Yes on high speed bikes or when you are travelling at fast speed on a bike with open chain i.e no cover. But if your bike has a cover, and chain snaps, imagine what can happen!

Also, when chain snaps you will suddenly go neutral and loose balance and fall at any speed except perhaps if it snaps while you are putting it in first gear and making a move from stand still and it snaps, this happened to one friend. But I dont know anyone who would want to take risk of using worn out chain.

Met with an accident today afternoon. I was doing about 40 with a pillion on the right most lane of the road and some guy appeared out of nowhere from the right side just in front of me. He was talking on the phone and wasn't aware of anything. To save him I slammed the brakes, my bike skidded around 8-10 mtrs. I scraped my elbow, helmet fell off. Crash guard saved the bike, not even a single scratch except that the crash guard was bent. Luckily, no heavy vehicle was behind us and there was a decent gap between us and vehicles behind us so they stopped in time. The pillion escaped with minor scratches. It could have been a major accident if some heavy vehicle had rammed us from behind. And that random guy disappeared within seconds.

Will fix the crash guard and the saree guard in the next service.

Hi

Hope both you and the pillion are ok. Please make sure that you do wear good riding gear. It has been stressed a lot of times on xbhp and believe me it does work... a lot of my moronic friends have walked out alive without a single scratch thanks to the riding gear i forced them to buy. Now they have a more sedate riding style.

And i would suggest if the crash guard has been bent quite a lot, replace it with a new one which will cost you only around 600-700 bucks.

Ride safe,

Cheers

Dear dnyanesh,

I just wanted to share a video which I saw some 2 years back.. I dont know when was it posted on Youtube but I saw it through Liveleak.com and realised the importance of wearing a helmet.

The guy was just traveling at some 30-40 km/hr when he fell off.. but the impact on the head could have been deadly.. Just see the slow motion.

Have taken a lot of pain searching the same video to describe the importance of tightly tucking a good quality helmet.

CBR1000 Highside Crash - YouTube


Dear Shv,

Just wanted to ask what protective gear you are talking about.. and can they be worn to office!!

I know the importance of riding gear but in my scenario, I was just going to my nearest supermarket. And I am known to drive slow and safe. There was flyover construction work going on the road I was driving. I had to take a right u-turn so I had to keep the bike on the right and the right side was covered with Aluminum Sheets/Barricades. So nobody can really expect someone to just come out of those barricades. Moreover, it was so sudden that I forgot to use my rear brakes which is why I skidded I think.

The crash guard is bent by around 40-50 degrees inwards. I was thinking of going for a new one but my friend suggested that it can be fixed. The saree guard was also bent. I fixed it with my hand but now it rattles whenever the bike goes on bumps or pot holes.

The service is due next week. Should I mention anything in regard to this?

Hey,

Thanks for the sharing the video. I think it was shared earlier also. The thing is that I landed on my elbow so my head was quite safe, nothing happened to the helmet also. But you are right. I didn't use the straps to secure the helmet in place so it came off. I will take care from this moment.

^^^^ dhyanesh.... i believe in All The Gear All The Time..... whether its a inter state ride or a ride to supermarket....

Hi,
A riding jacket, ventilated, protective gloves and a good helmet. Yup if you are not comfortable wearing a full gear then one can also go for bionic arm & knee guards which will not give you full protection but some protection will be there. I understand that "where to keep it in office becomes an issue, but i would rather take that headache then staying bed ridden for months.. ask anyone who have witnessed/experienced a crash. Would they have preferred to have riding gear at that point of time?

Don't get me wrong.. but maximum no. of such accidents happen to a lot of people closest to their home. I am sure you must have figured out by now that even at slow speeds the impact is quite adequate to seriously injure someone.

If the crash guard has been bent to 45 degrees. I suggest that you better get a replacement guard asap.

Cheers,

Yes, you are absolutely right. It's better to be safe than sorry.

And thanks for the clarification, I'll replace the crash guard.

+1. I take them evne when going for a haircut

Dear Muztarik: I am not at all getting personal against you. You just happened to have been twice in the line of fire since your posts were the most recent and I could not recall all those which have been giving inaccurate information here.

You forget something: this kind of modification can only be done by experienced mechanics.....just as you you will ask them to do any other major work on your bike. This is the work of tuners, not inexperienced kids.

Tuning a bike, giving it more power, etc... is ALWAYS an adventure, I reckon, but this is one of the most common things, using tested parts, and not going beyond a level that would make the bike unsafe. Having more power, specially on this bike, is something that all users would have liked (see the poll results at the beginning of this thread). This bike gets easily a 250cc engine: it's got the frame, suspension, and brakes fit for that, even when keeping the rear drum brake.

What is dangerous is not to have that bit more power (actually, power is also safety!), but how one uses it: a corner will have to be taken at a certain speed, this whatever the power of the bike. Driving recklessly a 50cc. is far more dangerous than a "normal" ride on even the most highly tuned bike.

It was not the use or non use of this or that oil I was discussing, but your affirmation "per my calculations" that the quantity of oil to put in the engine was different that what is clearly indicated on the owner's manual. As another poster wrote: " you know better than Yamaha?".
Sorry, you were plain wrong there!

To all: this maybe some "culture clash' there!
You are all Indians, the country known for non-violence (although atrocities are often reported too....!)
I am from the South of France (now living in Vietnam) and share with Italians that hot blooded, loud talk, full of hand gestures way of talking (and writing). We speak our mind, yes, openly and frankly, but after that keep having a friendly drink together. There is no aggressiveness, nor arrogance there. You are wrong: I tell you that you are wrong, might even bang on the table when saying it, and speak very loud, but that's all!
Politically correct bores me to death, and is most often a sign of hypocrisy and I better like frank and direct saying.

But that is more than enough of a digression and it totally lacks interest for others. So I repeat: nothing personal. OK?

Hi Lucky Luke,

as requested earlier, please maintain a decorum in this forum. You are an experienced rider and your inputs are and will always be appreciated minus the rants of course .


i have no idea where the indians vs italians vs french coming from.. but it is really not needed...lets move on and talk about biking which is what this thread is all about.

Best Regards

does the oil change be mandatory according to the service time interval or odo reading??

my SVC has hardly changed oil during the service time interval(30 days,90 days etc) and make me ride all the way there in between these service intervals just to change the oil.
my 5th service was over a month back and just changed the oil yesterday!!

i don't clock much on the odo as others do,so do i stick the service time or odo??
worst part is the uneasiness of changing gears and to the point when i decide i need to change the oil!!

Sincerely, SHV and others, I do not understand where my comments, even-though they could be called rants, can be considered as "obnoxious", "aggressive", "arrogant" , or even lacking politeness. It is hypocrite (to me) to speak gently when one thinks he has to speak louder, and that is where I say we may see an example of "culture clash".
Hey: perhaps just an old man who tells off kids when they do wrong: I'm nicely nearing 69 (and next is 70...arrgghhhh!!!), so stay cool with the grandpa: he rides fast, talks loud, but he's not gonna hurt you!!
Anyway, the "rant" is over (until next one hahaha!) and I wish you all safe ride and a good day!
Cheers

engine oil changing frequency is 1000 km or first service (mandatory), 2000 km from the first service, and every 3000 km from 2000 km. If your mileage is very low and the svc is not changing your bike's oil you can always insist for an oil change as and when you want. All mineral oil and semisynthetics are better to be changed every 3 months no matter whether the bike was standing still in the garage. If the mileage is more, sticking to the oil changing frequency i.e every 70 days/3000 km should be followed. This is as per my opinion, senior's opinion awaited :-)

Change at which ever comes first i mean ODO reading or time interval
changing oil by time interval is also fine
if you ride less then all your oil changes will be before the recommended 3000km which is good you can run 2000km after an oil change eventhought company says 3000km