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**The Monk** · 05-07-2013, 03:51 PM

Re: preparing bike for 10,000 km trip

Query Approved

**on2wheels** · 05-07-2013, 08:10 PM

Re: preparing bike for 10,000 km trip

first of all, i would wish you all the best for upcoming journey. almost everything you've included. i would like to mention following points.

change clutch and accelerator cable and keep the old one as spare on the same place, ie. dont remove it. in case any cable breaks you'll have to just attach both the ends to their respective places. this will save your time. just make sure you tie the ends of loose cable with piece of cloth so that dust wont enter in it.

what about headlight bulb? will you run on 35/35 bulb?

tyres are in your plan, go with tubeless, punture repairing is lot easier and time saving in those tyres.

replace speedo cable too if its not replaced. its imp while you are at new place.

keep extra spark plug and plug cap. i have Hunk and cap has short only once in 45K kms.

replace the bush of swingarm even if they are good. they can start doing choon choon anytime. and its irritating.

decarbonising cat con?? a new thing to me. please throw some light on this.
check your tappet/timing.

thats all from my side.

**harikeshpk** · 05-07-2013, 09:47 PM

Re: preparing bike for 10,000 km trip

whatever is done do well in advance and ride the bike at least for 3 weeks then recheck and adjust. bullet bike even though new are more prone to problems that your hunk. both bikes can be serviced almost every where in India. dont worry too much on this. and have a great ride.

**nishibds** · 05-08-2013, 12:53 AM

Re: preparing bike for 10,000 km trip

thank you ON2WHEELS and HARIKESHPK for responding to my query and your wishes. keeping extra clutch and accelerator cables is a good idea. thanks. as for light, we are not planning to do night drives but invariably we will end up driving at night on some days. my stock light is 35w and I was pretty ok with it, on my previous long trips. I some times use my dipper/pass light at corners continuously on for a few seconds if I feel visibility is low. so no problem. never knew the spark plug cap could cause a problem , so I will carry one. and will also keep the current spark plug as my spare. am giving the bike for servicing and replacements this weekend or max next week, so I will have ample time to review the condition of the bike after service. I was asking about decarbonizing the silencer as I hear carbon build up can restrict the flow and cause mileage/pickup problems on old bikes. so I asked about that part. also, on my last trip to rajasthan, my cousin at that time had Yamaha rx 135. his engine jerked,stalled on highway. found a local mech who opened the head and found a lot of carbon. he cleaned it up and changed sparkplug and we went on. do not want that happening this time.

**Traveller01** · 05-08-2013, 02:15 AM

Re: preparing bike for 10,000 km trip

No need to decarb the silencer its needed for 2 stroke engine. All the best for your ride.

**whymail** · 05-08-2013, 12:40 PM

Re: preparing bike for 10,000 km trip

- carry spare cables [accelerator / clutch] - wherever possible get the cables pre-layed in the ducting - in case of a breakdown, merely flicking off the broken cable & fitting the good one will save time / life.
- carry spare tire tubes [front & rear] - tubeless tires are best for their quick fix ability to punctures. however in rocky terrain chances are you will hit a rough spot here & there & in case u dent your wheels [rims - again a rare possibility considering ur bike has cast iron ones & not alloys] - tubeless ones will loose pressure due to inconsistent shape - on such occasions, u can insert the tubes inside the tires & continue to ride.
- carry spare headlamp / bulbs / etc.
- bullets are most prone to sprocket & chain troubles - advisable to carry a spare chain too.
most other things u've covered already.
there is a benefit in riding a bullet in our country - almost every / any mechanic will know how to fix it, if anything is messed-up. :-)
i trust that u've already listed out things u need to carry to handle summer / rain / winter / snow & stuff that will help u remain dry & warm in cold.
last but not the least... ride safe... avoid riding in the nights... the journey is always better than the destination... and may the force be with you my friend.
my best wishes for ur trip.
jai ho!

**Rakesh Rok** · 05-08-2013, 01:17 PM

Re: preparing bike for 10,000 km trip

a small thing, though not as big one, . . For the air to be filled to the tire, get it filled with nitrogen, not the regular air you get in the local bunks as nitrogen causes a cooling effect inside the tire and does not allow the tire to get heated up soon and also the air does not become low as frequent as regular air, but lasts more. . . On such a long ride, you should fill nitrogen. . . Just a small thing which can add up to your list of things for your ride.

Mainly have a joyful and safe journey, hope you enjoy the trip and keep everyone updated with the pics. . .

Cheers!!!

**whymail** · 05-08-2013, 01:23 PM

Re: preparing bike for 10,000 km trip

Originally posted by Rakesh Rok View Post

get it filled with nitrogen

+1 to that...

**on2wheels** · 05-08-2013, 04:14 PM

Re: preparing bike for 10,000 km trip

Originally posted by Rakesh Rok View Post

a small thing, though not as big one, . . For the air to be filled to the tire, get it filled with nitrogen, not the regular air you get in the local bunks as nitrogen causes a cooling effect inside the tire and does not allow the tire to get heated up soon and also the air does not become low as frequent as regular air, but lasts more. . . On such a long ride, you should fill nitrogen. . . Just a small thing which can add up to your list of things for your ride.

Mainly have a joyful and safe journey, hope you enjoy the trip and keep everyone updated with the pics. . .

Cheers!!!

agreed.. i have filled Nitrogen and after 6 month in which i covered 10K kms, air presure in tires just reduced by 3 and 5 psi in frnt and rear tire.
also it helps in reducing puncture probability as it keeps tyres cool, hot tires are more prone to get punctured.

**nishibds** · 05-09-2013, 01:59 PM

Re: preparing bike for 10,000 km trip

thanks for the replies.
yes i am aware of the idea of using nitrogen in tyres. infact i used it on our trip to goa 2 yrs back, and had no issues during the whole trip. i forgot to mention it in this post. it is difficult to find nitrogen stations on the move especially in unknown places but atleast i will start the trip with nitrogen from hyderabad.

another isuue that bothers me is tubeless tyres. i am in double mind to buy them or not as i have previous bad experience with my honda city car. once it got punctured and the tyre tore apart in the side wall, making it useless for ever. i fit the stepney and moved on which i cant do on a bike. so i am thinking better to go with tube tyre and carry extra tube. yes time and effort is more to repair,but atleast in can be done by me.

any suggestions regarding tyres? want a good set of tyres for wet roads. june it starts raining. how about mrf meteor c? i am going through the tyres thread also in this forum.

have purchsased a few other things for the trip.(non bike related) and also have some more purchases. will post the pics soon.

**Rakesh Rok** · 05-09-2013, 05:06 PM

Re: preparing bike for 10,000 km trip

Originally posted by nishibds View Post

thanks for the replies.
yes i am aware of the idea of using nitrogen in tyres. infact i used it on our trip to goa 2 yrs back, and had no issues during the whole trip. i forgot to mention it in this post. it is difficult to find nitrogen stations on the move especially in unknown places but atleast i will start the trip with nitrogen from hyderabad.

another isuue that bothers me is tubeless tyres. i am in double mind to buy them or not as i have previous bad experience with my honda city car. once it got punctured and the tyre tore apart in the side wall, making it useless for ever. i fit the stepney and moved on which i cant do on a bike. so i am thinking better to go with tube tyre and carry extra tube. yes time and effort is more to repair,but atleast in can be done by me.

any suggestions regarding tyres? want a good set of tyres for wet roads. june it starts raining. how about mrf meteor c? i am going through the tyres thread also in this forum.

have purchsased a few other things for the trip.(non bike related) and also have some more purchases. will post the pics soon.

These are the tires you can try,
1. MRF Mogrip.
2. Ceat vertigo sport.
3. Michellin Sirac Street.
4. Dunlop tires. . . Any of these would help you. . .

Cheers!!!

**nishibds** · 05-09-2013, 09:01 PM

Re: preparing bike for 10,000 km trip

hi all, today i went to MRF showroom in hyderabad. a lady (owner) who is very confident about her knowledge and 20years experience selling tyres has told me zapper FY is not sold in retail. it is sent to companies directly and not sold seperately. when i told her i need tyres for wet riding conditions, with out any hesitation she suggested me MRF RIBS 2.75/ 18 for front and MRF METEOR 100/90 - 18 for rear. she says thats the best combo for good grip on wet roads. also said ribs are best for wet, and dont even think of others for front instead of ribs. can i take her word? both these are tube tyres. she says she wont recommend tubeless for me as my rims are 4 years old and may have minor bends. i also went to hero show room for tuff up tubes. they dont sell them. went to honda showroom as i read in some other post in the forum, they have 30.0 - 18 rear tuff up tubes for unicorn but i think they wont suit my 100/90 -18 rear. shall i go for ribs in front? i am not a fan of zapper fs which came stock with my bike.

**Rakesh Rok** · 05-09-2013, 09:18 PM

Re: preparing bike for 10,000 km trip

Originally posted by nishibds View Post

hi all, today i went to MRF showroom in hyderabad. a lady (owner) who is very confident about her knowledge and 20years experience selling tyres has told me zapper FY is not sold in retail. it is sent to companies directly and not sold seperately. when i told her i need tyres for wet riding conditions, with out any hesitation she suggested me MRF RIBS 2.75/ 18 for front and MRF METEOR 100/90 - 18 for rear. she says thats the best combo for good grip on wet roads. also said ribs are best for wet, and dont even think of others for front instead of ribs. can i take her word? both these are tube tyres. she says she wont recommend tubeless for me as my rims are 4 years old and may have minor bends. i also went to hero show room for tuff up tubes. they dont sell them. went to honda showroom as i read in some other post in the forum, they have 30.0 - 18 rear tuff up tubes for unicorn but i think they wont suit my 100/90 -18 rear. shall i go for ribs in front? i am not a fan of zapper fs which came stock with my bike.

Ribs I haven't rode on them but feel they are pretty well and perform good in wet conditions, MRF Tyres. . . You can also consider Ceat vertigo sport and Michellin sirac street for front as they have button kind of tyres in the front and are almost so called all terrain tyres. . . For the rear, Mogrip is the best for your Hunk and it has that size 3.00 - 18, just go for Mogrip Meteor as it seems good better visit a main wholesale dealer and he might help you out there. . . They will have various brands of tires for your need. . . Meteor is good, you can go for that as well as i was also planning for that but later changed and now going for MRF Vyde for my Unicorn. . .

Cheers!!!

**nishibds** · 05-11-2013, 07:08 PM

Re: preparing bike for 10,000 km trip

hi all, after going around searching for tyres, and a lot of double mind aboutnfinl choice, i ended up buying CEAT VERTIGO SPORT 100/90-18 FOR REAR AND CEAT F85 2.75-18 FOR FRONT. dont know what made me decide on these options but finally ended up with these. i was thinking of MRF METEOR for rear but ended up with ceat vertigo. i hope they wrk out well for me and my driving nature. i dont drive aggresivesly. i am pretty sure the block pattern will be helpful in ladakh. just hoping that they dont fishtail on the wet turmac in june in the rest of the country.

by the way, an intresting thing while i bought the tyres was, the owner was pretty knowledgable about the tryes but the 2 helpers who were working for past 2 years dosent know what is TWI nor its significance. i ended up educating them. they were like, who cares for the wear indicator sir, just change the tyre once it crosses 40,000km. i wonder what condition the softer compound tyres would be after 40,000 km.

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