Sigh!
It's been over a month since any update has been posted. that's because I haven't been able to ride at all. All thanks to the 2nd wave and the fresh round of lockdowns that are going on.
Is it just me or is the 2nd wave of lockdowns more mentally taxing than the first one? I feel a bit guilty about complaining because in reality, what I am facing is nothing but a mild inconvenience compared to what many other people have been facing. It's important to acknowledge that and I am thankful that my family members are vaccinated, safe, and I am still able to be with them.
Well, getting back to the topic not much has been going around. Similar to the first lockdown the bikes have been getting the routine startups and moving around to avoid flat spots on the tyres and refilling air from time to time to keep the tyres in good shape.
Another thing I wanted to update here is about the OEM parts availability. Some things have changed, unfortunately. Usually, any parts ordered used to reach me within a week or two. But now the situation is much worse.
Last time I had ordered quite a few numbers of parts for the bike but they are yet to reach. I had placed an order on Dec 21st of 2020 and apparently, they refused to take in my order stating some silly reasons and said that orders will be processed or accepted only after the 1st of April 2021(New fiscal year), I think this has to do with the budget change where imported spare parts for automobiles would become more expensive. Anyways, since there was not much I could do about it I waited for April to roll around and now that we are mid through may the there is no news of the parts, and this time around. have no confirmation if the order has been even placed. When asked, they said about some fire in one of the parts godown and then saying the 2nd wave has caused logistic issues. At this point, I don't know what to believe anymore.
In other news, I finally pulled the trigger on what to do for a fresh set of radiator hoses as I had mentioned in one of the older posts that mine has started to get hard and brittle and with no idea when it might develop cracks. I was all for going with the OEM option but with the way Yamaha has been in fulfilling orders I chose to go with Samco. As usual, the shop here was quoting ridiculous prices to get it for me here. I chose to just order it myself from Revzilla(Xasos636 also joined to get a few stuff for his bike so we were able to share the shipping & tax cost too) to a friend's place in the US who was able to bring it down. I went for the Samco hose + clamp kit and all in all, cost me a good 7-8k cheaper than what shops here were asking.
The parts have reached Kerala but I haven't been able to collect them, well, because of the new wave of lockdowns. I'll upload the pics once I get them.
I am also planning on getting the fork oil changed for the front shocks. I have no idea when was the last time it was serviced, since I am already 1.5 years into owning it I thought now would be a good time to get it swapped for fresh fluids. So naturally, I was also looking to stock fresh dust and fork seal for the bike and again with the current scene from Yamaha I decided to look into other options, and this time MotoUsher came to the rescue as they are carrying the All Balls Racing brand and they had the right part number in stock.
Looking for the right part number at the All Balls Racing website
So I placed an order for that at the beginning of this month and again it's stuck at a courier shop near to my house and I have no other option but to wait till the lockdown lifts to get the parts.
As for the price breakdown, I am attaching a few of the screenshots for the for & dust seal.
Price breakdown for the parts from Motousher
And this is my expense so far for maintaining the bike. Of course not including Petrol cost. But everything else is covered.
Ownership expense so far
If you notice doing a lot of the stuff DIY saves a lot of money, to be honest.
So yeah. All in all the last month has been pretty lame and frustrating with the lockdowns but I am thankful to be safe and healthy along with my family. I am hoping that it gets better soon and we all can get back to what we love best.
Leaving you all with this video we took of the R1 without any endcans fitted. Hope you guys love it.
P.S: Wear headphones and crank up the volume to full.
Cheers
Krishna