I'm sure things will turn out well now dude. I can relate to this situation myself. I screwed up two years in Engg myself and still have two more years to go before i'm done with it. I so badly wanted to quit and take up a course similar to what you're pursuing now. But i've decided to finish what i've started. Paying the price by losing years for not taking up a course as per my interests.

Right said. The transition from 60 kmph and beyond, all the way to 100+ kmph (if the roads allow!) is smooth and exhilarating!

Follow the procedure mentioned by Nightwing and you can set the idling yourself. I've set my bike's idling to 1000 Rpm and i prefer to keep it that way.

I'm not sure if the noise is something else but if you hold the starter button for a prolonged while, the sound is that of the engine crank i believe. Nothing strange about that. And this also leads to the tacho needle jumping so you may try pressing the starter intermittently instead of keeping it pressed to start the bike. Correct me if i am wrong, anyone.

Gladiator engines have their torque stored at higher revs. Probably you can't rival Splendors in initial acceleration, but once you're past 1st gear, the game is played by your rules.

@Everyone, I am getting back into gear after a period of frustration related to Yamaha ASS.

Had my fifth service at 3537KM/10 months. The service structure at Yamaha has completely broken down. Its all a melee to get the service job card filled after baking in the sun for an hour Everyone crowds around the service in-charge. Just told the technician firmly that I wanted 20w grade mineral oil. He tried to say something about 15w synthetic which was used for last 2 services but I insisted on 20w.

@nightwing, do what your heart tells you. Here in Mumbai, it is all too common to see a steady stream of BE (all disciplines) going on to MBA (any discipline available) just to be assured of a fat salary. It is truly rare to see people who do for a living what they love doing.

Bike is rock solid at 10 months/5th service/3500KM except for:
1. mileage still worrying me - 39KMPL. It is not the mileage itself but the fact that may be I am riding in a wrong manner.

2. Switches (horn and turn indicator) improved but still not at 100%, get nervous a 4-5 times in my daily commute. Problem is noticeable when the bike is going over broken/bouncy roads which makes me suspect that weekly treatment of WD40 may not help.

3. Vibrations between 5K-6K RPM while accelerating - seems to come from the front/below console area. Appears sharply after 5K and disappears also sharply after 6K. It actually happens at some RPM between these points.

4. Sometimes when I let go of throttle, I hear some sound as if the engine is wheezing. This also happens very briefly only after the throttle is let go/reduced.

Are you sure that they put Synthetic Oil in your bike during the last two services? I am asking this since the only good oil the Yamaha SC have is the 15W50 Yamalube which is Semi Synthetic and used in the R15.
How much did the oil cost you?
And 3.5k kms is too early for switching to Synthetic oil. However there are two school of thoughts regarding when to switch to Semi/Fully Synthetic oil. Some prefer to change to Semi/Fully Synthetic oil as soon as possible i.e. as soon as running-in is complete. While others (like me) prefer using it after 7-8k kms.
Semi/Fully Synthetic oil is better than Mineral based engine oil.
I am explaining the concept of Engine oil ratings and its effect on the Gladiator again for the benefit of new Gladiator owners.
In 15W50 the 15 is the VIR(Viscosity Index Rating) at 0 degrees Celsius and 50 is the VIR at 100 degrees. Higher the viscosity the less the oil will flow. Consider the 15W50 for example. At 0 degrees the viscosity is 15(slightly less than 20W40) hence the oil will flow much better during cold starts. But at higher degrees(when the engine is at it's working temperatures) you need thicker oil as it will even out and do a much better job of cooling and cleaning the working parts.
Now in the case of the Gladiator,the engine runs quite cool. And even at higher temps the W50 grade oil is still not as 'flowy' as required. Hence an oil as thick as W50 grade will not be pumped efficiently in the engine. 15W50 will do fine in Bajaj bikes as their engines run quite hot.
I tested the Motul 5100 on my Gladiator and after a month the oil was still as thick as new. And since the oil is quite thick it has a habit of making the bike,how should I put it,lazy.
While the same oil was thinned out considerably by my Discover 125 during that same period.
Look for Gulf Pride and Petronas in 20W40 or 15W40 grades or better still Motul in the above mentioned grades. You can get Castrol Power One which is a 15W40 Grade oil and is easily available but it's an oil that is widely disliked on xbhp and there are a lot of fake Castrol oils in the market.


The mileage will start to improve once you cross 10k kms. Weird as it may sound,all Yammies under my possession show this 'behaviour'. I suppose the stop and go traffic of Mumbai is taking it's toll on your Gladiator hence the mileage drop.

Engineering was what I was good at. I felt comfortable between machines. Felt at home. I lost 2 years due to no fault of mine and now I have nothing to show for those years. In Journalism I am a fish out of water. And out of 36 people in my branch 32 are girls. Not to mention they ragged me endlessly on the first day. Not that I am complaining.

I was going to follow this rule about mineral lube till 8K km.

The oil used is Yamalube 15W-50, costing Rs 415. This happened for the 3rd and 4th service. At fifth, they have used 20W-40 again.

Can we carry in our own oil? I haven't seen any other customer (rest are all FZ, Fazer and R-15 though) carrying their own can of lube. Besides, since I am not present during the actual service, will they actually use it?

Or may be I can skip the oil change during the service and get it done at a trusted mechanic with me present? As it is, I am not crunching the kilometers, so it shouldn't be critical that I do it during the authorised service.

Keeping fingers crossed, but am getting used to this figure. Also I guess, the run-in has not been done properly, what with me learning on the bike and giving it for a "test drive" to all friends who asked.

Its a real pity then . And engineering is unlike other courses which we can pick up later as a part-time or in a work sabbatical.

front fork bend - issue

A splendor guy with a tied bulky load hit my front wheel (tire only) hard, as i was waiting to cross the road in front my office, after that incident, the front handlebar alignment changed and bike turns right automatically in slow speed.

how come such a small incident take a toll on the forks.... SVC manager suspects a fork bend.. bike having clocked 3005kms is in service station for 2 days now...

1. Does gladi have a history of clutch and gear shift issues after 15,000 kms ?
2. Coming to rusting issues, i find many factory fitted clips, holders (1. clip securing cables near speedo assembly, 2. clamp near disc brake) have lost their paint and have started turning brown with rust, felt bad witnessing all that... any one came across such an issue (will post pics on next post).... as per nightwing advice planning to coat old engine oil on those areas with old brush...
3. SVC guy told for 3,000kms the gear shift is as new... i presumed the vehicle being just 6 months old that he overrated as i felt he has fixed in his mind that gladi's are much lesser reliable bikes in front of fz and r15's. poor gladi....
4. nightwing, prashanth how are your gear shifts and clutches??
5. in gladi should we use full clutch during gear changes?

Comments in BOLD

Answers in bold.


It's entirely possible that the the fork may have a slight bend or the alloys must have bended if the Splendor hit it at an angle. Keep your bike on the center stand and let the front wheel in the air. Make the bike face directly forward by positioning the handle in the center and then leave it.Does the handle move to any of the side on it's own? Bend and look at the front forks. Do they look even on both sides? Grab hold of them and pull them towards you and then away. Do you experience some horizontal movement? If yes then there's an issue.

1.The clutch is quite light and jerky at times. Especially when starting and putting it in first gear and coming to neutral while stopping.
2. Sandpaper them using the one with the finest grains and then use old engine oil. That's what seems to work. Have you tried WD40?
3. R15 is as moody as the Gladiator. Trust me.
4.Mentioned my problem above. Jerky shifts at times.
5.Yes.

@nightwing, thanks for the tips and advice. Given recent mood swings related to my bike, I am not sure about the revving of the bike. I will keep an eye on that. Next major update at 6th service

Thanks for the suggestions nightwing.. will post pics soon.. after i am done with those...

Thanks

@madhav In RX135 we generally used 3/4 th clutch to change to higher or lower gears and they used to work like butter. That was my comparison actually.

Friends... monsoon fast approaching here in south india... advice me on the most important points i need to consider to safe guard the bike from the rains..

@sriram_r - protect the switchgear

Is it possible to replace specific switches in the switchgear pod? Or does the entire unit have to go? The turn indicator and horn switch are showing no signs of improvment and I am thinking of putting in new ones.

Guys, some moron broke my stock tail light lens and the whole assembly looks like a mess now .. do SVc guys stock factory grade tail lenses in their stores.. else do we need to buy from yamaha directly n give them for replacement..

^^ No you don't need to buy it from Yamaha directly. The SVC might have stock. If not they'll order it.

Finally my babe has become 14months old. 7836kms on the odo & 7th service due.

Thanks prashanth,

The SVC would not stock them or they have exhausted and not ordered for new lenses.. have to wait... all the focus are on FZ, fazer and R15 mate...feels a little low


hi madhav, how does it feel after 7800 odd kms of riding.. u plan for a long
ride