying to achieve). A higher body or bike weight negatively affects the speed capacity as the bike now has to lug out the extra weight and will deter the achievement of higher speeds. The other way to put it is that the power/weight ratio of the bike is reduced.

Based on this analogy, there is usually an equilibrium top speed that can be achieved and maintained under each circumstance defined by the variables wind speed and direction, power and weight of the bike and riders combined.

It is upto each rider to realise the 3 forces at play and not to overreach speed and endanger lives.

Cheers to safe and speedy riding!
P.S: Just achieved a new high speed of 112km/hr with a pillion rider on my Apache 180 ABS :)
Could have achieved a little more but restricted myself :)

Why are bike reviews pathetic?

Every auto magazine seems to write a review of the new bike. But/yet,

1. They don't talk about after sales service in various cities.

2. They don't talk how the mileage changes after the first and second servicing.

3. They don't give the height of the seat.

4. They don't give the braking distance from 60kmph to dead halt (under standard conditions)

5. They don't talk about availability of spare parts and their costs vis-a-vis competitors.

6. They don't talk about maintenance needs of the bike and its associated costs. Some bikes need special oil and are costly.

7. Not all, even give the time needed to go from 0 to 60 kmph.

8. They don't talk about emissions vis-a-vis peers.

9. As a matter of fact, after the first review of the bike, there is hardly any follow up review done with inputs from the buyers/users to get real feedback on the bikes.

One of the best advices the magazines can give based on their "knowledge" of the industry is the how much do the spares and maintenance does the bike need compared to its peers. But, no kind of real knowledge comes from the review which help in decision making while buying the bike. Instead, each of them is off showcasing how erotic literature can be used to describe biking and the bike.

Companies on the other hand, put out info which is rather non-useful. Eg: Max torque and Max Power, Carbureter, Bore x Stroke, none of which is useful to the layman/normal user. What makes sense is the graph of the torque achieved across all rpm to see if the torque is good at low rpms (preferably vis-a-vis competitors) and graph of power achieved across all rpm.

ABS required on Indian bikes

Disk brakes are not useful on bikes unless the bike it is accompanied with ABS(Anti-Lock Braking System). The sudden and powerful use of disc brake to prevent a collision causes the tyre to lock and the reduced traction between the tyre and the surface along with the forward momentum the bike has, causes the bike to skid. If the bike is not brought into control and stabilised in a fraction of a second, the bike loses control and you have gone skidding right into the thing you were trying to avoid skidding into. Else, you have skidded into something else.

When will ABS be available on Indian Bikes?

Next pending innovation in the Indian Bike market!!!

Update April 2011: Honda is launching its CBR250R with CBS(combined braking system) and ABS(anti-lock braking system). CBS controls the ratio of the brake torque applied in the front & the back wheel for best braking without losing control.

All about the 'G's

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/motorsport/7681665/Formula-One-drivers-feel-the-G-force.html

An excellent article on "g forces".

Did you know that you create 3g s in a sneeze?

A good date

I knew my day would come again. I was waiting for this day for a long time now. Finally it came today. I got a chance to go out with her. I heard about her in the evening and I instantly knew she was the one. Almost perfect. Exactly what I wanted. But I had been with one perfect one some time ago. Memories started coming back about how nice, enjoyable and hard times we had with one another. But that relationship had ended. This was different. Different place, different situation and a new chemistry. And it all began. Took me some initial time to get to know her. She was very enthusiastic, more than what I had expected. I soon got to understand her talk and her ways. The chemistry developed...slowly but steadily. We travelled far and long on the highway to go to a restaurant. After completing dinner, it was well past 10.15pm and we started back on a dark road and we travelled through the cold breeze at good speed back to our place. Indeed, had an amazing day. Wish I get to go out with her more often and spend more time with her.

Such is irony

When one feels alone being in a crowd of known people.

When your mind finds peace while riding on a bike at a good speed.

When you have all the money you want, but have no happiness.

When you have been running all your life and still find yourself stuck in a spider web unable to be free.

Sbarro Aero

A motorcycle of the Sbarro Aero brand by Italian born designer Franco Sbarro is presented on November 13, 2008 to promote the Essen Motor Show on the fair grounds in Essen, western Germany. During the motor sport fair running from November 29 to December 7, 2008, around 500 exhibitors from 19 countries will present their latest products. (AFP/Getty Images, / November 13, 2008)

Grand theft auto (accident)

One of the strangest places to get robbed off in daylight when you are in a hapless, confused, angry, victimised situation in India is after meeting with an accident on the road. I have been witness to this in both the third person and in the first person. Sad, but true. The first involved a girl on a two-wheeler being hit and run by a guy on a kinetic honda at one of the most accident prone junctions in Bangalore - The Sajjan Rao circle. Thankfully the girl had just got a few bruises and a bit confused, and totally concious. While I was the first person to reach the accident spot and help her and got some ice from the very helpful GangaSagar shop. After all the commotion, when the lady asked where her purse was, it was missing. (Read Stolen)

When I had met with an accident myself hitting a 10th std boy crossing a road busy eating chips without looking at vehicles crossing the road, wise fromn the above experience, wanted to avoid the same situation. As soon as we got up, the first thing I wanted were my bike keys and my earphones. Good, but not great. I had removed my helmet and kept it on my bike while recovering and later when all the dust got settled and the boy's mom came and the next steps decided and I planned to lock my bike with the helmet in the parking lot, the helmet was missing. Wow.....! I couldn't do much as there was a boy crying (due to the pain or the shock, I don't know) and there are always some people thinking that somehow the fault is the two-wheeler's and I did not want to give too much emphasis to the helmet compared to the boy. Helmet Swaahaa.....

Goodbye, my dear.

After a decently long relationship of 3 years 8 months after buying my bike, I sold it yesterday. During the last three or more years, this has been one of those very few things that has given me a constant peace of mind, nice pleasure and very rarely some anxious times. During the last few years, biking has been a constant stress reliever, inspiration and a thought generator for me. It allowed me to be alone in a crowd and think while listening to good music while riding. Some of my deepest thoughts and ideas have come to my mind while I was riding on my bike. At times, it has been real fun and at times, interesting and challenging. I have some very memorable rides & falls on my bike. The most memorable ride for me was the trip to WonderLa (an amusement park on Mysore road highway). I reached a top speed of 96km/hr and on the way overtook a Mitshubishi Lancer many a time. It was in this car that my friends were travelling and it was one very scary view for them. It seems that the end of my pant was flutttering with a very high frequency. Well, how would I know? I was concentrating on the road. The other memorable rides to me are the rides in the rains, especially heavy rains :-). While most of them are shit-scared of riding a bike in the rain, I used to ride whatever the time, whatever the conditions. I used to see that "Shower and hail dont break my plans for the day". It is really quite a challenge riding in the rain in a safe way. The best part of riding in the rain was that the traffic would subside once it starts raining as almost all the bikes come to a standstill. I love using this contra-logic for my benefit. I have had my share of falls and frankly speaking it has been a very good learning experience each time I fell. Out of the 4 falls I have had, I got a scrathes only once. That is how good my bike was designed for safety. 1 skid while testing the bike's braking power, 1 skid while braking on sand, 1 slip on an oil slick and one fall after colliding with a 10th standard kid(I got hurt in this one - a little skin peeled on my knee and elbow as I fell out of my bike and because of the impact with the ground, thats all). My bike has been my lifeline in Bangalore for these years and I would not have been able to do even one tenth of all I have done in the last 3-4 years without my bike. Life is going to be quite difficult and different without my bike.

Statistics: Bike: Bajaj CT100 DLX, Oct 2004.

Top speed Reached while riding alone: 96km/hr on Bangalore Mysore road.

Top speed Reached (doubles): 81km/hr on Bangalore outer ring road.

Falls from Bike: 4

Number of times injured: 1

Number of times police has towed my bike: 1

Number of times fines paid: 5 (3 times travelling the wrong way on one way roads +1 parking on zebra crossing + 1 parking outside the parking line)

Rain riding

There are a few exciting water sports one can engage in beyond the water parks like fun world, Wonder La that are more natural. One of them is riding pretty fast on a wide empty stretch of road when it is raining heavily and there are heavy winds. The feeling is just well, awesome!!!! With the visor of the helmet open, and all the big drops of water coming at an angle and hitting the lower part of the face at a high speed (due to the relative velocity of the bike and the wind), it feels like sharp small objects being thrown at your face at high speeds. Initially this hurts a bit and after some time, your face becomes numb and you can actually enjoy the hits on your face. So the next time it rains, stop cribbing, wear your raincoat, put on your helmet, start your bike, zap the road and enjoy the experience.

Life aKa Biker

Imagine you being created in this world and given a bike in the world of infinite roads, tunnels, bridges and various places. You learn to ride this bike as early as possible. But then, you don’t know where to go, what to do and the only thing you know is you want to reach a place, a destination where you will find eternal happiness. This my dear, is life. You are born to be a biker. All the time at home in your early years, you learn to ride a bike. Education teaches you about the rules with which you ride your bike more responsibly for the safety of others and yourself. College tells you about the infinite roads and places that exist. Then you start your long journey in search of that elusive, unknown place called destination. You go through some slopes, some difficult terrain, have a few punctures travelling in search of even you don’t know what. You will find similar confused people on the roads you travel and they may tell you that they are taking the a wider more cleaner looking road as it seems important. You either follow them or tell thank you and take another route based on your gut feeling. You will find yourself on bridges looking down on certain people below the bridge asking you how to reach the top of the bridge, and a familiar nostalgic feeling that tingles in your head remembering "I too was there doing the same". In this process of travelling, you will find places where you can upgrade your bike with a better higher capacity engine which will in turn let you travel faster, or even a nitro shock absorber which will give you a smoother ride on rough roads, or a better griping tyres for that tight turn you may have to take when you suddenly see a sign board to a place you want to go through. All these better parts are like the qualifications you may need to get to some places you otherwise will not get to see with the otherwise slow or incapable bike. They of course do not guarantee you anything but you will obviously be at an advantage as you will be able to go to more places and visit them and check whether that place is where you want to be(your destination). As you travel, you will learn to expect certain things noticing certain signs. If you know there is always regular garbage on the sidewalk you can expect to see a dog crossing the road as you are travelling fast on that road. So you will look around more carefully for those dogs and slow down a bit on that stretch. Likewise you may notice people zooming from a side and may learn to be more careful while switching lanes by using the rear-view mirror. You will of course go through some potholes and in all this travelling if you come across the same road you will dodge it successfully. If you observe a little more carefully, you will find the problems others are facing and how they overcome the same. This is by far the best learning because you have learnt from others experiences. As you zoom across a main highway you may see tens of cuttings while there may actually be a lot more which you have missed seeing because you have been travelling so fast or have not bothered to look at it or have been so focussed to going to the end of that road to see what is there, while the truth of the matter is that you may find a nice place at the end of that road or just that the road never ends, but leads you to other roads. It is for you decide where you want to go, which way to take, when to slow down and enjoy the view and the pleasure of riding, take a break, relax, which place to like and consider it as destination. So go ahead and ride well to find your destination and hopefully find it, while I am still searching for the path that leads to the place I know is my destination.