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So I recently purchased a Hero Maestro. It was purchased on dec 26 2018 and underwent it's first servicing on Feb 25th.
I'm really new to bikes and took an experienced friend of mine to inspect the bike on delivery. He assured me all was ok.
Before the first servicing, below was the status of the bike
I live in a place where there's construction happening close by and it's quite dusty. At the time of servicing I informed the mechanic about excessive dust and starting problem. About the dust, I asked him to ensure he checks the air filters with even more attention. I gave the bike in the morning, they said it would be ready by afternoon, so I left. I had completed about 270KM at that time. The manual said 500KMs or 60 days what ever happens first. Hence, I gave it for servicing in-spite of just 270KMs
When I went to pick my bike, I went through the checklist in the user manual and asked if everything was done. I particularly asked about the wax polish which was on the list. They seemed clueless until I showed them the list I had. To that they said that actually this is a showroom and they do "basic" servicing too. I asked what from the list was not done, to which they say, just the polish. I have since been skeptical, and feel cheated. They said there's a big main workshop about 20 KMs from my place. I plan on doing the second service there. At the first service, they also said that the engine oil has been changed and charged me for it. I read here that Maestro actually needs only 800ml and I should have asked that remaining 200ml back. Wasn't aware at that moment and paid for the entire liter.
Anyways, here's what I have observed post the first service
My questions are:
I'm really new to bikes and took an experienced friend of mine to inspect the bike on delivery. He assured me all was ok.
Before the first servicing, below was the status of the bike
- Acceleration : It had a really high pick up. I think the RPM was set to a higher amount. The bike would just zoom off even with little acceleration. Over taking too was rather easy as it almost instantly jumped form 40KMPH to almost 60KMPH. The user manual however advised to be careful with the engine for the first 500 KM and so I'd normally stay within 40KMPH, apart from necessary over taking if any.
- Brakes : The breaks were very responsive, would stop instantly even if I partially pressed the left lever. Brakes felt completely engaged at about 85% of lever engagement. I didn't even use the right lever before the first servicing. In-fact I could not even pull the left brake lever entirely to engage the parking brake.
- Mileage : I did not know how to check the mileage, However, I think it was on the lower side. I remember a single bar (approx 1 Ltr as per user manual) seemed to provide about 22-25KMPL. I read about engine run-in period and how mileage improves after the first few services. I also read that using the bar approach is not accurate. So I can't really comment with certainty about the mileage.
- Self Start : I work full time 5 days a week and am able to use the bike only on weekends. My usage patterns were generally, 5 days no use at all, followed by two days of the weekend where I'd roughly use it in the afternoons and evenings (about 15-20KM per day with some variation). During this time, I had engine starting problem, the service center told me it's because of non usage and also winter causing battery drainage. My friends told me they too face the same issue during winter (Mumbai). Someone recommended I use the kick start when I'm starting the bike for the first time in the day. Still getting the hang of this, as I've never used it before.
I live in a place where there's construction happening close by and it's quite dusty. At the time of servicing I informed the mechanic about excessive dust and starting problem. About the dust, I asked him to ensure he checks the air filters with even more attention. I gave the bike in the morning, they said it would be ready by afternoon, so I left. I had completed about 270KM at that time. The manual said 500KMs or 60 days what ever happens first. Hence, I gave it for servicing in-spite of just 270KMs
When I went to pick my bike, I went through the checklist in the user manual and asked if everything was done. I particularly asked about the wax polish which was on the list. They seemed clueless until I showed them the list I had. To that they said that actually this is a showroom and they do "basic" servicing too. I asked what from the list was not done, to which they say, just the polish. I have since been skeptical, and feel cheated. They said there's a big main workshop about 20 KMs from my place. I plan on doing the second service there. At the first service, they also said that the engine oil has been changed and charged me for it. I read here that Maestro actually needs only 800ml and I should have asked that remaining 200ml back. Wasn't aware at that moment and paid for the entire liter.
Anyways, here's what I have observed post the first service
- Acceleration : Pick up has dropped drastically. Engine does feel smoother, and it accelerates to 40KMPH quickly, however, 40KMPH to 60KMPH takes a really long time. I tried a couple of times and I felt like it took forever. Infact I had to slowdown before it hit 60 every time I tried due to turns/traffic. Still being in the run-in period, I did not stretch it too much.
- Brakes : Brakes don't feel responsive at all. It feels like it's lightly engaged (about 30-50% engaged) when I have pulled the lever to about 85%. It however, feel like 85% engaged when I press hard on the lever. I have grown used to this machanism and anticipate a longer stopping distance, however, I don't think it's at it best. I tried adjusting the freeplay, being my first time not sure how well I've done it. I tightened it slightly in the night, but was not able to check it. Next morning, I was in a hurry and forgot about the tightening, I started the bike and it felt the same. However, after covering some distance, I heard a rattling sound from the first wheel. This worried the hell out of me, I inspected the wheel visually and it all seemed intact. The sound stopped too so I continued. After covering about 3 KMs it struck me that I did not check the wheels for free rotation after tightening. I did that and noticed that the front wheel wasn't moving entirely freely. I loosened the freeplay until it moved freely. Did the same for the back wheel too. However, post this, it still feels like the brakes aren't at it's best, and aren't applying fully. I've tried multiple levels, the wheels either feel like they're not moving freely or the brakes feel week, I've never felt I hit the optimal level. Right now, I'm also worried about that rattling sound, and if internally there is some damage, I don't feel any difference though.
- Mileage : I tried a full tank to full tank mileage test. However, it was not entirely full to full. I had to refuel when the last bar started to blink as I did not know how longer the bike would go. They have stopped proving fuel in bottles and I could not risk being stranded somewhere. I reset the trip on a full tank and checked it just now after the bar started blinking. It's at 245KMs. Assuming the blinking happens at 1/2 liter and I have a 5.5L fuel take, my mileage works out to be 145/5 = 29KMPL which I feel is quite low for after the first service. I have completed about a total of 520KM so far.
- Self Start : Starting problem is still there, but not as frequent as before, so that's a relief. I use the kick start at the start of the day. Still getting used to it. I recently took a little longer than usual when recoiling the kick, and I heard some rattling sound again. There's no sound now.
My questions are:
- Is the acceleration behaviour normal
- Are the brakes fine, what could the rattling sound have been
- Is the mileage of 29KMPL after first service and 520KMs normal
- Do I need to worry about the rattling sound I heard while recoiling the kick lever.
- Anything in particular I need to look into when giving the bike for second servicing
- The manual recommends "unleaded" petrol, how do I verify the fuel I'm filling, petrol pump folks aren't very cooperative on this.
- I really want to take good care of this scooter, however, am I over doing it and actually creating more problems in the process.
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