Test drive of My Face lifted Yamaha RXG-1995 model

      Hi guys, first of all I’m sorry for the delay since my first review post. I was a bit held up in my works. Its better late than never. So here goes my review post about test drive of my own favorite bike-Yamaha RXG model 1995. Yes! I got my bike revived and repaired after 11 months. She was really awesome. After a long wait, I had finally gotten rid of my laziness and I’m eager to start riding it. Still, there are a few pending works before I get her to FC since she turned 15 already.



My Bucephalus

       I got her when I was in the final year of my engineering at a throw-away price. When I started driving during my college, it was fun despite me not liking the noise it produced.  I just used my bike for my daily commutation and dint revamps it due to my economical problems. Now I got my time to change her style. I searched every mechanic shop in my native for a week to know who will make her more beautiful. My dad suggested a mechanic named manohar. He is a Yamaha RX specialist in my native. Initially I clarified my terms. He showed me a Yamaha RX he had worked on, and I got satisfied with his work.



Rear view of my revived Yamaha RXG



I clearly mentioned to him that I need her to look exactly like a new original bike from the Yamaha show room during 90’s. I didn’t want any remodeling to make her look shabby. Initially he separated the engine and reduced its bore dia to the default size and changed its piston, connecting  rod and the crankshaft.  Chassis was fully painted black and other electrical and mechanical accessories were purchased, maximum spares being Yamaha’s genuine parts. Tank was also painted in black and I had asked for a RX135’s tank sticker.

Finally after 11 months, I got her ready for road testing. Nearly 90 percent work was over except the final thinner coating, engine sticker, battery and horn set. I was very interested to ride her for the test. I nearly waited for more than 2 hours in the shed to get her ready for test.

Majestically came out, my bike after its final water wash. It was noon and the Sun at its peak made her shine. Some water drops over the tank reflected light. She is really an angel. Even with the final coat remaining I thought she really made me crazy to ride her. After sometime she was completely dry and my mechanic tried to start her. After a few kicks she started with a noise that is the real sound of Yamaha. No one on the road and the shed could avoid seeing her beauty. After a few raises of acceleration she became ready for drive. My mechanic looked at me and I understood that it was time I took charge of her. When I held the handle bar I was on cloud nine. I put the first gear and slowly released the clutch. Oh God I can’t express in words, that moment. It was awesome. I rode her for a long time and I felt proud that every one on the road saw me.

  

Final wash before test drive by my mechanic

When I came back to the shed, my mechanic told me that she is all yours and then I can take her home. But I was really confused that with the final work left how could he tell me to take her home. I asked him, but he told that since the piston and other cylinder parts were new it should get free to move inside the cylinder for few kms. Then he needed to reset for mileage and pick ups levels and till then I should not expect better mileage from her. So he told to ride for a few 100 kms in local to set the engine and bring her back. I was happy and took her home.

Next day I planned for a long drive from Mettur to Salem so that I could cover nearly 100 kms in a day. Filling petrol and oil mixture for Rs500 in my petrol tank since the seperate engine oil pump was not yet connected and I started riding her. It was a rainy day. After 40 kms it started raining heavily when I was in Bangalore–Salem highway NH7. She stopped suddenly and I was confused as I knew she couldn’t withstand rain for a long time because of the cold starting problem in old model Yamaha engines. So I waited till rain stopped, then started and left. After few kms it again stopped and I was annoyed and called my mechanic and explained my situation. He told that since we didn’t clean the tank interiors some oxide dust from tank would still be stuck inside the carburetor and that it reduced petrol flow. After few mins I started her again and got her home. I rode exactly 110kms in a day for a petrol value of Rs 400. I was shocked to find that it gave only 18-19 kmpl. But I knew what my mechanic told me. I left her back to the mechanic for the final work and came back to Chennai. I expect that I will get her completely done when I go to my native next time.

Guys this is my experience of my first test ride of my revived Yamaha and my final review will be posted as soon as I take her back from the shed.



Indian Cars sales figure-November 2011

Highlights

1. Nano 2012 is here!!! The increased numbers surely bought some hope among Nano enthusiasts.      

2. Beat grows over 80 percent than last year – this surely shows how GM was devoid of the market acceptance even after having a winner in hands. With the diesel version it has emerged as a savior to GM and enabled it to sustain its numbers.

      3. Eon with its slapstick pricing and futuristic looks has the potential to push Hyundai to the top position in India. But it is not easy to shake Alto’s dominance.

      4. Maruti has been able to revamp its supplies – evident from the offtake numbers of 17273 for Swift, 24422 for Alto and 10403 for Dzire. Estilo seems to be in its death phase, we think it is the right time to phase it out.

      5. Tata seems to be on Steroids. Both its Indica and Indigo brands are doing extremely well. This is primarily due to the performing Vista and Manza variants.

      6. Verna has taken the C-segment by storm. It has consistently proved itself as a rightful competitor over the last 6 months and has strengthened Hyundai’s position in C-segment.

      7. Bolero seems to exceed the magical 1Lakh figure this fiscal. It has already garnered 63314 numbers within 8 months of this financial year. Also Scorpio has shown a strong growth this year. With 4646 numbers it has grown over 38 percent over last year.

      8. Skoda’s Rapid did a decent start with 957 billings.

s    source-teambhp

A New HERO is born in a name IMPULSE

Hi friends, I hope everyone knows about the demerger between HERO and HONDA after 27 years. This news was also some Hero Honda lover's Facebook status. This demerger affects the lovers of Hero Honda's quality base – The Indian customers, especially rural middle class. The name boards of Hero Honda show-rooms have been replaced by attractive Hero banners. Customers are now sceptical and anxious about the future of travel for the Indian middle-class. Hero Motocrop Ltd proved again that it won’t let its customer’s expectations go down for a minute. Yes! After the demerger, Hero Motocrop Ltd unveiled its new 150cc motorcycle in India “The Hero Impulse”.

Before its launch, it was speculated to be very similar to Honda's Bros(Brazil) but Hero changed it by reducing its compression ratio from 9.5:1 to 9.1:1,peak torque from 13.63Nm to 13.40Nm, peak power from 13.8PS to 13.2PS and not to forget another striking difference –Bros was ethanol-operated too, which is not possible in this case. Coming to Impulse, it looks like a sports model mainly designed for both on-road and off-road riders. Ground clearance is 245mm and a 180mm travel suspension forks at front and 150mm travel mono shock suspension at rear side with 1353mm wheelbase. The plastic used is high quality which looks cool on it.

It also includes knuckle guards, high mount exhaust muffler and a motor cross seat to make it a perfect combination of off-on road experience. The instrument panel for the bike includes a digital console with clock and digital vertical bar display fuel gauge adds to the overall style which is irresistible. The bike should be offered in Black, Vibrant Orange, Leaf Green Metallic, Sports Red and Vibrant Blue Metallic colors.

Spec Sheet:

Engine Type	Air-cooled single cylinder  petrol
Value arrangement	OHC,2 Value
Displacement	149.2cc
Bore * Stroke Length	57.3 * 57.8
Compression Ratio	9.1:1
Carburetor	CV type
Maximum power	13.2PS @7500rpm
Maximum Torque	13.4Nm @5000rpm
Clutch	Wet multiplate
Transmission	5-Speed
Front Suspension	Telescopic hydraulic
Rear Suspension	Swingam Mono-shock with Nitrox
Front Brake	240mm Disc
Rear Brake	110mm Drum
Front Tyre	90/90 * 19 in CEAT
Rear Tyre	110/90 * 17 in CEAT
Fuel Capacity	11.1 Liters
Kerb Weight	137kg

 

   Along with all these offerings , Impulse’s added feature is its cost - Rs 66,800 (ex-show room,Delhi). The brand name, cost-efficient, off-road option will make Impulse a sure hit for both its economic value and the craze it will develop among the racing lovers. I hope, it will really make riding, a fun and we may see lots of Hero Impulse in Indian roads soon as well as on off roads for sure. For test drive go to your nearest Hero show room to check out how much fun it gives. Good luck Guys,Have Fun!!!

Indian cars sales Figure- october 2011

·       Fortuner sales lowest in past 5 months – 763

·        Bolero – away from the recessionary trend clocks above 8000 numbers

·        Alto in its worst phase – once ruled the segment with more than 33k numbers has dropped to 15k

·         Sunny sees a brighter side – the value for money sedaaan from Nissan does impressive 1340

·        Chevrolet BEATs the heat with a successful more than 5k figure with its diesel offering (for Beat)

·        Verna stands tall as the king of C segment – again overtakes the Honda in its own game – does 4217 numbers

·       Etios proves to be a growth booster to Toyota – along with Liva gains 5851 figure

·         Micra clocks it’s all time highest 1619

·         Eon does a modest figure of 6315 and already is 8^th in Top 10 selling cars of the month.

·      Brio does 1220. Honda is already busy with 6000 bookings of Brio and is reeling with components issue (due to flood in its parts/component base Thailand)

·       Sumo and Indica has their best offtake number in last 6 months – 2109 & 10812 respectively.

     Source- team-bhp

Why Bucephalus?

Hi Everyone!

This is Rajh kumar Sathiyanathan pursuing M.tech final year in India.

I started blogging now.

Why Bucephalus?

        Many heard the name “Bucephalus” somewhere, some know the name. For that many I’ll explain, Bucephalus is name of a horse owned by Alexander the Great. Every King had their own horse why Alexander’s? Not because  he ruled the world but he loved the horse since he was 13. Every move of Alexander is known to Bucephalus. Bucephalus is not just a horse for travel to battle, more than that it is rode by a great king who ruled the world in young age. Alexander never trust any one in battle field but Bucephalus.Bucephalus died after the Battle of the Hydaspes in 326 BC,Alexander promptly founded a city, Bucephala, in honor of his horse. It lay on the west bank of the Hydaspes River (modern-day Jhelum in Pakistan). The modern-day town of Jalalpur Sharif, outside Jhelum, is said to be where Bucephalus is buried.

       I named my blog as “Bucephalus” in honor of that horse who came along with the king around the whole world. This blog is not for my regular activities but it is about automobiles which I am passionate. I would  like to write abt my favorite automobile which may be any kind of automobile like bikes, cars, SUV, heavy vehicles and also pros and cons of that vehicle in my point of view and indian auto industries news and upcoming interesting automobile technolgies.

      So, guys u can post any comments or queries related to my post about my views on automobiles.pls feel free to post comment and thanks for reading my blog.