‘Bye Bye Hero Honda! Welcome Hero Moto’.

Following the split by Munjal’s Hero Group from Japan’s leading two-wheeler manufacturer Honda in the recent past, we get to know regarding this name change. Hero Group has applied for this name ‘Hero Moto’ to the Registrar of Companies (ROC) to check for the availability of this name. It seems that the company is awaiting for the reply from ROC. But, even if the name is available and Hero Group gets it registered and patented by the Hero Group, expect the name change to take place not before two months atleast. The reason for this delay is that the company has to get the stakeholder’s nod before proceeding further on this issue.

But, one interesting fact here is that the brands of bikes and scooters would be continued in the market with their own names. For instance, Karizma ZMR would be called Hero Moto Karizma ZMR and the CBZ Xtreme would be called Hero Moto CBZ Xtreme. This sounds like a move after a lot of thoughts on it.

And now guess the amount which the Hero group has allocated for its total re-branding exercise.  It’s a mind whooping 200 and odd crores of Rupees. Also, this huge amount of money is going to play a very crucial role in the company’s export market strategy. The company has identified new markets in Latin America and a few other African nations as well. There are also plans to enter these markets in this financial year itself. Probably, the company may enter new markets with its new name – Hero Moto. Expect a write up from us in some two months on the topic ‘Bye Bye Hero Honda! Welcome Hero Moto’.

These are some of the safety tips which I have gained through mine or someone else's experiences. You may already know some of them but it is good to get refreshed...

1. [Vision] Wear proper eye safety gear at night, so that the Lights

of incoming vehicles don't flash right into your eyes. When buying

shades try buying those through which you can look at the sun

straight for 1 min or so. Wear clear glasses at night at any case,

chances are that a insect might hit you in the eye... Our hand's

natural reflex is to to rub the eye and imagine doing so while

whistling at a speed of 100kms in middle of a highway!

2. [Ghat Roads] Do you switch the engine off or put it in neutral

while descending a hill? This is an absolute no! First reason, in

neutral gear there will be no engine braking - if the slope

increases suddenly then your will not be able to anticipate your

braking and bad things can happen. Second reason, if you approach a

plain surface and if you need to overtake a truck or something, you

will not be able to do so. Generally speaking, you will not be able

to anticipate the behaviour of the vehicle when it is turned off.

So never do it.

3. [Stability] Look out for cow dung, cricket ball sized stones,

rounded pipes or even bundles of cloth. Enough to tip you over in a

flip of eye. Also try avoiding hitting out small animals, they tend

to lock up in the rear tire.

4. [Overtaking] Never overtake from wrong side. If some vehicle

approaching from the opposite derection goes wary, the vehicle you

are overtaking will move to the left naturally which is extremely

risky for you. Also, don't overtake if overtaking lands you on a road

which is joined by another road. Chances are another vehicles may

just cut in at that moment.

5. [Being Human] Always help accident cases, nowadays the law is

quite liberal. So you won't be harassed by anyone. Imagine you or

your near dear ones lying on the road wounded and others just

passing by casually.

6. [Turning] Always use indicators to signal you turning, at least

a few meters from your actual turning point. Sticking out a wide

hand when turning, can be risky in two ways, you can hurt yourself

by a close ongoing vehicle and also you cannot a control a bike

with one hand.

7. [Staying Cool] Some vehicles are driven by mad people. They honk

the horns in a rude manner and flash the high beams wildly. Never

lose your cool in such situations. If you move suddenly, then other

vehicles would not have anticipated your move. Give way to them

slowly. Such drivers are also very attentive and hence staying

where you are will not harm you (except your ears if he is honking

so badly!).

Remember: Expecting that you will not to run into an accident

because you drive safe, is like expecting the lion not to eat you

because you are a vegetarian! India is yet to come up with strict

rules for the roads like US... until then our safety is in our

hands!

Enjoy riding and be safe...

Some Tips to Increase Your Bike's Mileage

Are you interested in increasing the fuel efficiency of your bike?
Yes? Then read on...
The mileage of a bike is a critical factor in the buying decision
and also keeping our running costs low. Many of us think that
mileage is just about the cost of fuel, but it is not.
A bike which gives a good mileage compared to other similar bikes
is a sure indication that the health of the bike is well maintained
and the rider is careful enough to get the bike frequently serviced
and tuned.
My Hero Honda Karizma R gives a mileage of 41 in the city and 49
in highways. My bike is in perfect health.
To keep the engine healthy all you have to do is, let the engine
warm up before you take it to real performance.

Small engines like that of Splendor NXG and Passion Plus have a
horizontal engine, so as soon as the bike is started, the oil flows
easily into the engine. But bikes with a high bore and stroke find
it difficult to circulate the oil throughout the engine as soon as
it is started.


I recommends bikers to put the choke, self start the engine
and leave it for 10-15 seconds so that the oil gets heated up and
the luke warn low density oil finds it easy to circulate through
upto the top of the engine.
Do not leave the choke for too long as it would flood the engine
with fuel. Do not open the throttle until it has run for atleast 5
km distance and the engine comes to a normal operating heat range.
If you gun the engine in cold conditions as soon as you start it,
there would not be enough lubrication in the engine and it leads to
more friction which ultimately damages the piston and the engine
and hence your mileage will be low.
If you go to a gym, your coach will ask you to warm up before you
do some heavy lifting and iron pumping... this is just like that.
Your bike is not much different from your body!
Another good tip worth mentioning is to remove the saree guard if
there is no use for it. I am a student and even after I get married
I do not expect my wife to sit on the high back seat of Karizma. So
I removed the saree guard as soon as I bought it. It reduces dead
weight by a few kgs and would definitely improve the performance of
the engine and increase fuel efficiency.


Some basic fuel efficiency tips that you may already know are...


1. Switch off your engine during signals with long waiting periods.
2. Change your oil according to your manufacturer's
recommendations.
3. Check your tube's pressure every month... higher pressure than the
recommended value would give you more mileage but less friction and
stability. So keep it to the optimum value.


Hope you found it useful!

10 New bike Riding Tips

How would you feel when you gotta new bike for yourself and you are first getting on her. On top of the world? Well, that’s how I usually feel when I get new ones.




But to ride a new bike is never as easy and simple as throttling up your old machine to which you are used to. So, I thought of coming up with 10 tips on riding a new bike.






Never throttle up your new bike very high as soon as you bring it out of the showroom. For best fuel economy to derive from it, keep riding at the lowest speed possible in the top most gear and this is to be done not for the first 2k or 3k kms, but for the first 10k kms. Yes, I mean it. You’ll get the best(est) of the fuel economy possible on that bike.

Don’t strain the engine too much. The ideal fact to follow is keep checking the odometer that you never cross 5k rpm. There was a friend of mine during my engineering days (and that wasn’t a long back. Just before a year and a half), who bought a new Honda Unicorn. He made the bike strain so much from the initial moment he kept his hand on her and guess the mileage the bike returned him back. It was 22kmpl! Should be one of the lowest in India, I guess for a Unicorn.

If the reason for purchasing your bike is totally performance dependent, like using for racing purpose or so, you can throttle her high right from the initial day of purchase. This case is entirely different from our regular usage.

Don’t take her for long rides initially. Avoid this atleast for the first 3k kms.

Do not worry about the fuel economy your bike returns you initially. It would deliver its actual mileage only after the first service. So, don’t start hating your bike during the first few months itself.

Service your bike regularly as long as the free services are available (atleast). The first three services are very important to derive the best performance from her.

Do not overload your bike. Remember, this has got nothing to do with the pillion rider.

Do not allow multiple people to use your bike. Difference in handling can lead to heavy differences and fluctuations in performance. Use it single-handedly.

Kick start your bike everyday in the morning. Apart from protecting your bike from the regular problem of cold starting, this action would also enable your bike to have a long life of the electric starter.


Lastly, if you are a first-time rider, ride safely with confidence taking all precautions.