Learn to Lean your motorcycle- Part 2

Contd. from http://beagoodrider.blogspot.in/2015/09/learn-to-lean-your-motorcycle-part-1.html

What did we do?

WARNING: I strongly recommend that you wear proper head gear, elbow padding, chest armour, knee guards, and ankle top boots- always- and even in Exercise 4- you absolutely must. 

Every ride do this

Strap up your safety gear, and every day, every ride follow these exercises. You can never tire of them, and even if you do the same road every weekend, try and better yourself. Be vigilant- be alert.
I meet riders who claim close to a million 'quality miles' which to me are a very good thing- but without the training for the basic evasion and the confidence of banking in first gear, the  reflex and trust you need in your control will gather rust. As with wearing gear- its very strongly recommended that you review exercises 4+5 listed below once a quarter with cones about 12' apart. You will come out a better rider. I know that.

Exercise 1- Chin Up

Pic 5- Chin Up

From the unending bends in Chorla (Karnataka, India), SD sent this picture- a beautiful illustration to show you to learn to ride with your chin up. Look in front. At speeds of 75-80Kmph (~50mph) nothing down is going to be of use to you if you have not seen it earlier. The arrow in the green is highlighting the place where your vision should be, thats what you should be preparing for. 

As you notice in Pic 5, the rider is already preparing for the lean and the more you study the image, the more you feel connected to the road and the upcoming lean, the bend and the line you need to take to make a safe run at that speed thru the turn. Again- readers in distant lands have to understand India had a plethora of 100-135 cc bikes for about almost 25 years before larger cc bikes entered the market. So we have a good class of riders in the 30-58 age bracket who have not seen potent high speed bikes in operation with their own hands. So everyone rode these 100cc bikes with their relatively sad brakes and hard 'high mileage' tires that lasted forever. And by now, they are just so attuned to staring 20' away due to habit, that the whole lean/bend circus becomes almost impossible to achieve. 

Exercise 2- Check Gear

Pic 6a- Looking down

The visual cues are indicators for your line of sight and NOT the line your bikes are to take.
See the cues in Pic 6a. I have used markers to show how many new riders approach bends, eyes down and not looking up. This will prevent you from adjusting your gear and checking your speed, and then there is this hurried action when almost entering the bend. And that is the most difficult position to be. Unenviable and not only that, your indecision will create unnecessary anxiety in the riders behind you, who will wonder 'What the hell is he doing? Which way is he going to go? Slow or wide?' All it needs is for two incidents like this for your fellow rider to lose his confidence in you, and then on be wary about your capability on every turn. It just eats away his joy of riding. Not a nice way to ride.
Scan the edges of the road- try and visualize yourself 10-12 seconds down the road. At 100kmph- ladies and gentlemen - thats almost 330 meters ahead or at @80 its about 260m.

Pic 6b- Chin up

So where do I want you to look- up into the far corners. Look at the cues in Pic 6b. How do we achieve this? By checking our speed before entering the corners. By following Exercise 1, we look ahead, we drop a gear, we come to 4th from 5th, or in this case, down to 5th from 6. Once in a lower gear you automatically gain traction on the rear wheel. And that allows you to control your bike better. Be wary that you do not drop too many gears at high speed- that you will cause wheel spin and get into more trouble than you imagined.
Being in control allows you to see what the riders would be doing- the lead has his eyes on the far end apex, the second rider- keeping an eye on the shoulder, watching the lead in his front-right while the camera bike has a direct line watching whats way ahead till his eye can see- enabling all three riders a fantastic view of the road at a speed well over the ton mark. If you want to take a bend this is the way- absolute calm. And yet with a lot of leeway to react, change track- if anything untoward were to happen.

Exercise 3 - Steady Throttle

Having looked ahead and gotten your speed under control to enter a bend- the most crucial part of the bend- to hold a very steady throttle and not 
a)let go of it and cut out the accelerator
b) yo-yo the bike with on-off throttle movements or
c) decrease the throttle, unless you want to power out and stop alongside the curve.

Pic 7- Steady Throttle

If you hold the throttle, the power stays on the rear wheel and your center of gravity stays in one place, slightly to the rear of the bike. The minute you let go, what happens is that you shift your load to the front and thereby loading the slimmer front wheel. This is what brought us to the overall exercise in the first place. The front then straightens up and if you do not have enough road to correct yourself, then you will run wide and crash, either off the road or into incoming traffic. 

As seen in Pic 7  the camera bike as held his line and a parallel bend to the leaders and with a clear sight of the apex. like earlier, if you study the picture, you see SR astride the Street Glide in a complete relaxed state of ride and with the bike in full control- 400Kg (about 800lbs) in full tilt- amazing- ready and anticipating any untoward intrusion in his line.

Exercise 4+5

Steering or counter-steering- I thought very hard about this- and I found this impossible to teach this. As it is riders are having trouble leaning are not achieving speeds to take corners properly. Leave alone concentrate on the bends in an enjoyable manner. They have no bandwidth to figure out the meaning of counter-steering and the logic that some riders use to explain/vouch for it. Once you learn to look up and search for your 'exit' and check your gear and get your bike in a steady throttle state- your steering will follow automatically.
Another issue that riders have is not being told/taught to exercise their elbows. Start doing the 'Figure of 8' and start in riding circles. Do three '8's' and three 'Circles' and then take a 100' ride in a straight line. Come back and do the 8 and the Circle in the other direction. Do not over do it to a point of vertigo and crash or fall.
On this 1914 Bailey Bridge outside Mumbai, SN and me managed to get the Fat Boy and the 48 in a ballet of sorts. Fantastic roll-on the road- desolate- no traffic.

Pic 8 Circling on the Old Bailey

The 'graduating test' if I were to design one- 12 cones, of which the first 8 would be the Slalom, ending in the 9th, and the figure of 8 run twice between the cones 9, 10, and 11- but inside 12.

What does your pillion do when you bank?

Often times you get asked this Q. And I say lean with the bike. Then often, you see people try and struggle and sit straight while some tragically funny ones actually try and lean counter to the rider. Here, as seen in Pic 9, Mr & Mrs RKa show the way- with the Mrs doing the perfect job on the rear seat.

Pic 9- Pillion- Lean into the turn

If you struggle against the lean, you will upset the flow of the bike and the vertical plane of the CG will then have an unnatural force acting on it.
The best way is to place your hands on your knees- for the pillion and then stay that way, so that the upper body sways automatically which ever way the bike leans.

Where do we go from here?

The inspiration to lean and bend has to come from somewhere- whether by learning or by riding alongside. I can think of none other than my #BombayHarrier brother SN, seen here in Pic 10, exploiting his 48 on a crowned road. Keeping his otherwise scraped foot peg read for the raised edge coming up. Chin up, throttle on, eyes on the apex.
The more you look at this- the more you want to get up, get off, check your tires and get leaning like him.

Pic 10- Bend it like 'Smokey'

-KD

#BombayHarriers

Articles on 'Managing Diabetes' and 'AIDS' @ http://therealslimkd.blogspot.in/

Learn to Lean your motorcycle- Part 1

Are you leaning at all?

There are a few dozen good articles on leaning/banking on Google and a dozen more on talking about steering- counter or otherwise. I thought of a unique approach to helping riders diagnose the fact that they have a problem (strange not many do acknowledge that) and then address it with visual cues.

Pic 1- DM holds the 240mm rear of a Night Rod in a perfect bank downhill

Why is a good lean healthy- for starters? A HD Road King turns when upright in about 24' whereas if you learn to lean you could do it in 20' and if you are really foot board scraping in the first gear- about 18' should be good. We tried this of Palladinos measurements- and a good rider or two can show how to shave of 1/3rd your turning diameter- which one day will get you out of trouble. I got my Fat Boy to turn within 22' and one day when I ride like Jerry, maybe 18' will be possible.

In Pic 1- you will see the reason for controlled banking and what happens if you were to lose your nerve. Physics will take over, you will use the front brake to slow down and that will shift your CG forward, load the front, unstablising the bike and causing it to straighten and run wide. This will take you into the path of the upcoming Jeep with potentially disastrous consequences.
Almost every rider upgrading from what was Indias staple 100cc bouquet of bikes has faces this situation. So what to do about this?

What are the aids available?

Assuming that you have the proper air pressure in your tires- you could then- start off. Visual inspection for banding is the first step and most important. Any sign of banding is bad news for the tire. It means that you will wear out one portion of the tire faster as you are causing all the wear/tear at that area only.
Strange that many would not know, but there are other visual cues available. There are a few kind tire manufacturers that have 'fun markers' on their tires and the KTM rear shown on a 390 is a perfect example. AR got this for me and highlighted in read are the lean markers that show how well you are banking on a tire designed to take banking.

Pic 2- Fun Markers on a KTM

Here in Pic 2 we see that the rider comfortably banks till level 4 (marked with the green,) which considering the predominantly urban use of the bike, is very good. I would dread to be touching 5 in Mumbai roads. Using these numbers as a guide, I feel the rider can tell how he has been running the bike, and if he has been using the gear box to its fullest potential- or if he has been running a gear too high or low- and therefore not maximising his 'control' potential to its fullest.
A regular check also enhances safety as you will notice that these tires are no longer the 25-30,000Km 'hard' MRFs that shod our Bullets and Hero Hondas of yesteryear but are now softer to enable bette cornering, high speed stability by also better braking to stop the bikes.

What do I want you to do?

 When you do to your bike, I want you to clean your tire with a dry cloth and see your rear tire. Closely.
A friend who has worked with me tirelessly on this topic volunteered his bike- more so because the improvement is actually visible :-) later in the article.

Pic 3- Straight up riding caused this banding

So what do we see here- a band of worn tire right down the middle (marked in red,) showing that the rider would be riding upright most of the time, and the shortcoming being the inability to lean- the reasons could be from the fear of falling- brought about by either a return to biking at a late age, inadequate learning, improper education, or in some cases, pure fear of leaning, fear of own capability or that of the bike itself.
Mine is to dwell in correcting this- not finding the cause.
So in highway riding, we see the slightly used areas adjacent to the Red bands in Pic 3. The outer band in green is this picture is a result of banking on highways runs and on easy long corners that are seen so often on the straight highway like NH8 going north  and then NH17 heading south of Mumbai- something like the gentle curves of I-77 South in the Virginias.

So what did we aim for?

Pic 4-  Huge improvement in utilising the width of the tire

We aimed for this- utilising the most of the rubber. as shown now in the green. The intent was not to scrape the knees but to enhance rider safety by encouraging him to
a) utilise the handing of the bike to a better degree,
b) use the gearbox better and
c) just be able to maneuver the bike in a more adroit manner.
d) get better tyre life out of your piece
The benefit for one would be- to be able to swing out of the way of a car that would stop right in front of you for no apparent or explicable reason, where your ability to move around him was the only possibility other than rear-ending him with damage to ones own bike. In but a few weeks of riding, the rider showed tremendous improvement in banking and how did he get there, well thats to be seen first in Pic 4. The central banding will not go away, and possibly a new tire when the tread diminishes would then see more even wear/tear the next time around.So this then becomes the right time to focus on spotting the problem and then working on it.

Once you have diagnosed the problem, then you head to Part 2 - how to go about rectifying it in three steps.
-KD
#BombayHarriers

Contd.
http://beagoodrider.blogspot.in/2015/10/learn-to-lean-your-motorcycle-part-2.html

Do read my articles on 'Managing Diabetes' and 'AIDS' @ http://therealslimkd.blogspot.in/

Importance of safety gear while riding- Dress for the Crash.

"Dress for the crash" and "You skin looks better on you than on the road" are slogans you hear every day or on the signature of many riders across Forums from Canada to Australia. 

This Sunday, on the Seven Islands ride to Igatpuri, about 110Km on NH 3 towards Nasik, we had an incident inspite of following a brilliant leader to sweeper team of 9 riders. 

Light drizzle, and absolutely just 'a' shower described the beautiful ride. Average speeds of 100-110 and light traffic with the absence of the usual jokers wanting to chase you to take pictures. The ride was as good as it could get.

So what happened next- Sachin, who was riding on a sweeping left hander coming down the Kasara Ghats, doing about 100- had a dog come across and his bike t-boned the dog- and Sachins bike fell to the right, into his angle of lean. The road was clear- no traffic, the Dog came from nowhere.

Amidst 10 riders, clear roads, dry downhill- fast- no reason to worry about gear- and that changed in a fraction of a second- and everyone who hit the brakes to avoid Sachins falling bike must have had their ways in blessing that everyone, save one, was dressed in almost as good as gear-cover can get.

Sachins crashguard- worked as his talisman- and it was amazing to watch for the 6 bikers behind him - that the FatBoy went skidding for about 25 meters or maybe more, before responding to Sachins endeavours to control the bike and it righted itself- and after stabilizing, the bike stopped about >100meters ahead of the stunned riders who braked to avoid running over the spill.

The rider was lucky, but the rider was geared well enough and i would even hazard a small bit that the subconscious knowing he was dressed well, allowed him to concentrate on regaining control rather than wondering which palm to ground to brace for impact.

Being involved with the Seven Islands Harley Chapter here in Mumbai, I get to see riders who come in, barely dressed for the ride, let alone for the act. It feels so distressing and patronising when you tell them that these bikes weigh a good lot more than themselves- and that this one-degree of comfort that possibly allowed Sachin to look more for control than brace for the crash saved him from a nasty spill.

The Crash guard, which almost every rider tells a newcomer to the group did its job. The safety gear worked at a mental level- It is so important. So Important.

-KD

#BombayHarriers

HELMETS- and how to buy them

I was discussing a helmet buying issue on the net with @Augustus23- and here was my reply to him-

CHEERS TO CHOOSING HELMETS

LS2 is at one end of the spectrum while at the other end like SHOEI GT series, and the ARAI RX or the Corsair Series- which would set you back between 65000-71000 depending on model and replicas of particular riders. Having given you the spread financially- here is the user issues-

1. NO one can tell you which helmet fits you- you have to try ten helmets and see which one fits you firmest. The helmet should have no wobble, or ability to lift- which means that it should not lift off your face and make you peer down (imagine here by lifting your head backwards, nose to ceiling)- The cheek pads are a must and should not slide up and down your cheeks when you push up the chin with your fingers- it should want to raise your chins along with it- which means that the fit should be firm, almost a tad on the tight side.

2. Short comings of helmets are that
- if they are not well designed, they will lift upward- and you cannot test this on Bullet or a Pulsar, you have to ride it out in the open on your Harley or on your sports bike
- poor fittings, just like the Mahindra Scorpio doors, will allow air inside with an irritating whistling sound, which when you will do 8-10 hours on your Harley, will annoy the daylights out of you, and you will land up riding with ear plugs
- poorly made fittings will enable the visor not to sit firmly on the closed postion and causing a very dangerous phenomenon- at speeds between 120-145 the visor snaps open- and the open visor catches the rushing air and almost yanks the helmet backward causing a very very critical moment in your riding career.
- improper ventilation, besides the obvious discomfort also causes fatigue and the more dangerous thing- fogging due to breath in cold weather, and also during the rains which in India last for 3-4 months a year.

3. SNELL and DOT testing- there is just no end to which is good, bad, better, and on and on. Which brings me to a point, that it is rumoured - rather strongly- that HJC makes Harley helmets, of which there are half, modular and full face available. These are the same that H-D sells around th world, and am sure they pass atleast some mandatory testing and meet/exceed some minimum certification standards. So if anyone asks you not to buy the helmets- hmmmm- I would discount such advise.

4. Try the LS2, try Cross, Try the SHOEI RF1100 a hugely popular budget item, try the Arai Vector. Others like NOLAN, SHARK and SCORPION meet the various price points on the system.

5. What I wear- I started riding with a full face and I do not use nor subscribe to half-face or modular helmets.
I ride with the
NOLAN- N 63 in the city, and on extremely hot days- but only in the city
SHOEI GT-AIR which has saved me when I head-butted a wall in an off-road event at Kaas- replaced and remains my favourite highway runner in groups needing communications, as my Scala sits firmly screwed into the helmet, and finally-
ARAI Corsair V- Isle of Man TT Limited Edition- which I use for long rides alone when I dont need the Scala which stays embedded in my Shoei. This has a very big visor area that I find uncomfortable while riding into the sun. But that comparo- will do later.

Do feel free to try on a few helmets across the price ranges of 3000-45000 before finding the right fit. Helmets that ride up at speeds are just as bad as ones that will slide around when you fall and impact on the road. 

Choose wisely and choose tight.

-KD

#BombayHarriers

Do read my articles on 'Managing Diabetes' and 'AIDS' @ http://therealslimkd.blogspot.in/

Safety Gear- Everything other than Helmets

The Helmet article was written before this- 

This article is currently biased towards Cruisers and a easy kind of riding style. It may be possible that if you are a sport bike or super biker enthusiast, that a few things you may not agree on. But then I hope this explanation suffices till I get going on the apparel for those kind of bikes.

After the note put up on the Helmet, friends like @RajeevS and a few asked for pointers on safety wear for the rest of the body- here is my attempt at listing my thoughts on the same. These notes are focused on cruising and not for sportbikers, who face far more wind resistance, and need special clothing like full body suits to protect them against the elements. Their bike shoes dont fit on bikes like the Bullet nor suit most of the Harleys- bikes who's background I come from- so its by no means comprehensive- just my thoughts.

NECK- Go to any army supply store and purchase a round-neck warmer for about 80-180 bucks depending on quality, the kind that extends on the chest and over the upper back. The Army trusts it from uniform to ambush... you should too. From a few riders who used it, the pure wool one worked really nice till the sun got up and then worked too well, and needed removing- but till the weather warmed up it added about a good 2-3 hours of riding comfort.

GLOVES- Leather palm lined, full finger, with mesh for air intake on the top side, knuckles made of hardened plastic or kevlar, so that if you run into a bush or -ugh- a wall, with your fist clenched once the front brake- you avoid smashing your knuckle. The leather lined palm- more than any accident, is to prevent leaving your skin on the ground, in case of an accidental fall or tip over in your building compound or at a signal when a foolish motorist tanks you from behind.

UPPER TORSO- Wear two or three light T shirts then go and try- Zeus, Rynox, Cramster from the Indian stables (5-7000) to AlpineStars, RJays, Joe Rocket, Rev'it, Harley (8-28000) from the overseas types. There should be lined pockets for armour- on the shoulders and the elbows, as well as a pad for the back. The jackets should come with a detachable rain cover inner, which can be removed and carried alongside to be worn when it rains. The slightly loose fit permits layered clothing in mild winters. The jacket should have adequate mesh and/or zippered openings to control entry of air to keep body cool in the 9 months that India has summer.

INNER WEAR- there are many companies like Icon Stryker and Thor Sentinel (about $110-140), that make products that provide 'hard' protection for the upper torso. There are various Indian companies that make variants, and a quick visit to stores that retail the jackets etc would help you see the range available in India. The strange effect is that this guard fits you like a cosset, and eliminated fatigue from wind and fluttering jackets and give your a nice and comfortable feel by holding your girth in place. Once you get used to this, no way you like riding without the inner guard.

LOWER BODY- My personal preference is to wear riding pants- the kind made again in India like Zeus (which is one of the pants I use) along with a Rev'it which I find more comfortable when riding for anything over 3-days. The pants come with rain-inners, but the main points are- padding for the waist, the rear, and thighs, not to forget integrated knee pads as well. The pants sit snug and secure and in case of an impact they resist tearing for those few crucial seconds more than your plain jeans. The Zeus cost between 5-6000 while the Rev'it came in for about twice as much. For those tasking about local riding- Wrangler came out with 2x and 4x jeans that seemed a reasonably good investment for the ride to office, or the local breakfast ride. Dainese D6, or Alpinestars Hellcat- my current favorite being the Draggin Kevlar Jeans. Price ranges from $130-200. Given the restricted use that could be foreseen- you should invest in riding pants and what follows below-

KNEES- Knee Guards- are a must if you don't have riding pants or riding jeans- Indian ones are available- dime a dozen, however stolen dies for the popular Alpinestars model have got the market flooded with cheap chinese imitations that you cannot tell- except when they shatter in a put-down. Funny, to recommend but here, again Thor Force or Icon Strykers that really don't cost much when you compare it to skinning your knees. Price ranges from 1400-4000 for most products.

SHOES- Any ankle high boot- starting from Caterpillar or Timberland to your Woodlands and Army 'type' boots anything to prevent small stones at high speed hitting your feet, and to prevent- as far as possible the skinning of ankle in a fall. Price range would be from 1500-7000 and onwards for 

How to ride your Harley Safely in India

Over the past two months, along with Raaghav Mahajan(my Harley buddy), we have been watching a disproportionate number of incidents involving Street 750s- and in particular their rims and front ends- forks, headlights and triple trees.

We have had quite a few bent/broken rims and this post is meant from that perspective for all riders, not just the 750s- as disproportionate the numbers may be, the incidents are not restricted to them alone.

I will list a set of issues first and address the possible corrective measures in a bit-

1. A lot of new riders have graduated from smaller bikes, engine capacity as well as performance envelope- wise and the one thing that riders need to keep an absolute control on is the acceleration that their bikes have, as compared to what they were riding earlier. Coming off corners, dropping gears on completing overtaking and turning on the power- etc. This is being coupled with not adjusting your stance and eyesight focus for the new motorcycle is a set up for disasters.

2. Deceleration on seeing an obstacle, be it a goat, truck, pothole, speed breaker- due to the acceleration being of a few degrees higher- more often than not, the riders are 'entering' these conditions faster than they are used to, faster than their bikes can handle and resultant- they either collide with the obstacle, or 'hit' it with force- that it results in deformation of rims and/or other vehicle body parts. Stance and focus again are to be worked on.

3. Traditionally tires for Indian motorcycles are of larger profile, due to their experience on Indian roads. As it seems to many, the rubber of the bikes we ride seems to be of softer compound, not to mention of a lower aspect ratio- much needed to ensure safe acceleration and braking, as opposed to having harder compound tires which would result in a disastrous skid in either condition.
Many riders got good exposure with the group rides to Igatpuri just befor the monsoons, and especially on the way down the 8-10Km downhill from Manas to Latifwadi. Gear control, less use of brakes and the proper head position while entering curves, and while riding fast on straights.
I will try and elaborate on a few procedures that we feel would make an impact on your quality of riding Let me begin with the smallest but oft ignored technicality first.

1. Check your tire pressure every week or two weeks at the least. This ensures proper aspect ratio of the tire and therefore the best possible protection on impact, optimum tread while riding- meaning safer acceleration and maximum contact while braking.
Most basic air compressors do not remove water vapour and that results in minor heating issues on tires- Nitrogen based air compressors/tanks are usually better maintained, and scrub water vapour better therefore resulting in lesser heating of tires. The difference is marginal and I will be free to argue about this offline. Make sure you have the correct tire pressure saved for your bike on your phone.

2. While riding- please start making it a habit to use your front brakes more while braking. Most riders we see, use the rear brakes and you simply have to start front-biased braking. Begin to use this at lower speeds, and work your control upwards. For bikes without ABS- learn to pulse the brakes, to prevent seizing the front wheel under heavy braking. Learn to work the front suspension and dramatically lessen your braking distance. While shifting bias forward- ensure that you use the rear to maintain rear wheel directional control and prevent the bike from coming out under your seat.

3. The single biggest issue for new bike riders has been the issue of braking- this being handled in the above point- should be practiced every time you leave your building, and on every ride you do, as only practice will change the way we have been using bikes, with mostly non-existent front brakes till now...

4. Eyesight- stop looking down in front of your wheel- its too late to do anything about it, except brace for impact if its in front of you. Chin. Chin. Chin.
Its not a song or chant- lift your chin, force yourself to look up- start looking 50-100 meters ahead of you... The faster your go, practice looking at the horizon. further away from the bike. For many that use their bikes in the city, this is a notoriously difficult exercise- but you have no option, like the front braking issue- similarly this chin-up riding.
The best road to practice this is the Igatpuri-Latifwadi stretch, where all the time, you will be on the throttle, with the power on the rear wheel all the time, and with your eyes looking as far ahead as possible, into the next turn to check for your line and for any aberrations in the road surface.
This note is by no means comprehensive nor is it a accident-proof-your-bike essay. Practice your new bikes, air pressure, front brakes, chin-up.... make a better rider out of yourself. We are looking at a wonderful riding season from now till April-end atleast.

Help make the group riding experience a better one.

Innocent helmet Query!

Innocent query on Motorcycle Safety

Everyday in the morning, I must admit that I admire Dr M Watsa- and the unique queries he gets- innocent, yet so hilarious- and then today a dear friend Tony reminded me that I had just such a query waiting for me on my favorite topic- safety on motorcycles.
Here is it copied off a forum-

From a gent named AG-

"Hi guys, i have an issue and i need help with it.. My dad does not believe i need a good helmet like a Harley or something else... I have a vega modular helmet.... I usually tape the openings, with electrical tape, of that helmet because it gives me too much wind noise.... For long runs... Also at higher speeds the helmet tends to pull upwards... The aerodynamics is horrible.... So i usually tighten the strap quite a bit.... He says that there is no such thing as a good helmet... And that i should ride slowly if that the wind is concerned. I said that city helmets are fine for vega n all... But the for 800km runs i require something robust. He is not a biker nor has he ever ridden one.. He requires proof with the difference between this helmet and the good ones out there.... Can anyone help me out? I also want proper riding gear for long runs..."

And my reply-

"AG- I assume that your post is taken in all its seriousness_
Here is a good riot act on safety wear and why.

1. Wear gloves so that when you fall in a parking lot due to gravel, or due to someone spilling diesel in a petrol pump, you don't skin your palms- and then your nurse does not have to feed you at home, nor your other male nurse have to give you a bath till your skin grows.
These events are a speed of '0 km/h'

2. Riding pants and jackets have armour in the form or padding or inserts which are meant to deform on impact or abrasion/heat, therefore protecting your joints from serious injury. This also means that when you get hit from behind by an errant rider, your fall and skin- are both protected by your gear, your elbows, your rear, your knees and spine are in better shape- enabling you to walk away-
again note that the accidents mentioned here happened at 5kmph

3. Helmets protect your brain- period. Without it, you are nothing.
Good quality helmets are usually functional in the sense that they have good ventilation built into them, better quality visors for your vision, good quality D-rings or snap-fits for latches, cheek pads for firmer fit, and a good fit around the head.
This prevents or reduces to a great extent the issues you mentioned- wind noise and helmet riding up_

4. As regards buying better helmets- please tell your father that a Maruti 800 (may it RIP) and a S class do the same job- getting you there- wherever. The S will give you better safety features and its the same for helmets as well.
Nothing about safety here is about speed- while riding on the Kaas Plateau I was caught in a gust of wind that took me on a meeting with a rock- my helmet saved my life as many here will attest... my speed was 35kmph. The wind that causes your helmet to 'rise' is due to a) poor aerodynamics and b) poor fit.

5. You need to please find and wear 5-7 kinds of helmets, that fit your forehead snug, and literally fit tight on your cheeks- so tight that you should not be able to chew gum while wearing it (thats a bad idea in any case)- so that at speeds upto 130-145- your helmet stays on, firm and not a hazard to your life, and to those riding with you.
Good Helmets like the Nola N63 start at about 15/16K and run all the way upto the SHOEI-GT Air at $700, or the ARAI-RX-V or Corsair-V Limited Editions for about $900…

6. There are a few articles on safety I have written here.

If you are really sincere about this, and wish that this be taken up on a personal note, feel free to let me know.

None of this is written with a pinch of humor.
None intended."

-KD

#BombayHarriers

How to use the clutch on a high torque motorcycle?

Using the Clutch

A few new riders on the Harley circuit were concerned about the clutch- on a high torque engined bike- here goes my reply.
'A-
this is one very expensive way to learn- by reading on others notes on FB.
Having warned you_
The first gear in the Harley is a kind of spring loaded shift, where the 'thunk' is engineered into the system for effect. You do not try and do anything like adjusting the clutch etc to try and eliminate this. You will only land up killing your clutch.
All other gear changes should be as smooth as 'clicks' and you should feel the gears 'notching' and move on.
Clutchless changes stress the synchromesh rings and you will eat into them- so use the clutch as provided.
On slopes, upward and down- keep the bike in gear- and under NO circumstances are you to 'free roll' or 'neutral' the bike- stay in gear and fingers OFF the clutch. If you try and bring it down on brakes, you will over heat the brakes, cause fade and crash. Simple. Unfortunately every year, we learn this about 20-24km after Amboli (west bound) when we lose a few bikes to overheated and faded brakes because of faulty riding style.
You are to use the clutch only to shift gears and you will not 'half clutch' the bike. You will eat your clutch in under 100-2500km, if you try this.
Almost- re learn to ride a high torque bike, and learn slow speed riding, as anyone can ride fast.. Learn to control the EFI system and your throttle control at speed <10kmph- that is the beauty of riding- without jerking it or half-clutching it...
I should think there will be a ride to Igatpuri on saturday morning. Do try and come along with your safety gear.'
-KD

#BombayHarriers

IBW 2015 Safe Riding- the lecture

http://youtu.be/6mQ7semx6s0

Many thanks to the Seventy Event Media Group, and especially Thanush Joesph and Shrijit Patil for encouraging me to take on this topic of riding safe in India. (http://seventyemg.com/aboutemg.php) and their daring to let me wield a mic on stage.

Many thanks to Karishma and Srinivas for the video- it is an awesome piece for my resume- and to the many who thanked me for it- I thank you again.

Most and foremost - to the entire Bombay Harriers' family- for doing a fantastic job from Bhutan to Mahabalipuram and The Rann of Kutch to Chandigarh... Without you guys none of this was possible.

-KD

#BombayHarriers

Riding in the wet- Monsoon riding In India

Ride Safe in the Rains

2013v

The first showers have hit the city and here are a few points for all of us to keep in mind for a wonderful riding season.

1. Invest in good gear- there is no substitute for good riding wear. A jacket with adequate padding at the shoulders and elbow and preferably on the back as well. Inner body armor like the kind made by Icon or Dainese would definitely be an added plus. Knee guards and above-ankle shoes, should be almost mandatory. Jackets come with detachable inner waterproof liners, make sure you carry them, the HD Sling Bag can do just that. If you examine good gloves, you will find they have a 'squeegee' kind of ridge on the thumbs that works wonderfully to clear muck and grit on the windshield.
Riding while wet and cold is one of the surest ways to fall sick- therefore it is imperative that you are adequately geared to ride comfortably.

2. Clean your gear- send your jackets and body wear for wash, along with your helmets inner liners. Look up the cleaning instructions for your gloves and similarly for your shoes. In case of an emergency clean gear makes it easier to remove and not to mention healthier for your own selves.

3. Mumbai has been hit by the first rains this morning- RAINBOW PATCHES- on the road are what you should look out for and study them on your way to and from work… The initial rains will eke out the sludge left behind by vehicles and all the oil and grease accumulated from last monsoon will surface- making the first week of riding in Mumbai a very tricky affair. The emergence of bubbles on the tire marks left by vehicles ahead of you is also another sure shot indicator of the surfactants and detergents added to fuels and indicating a very high 'slippery' quotient to the roads.
This not only will happen in the first week of monsoons, but also to a smaller degree in the first 10-15 minutes of every downpour through the season, so be careful- pull over and stop, get your rain gear on, and let the rains wash off the crud. Ride again.

4. Apart from rainbow patches, out government uses a very dangerous plastic emulsion paint with reflective capabilities to warm you of junctions, bridge ramps and speed breakers (Some of them atleast)- this plastic emulsion paint has a very poor coefficient of friction and will result in a slip or skid when you need traction the most- to slow down or stop. Please ride aware of these stripes in the city and more so on the highways.

5. Everytime you stop your bike and dismount- you should keep a cloth handy to clean your headlight, tail light and indicators. You will be surprised how the road spray hits the hot headlight and almost dries leaving a layer of dried mud on the glass. Even if you ride 5 mins in the rain, or on a wet road and dismount, please clean your lights.

6. When you are riding, and you see rainbow patches or small bubbles in tire marks, please very gently carry out a traction test. Tap both your brakes simultaneously and see how the bike reacts at the slowest of speeds. This will allow you to know the condition of the road as well as your ability to control the bike with the minor shivers that you may experience- better to know this in advance than to realize that the shiver i going to result in a complete loss of control.

7. While riding, remember to 'chase a taillight-' this will simply mean that you do not ride in line with someones number plate- this allows for two things- one is a good nd clear view of the brake light of the car in front, and secondly to allow you to swerve right or left to avoid hitting the car and giving you a precious few seconds to avoid contact or damage. Given the width of the brake lights these days, you can stay in that zone and avoid the spray from the cars tires, to a large extent- and if you think the spray is hindering your progress, you are too close to the car in any case. Back off.

8. Horizontal and Linear Seperation- is what I remind all newcomers when they ride for the first time- Do not chase in a line… When riding in a group, Never chase in a line. Keep in the same lane and ride in a staggered fashion- so this allows you to see obstruction or hindrance coming up fast and also what is it that is making the rider in front brake--- and if you notice its a dog running from right to left, you will know which way the biker ahead is going to swing to avoid it… and therefore those precious seconds to ensure your personal safety and that of fellow riders. The distances of H/L separation is best decided by your earlier checks for rainbows and bubbles- and of course the traction tests.

9. In turns- we do a few things on dry roads-
a) brake before the turn
b) steady throtte while entering the turn and
c) increasing throttle while lining up for the exit
d) Shifting body weight through all of the aboe steps
while it is raining, or on wet roads, restrict yourself to one of the above at a time- it may sound difficult to do, but even if you are able to remind yourself about it, your riding will be much safer than it used to be. It encourages caution and increases your awareness of the road condition, and almost forces you to pay more attention to turns, and this results in a better and safer ride for you and those with you.

10. On Group rides, be firm with these rules, they are for everyones’ safety. Riders who don't adhere to your group riding style, have the freedom not to ride with you, and also to lead and carry on on their own, without being an hazard to other riders who wish you have good time, rather than compete against the clock.

I wish all our riders a safe and wonderful monsoon riding season, year on year.

Ride safe.
-KD.

#bombayharriers

Why to be Considerate?

Three high speed crashes yesterday with a category of bikes that I associate myself with- bikes with a lot of cc, a lot of HP- this side of a helicopter turbine, a lot of Nm or torque- easily the most this side of road rollers. 

A Daytona 675R went down with its rider- fatally just north of Mumbai.
Another just as expensive or twice so- Ducati Hypermotard 821- literally broke into two around Lavasa, with news that its rider is alive- and then as if it wasn’t enough a bike twice that cost- a BMW S1000RR HP4, went down in Hyderabad again taking its rider with it- to heaven.
Time and again- too much, too little training, too little time acclimatizing to the throttle- and hanging with the wrong kind of people.
The fragile human ego- is easily challenged and at the drop of a hat ready to compete in a show of faster, further, stronger- at anytime. I think ego sometimes doubles up as a pimp for the God of Death.
In sequence- you have to find the right guys to learn from, observe, and train with- and in this only your karma can guide you. After that its your hand that guides you and your upbringing that tempers you- and the sense of what is right and wrong, inculcated in you that will prevent you from chasing people who are more proficient than you- and your judgement that there will always be someone better than you- eventually. And that its ok.
A commercial airline pilot, trained to handle emergencies and save the lives of the hundred who fly with him- if he could fall prey to the lure of being quick, being ahead- then others with far less training, I dread the coming days on the highways.
I call out to group leaders, riders who are looked up on be younger and newer fraternity to encourage good riding, and to be able to cultivate a sense of capability of different motorcycles, that a SuperLow will not stop on braking in even twice the distance of a Ducati Diavel. Racing on NH17 is not the same as flying low between Kolhapur and Belgaum.
I call out to new riders and wish to tell them that there are no older riders- every day is new- every ride is a challenge- there are just wise riders- try and find them and learn from them.
With my riding partners- Sushant and Osborne and the full family at ‪#‎bombayharriers‬

Upgrading your Harley

UPGRADES
With the monsoons receding, the long zonal rides are upon us. It is time to get you bikes out of their hiding places and put on some miles.

A few riders on the last ride were asking me about the various upgrades and accessories available to us. I have broken this into four parts for this writing:

a.       Lights.
Upgrades on the main headlight is usually to the preferred Daymakers from HD. A direct fit, and a quick job. The light beam is very powerful and lights up the road pretty well. An added benefit to most of our daytime warriors is that it increases your visibility to oncoming traffic by a thousand times- and also makes you very easy to track, when you are in a group ride. There are afew riders who have complained about the dawn/dusk hours and the effectiveness of the same when its raining. Do not throw out your old headlight, if the rains bother you, then switch to the regular lights for 3/4 months of the year.
Additional Fog or Auxiliary lights are a boon in our kind of traffic allowing for more light to be ‘laid’ on the road making it safe to ride. These can be mounted along side the headlight or on the crashguard. Always make sure that you use these with a relay and get your wiring checked by someone at the workshop. This is the weakest link in the reliability of HDs.
Cheap Chinese made ones are available, and then there are some super gorgeous ones like the Clearwater Simple faults and shorts cause bikes to fail on highways- and your little effort towards saving money can result in a huge loss of riding opportunity and the cost of getting your bike shipped to a nearby service station.

b.      Exhausts
This is a tricky one. Choose an exhaust that you have heard on the same bike as what you own. Do not buy a particular exhaust because it sounds good on a Sportster. The Sportsters are the nicest sounding bikes, in my opinion but on the FatBoy, the same brand could sound just like distant thunder. So do not choose by name/style or recommendation. Choose because you heard it. Slip ons are changed at the far end of the header pipes, while ‘full system’ ones are ones that change from the exhaust port. Make sure that the full system pipes have Oxygen sensor ports drilled in, as if you have to do it, you could drill too close to the exhaust port and you could burn off the sensor filaments.
The usual suspects for an upgrade are V&H’s, Arlen Ness, Cobras to the more exotic SuperTrapp and Covingtons. The pride of Indias HD was a CFR on a Night Rod- which won any exhaust battle, hand down, till the police surrounded the owners house at 4AM on a Sunday- but that’s another story. Unless its radical change in exhausts, the slip on do not usually need a fuel management system.

c.       Air intakes
Stage 1 from SE is the best upgrade to a better breathing air filter element. Also, it comes with a very long life and only needs regular maintenance (as opposed to replacement for the OE air filter.) Various other more aggressive breathers are available like Heavy breather Screamin’ Eagle of HD, VO2/Drake/Duke from V&H, and the Big Sucker from Arlen Ness. These are the ones that protrude out into the oncoming air and feed the engine with more air, almost like ‘forced air induction.’

d.      Fuel Management Systems
Once you have altered the exhaust profile (mostly making your exhaust a freer flowing one) and given your bike more air than it could handle with its basic ECU, the air intake and exhaust sensors start to keep correcting this imbalance that is beyond their parameters to handle. So what?
SEPST from HD is the factory choice for FMS. The SEPST comes with a orange coloured interface that gets mated to ONE HD. One specific bike, not the owner. So when you sell that bike, you give the SEPST away. Given that its an authorized product, it is used to flash the ECM with no moving parts to ‘hang around under the seat.’ The drawback is not this- the drawback is if you mix components like a V&H exhaust with a Heavy Breather, you are essentially out of depth and you will need a Dyno to tune in your bike. Very very unlikely. Which means you are jammed. Call your workshop advisor for pricing on this item. Or you need to be like this one ‘tech head’ mariner from Pune who could really work wonders with the SEPST.
FP3 from Vance and Hines is a very popular upgrade, relatively cheap, easy to install, and with a huge database of products to mix and match.  This takes the map from a table that will come with your FP3, or if you have some eclectic mix of parts, then you email them, and in about 72-96 hours V&H will email you the new maps, which again- can be done by yourself.
Power Commander would be the more advanced version of a piggy backed system that alters the ECU output and based on preset maps that you key in, the bike runs. A lot of people are happy- globally with this PC-V, which is the current version on sale.In case of any engine issues, or for instant comparison you can just unplug it in literally 5 minutes and get your bike into stock condition again.
Power Vision – is possibly the most vaunted of the lot. It takes your maps from the dealer, and flashes the ECM with its new maps. There are many plus points to this like recording your ridng data and almost everyone who is tech’ interested in fiddling with the bike would have this. IF flashing your ECM worries you, then this is not for you. If you are going to be upgrading your bike on completion of warranty and the likes, then you should probably plonk in the dollars and get this.

What happens if you don’t do this FMS. The ‘out of syllabus’ oxygen intake and ‘freer than free’ exhaust will cause your bike to start running lean and will cause ‘blueing’ of your exhaust headers. This is the first sign that all is not well in your bike. You will continue to ride it hot till one fine day you will burn your exhaust valve.

I write this from various inputs- printed material and fellow riders mainly. I could be off the mark and would welcome questions or corrective feedback. 

Learning from your Rides- KDs Motorcycle Diary

After a lot of Harley riding over the past 4 years, I have had some hard introspecting to do.
I graduated in bikes from the SuperLow to the Super Glide to the FatBoy where my liking for torqueand economics finally seem to have peaked.
I am more driven now by marquee rides. Signature rides- unique locations. Sequencing locations like no one has done before.
Riding to Dhule ten times a year or riding to Vapi five times a quarter to just add 5-700km a weekend- is just useless commuter riding to me now.
I restrict my riding to Igatpuri, Lonavala and then to Palasdari in the north. That's it.
After completing the Leh ride by car and then by bike- I see no charm in rides that I call pedestrian now.
Yes- so where is my problem? It is that I make new friends and they are where I was in India 4 years ago. Wanting to pound the streets and I looked at them- 'what boss? no vision, no dream.'
So wrong on my part.
Probably my peers also questioned my quick change of bikes equally, branding me as whimsical- at its most police. Probably my neighbours wondered- where does he go for five hours every weekend morning.
Over the past few weeks I have been thinking and all I have made peace with is- destinations and goals of other riders and mine will not match.
Rajmachi in the rains does not attract me. As much as the best road in India- Hyderabad to Bangalore, does not beckon me either.
The border roads of india- be it the 'no pillar zone' in the Kutch, the long forgotten Munnabao railway station, the Israeli grass and snakes in the sands of Longewala  sector, the wheat fields and the brave punjabis who live around BOP Khakian.
All the way to the riverine plains around Dhubri in Assam. I learnt- these may not turn on other riders. I learnt not to demand- and yet I learnt.
To let them sell their bikes till their economics and riding senses were filled.
To let them ride where they learnt to enjoy themselves- remembering good times with their fathers and friends on the road.
Not many have been machine gunned at on the LC while having a younger Officer say- 'park your bike this side, so those fools won't get a stray round into your paint.' But yet a samosa-chai stop in a torrential downpour in Bijapur with friends you have not seen in ten years, could hold more thrill.
I promise not to cringe or wince at the topic of an upgrade. I promise not to chew my lips at the sound of a destination.
I will learn to smile that I did all that.
Just a few months ago.