Old Fox

A pretty valid point raised here. Handling of kerosene with bare hands can cause problems, especially if there's a cut or a wound involved. Skin irritation is mild though in most cases. Mainly because all these three tend to dissolve our natural skin oils that help retain skin moisture and also keep it supple. With no protective oil layer, the skin dries up, feels stiff and suffers from micro-cracks. But this is not something serious or lasting. Most detergents can also cause the same problems and we don't end up using gloves for all our chores involving potential dermi-irritants.

Those with well defined allergies would do good to use protection. The majority of us can easily handle limited exposure to petrol, kerosene and diesel on our skins. All who ride bikes do end up handling petrol inadvertently sometime or the other anyway. Just that after using any of these three, it is important to wash hands properly with soap and water and then apply some skin cream or any oil, coconut, mustard or even cooking oil on the skin. A complete embargo like 'never handle any of these with bare hands' is not only impractical but also an over-reaction to a known and manageable hazard.

All said and done though, I would recommend eye protection to be worn during any and every maintenannce work that is undertaken. Broken metal/plastic chips, dirt flung up by a cleaning brush, soapy water splashed inadvertently, acid fumes from a rapidly charging battery, any of the above mentioned fuels getting splashed into the eye....any of these can mean trouble for an organ as delicate, sensitive and vital as the eyes. Those who wear specs get this bonus benefit. Others can use clear lenses. But eye-protection is a must.

__________________
I don't let my motorcycles interfere with my motorcycling...

Join xBhp On

Andante

I totally agree that this is a known and manageable hazard and yes, wearing protection while handling any of these is impractical. However, knowing the lax attitude that is displaying in some cases, I do think it's important to promote avoiding exposure. That was the goal of what I was writing, perhaps I overstated my post.

Also the thing to remember is to make sure your work area is well ventilated, clean and organized.

(Perhaps a thread about DIY safety would be an idea?)

Old Fox

Agreed about promoting caution. And about the work area being well ventilated, clean and organised.

And yes, a DIY thread on general hands-on maintenance safety is a good idea. I suggest you start something like that with as many points as you can put in. Relevant inputs can be added to it from time to time.

__________________
I don't let my motorcycles interfere with my motorcycling...

Join xBhp On

rahul9985

Thanks for the clarification Sir. This time i have used 2T oil on the filter & i can see that the service life has increased considerably under the same riding conditions.
I guess even if fine droplets of the oil enter the chamber, 2T oil would burn much easily than 90 weight oil.

Thanks for raising the safety issue Andante. I would be updating the post suitably.

__________________
More on Facebook

A Crash- Broken levers, loose chains - clogged filters, oil stains / Missing panels, clunky gears - scuffed leathers, chilled beers. :D

Click to subscribe for SMS's of all upcoming xBhp Hyderabad rides and G2G's

anants_220

On the P220s,a blinking air filter sensor doesn't necessarily mean that the air filter in unclean,it might be improperly inserted OR maybe you need to change the foam.

The SVC guys will force you into buying a new sensor for 300 but just change the foam and it will work

__________________
Ride Safe :)

My FliCkr

Anyone wants to buy a sealed 20W40 Motul Fully Synthetic Oil, please let me know.

drvmtm

i will add here one more thing.
for any series of pulsar use the t spanner with caution specially while tightening.
why? well the bolts are mounted on plastic air box and pulsars air box are very notorious to get cracked at the edge where the bolt is bolted.so moderate twist is well enough to secure this.mind this ,if the plastic breaks,the whole set of the air box need to be changed.

also in ug 3 s service manual from bajaj says use of kerosene and 20w 40 oil only,diesel is not mentioned on service book.

__________________

RIDE AND DRIVE SAFE AND PLEASE CHANGE THE PICTURE ON INDIAN ROADS.
my thoughts,my area,my game....http://vmtm.blogspot.com/
IF YOU LOVE MAINTAINING YOUR RIDE..http://nexgenbikes.com/site/

jaskaran

very well explained with diagrams

Shikhar3011

I Have a pulsar 180 classic and the last time i took for servicing to a service center of bajaj the mech used petrol from my tank to clean my air filter.

Ganeshan

On the subject of air filter oils, I would just like to say that I have found, at least with motorcross/enduro bikes which are subjected to a lot more dust, that the best oil is simply air filter oil, normally available from dealers. It is specially formulated, extra tacky but penetrates well through the filter and doesn't restrict airflow.

However, my motorcycle maintenance improved no end after I discovered BIODEGRADABLE air filter oil, such as Notoil oil (No Toil Biodegradable Filter Oil). In summer I clean my air filter once a week, and I have found No Toil to be the greatest improvement to my weekly motorcycle maintenance. Not only it is obviously much better for the environment, but it also does a great job at filtering dust particles, and allows you not to mess about with solvents such as petrol when cleaning the filter, which is such a great benefit... You can use normal washing machine powder to clean your filter! If anything like it is available in India, then it's definitely worth looking into it.

Interestingly foam air filter manufacturers, such as Twin Air, do not recommend cleaning their filters with petrol because offroad bike air filters often comprise of two or three pieces of foam glued together, and petrol can damage the glue and expose unfiltered air into the engine. Again, I can stop praising biodegradable filter oils...

GinsBabu

Hi all,

First of all hands to rahul for presenting us a superb guide on how to clean the filter.
And the most important thing i did it myself yesterday..

I would like to know one more thing.In the article you have mentioned to clean the sensor.May i know how can i do that?I have cleaned the filter but the sensor blinks at intervals.
Waiting for your reply...