prashant, madhav.. where are u guys/???
This blog is certainly missing u people..

I have got a big bore, carb, air filter, headwork & FFE.

The best time to change an oil would be around 2000-2500kms (if mineral). According to my theory, gladiator doesnt have the oil filter as in other bigger bikes. So there's nothing to clean the oil & the carbon particles remain suspended in the oil itself. So its better to change the oil (if synthetic) before the recommended drain period.
Well its obviously a good choice. Its a perfect learners bike. Same was the case with me. My first venture into bikes is with gladiator only. So dont worry & you can go ahead with your choice.

And NO. You dont need a license to buy a bike. But to ride one, YES you would require a license.
Well that is in case of 4-wheelers. In case of 2-wheelers its quite opposite. You have to drive without any pillion & with a L-sticker on front & rear.
Well mileage depends on the rider. Many claim near 60 mileage. But i get 40+ even in the worst conditions (i.e. overloading, fast riding etc.).
There was a comparo a few years ago (perhaps in 2008 or 2009) by overdrive in which the gladiator delivered 70+ mileage when ridden with a single rider in a constant 60kmph speed.
Not sure about the new block. But IMO if you encounter such case then it would be best to get the bike joell'd (assuming that you live in bangalore). Since you are going for a second hand then you can invest the saved money in modding the bike . Virtually all internal parts will be replaced by new ones (block, valves, carb). Hence you get a more powerful bike & that too in budget. A win-win situation.
Whats the name of the oil. Never used castrol. But just change it at 2500kms & it should be fine. IMO the best oil for our bike would be AGIP racing 4t 5W40 full synthetic oil. But if you are on a budget then even GULF pride 4t 20W40 is good. In the minerals i found the gulf to be the best. Engine becomes quite smooth. & it costs just 250 bucks.
Well white smoke is given in two cases. Either when engine is burning oil (engine block & piston rings blown out) or the mixture is too rich.
The thread seems to have bursts occasionally. Sometimes the thread seems so dead for days together & the other times the thread seems to have quite a lot of posts in just a small period of time.

Wow Please tell us more about the mods: the displacement with the big bore, the top speeds and the acceleration figures. How does it sound with the FFE etc also post some pics of Your bike

That's what I was informed by RTO guys. Not sure if it has something to do with the State You are located.

Posted it. Just a few pages ago. The top end remains somewhat same (though the mods were not meant to increase the top end). But the the way it reaches the top end did change though . The highlight is the bottom end. The bike's now very torquey. It able to take on speeds as low as 20-25 with pillion. & all this with no mileage drop. Was getting a mileage of 40+ earlier & even now.

Not sure. But AFAIK the rules should be same all over india.

Good to hear that you too learned on this one, feels good.
And thanks for the clarifications regarding licence bro. Will apply for a learner sometime soon.

Price of Gladiator rear view mirror!

My mirror has broken, How much does both the mirror cost?

And, Will it look nice if i use FZ mirrors?

Thanks.

madhav.. then I will buy GULF pride 4t 20w40 this time.. its GULF pride plus I guess.. coz GULF pride 4t is 20w50 and not 20w40.
If I use gulf, then what should be my drainage interval/??? (as it says 10,000kms)

which is the best semi-synthetic oil for gladiator???

Around 100 bucks each..

Not sure about the name. Used it way back in last year. The oil suited the bike pretty much & the ride became considerably smoother. And NO. Never always believe what they show on ads. I wouldnt recommend anything more than 4000kms. 4000kms should be the maximum.

Never used any semi synth oil. So no idea.

Thanks madhav.. Only prob is I donno where gulf is sold here in kolkata..
Will have to search a bit..

cost of castrol power1 is Rs. 300. Has anybody used it before//??
Its semi-synthetic..

Theres a senior member from kolkata. His id is pinaki. Search in the engine oil thread & you will find him. He has used the gulf quite a lot of times. Contact him for the info regarding the oil & where to get it, etc.

thanks man.. will surely try to reach him..

Back after long

Hi Guys!

Back to the forums after long. How are y'all & your beloved machines doing? I guess my last post here was when I got a set of Dunlop Monsters for my rear.

Covered a smooth 2000 KMs ever since and I seem to have developed a problem with my Gladi. It makes a strange squealing noise at low RPMs (from idle to 2500 RPM) which goes away once I rev beyond 3000 RPM. I checked with my mech and he says it's nothing serious, but I am not very convinced. Are my valve/piston heads developing a problem?

The noise is something like the sound that comes from old, creaky fan or motor..something like a high pitched squealing. Will try to record and upload a sample, but meanwhile can anybody here suggest what could possibly be wrong?

More updates: I recently changed my engine oil from Shell Advance mineral to Wurth (Wuerth) 20W40 mineral based oil - that was a brand completely unknown to me. After the oil change, the engine surely seems smoother than what I got with Shell, but mileage seems to have dropped significantly.

I used to get 50-52kpl previously - now dropped to 42-44KPL. I got my air filters cleaned recently and I do my carb tuning myself, so I am sure that the tuning hasn't been messed around by anyone else. Also checked for tyre pressure & it was normal. Any ideas?

BTW guys, what's the engine oil capacity of the Gladiator? My mech filled it up with 1L after a full drain but i feel it's insufficient. I think 1.25L is the standard fillup for engine oils, please correct me if I am wrong.

Lastly, where can i get Gulf Pride in or around Koramangala in Bangalore? Really don't get time from my office schedules to visit JC Road or other far-off places.

Why on the earth are you giving 1250 ml to engine that is rated for 1000ml. over lubrication can cause burning of mobil and also fast wear and tear of piston rings.
It can also cause insufficient temperature that is optimum to run the engine. Over lubrication is never wanted. So change it to 1000ml ASAP. When drained ~850-900ml oil is more than sufficient when changed at 1.5K km interval.

I am having 1000ml of fresh oil in my engine right now. But I recall having read somewhere (maybe on this thread or the engine oil thread OR maybe on t-bhp) that the oil capacity of the gladi is 1250 ml - which is what I wanted to confirm here. Maybe Madhav or Prashanth would have a fair idea.