[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by NPV

Also, will it be possible to upgrade this to a more powerful bulb without any additions/modifications in the electrical circuit ?

You can try Osram Rallye HS1 (45/40W). Amazon Link

I have this bulb on my Activa 125. Decent output from the bulb and no modification needed (Link to post).

[NPV]

Headlamp Update:
Replaced the stock bulb since the low beam had given up.

Thanks to @a4anurag, bought the Osram HS1 12V 45/40W, price Rs.135 on Amazon (=MRP on product packaging)

Had never changed the headlamp bulb on a scooter myself, so gave it a shot after watching some videos
Had to remove the mirrors before the Headlamp front cowl could be removed easily. It's working now, but since I changed it during the day, haven't yet seen if and how much better the light intensity is in the night compared to the stock one.

New headlamp - Osram Rallye HS1 12V 45/40W






Outgoing Stock/OEM headlamp - Philips HS1 12V 35/35W

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by NPV

It's working now, but since I changed it during the day, haven't yet seen if and how much better the light intensity is in the night compared to the stock one.

How is the light output compared to stock 35/35W? Are you finding any difference?

Can you post some images showing the light output?! Thanks in advance sir.

[NPV]

It's time for an engine oil replacement so I went to the regular HP COCO bunk and could not find the HP Racer 4 Skutex (10w30 JASO MB) oil that I've been using, they said it's out of stock. On my way back from work I tried at the Shell outlet and they did not have the Shell Advance AT AX5 Scooter (10w30) engine oil which is also an equivalent one though I haven't tried it in the past.
Strangely, both HP and Shell had 10w40 oils for motorcycles in stock, hope the 10w30 isn't being phased out ?

Originally Posted by a4anurag

How is the light output compared to stock 35/35W? Are you finding any difference?

Sorry for the delayed response.
I still haven't been able to take the scooter out in the evening or night to see the light output.

[turbodude]

I changed the engine oil of our Honda Aviator to Bharat Petroleum special MAK 4T Scootech NXT this weekend. Our city Bharat Petroleum pump, Roshan Auto was giving it at MRP 334/- and without any labour charges.

I supervised entire process as I only trust authorized service centers and FNG to change the oil behind my back. The guy smoothly removed the screw and old oil, used a machine to remove remains too.

After cleaning the old oil residue, he gently pulled out a new bottle and filled the oil, tightened the cap, tightened the screw again a bit and I was ready to go.

I started the scooter and immediately felt the smoothness. Scooter was happily idling. I drove for a kilometer and immediately noticed the smoothness of engine.

Haven't tested the fuel economy yet and will post it once checked.

[NPV]

Last couple of weekends have been unusually busy with minor issues like headlamp and instrument cluster light failing, finding the right grade of engine oil and buying over the counter spares for the Aviator!

Headlamp:
After the stock headlamp's High beam failed, it was replaced with Osram 45/40 and after testing that the lamp's beams worked fine, I'd never actually had a chance to take it out in the evening and test the light output. When I actually took it out that weekend evening, hardly 50m outside the home, the Low beam stopped working while the scooter was on the move. Stopped and headed back home immediately. I also noticed that the instrument cluster lamp was also not working.

Engine Oil:
The last 2 years or so, the Aviator was running on HP Racer 4 Skutex 10W30 JASO MB Engine oil that was easily available at a nearby HP outlet and I was quite happy with the peppiness of the engine and FE when using this oil. Cut to this month and they'd run out of stock of this and weren't sure when they'd receive new stock. Strangely, they had 10W40 & 20W40 oils but these were in 900ml and 1 Litre cans. I decided not to get these as the recommended engine oil is 10W30 JASO MB. Looked around at several HP pumps in a 5-7Km radius and it was the same story, the 800ml cans for scooters and specifically 10W30 grade wasn't available. I tried at Shell pumps nearby to see if they had Shell Advance AX 5 10W30 oil and it was a similar story, they had only 10W40 and 20W40 oils.
Looked up online and found that Motul Scooter LE 10W30, Servo Scootomatic 10W-30 and Castrol Activ Scooter 10W-30 were available so these were really my options.

Service:
I was also looking for a reliable FNG to get the scooter serviced and also since it had 12,000+ Km on the Odo, I wanted to replace brake cables, brake shoes, accelerator cable, spark plug. When looking for the engine oil at the Shell outlet near Basava Nagar, I stopped by at the nearby N S Bike Zone that was recommended by a friend. I told them that I'd visit in a week or two for the service and will also get the parts myself (they also mentioned they can get the parts from Honda authorized dealers too, but since it was the first time I decided to get them myself).

Spares:
I headed to the nearby Haiku Honda outlet from where I'd bought the Aviator (this outlet is now called VFM Honda). Surpise - guess what, they refused to sell spares over the counter, apparently a recent decision by their management. When I probed further, they said some Audit was in progress and hence no spares sales.
I then looked up nearby Honda outlets and found one in Cox Town, so headed there and bought most of the stuff except the cables that weren't in stock, so they placed an order for the same. I was told it will take about 3-4 days to receive them. I also decided to get the Honda Genuine Oil 10W30 JASO MB (Tide Water Oil company manufactured).

So, finally it seemed like I was all set to get the scooter serviced soon.

[mvadg]

Originally Posted by NPV

Last couple of weekends have been unusually busy with minor issues like headlamp and instrument cluster light failing, finding the right grade of engine oil and buying over the counter spares for the Aviator!

Headlamp:
After the stock headlamp's High beam failed, it was replaced with Osram 45/40 and after testing that the lamp's beams worked fine, I'd never actually had a chance to take it out in the evening and test the light output. When I actually took it out that weekend evening, hardly 50m outside the home, the Low beam stopped working while the scooter was on the move. Stopped and headed back home immediately. I also noticed that the instrument cluster lamp was also not working...

.

Check your regulator and replace. This is most likely why the bulbs blew. Do it asap before some other expensive part goes kaput. I had a similar problem with my Kinetic a long time ago.

[NPV]

Service Update: (Odo:12,600Km)
As you can see from my ownership thread, after the free services at the Honda Authorised dealer workshops I had just one "general service" done at a local FNG, otherwise I just had the engine oil replacement done regularly and it was mostly at the HP petrol pump from where I was buying the engine oil. Now, since it was 4 years and well past the 10k Km mark, I wanted to get the brake & throttle cables, brake shoes, Air filters and spark plug replaced along with engine oil.
I bought the parts & engine oil from the Honda dealer City Honda in Cox Town and the cables were picked up from their other branch at Rammurthy Nagar.

I then headed to N S Bike Zone with the parts and the entire "service" was done in my presence in a span of 3 hours to my satisfaction

I was suspecting the wiring or high/low beam control switch to be the culprit causing the headlamp and instrument cluster light issue, so to test this, we now had 2 headlamp bulbs one with Low beam working and the other with High beam working. Fixed one of them and within a couple of toggles of the Beam switch, the bulb burnt the working filament as well. Repeated with the other bulb and same result. Damn, next the brake lamp conked off. Now, the mechanics were sure the culprit was the RR unit (Regulator Rectifier). Luckily, they had the Honda Genuine part in stock with them since it seems it's quite a common problem in the Honda scooters. Also had the Brake lamp, instrument cluster bulb and headlamp (back to Philips 35/35W now!) replaced.

The vehicle is now like a brand new one once again!
I can definitely feel that the engine tone with the Honda oil is much more subdued as compared to the HP Racer 4 Skutex I was using earlier (with the HP oil, (it had a very mild grunt to it). Also, the peppiness is a notch lower too, will keep an eye on the FE during the next few fuel refills.

Here's the list of major stuff replaced:

Originally Posted by mvadg

Check your regulator and replace. This is most likely why the bulbs blew. Do it asap before some other expensive part goes kaput. I had a similar problem with my Kinetic a long time ago.

Thanks, you were spot on with the diagnosis The mechanic identified it too and we had it replaced during the service yesterday, see update in this post.

[self_driven]

Originally Posted by NPV

Service Update.

How much does the RR unit cost? I am also facing a similar issue with my Aviator. Brake light goes kaput. I've replaced the bulb 3 times this year.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by self_driven

How much does the RR unit cost? I am also facing a similar issue with my Aviator. Brake light goes kaput. I've replaced the bulb 3 times this year.

If I remember correctly, the mechanic charged me Rs.300, but I think it costs around Rs.225. Should be available at any of the dealer service centres that sell parts over the counter.

[Bhatia.D17]

Sorry for posting in this thread but I couldn't find an active thread for the same.

I have a 20,000 kms run Aviator and looking for a tire change.
My daily commute includes a 30km round trip.
Any suggestions regarding the choice of brand.

Thanks in advance.

[Rshrey22]

Originally Posted by Bhatia.D17

Sorry for posting in this thread but I couldn't find an active thread for the same.

I have a 20,000 kms run Aviator and looking for a tire change.
My daily commute includes a 30km round trip.
Any suggestions regarding the choice of brand.

Thanks in advance.

Standard MRF Zappers will work just fine.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by Bhatia.D17

I have a 20,000 kms run Aviator and looking for a tire change.
My daily commute includes a 30km round trip.
Any suggestions regarding the choice of brand.
.

Michelin City pro. I will swear by it for its grip on both wet and dry surfaces. Compared to this the wet grip of the Zapper was very bad. Its good for dry tarmac only.

[Rshrey22]

Originally Posted by audioholic

Michelin City pro. I will swear by it for its grip on both wet and dry surfaces. Compared to this the wet grip of the Zapper was very bad. Its good for dry tarmac only.

I beg to differ on this! In delhi, during monsoons, the conditions of roads become very bad and very slippery.
I am able to carry 60kmph speeds, manoeuvre through traffic and even do hard braking without any hesitation under wet conditions.

As per my experience Zappers work just fine.

[NPV]

The Aviator is still running on the stock TVS Conta 350M tyres:
Rear : 90/100-10 53J
Front : 90/90-12 54J

In the last couple of weeks, the rear tyre lost pressure twice. First time, it happened the same evening after a top of air at the nearby petrol bunk, so I suspected it wasn't done properly and topped it up using my car tyre inflator powered up from the 12V socket of the car.

After 4-5 days, the rear tyre had low pressure again, but not completely flat. This time I took it to a puncture repair outlet and after spraying soap water we found that there was a leak next to an older puncture that had been fixed. It was a tiny leak and hence it explained why there was a slow, gradual loss of air over 4-5 days.

Originally Posted by turbodude

We have replaced her Aviator tyres with Apollo now. Ride quality has improved and so does the stability. After inspecting the old tyres, we found that rear tyre (already had 2 punctures, both repaired by me ) has been deformed and out of shape at a point.

Found something similar - there are tiny, horizontal hairline cracks and tiny bulges and the tyre is deforming.

Can you share more details of the Apollo tyre model that you replaced the stock tyres with ?

Originally Posted by NPV

I think you did a good thing by replacing the TVS tyres. The tread pattern itself looks quite funky/designer type, but hasn't deformed so far, but in about a year I will be changing them.

Though I'd said this back in 2017, I never got around to actually replacing the tyres, and they're almost 5 years old so I will not delay it anymore.

Originally Posted by turbodude

I had recently changed both tyres to Apollo and the performance is truly amazing. Stability of the vehicle is now rock solid and braking has been improved quite a lot. Apollo tyres are highly recommended over TVS stock tyres. TVS tyres become rock hard in 2 years and cause back pain.

Very true, the tyres are hard now and the ride quality has become bad.

Did look at the Apollo tyre at a puncture shop but wasn't sure if that's the best (CEAT also looked good and tad expensive).

Originally Posted by Bhatia.D17

I have a 20,000 kms run Aviator and looking for a tire change.
My daily commute includes a 30km round trip.
Any suggestions regarding the choice of brand.

What tyres did you buy to replace the stock ones ?

Originally Posted by audioholic

Michelin City pro. I will swear by it for its grip on both wet and dry surfaces. Compared to this the wet grip of the Zapper was very bad. Its good for dry tarmac only.

Any more details on the tyres ? Are there different tread patterns/tyre quality in the same size to choose from ?
Should I consider any other tyre that will be good on dry and wet conditions ? (We do get a lot of rain in Bangalore).

The front tyre seems to be fine for now, but since it is 5+ years old, I'm thinking of getting that changed as well, any comments ?

From the posts on this thread, my shortlist is:
Apollo (model ?)
MRF Zapper
Michelin City Pro
CEAT Milaze (Saw this at the puncture repair shop, seemed to be good)

EDIT:
Confused after looking at some of tyre tread patterns of various brands/models!

The stock TVS tyres have a "plant stem/vine" kind of tread pattern with lot of flat, plain surface. I guess such tyres are more vulnerable to punctures from nails and other sharp objects on our roads ? I also found that CEAT Zoom and MRF Zapper have similar tread patterns.

The CEAT Milaza and Apollo (don't remember the model) had button kind of tread pattern that looks quite robust. Are these better for road grip and lesser vulnerability to punctures ?

The Michelin City Pro & Apollo Actizip have kind of a V shaped pattern (like older scooter tyres that I can remember from the 90's).

Will be nice to get your feedback on these queries