[ebonho]

Originally Posted by sridhu

@ashkamath: Cool report man. THat curve thing sounds scary!

Basic question: Do you use a full face helmet? If so, how do you use the hydration pack on the road? (I have the same pack). Could not figure it out; so took it off!

Please enlighten.

Thanks.

You first reduce sppeed (after checking your mirrors), then slip the pipe mouthpiece from under the chin of the helmet, and then wiggle it and your lips around till both meet and you have a fix. Then you get your hand back to the handlebars and at a reduced speed sip in peace.

Of course this is easier with a bite valve like in the Camelbak. In some you have to push it against your teeth to release the flow. Would be difficult then.

[nasirkaka]

I was thankfully warned by the service advisor that I should get a tank pad. He had a few tankpads starting at Rs.900. Since my 390 was new, felt like I should pamper her and went for the KTM powerparts one which was around Rs.2000.

Another option for tank pad is to use a 3M PPF. costs only 600rs. Covers that entire area. Its thin and strong against scratches. and its transparent, so after application, you cant make out if anything extra is there atall.
IN Bangalore autoservice at banashankri do them.

[ashkamath]

Originally Posted by ebonho

You first reduce sppeed (after checking your mirrors), then slip the pipe mouthpiece from under the chin of the helmet, and then wiggle it and your lips around till both meet and you have a fix. Then you get your hand back to the handlebars and at a reduced speed sip in peace.

Of course this is easier with a bite valve like in the Camelbak. In some you have to push it against your teeth to release the flow. Would be difficult then.

Yup Ebonho is right. The mouth piece pipe extends upto my mouth underneath the helmet and perfectly fits in. There is a locking mechanism with open / close slider on the output bite valve. So if the slider button is open then the output valve should be in mouth else the liquid tends to flow out and you suck the liquid in through the bite valve, else you slide the slider close if you just want it to hang around your shoulder.

However to be honest I never tried it in its intended position as my jacket zipper got open right in the initial stage of the ride and I had to wear the hydration pack in front of me (as is visible in the pic) and so had to stop the bike as the pipe wouldn't reach my mouth in that position. will try it out soon for a local ride this week end.

@ Sridhu: we are of the similar generation that I am 50 year old now and biking has been a passion since quite a long time. I am more of a tourer with Goan sossegado attitude, suits me fine

[sanmeet]

I had booked a 390 from Kanjurmarg a month back but I am relocating to Noida in 10 days. I asked the dealership if I can get the delivery in Noida instead but they said that it is not possible. If there is anyone in Mumbai and in a hurry to lay his hands on a 390, he can PM me. I can request the dealer to transfer the booking to your name as I would now be buying the same from Noida. I can save the cancellation fee of Rs 5000/- this way!

[Dr.Awesomeness]

Originally Posted by sridhu

Thank goodness that you are fine & did not take spill. Money can be earned.

Around the same time couple of kids in my wife's office ran into a parked water tanker. One died & other is critical.

So a cracked rim is probably just fine. Could have been much worse.

Originally Posted by VW2010

Thank your favorite stars for keeping it down with a broken rim. My cardinal rule ....

- Always know your roads before pushing your luck
- Never trail any car that close for you can hardly guess what the car is going over. Keep yourself a neat distance away from the car/truck/bus in front of you to react for such emergencies.
- Only when i know the roads by heart i may even think of trailing a car.
- Even when trailing i try to stick to the tyres path and not the centre path. Most of the drivers try to pass on the bad patch under the chasis.

Hi guys, thanks for the kind words of reassurance. Sorry for the delayed response, was caught up with work. I have got the bike back after the rear rim replacement. She rides well, no hint of a major part replacement evident. I've the pictures of the damaged rim attached, but was not able to get a pic of the pothole, but will try to get one during the weekend. A very sudden change of attitude at the New India Assurance team, they were very courteous and fast with getting the survey done. So the overall experience did indeed end on a positive note. Final bill amount is Rs 4995/-, have to submit the bill to the insurer and get a reimbursement. I hope I get the same improved level of service.

With regards to the service level and quality at Khivraj, they just do what they feel needs to be done. I had mentioned about the speedometer vibration to the tech, but that was not looked into. So I give Khivraj a measly 1 out of 5 for their support and service.

Does any of your bikes have the issues with speedometer which sends a high frequency vibration between 3k and 5k RPM?

[Added_flavor]

Ouch that's a BIG impact! Glad you are safe. Btw, is Rs. 4995 the cost of the wheel?

Originally Posted by Dr.Awesomeness

Does any of your bikes have the issues with speedometer which sends a high frequency vibration between 3k and 5k RPM?

Check the 4 rivets on either sides of the headlight dome. If these have fallen off or have been pushed in to their unlock position, you get to hear vibrations.

[Dr.Awesomeness]

Originally Posted by Added_flavor

Ouch that's a BIG impact! Glad you are safe. Btw, is Rs. 4995 the cost of the wheel?

Check the 4 rivets on either sides of the headlight dome. If these have fallen off or have been pushed in to their unlock position, you get to hear vibrations.

The bill is including the estimate and labor charges. Here follows the break-up of the bill.

Rear Rim - 4377.00/-
Estimate charges - 169.54/-
Labor - 449.44/-
Total - 4994.98/ -

I'll check the rivets, but i feel its the speedometer, when i hold the unit down the vibes stop. Anyways thanks for the tip, will check it out later in the day and keep you posted.

[ashkamath]

Originally Posted by VW2010

Thank your favorite stars for keeping it down with a broken rim. My cardinal rule ....

- Always know your roads before pushing your luck
- Never trail any car that close for you can hardly guess what the car is going over. Keep yourself a neat distance away from the car/truck/bus in front of you to react for such emergencies.
- Only when i know the roads by heart i may even think of trailing a car.
- Even when trailing i try to stick to the tyres path and not the centre path. Most of the drivers try to pass on the bad patch under the chasis.

I have this nasty habit of trailing cars on the highway only during night. I just spot a car moving at the speed ( say 80 Kmph) which is comfortable to me and bang.. I start trailing the car. It helps me in reduced stress during the ride as all stress is taken by the car driver. I concentrate on the tail lamps, keep a safe distance of 15-20 Mtrs and keep up the speed. After going through the posts I have started to stick to the left tyre path of the car, so that I am clear of bad patches and also there is an exit if the car suddenly brakes too.

I keep my headlight low beam during tailing as I have seen the driver gets distracted by the high beam over a period of time and he tries to drive faster to break up or tries to allow me to pass over. But tailing at a safe distance reduces the riding strain to a great extent. I keep a steady gaze on the way the car is behaving and if i sight any undulations or heavy braking, I am fully alert about some impending obstruction or bad patch on the road ( yup a pot hole between the tyres of the car is one thing I would not be aware of, but keeping to the left tyre line, I guess it is covered too)

This is a deep rooted habit since many years and difficult to change, but from safety point of view, I think I must make a concerted effort to consciously control my instincts and do away with this sort of riding

[FlyingSpur]

Originally Posted by Dr.Awesomeness

Does any of your bikes have the issues with speedometer which sends a high frequency vibration between 3k and 5k RPM?

On my bike, it's also complemented by the enjoyable symphony of a relentless buzzing sound

[sridhu]

Basic questions : what key chain do you folks have? Is it metallic?


Is the chain lubed well - this one caught me by surprise coming from covered chains.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by ashkamath

I have this nasty habit of trailing cars on the highway only during night. I just spot a car moving at the speed ( say 80 Kmph) which is comfortable to me and bang.. I start trailing the car. It helps me in reduced stress during the ride as all stress is taken by the car driver. I concentrate on the tail lamps, keep a safe distance of 15-20 Mtrs and keep up the speed. After going through the posts I have started to stick to the left tyre path of the car, so that I am clear of bad patches and also there is an exit if the car suddenly brakes too.

I keep my headlight low beam during tailing as I have seen the driver gets distracted by the high beam over a period of time and he tries to drive faster to break up or tries to allow me to pass over. But tailing at a safe distance reduces the riding strain to a great extent. I keep a steady gaze on the way the car is behaving and if i sight any undulations or heavy braking, I am fully alert about some impending obstruction or bad patch on the road ( yup a pot hole between the tyres of the car is one thing I would not be aware of, but keeping to the left tyre line, I guess it is covered too)

This is a deep rooted habit since many years and difficult to change, but from safety point of view, I think I must make a concerted effort to consciously control my instincts and do away with this sort of riding

Ashok its not only you. This is a common tactic used by many touring guys who ride at night, especially on stretches with sparse traffic, with big-gish gaps in civilization. Just make sure you are not tailgating him, dont be so in line with his tyre track that your headlight, even on low beam, irritates him in his ORVM (a moving light, even if not blinding you, is a "target" in your peripheral vision, and hence irritating), and most importantly, don't fixate on his tail lights, but look beyond, so that you can anticipate the traffic and road and his next move. Of course, having ridden with you a long long time ago (in our Pulsar days), you will appreciate this is more for public consumption than for you specifically.

[VW2010]

Basic questions : what key chain do you folks have? Is it metallic?

A cheap ebay based rubber key chain that says KTM. This lock design to me is awkward. Taking the key ou required the key chain to be secured outside the handle bar and then working on the keys.

Any cloth based(like the sports fan key chain of football clubs) or a simpler rubber based key chains suit them.

The chain is making noise to me as well. Want to pick up those lubes. ANy idea if Bajaj carries them??

[Jaycee]

Originally Posted by Dr.Awesomeness

With regards to the service level and quality at Khivraj, they just do what they feel needs to be done. I had mentioned about the speedometer vibration to the tech, but that was not looked into. So I give Khivraj a measly 1 out of 5 for their support and service.

Khivraj Service at Indiranagar is extremely ordinary to say the least. The Service Manager Harsha simply doesn't care about customer service and to make matter worse he is super rude. I went there for my first service and found them to be mighty unimpressive. I would recommend going to the Kasturba road service center. Mr. Ravi is the service manager there and is very co-operative (This is what I have been told). From next service onwards, I'll go to Kasturba road only.

[black12rr]

Originally Posted by ashkamath

I have this nasty habit of trailing cars on the highway only during night.

Ashok , good to you see you back on bike after Eliminator days .

OT: Even more dangerous habit is to tag volvo buses and to watch a movie running inside the tagging car .

[am1m]

Originally Posted by Jaycee

Khivraj Service at Indiranagar is extremely ordinary to say the least.

Agree. I've had very sub-par service experiences there with my Pulsar, stopped going there now. Those guys are just trying to get through as many bikes as possible in a day by doing the very basic that's required. Trying to get something specific corrected is very, very time-consuming and frustrating.

But I thought the Kawasakis and the KTMs were supposed to be serviced at the 'exclusive ProBiking outlets' or some such jazz? Or is my info outdated and these bikes are being handled at the normal Bajaj service center? That's a big negative, in my book.