thanks for your nice clarification sir... i'll be putting either the Shell Advance AX5 20W40 or 20W50 in to the fiero....

You're welcome, man Do post your feedback on that Idemitsu oil later. Looks interesting, especially the low price.

Nice to see you here, Abhilash. How's the new bike and you doing?

@ Peter - I think you will be forced to change the crankcase (with registered engine no) to accommodate the 5 speed gearbox; thus, voiding your road legal status.
If you're using your modded fiero off road, then you won't have to dodge the cops On road and insurance will prove to be a problem.
Why don't you retain fiero's 4 speed lower half and try sprocketing mods to achieve best of both worlds?

All good man thanks
Just finished 1k kms and am already sick n tired of bajaj dtsi oil so thinking of changing over to motul or shell.

How are you and your steed ?

That's great to hear. Yeah, those oils will be better. I feel 20W50 is required there too. Have you or Gixxer tried Mak 4T 20W50 by any chance?
All good here as of now from me and my bike's side.

am already sick n tired of bajaj dtsi oil

What's the problem with it?

I have never tried mak and I am 90% sure neither did gixxer. Is it any good ?

Me neither. Reason I checked with y'all is to know how it is. Actually, I'm searching the market for a good mineral 20W50 oil. Mak, Motul, Gulf, Shell, etc have been shortlisted, but trouble is that they are all hard to find. I have no idea why. Till now, I have used 20W40 of these Cos, but I'm dying to use heavier grade now because of the benefits attached to it. So, hopefully, I do find the product.

Any idea if 20w50 will over-strain/load the oil pump of the fiero? The rtr 180 oil pump puts out more oil per rpm, so TVS has done R&D on that feature. But out older fieros' oil pumps have lesser capacity per rpm when compared to rtrs.

Also, will 20w50 give good cold start in this rainy or winter weather? I know it will be better in summer or hot climates. Just wondering how performance will be with current monsoon conditions of India? Oil may be more viscous as per lower temperature at start-up.

Has anyone tried the oils from Indianoil (Servo), Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum? I heard that lot of the other brands just buy the oil from these 3 and package them. You pay extra for the fancy name and packing.

It's good for nothing oil. I believe it has more to do with ASCs mixing or some chutiyapa with oils as I had not faced any issues which came factory filled.

Just 500kms already engine seems harsh and gear shifts are very hard

Me neither. Reason I checked with y'all is to know how it is. Actually, I'm searching the market for a good mineral 20W50 oil. Mak, Motul, Gulf, Shell, etc have been shortlisted, but trouble is that they are all hard to find. I have no idea why. Till now, I have used 20W40 of these Cos, but I'm dying to use heavier grade now because of the benefits attached to it. So, hopefully, I do find the product.

Any idea if 20w50 will over-strain/load the oil pump of the fiero? The rtr 180 oil pump puts out more oil per rpm, so TVS has done R&D on that feature. But out older fieros' oil pumps have lesser capacity per rpm when compared to rtrs.

Also, will 20w50 give good cold start in this rainy or winter weather? I know it will be better in summer or hot climates. Just wondering how performance will be with current monsoon conditions of India? Oil may be more viscous as per lower temperature at start-up.

It's not your bike alone which has had this problem.it's common with all p220 bikes after ASC changes the oil during first service.

If thicker oil strains the pump,then as we all know, tvs has installed higher capacity pump in latest rtr's,so why is it then that tvs has changed over to thinner oils for the rtr's after the pump change,instead of going for w50 oils?
The reason is opposite to that of what you believe.TVS changed the pump to a higher capacity one,so that they can use thinner oil.So our fiero and earlier rtr's are better suited to using w40 or thicker oils.That means using w50 is actually better for our rides.

It's not your bike alone which has had this problem.it's common with all p220 bikes after ASC changes the oil during first service.

If thicker oil strains the pump,then as we all know, tvs has installed higher capacity pump in latest rtr's,so why is it then that tvs has changed over to thinner oils for the rtr's after the pump change,instead of going for w50 oils?
The reason is opposite to that of what you believe.TVS changed the pump to a higher capacity one,so that they can use thinner oil.So our fiero and earlier rtr's are better suited to using w40 or thicker oils.That means using w50 is actually better for our rides.

Here the updated plan.

1. Buy the Bike: This should be happening today. - Done

2. General Service: Get the bike working as a stock bike should so I can ride and enjoy it for a while in stock form before doing any mods. This will also include as much de-rusting as possible of the chrome and paint touch up of painted parts followed by a polish. - Plan ditched

3. Front Disk Brake: As per this thread, I can either go for the F2 unit on the LHS or an Apache unit on the RHS, of course using the F2 hub as I would want to retain the spoked wheels. However I may also consider alloys if i can get a set cheap. What if I go with the Pulsar disk with the Pulsar fork lower tubes. Is it possible and more importantly is it cheaper than the F2 or Apache units? - Will start hunting for a Pulsar set up.

4. Fairing: The original fairing is missing and replaced by a round dome. My options are; Retain the dome, put an original fairing, or put some other fairing like that of the Flame or Apache. Please suggest. - Still have time for this. On hold for the moment.

5. Swingarm: This will be done only when the chain is due for changing. My options are the Victor GX, Victor GLX or Apache RTR 160 swingarms. Please suggest. How about the Honda Unicorn's with a monoshock conversion. - On hold for the moment.

6. Tachometer: I intend retaining the original speedo so want a separate tacho unit. Please suggest.- Already received the below unit.
[ATTACH]210674[/ATTACH]

7. Tyres: For the moment shortlisted the Michelin Sirac Street if I'm retaining the spokes. Anything better you can suggest? - Depends on the wheels I'll be using.

8. Alloys: If and only if something cheap comes by. How much does a set of Apache alloys cost. Can the ones from a Pulsar be fitted? Whats the cost? Any other options. Alloys means most certainly switching to 17" so tyres will need to be decided accordingly. - Will start hunting for a Pulsar set up for disk so will check for alloys too.

9. Big Bore: Either the Apache 180 or 200 bores and pistons or rebore with a Pulsar 220 piston. Either stock head with some mods or buy the head of the 180/200. Again here cost is a factor so need to select a cheaper option. - Have a spare Apache 150 Engine plus a spare 180 head. The stock piston and bore is gone so was thinking of reboring and fitting a Karizma piston.

10. BS29 Carburettor: From the Pulsar 200. - Can the stock jets be replaced with larger ones? If not then I'll change the carb.

11. Oil Cooler: Someone has already done it on an Apache here, so I'll just follow the same procedure. Not very expensive too. - Still have time for this. On hold for the moment.


12. Paint job: Most probably metallic blue with just the Suzuki and Fiero decals like the first Fiero. The Fiero is further to the rear as compared to the later models with the additional graphics (See photo). Second option is the same theme in black but with a contrasting chassis in orange/blue/red. - Getting the bike dismantled today so will decide shortly.


13. Clutch / Crankcase covers: This bike is a TVS so the LHS cover is blank and the RHS has TVS. Looking to replace these with the Suzuki ones (See photo). Where can I source them from? - Plan ditched as I'm using the Apache bottom.


14. 5-Speed Conversion: If and when I find an Apache Engine or at least the bottom half of it. This actually makes point no.12 pointless. - Have the Engine already.

Now of course this Plan of Action depends on various factors like cost, time, availability of parts and the right mechanics to execute the job. This project is not for me to have a really high performance bike (I'm reasonably satisfied with my humble Duke 390) but just to do what can be done to the Fiero and to keep me busy during my leave. Of course I can spend money and get all the jobs done but that's not the point. The idea is to do it in the most cost effective way. I plan do doing it in phases.

I have the stock head modified to match the 195cc,so i will post it's pics soon.

2. Big Bore: Tentatively decided on the RTR 180
- Bore kit (Bore, piston, rings and gaskets)
- Cam Chain tensioner
- Stock head to be matched on the lathe (can someone post a pick of a stock head and one matched to the 180 Bore)
- RTR head is another option (photo please so I can see the difference)

62mm bore= 175cc.(RTR160 bore kit)
62.5mm bore =177cc (RTR180 bore kit)
63.5mm bore = 183cc (CBZ classic piston)
65.5mm bore = 195cc (ZMA piston)
67mm bore = 204cc (P220 piston)