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EDIT : Pics on page 3.
Guys , im finally posting this : My ride has been Joel'ed !!
Warning : long post , kindly jump to the Ride report if patience is not your virtue
Well , after an entire year of contemplating , i decided to take the plunge - to get my bike performance tuned by none other than THE Joel Joseph. I setup an appointment with Joel in the 3rd week of September. My internal exams were scheduled for the first week of October so I took an appointment for the 8th of oct - saturday - the day the last exam gets over. Joel was super prompt in replying to my emails. So finally the last exam got over ( please dont ask me how i did
) and I gave him a call at about 12pm. The voice on the other end sounded much younger than I had expected 
. I confirmed the appointment for 4pm.
His current workspace is in K.R.Puram - bout 30 odd kms from my place. I reached at 4pm and Joel was not present at that moment. Alex - one of the people that works with him , directed Mani - one of his extremely competent mechanics ( he's really good ) to strip the bike down and the dismantle the engine head. Then came Dennis - another person who he works with. Had a nice chat with all of them , learnt a few details of the working of the various parts in the engine and stuff. I met a nice chap called Rahul there and we were yapping bikes for a long time.
Joel came in at about 6 30pm , was super busy with his race honda city , and even generally.
He finally sat down to work his magic on the head. It was like an operation theatre : he closed the door , Dennis engaged me in some talk ( really interesting stuff btw ) and finally Joel came out saying that the surgery was successful. Now the bike had to be "sewed" back together and fit with a new voice box ( FFE )
I told Joel that he needs to have a red light in the waiting area -
On : operation going on , Off : Finished
So anyway , Mani rolled her down the ramp and told me to fire her up. The exhaust had the dB killer at this stage. I touched the starter button and she roared into life. Even after dismantling the engine and putting her back , she started with the first crank and the idling was stable at 1.3k rpm. Ive always had terrible cold start issues. Besides , the autochoke on my bike never works. But there she was , idling at 1.3 rpm steadily. I revved her a bit in neutral and I had this Insane expression on my face ! Joel asked me to take her for a spin. In my excitement , I almost forgot to wear my helmet ( thanks dennis
). I took her out ant went really easy on the throttle for a few hundred mts. Holy Christ ! the bike felt awesome ! pulled without any effort and making this orgasmic exhaust note ! I took out the dB killer and then whacked open the throttle - Wow , now thats some serious performance bump ! But I put the dB killer back on coz I thought the sound was a bit too loud for the city.
I then finished all the formalities ( it was 9 40 pm btw ) , took a bunch of Race concepts stickers and started for home. This was the most EPIC ride of my life
Words cant do this any justice. The refinement from the headwork, the force and sound of the exhaust, just overpowering everything else that came to my mind. I stopped by at my friends place ( xbhp id - Arhiman ). He too has a 220 and he took mine for a spin.
Now I knew what the expression on my face looked like :
I then went home - a happy man , with this insanely amazing bike.
Alright enough of the story , here is the Ride Report :
Sound:
Well , everyone has heard this a billion times but - WOW
Without the dB killer , it simply scares the crap out everyone. Even with the dB killer its brilliant. I had the dB killer for the first day and I decided to remove it yesterday and its taken the bike to a new level
There is this powerful - " Dont mess with me or Ill pound you to pieces " kinda presence that the exhaust note has. Its crazy in an absolutely great way. The bike sounds great when I roll on the throttle and even better when I roll off and let the revs drop from 5k to 3k rpm ! Its like thunder on two wheels
If there ever was a "God of music" then this FFE would be his/her instrument !
The Ride:
Well , people have not stressed on this particular aspect : the ride quality and refinement.
We all agree that the 220 does not like to be revved like, say , an r15. That smooth power delivery is missing. The bike pulls beautifully till 7k rpm but beyond that , its accompanied by harsh engine vibes. This is more so on my bike. She has always been as fast as the other 220s but never as smooth despite a good oil and overall good maintenance.
How ever , things are different now.
Let me tell you all - the engine has become butter smooth after the headwork. I had noo idea that the 220 is capable of being this smooth when revved. Initially when I took her for a spin , I thought the bike had lost torque in the lower revs (<4k rpm). Im used to a particular feeling when the bike accelerates but now the acceleration is soo smooth ! But soon i realized how quickly the revs build up and propels me ahead. As i said - not used ot eh smoothness ! Its like a surge of torque that lets me shoot off as if someone has bitten the bike in its a** !
The headwork has made the engine more "breathable". It shows up as refinement , crisp throttle response etc.
The FFE has its own contribution to the ride - the magnificent sound and of course , the unrestricted flow of the exhaust air.
The bike puts a smile on my face all the time
Now with the headwork + FFE , the bike revs faster , feels smoother and sounds amazing !
Performance :
Sub 4k performance is hard to judge because the bike shoots past 4k before you get a glance at the speedo ! You can read that as , yes sub 4k rpm, the performance has increased.
Past 4k rpm is where the fun begins. Everyone who has had a 2 stroke vehicle will know what "powerband" means. Well the 220 now has a "powerband" in addition to the otherwse amazing torque ! from 6k rpm onwards , the bike FLIES ! and that too in a super smooth and loud way ! You can read that as , yes , past 4k rpm , the performance has increased massively !
Now with a pillion , it feels like a stock 220 without one
Looks :
I personally am not a fan of shiny silver things ( read chrome ) but the exhaust as a whole looks nice. Doesnt look like out of place , in fact it looks good ! It flows with the design of the bike and the upswept design makes it look awesome So in short - I likey !
An issue that im handling in my own way :
Centre stand retracts and bangs the ffe directly : Im sicking a piece of rubber to the stand with an asbestos gasket over it. The ruber will provide impact protection and the asbestos will provide heat protection to the rubber ! Will update this thread once i get it done.
Verdict :
The bike has now got much more power and torque throughout the rev range. This rev range is now finally usable because of the amazing refinement.
The sound is simply mesmerizing.
Thank you Joel and everyone there - Alex , Dennis , Mani. Had a nice time interacting with all of you.
Ill put up videos and pics in a few days..
Stay " tuned " ( pun intended )
Guys , im finally posting this : My ride has been Joel'ed !!
Warning : long post , kindly jump to the Ride report if patience is not your virtue
Well , after an entire year of contemplating , i decided to take the plunge - to get my bike performance tuned by none other than THE Joel Joseph. I setup an appointment with Joel in the 3rd week of September. My internal exams were scheduled for the first week of October so I took an appointment for the 8th of oct - saturday - the day the last exam gets over. Joel was super prompt in replying to my emails. So finally the last exam got over ( please dont ask me how i did
) and I gave him a call at about 12pm. The voice on the other end sounded much younger than I had expected . I confirmed the appointment for 4pm.His current workspace is in K.R.Puram - bout 30 odd kms from my place. I reached at 4pm and Joel was not present at that moment. Alex - one of the people that works with him , directed Mani - one of his extremely competent mechanics ( he's really good ) to strip the bike down and the dismantle the engine head. Then came Dennis - another person who he works with. Had a nice chat with all of them , learnt a few details of the working of the various parts in the engine and stuff
. I met a nice chap called Rahul there and we were yapping bikes for a long time.Joel came in at about 6 30pm , was super busy with his race honda city , and even generally.
He finally sat down to work his magic on the head. It was like an operation theatre : he closed the door , Dennis engaged me in some talk ( really interesting stuff btw ) and finally Joel came out saying that the surgery was successful. Now the bike had to be "sewed" back together and fit with a new voice box ( FFE )
I told Joel that he needs to have a red light in the waiting area -
On : operation going on , Off : Finished
So anyway , Mani rolled her down the ramp and told me to fire her up. The exhaust had the dB killer at this stage. I touched the starter button and she roared into life. Even after dismantling the engine and putting her back , she started with the first crank and the idling was stable at 1.3k rpm. Ive always had terrible cold start issues. Besides , the autochoke on my bike never works. But there she was , idling at 1.3 rpm steadily. I revved her a bit in neutral and I had this Insane expression on my face ! Joel asked me to take her for a spin. In my excitement , I almost forgot to wear my helmet ( thanks dennis
). I took her out ant went really easy on the throttle for a few hundred mts. Holy Christ ! the bike felt awesome ! pulled without any effort and making this orgasmic exhaust note ! I took out the dB killer and then whacked open the throttle - Wow , now thats some serious performance bump ! But I put the dB killer back on coz I thought the sound was a bit too loud for the city.I then finished all the formalities ( it was 9 40 pm btw ) , took a bunch of Race concepts stickers and started for home. This was the most EPIC ride of my life
Words cant do this any justice. The refinement from the headwork, the force and sound of the exhaust, just overpowering everything else that came to my mind. I stopped by at my friends place ( xbhp id - Arhiman ). He too has a 220 and he took mine for a spin. Now I knew what the expression on my face looked like :
I then went home - a happy man , with this insanely amazing bike.
Alright enough of the story , here is the Ride Report :
Sound:
Well , everyone has heard this a billion times but - WOW
Without the dB killer , it simply scares the crap out everyone. Even with the dB killer its brilliant. I had the dB killer for the first day and I decided to remove it yesterday and its taken the bike to a new level
There is this powerful - " Dont mess with me or Ill pound you to pieces " kinda presence that the exhaust note has. Its crazy in an absolutely great way. The bike sounds great when I roll on the throttle and even better when I roll off and let the revs drop from 5k to 3k rpm ! Its like thunder on two wheels
If there ever was a "God of music" then this FFE would be his/her instrument !
The Ride:
Well , people have not stressed on this particular aspect : the ride quality and refinement.
We all agree that the 220 does not like to be revved like, say , an r15. That smooth power delivery is missing. The bike pulls beautifully till 7k rpm but beyond that , its accompanied by harsh engine vibes. This is more so on my bike. She has always been as fast as the other 220s but never as smooth despite a good oil and overall good maintenance.
How ever , things are different now.
Let me tell you all - the engine has become butter smooth after the headwork. I had noo idea that the 220 is capable of being this smooth when revved. Initially when I took her for a spin , I thought the bike had lost torque in the lower revs (<4k rpm). Im used to a particular feeling when the bike accelerates but now the acceleration is soo smooth ! But soon i realized how quickly the revs build up and propels me ahead. As i said - not used ot eh smoothness ! Its like a surge of torque that lets me shoot off as if someone has bitten the bike in its a** !
The headwork has made the engine more "breathable". It shows up as refinement , crisp throttle response etc.
The FFE has its own contribution to the ride - the magnificent sound and of course , the unrestricted flow of the exhaust air.
The bike puts a smile on my face all the time
Now with the headwork + FFE , the bike revs faster , feels smoother and sounds amazing !
Performance :
Sub 4k performance is hard to judge because the bike shoots past 4k before you get a glance at the speedo ! You can read that as , yes sub 4k rpm, the performance has increased.
Past 4k rpm is where the fun begins. Everyone who has had a 2 stroke vehicle will know what "powerband" means. Well the 220 now has a "powerband" in addition to the otherwse amazing torque ! from 6k rpm onwards , the bike FLIES ! and that too in a super smooth and loud way ! You can read that as , yes , past 4k rpm , the performance has increased massively !
Now with a pillion , it feels like a stock 220 without one
Looks :
I personally am not a fan of shiny silver things ( read chrome ) but the exhaust as a whole looks nice. Doesnt look like out of place , in fact it looks good ! It flows with the design of the bike and the upswept design makes it look awesome
So in short - I likey !An issue that im handling in my own way :
Centre stand retracts and bangs the ffe directly : Im sicking a piece of rubber to the stand with an asbestos gasket over it. The ruber will provide impact protection and the asbestos will provide heat protection to the rubber ! Will update this thread once i get it done.
Verdict :
The bike has now got much more power and torque throughout the rev range. This rev range is now finally usable because of the amazing refinement.
The sound is simply mesmerizing.
Thank you Joel and everyone there - Alex , Dennis , Mani. Had a nice time interacting with all of you.
Ill put up videos and pics in a few days..
Stay " tuned " ( pun intended
)
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