Universal Bike maintenance during monsoon

[anants_220]

As monsoons have attacked Delhi,a problem has started with my P135Ls.
Water seeps into my bike's petrol tank and m afraid that it also goes in the tank from the lid.
I'm afraid as a mech told that it creates problems.
One day while removing water at petrol pump a person while riding told me to oper the pore inside the lid which help in removal of water..i checked for the pore but i couldn't locate any...is there one?
Pls help guys...i dnt wanna ruin my bike.
Note:Pls dnt suggest to buy a cover as i'm very lazy in that matter ;p
Thanks.

Read this thread and you will find an answer. Lazy to buy a cover ? It's the easiest and safest way out unless you can find a high rise parking lot with cover to park.
The methods discussed are far more difficult than just buying a cover !

[antz.bin]

Re: Discussing maintenance of your motorcycle during monsoons

Thread Approved

[Divya Sharan]

Re: Discussing maintenance of your motorcycle during monsoons

For a lot of bikers, riding in the monsoon has its own charm. For some, it may be the time to simply park your vehicle away. Either way, adequate care has to be taken as a single season of less than usual love can result in your motorcycle coming out the worse for wear.

So what do you do to make sure your vehicle doesn't come out beaten by the weather?

Feel free to talk about points (whether your ride or temporarily retire your bike) regarding:

- Cleaning your vehicle
- Parts that require special preparation/maintenance for the rains
- RUST!!! Preventive and post treatments
- Covering your motorcycle when parked
- Care of digital display, both when riding and parked
- Mud-guards
- Any other

- Cleaning your vehicle

Wash every Sunday, throughout the year. Detail/polish/wax once in a month. (Season independent)

- Parts that require special preparation/maintenance for the rains

Chain sprockets. Lube every 150 km in rains. Otherwise, every 500 km.
Lube accelerator/clutch cables ends (ones that go into the handle levers) once during the onset of monsoon. Reduces the chances of them snapping.

- RUST!!! Preventive and post treatments

It can't be avoided. Use kerosene/WD40 if bothers too much. Get the rusted parts coated thereafter.

- Covering your motorcycle when parked

I park my bike in the basement. While I used to park it in the open, it had a cover over it. Bought the cover from ebay.

- Care of digital display, both when riding and parked

None. Nothing can be done in rains AFAIK. Most bikes comes with well protected consoles for protection in rains.

- Mud-guards

Keep your mudguards stock. No cutting. For Ninjas, fitting FZ's might help. Always, consider the fellow commuter on the road.

- Any other

Keep a check on tires' condition. More so in rains and grip levels get low. Avoid blue colored headlamps - useless in rain. Make sure indicators and headlight work. They are real saviors in heavy rains with low visibility.

[bbsrailfan]

Re: Discussing maintenance of your motorcycle during monsoons

Radiators:
For bikes with oil/liquid cooler radiators - install a mudflap on front fender, else clean your radiator with a toothbrush & water after any ride in slushy roads.

Ignition lock Barrel:
Put 2 drops of 2T oil on your key and dunk it in the barrel couple of times to keep the barrel smooth and free from rust

Tyre Pressures:
Most of us have a habit of inflating 1-2 psi above the recommended psi. It's better to avoid that in rains, to ensure a better grip.

[Divya Sharan]

Re: Discussing maintenance of your motorcycle during monsoons

Ignition lock Barrel:[/B]
Put 2 drops of 2T oil on your key and dunk it in the barrel couple of times to keep the barrel smooth and free from rust

Gosh, how did I miss this? A very very valid point. Its virtually a very cheap (almost free of cost) technique, but not paying heed may set riders back by quite a few grand!

[antz.bin]

Re: Discussing maintenance of your motorcycle during monsoons

Tyre Pressures:
Most of us have a habit of inflating 1-2 psi above the recommended psi. It's better to avoid that in rains, to ensure a better grip.

Not quite true. Please go through this article:

Riding in the Rains: The Art of Safe Riding

Hydroplaning is the result of your tires moving fast across a wet surface - so fast that they do not have sufficient time to channel that moisture away from the center of the tire. The result is that the tire is lifted by the water away from the road and all traction is thus lost. Skimming stones across a pond or water skiing are great examples. The tyres on the bike work like skis and the rider has no control over direction. Tread design, tread depth, weight of motorcycle, tire pressure and depth of water all play a part in determining at what speed the tire will begin to hydroplane.

In the event of hydroplaning, do not apply your brakes or try to steer the bike in any direction but the straight-ahead. If you know that you are going to be riding in the rain, add some 3-5 psi of pressure in your tires. Increasing the tire pressure makes its contact patch smaller. In other words, it increases the weight per square inch of the contact patch so that it takes more 'uplift' by water to cause hydroplaning. And just as increasing pressure makes the contact patch smaller, it also tends to spread out the tread grooves which, in turn, makes it easier to squeeze out water away from the contact patch.

[Divya Sharan]

Re: Discussing maintenance of your motorcycle during monsoons

^^Agree. But isn't it more suited to touring? Hydroplaning in city streets is not possible. I mean, we barely do 30 in water clogged roads. But doing 70+ on a highway calls for extra psi.

[antz.bin]

Re: Discussing maintenance of your motorcycle during monsoons

^^Agree. But isn't it more suited to touring? Hydroplaning in city streets is not possible. I mean, we barely do 30 in water clogged roads. But doing 70+ on a highway calls for extra psi.

Road doesn't need to be clogged with water for it to start hydroplaning. Wet roads after a heavy shower are good enough for your tyres to start losing traction. And besides, roads in this neck of the woods are still good. Its easy to maintain 60-70 on wet city roads *after* it has rained. I would always err on the side of caution and up the tyre pressure slightly *just in case*.

[Divya Sharan]

Re: Discussing maintenance of your motorcycle during monsoons

Nice to know that Pune still has good enough roads and rain water disposal mechanisms/design. The less said about BLR, the better. Doing 60 on the outer ring road in sunny conditions is tough because of the dust and sand. Moreover, every other biker is a Rossi and every other driver a Schumi.

[bbsrailfan]

Re: Discussing maintenance of your motorcycle during monsoons

[MENTION=21192]antz.bin[/MENTION] and [MENTION=41586]Divya Sharan[/MENTION] - thanks for that insightful discussion. I stand corrected

[devils_friend]

Re: Discussing maintenance of your motorcycle during monsoons

Road doesn't need to be clogged with water for it to start hydroplaning. Wet roads after a heavy shower are good enough for your tyres to start losing traction. And besides, roads in this neck of the woods are still good. Its easy to maintain 60-70 on wet city roads *after* it has rained. I would always err on the side of caution and up the tyre pressure slightly *just in case*.

Wouldn't adding more air into the tyre result into more jumping of the bike?

Cheerz!!

[Divya Sharan]

Re: Discussing maintenance of your motorcycle during monsoons

Wouldn't adding more air into the tyre result into more jumping of the bike?

Cheerz!!

Yes, the bike would jump, but give better mpg too.
There has to be a compromise somewhere bro. We can't have it all.

[devils_friend]

Re: Discussing maintenance of your motorcycle during monsoons

Yes, the bike would jump, but give better mpg too.
There has to be a compromise somewhere bro. We can't have it all.

Well, the potholed filled roads already make us dance, now even the tyres will make us dance

Thanks for the info.

Cheerz!!

[stefanm]

Re: Discussing maintenance of your motorcycle during monsoons

I put vaseline on parts that are prone to rust, ie bolt heads and some screws, i lubricate the chain weekly even though I don't ride in the rain, I also wash as required usually twice a month, I also try to take a spin at least twice a week if possible, though sometimes it will rain for 6 days straight. I guess it depends more on where you live, here we expect between 3-4 metres of rain during the monsoon, humidity is extremely high and living around 500 metres from the beach salt air is more prevalent during the rains.

[abdriver2000]

Re: Discussing maintenance of your motorcycle during monsoons

My 2 cents in addition to what others have mentioned...
Try to keep your bike covered using a body cover. Avoid tank covers or headlamp covers, since it prevents water from evaporating and eventually causes paint problems/rust.
For drum brakes, get them cleaned/replaced after the monsoons since they begin to squeak once you wade through water. Wipe your bike (atleast the tank) after every ride. Droplets tend to hang on at the base of the tank and cause pin holes. If your bike is covered with lot of grit, try getting it spray washed since hand wash will only cause scratches/swirl marks.