16. Always study the road surface. A change in surface conditions is as vital as a change either in traffic or weather. The road surface can change quite suddenly, going by the kind of road maintenance done on our roads. For example, excess tar in the tarmac mix precipitates to the surface during hot weather, goes gooey and can be very slippery even when slightly wet.
17. Descend on a positive throttle. Downshift and coast downhill on trailing throttle on the straights, using engine braking to control speed. Keep that entry speed into turns low so that you get through them on a positive throttle. Trailing throttle on a downhill corner puts a disconcertingly high load on the front tyre and can lead to a slide. DO NOT COAST DOWNHILL WITH THE BIKE IN NEUTRAL AND ENGINE SWITCHED OFF.
18. Slush will be an important part of your on-road adventures when you ride long distance in India. Broken roads in rains, remnants of landslides in mountains, absent roads at places or just a leftover from severe waterlogging in the past. Slush is slippery and slimy, not too good for balance on a bike. For tackling slush, look for a path used by heavy vehicles. Get down into first gear, use a partial clutch to control wheel-spin/wheel jamming, stick those feet out like out-riggers and ride slowly through the patch.
19. Riding in the snow; almost similar to riding in slush but with even less friction/traction from the wheels. Really deep snow requires special ‘metal-studded’ tyres. A few inches deep can be negotiated with any tyres when mixed with tons of patience. The tyre does tend to dig into the soft snow and gets you some semblance of grip. A smaller contact patch will put greater weight per unit area and garner better grip. Riding on ice, on the other hand, is mostly about faith and prayer. Just keep the bike upright, handlebar straight, feet spread out, throttle inputs zero, brakes forgotten and roll through the area with a prayer on your lips. Seriously!
20. Riding in the sand can be a tricky affair. Drop tyre pressures by up to 40% (the idea here is to improve tyre floatation i.e. its ability to ride on top of the sand through increasing the contact patch), keep the bike in low gears and steer straight. In sand, always remember that the wheels have a tendency to dig in, so when coming to a halt, do so gently or the sand piles up ahead of the front wheel making the subsequent pick-up difficult. Predictably enough, all of this puts a lot of stress on the engine and even more so during summers. Make sure that the engine oil that you use is fit to fight through all of that revving and the subsequent heat while still retaining its viscosity to reduce the friction and therefore, the wear and tear. The right grade engine oil from the Castrol POWER1 range can work wonders in keeping your motorcycle running smoothly and elongating the engine life.
