January 2009 :: Riders Junction

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Bajaj Avenger DTS-i Wallpapers

Avenger - A rocking bike from Bajaj Auto. Isn't it?

Yamaha R15 - Wallpapers

Surely R15 is one of the greatest bikes in India. What do you say?

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Handlebars - More than just steering

Generally most of the riders give importance to at least visual look of the vehicle. But what most of the riders forget is to check your body position with your vehicle. When you ride your bike continuously, you may be wondering, “Why are my hands tingling? Why are my shoulders paining a lot? And why does my neck ache?” That’s how, most of rides feel today and we don’t acknowledge to such things.

The rider’s main connection point with his/her bike is fingers. Fingers are connected with wrist which is connected with elbow. Elbow is connected with shoulder; and again it is connected with Neck. When your finger gets affected, other parts also get affected indirectly. There is no wonder thatwhen you ride, fingers are usually being tweaked by some way.

So here are few tips which can help you to avoid the above scenarios.
  • Wrists should not be twisted and should stay straight to the forearm
  • Elbows should be point down rather than being held up
  • Shoulders must be relaxed and dropped rather than stiffed while riding
  • The distance to handlebar should be reduced; so you don’t roll or lift your shoulders to grab the handlebar
  • Steer with your arms instead of shoulders or back
  • Use some nice gloves if your finders/hands are tingling
I Hope these points will help you to reduce the pain to some extent. If it does not, please check with your mechanic.

Again, don’t forget to give your comments and some points what do you know about the article. Definitely it will help the riders.

Happy Riding!

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

How to save fuel

As all of us know, fuel prices are going up and down. I remembered last year around June, the crude oil price was around $140USD. It has been reduced to somewhere around $40USD. Anyway the price will go up in near future. There are few alternatives that we can do instead of worrying and looking into crude oil price.

Alternatives:
1. Stop Driving – for those who have been thinking like it’s crazy and crude oil price goes somewhere and will not able to afford the cost, stop driving your car or bike. Try on walking, cycling or hoping on bus for short trips.
2. Pooling method – for those who feel we can accommodate others in our vehicle, try to use pooling method. I mean the car/bike pooling. So that you can share the fuel expenses.
3. Change the way of Driving – it is possibly the immediate option that we can adjust. I hope, you can improve the fuel economy by adjusting your driving habit.

Here are some tips on what we can do to change the driving habits and how we can save fuel.
  • Follow the recommended maintenance: It is very important to follow your vehicle manufacturers recommended maintenance or servicing advice. It is not only increases your vehicle’s performance, but it will improve your fuel economy as well
  • Drive smoothly: Aggressive driving will use as much as more fuel than what actually requires. The minimum of heavy braking and accelerator, the more you save fuel. Try to avoid rush driving. Take some extra time to reach the destination with smooth driving and steady manner. This helps you to save fuel as well as to reach your destination safely.
  • Use highest gear: Lowest gear gives you greatest power but result in more fuel consumption. So try drive at the highest gear when you are at steady speed to improve your fuel economy.
  • Avoid excess idling: When a vehicle is on idle state, it is consuming some fuel. Turning engine off during the idle state helps you to save the extra burning fuel. If you are waiting in traffic signal or waiting to pick up some one, it is more efficient to switch off the engine.
  • Avoid excess pressure on tires: The excess pressure on tires increases the vehicles weight which directly associates with fuel consumption. So maintain appropriate tire pressure as recommended by your vehicle’s manufacturer.
These tips are not only helps you to save fuel and money, but also the earth. Enjoy Riding!

If you have any more points on how to save fuel, feel free to leave it on comments section which directly helps the readers.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Muthathi – A drizzly bike trip

We had visited Muthathi few days back. It is one of my best experiences forever. Suresh, my friend wanted to share his observation about our trip. So here comes…

We wanted to go out as Angu came to Bangalore for the first time and decided to depart Makethatu and Kaveri Sangamam from where the river goes to Hogenakkal. As usual we started with a red bull (me and Prakash), a blacky (Ravi and Angu), and a disco (Arul and karthi). As the road was too good towards kanakapura, just we started blasting our throttle and reached kanakapura around 9am. We had breakfast there and started towards sangamam. Since we didn’t know the route exactly, we missed the route and moved towards muthathi (thought of going to Sangama). We realized after asking to a van guy that we had missed our route. He suggested visiting Muthathi as it was nearby to where we were. So our plan got changed and we started heading towards Muthathi after crossing Sathanur.

Once we started riding at hills road, we felt really good with the nature and splashed few snaps there. It was too cloudy and started drizzling in next few minutes. We were completely wet since there was no place for shelter; though we started moving and reached a temple which is near to muthathi. We saw a deep concave near to the temple. It is really a fantastic place. We splashed for sometime and after all of this, reached muthathi around 11am.

Hardly there was no hotel, but still we had able to find a place where we can give order for food. If you place the order, they will prepare the food for you. We ordered for chicken, rice and etc., we paid Rs.300 for food. We had coracle ride in between the lunch. Myself and karthik started swimming along with coracle (others came by). It was too deep at some point and somehow we managed to cross the river. The coracle guy told us that, how deep it is at some places (20-25feet) and the extra shock was some people had lost their life there. I was really afraid once we heard. Folks, it is too risky to swim at this place; better avoid it.

Again it was started raining. We had our lunch under a palm tree. We wondered how we got six plates of rasam though we had just a vassele of it and we noticed it was varuna bagavan’s leelai. ;)

We started back around 5pm and reached Bangalore by 7pm.

The whole day we were wet. However we enjoyed a lot. It was fantastic experience.

Let me sign off from here… Thanks Suresh.

For Folks who plan to visit:
The best season to visit this place is soon after mansoon, when the river is in full spate. Plese pack your food and of course take some safety gears if you plan to trek.

Places around to visit:
Beemeswari Jungle Lodge and Resorts, Mekedatu, Chunchi falls and Sangama where Arkavati River meets Kaveri.

Direction:
BTM Layout – Kankapura – Santhanur (take left) – Muthathi. – Approx.110kms one way.

Thanks folks for traveling with us thorough out our journey and again please leave your comments.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Safety Riding – Top 20 Tips

As you can see over the years, numbers of vehicles have been increasing in all over the country; of course accidents associated with it. Though there are enough traffic rules and regulations, it depends only on riders and how they handle their vehicles. Here are top 20 tips for safer riding.

Safety Riding Tips
  • Strictly follow all traffic rules and regulations
  • Use indicators while turn, changing the lanes and over taking other vehicles
  • Do not ever presume that other drivers has seen you
  • Use your bike’s horn to draw drivers’ awareness of your presence
  • Avoid riding at high speed between lanes of traffic
  • Always stick on to speed limits; appropriate to road conditions
  • Limit the speed at curves and turns
  • Never try to overtake other vehicles at left side
  • Use side mirrors while overtaking
  • Avoid harsh acceleration
  • Avoid sudden braking; use it properly
  • Avoid creating circumstances that may aggravate another rider
  • Avoid using your cell phones while riding
  • Always wear helmet
  • Don't drink and drive
  • Be concerned about children, senior citizens and pedestrians
  • Always drive in appropriate gears
  • Be careful about road signs, animals and slow moving vehicles while riding at night time
  • Never try to ride when you are very tired
  • Be tolerant, be careful and enjoy riding
If you start following these riding tips, perhaps it will reduce the accident chances and have enjoyable riding experience.

Have a great 2009!!! And Safety Riding!!!

Hours of happy times with friends and family
Abundant time for relaxation
Prosperity
Plenty of love when you need it the most
Youthful excitement at life’s simple pleasures

Nights of restful slumber (you know - don’t' worry be happy)
Everything you need
Wishing you love and light

Years and years of good health
Enjoyment and mirth
Angels to watch over you
Remembrances of happy years!

May all the dreams in your eyes, all the desires in your heart and all the hopes in your life blend together, to give you the most spectacular New Year ever. Have a great 2009!!! And Safety Riding!!!