Nope, I dont find a need to switch to Mikuni as of now, unless I end up making the AFR screw-hole bigger, which I guess, can only happen if I start tweaking the idling rpm once every week. I dont really know the specification of the bolt, but I will post pictures and will try to get an approximate size from my mechanic, as I will be visiting him soon for a chain/sprocket change. Current one is pretty worn out, and makes a LOT of noise. I hope not much damage can be caused by a worn out sprocket, except eating the chain much more and reducing performance/FE. Please correct me if I am wrong.


No "Sir"s please, we're not that knowledgeable to be referred with that title. (People like PSR, OF are some of the exceptions here). Anyway lets keep things informal.

Coming back to the ZMA tyres topic. As you say you want the best, I suggest going for,

Rear tyre:

• Pirelli Sport Demon (stock size 110/90 18 - I am not sure if you can find this in Pune. If not, size 110/90*18 - one step bigger than stock size. You would have to have your mechanic bend the linkage rod to make this tyre not touch the chain cover. Not a big deal, and can be done in 10 minutes by a mech - provided he knows what he's doing.
• Michelin Pilot Sporty (size 100/90*18 - same as stock rear tyre). Both Pirelli and Pilot Sporty will cost you around Rs. 3.5-4k, and will last for about 10-15k kms depending on the road condition. They dont come cheap. Here's a review of Pilot sporty, do give it a read.

For Front,

• Michelin Pilot Sport (size 2.75*18) for front - tubeless tyres. I dont know the exact price, maybe somewhere around Rs. 2.5-3k. Again I am not sure if you can find this with dealers in Pune. But get it if you can find it.
• If you cant find the above one, then Sirac Street 3*18 for front. Sirac street is medium compound with soft compound on the edges as per Michelin website. So would offer pretty decent grip while cornering because of softcompount edges, and would last higher than above tyres because of the medium compound center part of tyre. Most of these suggestions were given to my by "Only Amit" here who has used up like a ton of tyres AFAIK :P, so all credits go to him.

My personal pick: Michelin Pilot Sporty 2.75*18 for front and Pilot Sporty 100/90*18 for rear. Both will cost around 7k in total probably, and would last 10-15k kms or bit more.

These tyres above are a bit heavier than stock tyres. So they will hamper the performance/fuel efficiency, to a small extent. More so if you pickup tyres which are larger than stock size. But the plus point, is that the chances of skidding and then falling down, are reduced to a great extent.

Pay attention here. Softcompound tyres offer better grip compared to hard compound tyres (MRF Zapper on your bike is a hard compound tyre, thats why it skids like hell on wet road, but also it lasts even upto 40k kms without much wear). As softer compounds are bit more flexible/rubbery, they are able to provide better contact patch on road - even if the road is wet. That's why they offer better grip. And their very character of being soft, makes them wear out sooner than hardcompound tyre.

These two tyres above, Pilot Sporty and Sports demon would last around 10k kilometers for you, or even a bit more if you ride smooth and dont go over all the potholes. But they do offer the best grip possible on tar roads till they wear out. Remeber they are not good if you are offroading/going on mudroads.

Michelin M45 and Michelin Sirac street tyres are more of average tyres compared to these, or "jack of all - master of none" types. They offer decent grip in wet, dry tarmac also not the worst tyres if you're offroading. And will last bit more than Sports demon/Pilot Sporty, but not as much as MRF Zapper, since M45/Sirac street are medium-hard compound tyres. So approx lifetime would be 25-30k kms depending on the roads you ride on.

Btw, Michelin Sirac and Michelin Sirac Street are two different tyres. Sirac is a offroading specializing tyre, which can do okay on tarmac. Where as Sirac street is primarily a street/tarmac tyre which can do okay on mudroad/offroading. Out of the two, you shouldn't go for Sirac unless you're offroading frequently.

There's one more aspect - tubeless and tubetype tyres. Both have advantages and disadvantages. You can find more info in Tyres thread. After reading all the mumbo-jumbo I've written above, I don't know if enlightened or more confused than before. If you have queries please don't hesitate to ask. And remember, if you see another soul like yourself in future, spread whatever knowledge you've gained.

Aneesh, any specific reasons for suggesting Sirac? I feel they wont offer good grip on tar roads, compared to Sirac streets or M45s.

Search ebay.in. Some are as cheap as Rs 150 and some go upto 900 an even more. I would anyday go for the cheapest ones.

Personal opinion/rant: These pads offer a very small or no functional purpose. These are primarily made to protect the tank from your belt/trouser zipper. But on a ZMA we seldom crouch like one does on a superbike, so your belt/zippers will almost never touch the area where you stick the tankpad. But hey, even I am going to stick one of these someday on the tank, as they are pretty good to look at, but will pickup the cheapest.

Next time you drop by EKM go to AutoQueen.
There you'll get all the bike accessories. But be ready to shell out 550~990Rs for them.

You can also try the P220 Pads, I believe they'r of International Standards.

ZMA's drive is 13T/40T, Ideal undergear is to run 13T/38T, if you are using stock chain, it will need adjustment after this. P220's rear sprocket is 38T. Provided you've not modded the rear tyre and wheel, your 0-60 should see close to 0.5s increment with arnd 10-15k drop in top end based on tyre pressure. This will not have any effect over your redlining issue. The engine RPM would still struggle past 7K as it due to a different cause.

Hmmm.. Bit confused.

Undergear - Shorter Gear - Great Initial, Weak HIghend.
Overgear - Longer Gear - Weak Initial, Great High end. Right???

Now am abit biased toward increasing low end, i.e making the bike peppy.

Your inderstanding of gearing is correct. However it is only a way of tranaferring the power produced at the crank to the wheel, you can either undergear and get a better initial or overgear and gain a better top end. with undergear ur 0-60 time will drop marginally, arnd 3.5s is a good value for properly undergeared ZMA. or top end could go from 130 - 140 if overgeared appropriately.

my ride not even crossed 2 k and tank is scratched

gonna try the shop

Please tell us how? Belt/zippers or something else? Wax your bike so that next time, some of the brunt of the impact is taken by the wax coating and not the paint.

Lemme know when yor going... I may tag allong...

You can Search KRP,eBay etc. Will cost you nearly 900-1000rs for a good quality ones from Progrip.

They will offer,I had ridden the bike on tared roads and felt 100% confidence.

Sirac is available in 2 models.

Sirac and Sirac Street.

AFAIK Sirac is 120/90-18 rear tire, and 100/90-18 is Sirac Street which is made for Indian Roads!

I'm still not sure if you're referring to Sirac or Sirac street here, when you say they offer good grip. I guess you meant Sirac street itself, as Sirac wouldn't be good on tar.

Or have your ride 'joeled' and have the best of both worlds !!

By keeping things on the lap/tank maybe ? I carry my raincoat bag that way - normal ride only , rarely get a chance to exceed 60kmph on my way to work .

No offense to the modders or to the ZMA, a friend's recent saying comes to mind...
"Never make a donkey run like a horse".

How to avoid resetting your meter

Hi all
Most or at least some of us may have experienced the trip meter/time resetting by itself when we have to press the starter switch for a bit longer . Though it doesn't happens to me much now a days , it's been bugging my mind . If we can get a small rechargeable 12V battery I think we can eliminate the problem entirely by connecting it to the wiring through a diode .
What I want to know is whether a capacitor could supply the juice instead ( connected in series ? )- of course with the diode in tow . Does the capacitor work that way ?
Techies please enlighten !!

Ha Ha ha - - no offence taken . I don't have a 'joeled' ZMA R . So I can't talk from experience . But what I've gathered from this forum and others is that the modded version is really something to wonder at . I wonder whether Vineeth aareth could shed some light on this . He's got one . If I were a bit younger I'd have gone for it , I'm sure .

I couldn't have said it better myself!