Bike Maintenance & Technical Resources
Riding gear protects you. Looking after the bike itself protects the ride. A motorcycle that has been run in properly, lubricated on time and checked before a long trip behaves more predictably, and that matters as much as what you are wearing on top of it.
This hub covers the technical side of owning a bike in India: how to break in a new engine, keep the chain and drivetrain healthy, get through the monsoon without rust, understand gearing and sprockets, and get your bike ready for a tour and checked again once you are back.
Everything here is written for Indian roads, dust and monsoons, in plain language, so you can do most of it yourself with basic tools or at least know exactly what to ask your mechanic.
Break-In and Everyday Care
| Sr.No. | Topic | What It Covers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | How to Do Running In of a New Engine | Why a new engine needs running in, the soft and hard methods compared, and the early oil change the guide recommends. |
| 2 | 10 Steps to Clean and Lube a Motorcycle Chain | The full cleaning and lubing routine, how often to do it in dusty Indian conditions, and how to tell when a chain is worn out. |
| 3 | How to Keep Your Bike Safe in the Rainy Season | A pre-monsoon check, rust prevention, covers and daily rinsing habits that keep the bike healthy through the rains. |
Drivetrain, Gearing and Performance
| Sr.No. | Topic | What It Covers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sprockets: Easy Way to Gain Speed and Acceleration | How front and rear sprocket changes trade acceleration for top speed, with a simple formula to work out the exact gain. |
| 2 | How to Go Faster | Power versus torque, finding your bike's power band and the right gear shift points, before you spend on upgrades. |
Checks and Upgrades for the Road
| Sr.No. | Topic | What It Covers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pre-Trip Motorcycle Mechanical Checklist | What to check before a tour, from tyres, chain and brakes to the battery, spares worth carrying and a loaded test ride. |
| 2 | Post-Tour Motorcycle Servicing Checklist | What a few thousand kilometres of touring does to a bike, and what to inspect once you are home. |
| 3 | How to Choose Auxiliary Lights for Your Motorcycle | Fog light or spotlight, yellow or white, safe wiring, the right mount, and the legal grey area in India. |
Where to Start
Just picked up a new bike? Check it with our pre-delivery inspection checklist before you sign anything, then follow the engine running-in guide through the first few hundred kilometres.
For the everyday routine, cleaning and lubing your chain is the habit with the biggest payoff. Before the rains arrive, the monsoon protection guide covers rust prevention and the daily rinse that keeps mud from sitting on metal.
If you want more from the bike you already own, start with how to go faster to understand your power band and shift points. Read the sprockets guide only if you then want to change the gearing.
Planning a tour? Run through the pre-trip mechanical checklist at least a week before you leave, look at auxiliary lights if you will ride after dark or through fog, and book time for the post-tour servicing checklist once you are back.
Explore More Guides
Bike care overlaps with a few of our other guide hubs. Worth a look if you are buying a bike, getting ready for a trip or looking after your gear as well.
| SrNo | Category of Guide | What It Covers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Motorcycle Touring & Trip Prep | Route planning, packing, permits and on-road technique for tours across India. |
| 2 | Motorcycle Buying & Ownership Advice | What to check and ask before you buy a bike, new or used, including the pre-delivery inspection. |
| 3 | Riding Gear Care | Cleaning and maintaining your helmet, jacket, gloves and pants so they last longer. |
FAQs
Q1: How often should I lubricate my motorcycle chain?
A1: For an O-ring chain, roughly every 500 km in clean conditions, and every 300 to 400 km in the dusty conditions most Indian riders deal with. Ride through rain or mud and it needs attention sooner, since water and grit strip lubricant faster than normal riding does. Our chain cleaning and lubing guide has the full routine, and your owner's manual has the interval for your specific chain.
Q2: Does changing sprockets actually make a bike faster?
A2: It changes how the engine's power reaches the road rather than how much power it makes. A larger rear sprocket or smaller front sprocket improves acceleration and lowers top speed. A smaller rear or larger front does the opposite. For example, going from a 48 tooth to a 50 tooth rear sprocket gives about 4 percent more torque at the wheel and costs about 4 percent in speed. No sprocket change improves both. The sprockets guide shows how to calculate the change before you buy.
Q3: How do I run in a new motorcycle engine?
A3: Warm the engine up fully, vary your throttle instead of holding a steady speed, let the bike slow down on engine braking, and never rev it hard in neutral. The recommended running-in period ranges from about 500 km to 1,600 km depending on the model, so check your owner's manual. Our running-in guide also explains a harder method and an early oil change, which are worth understanding before you choose how to proceed.
Q4: Is it okay for my bike to get rained on?
A4: Yes, as long as it is not left standing in heavy rain for weeks. The things that matter are keeping the chain lubricated, putting a thin layer of petroleum jelly on battery terminals and exposed rubber seals, using covered parking or a waterproof cover, and rinsing off mud daily so it does not hold water against metal. The monsoon protection guide covers the full pre-monsoon check.
Q5: At what RPM should I shift gears for the best acceleration?
A5: Upshift at the end of your bike's power band, which is around peak power, rather than at the redline. When you shift, revs drop back toward peak torque, so the engine stays in its strongest range. Downshift where the power band begins. You can find these points from the power and torque figures in your bike's brochure, as explained in how to go faster.
Q6: What should I check on my bike before and after a long tour?
A6: Before leaving, check tyre condition and loaded pressure, chain slack, brake pads and fluid, engine oil and coolant, the battery, all lights, cables and fasteners, and take a short test ride with the full luggage load. Do it at least a week ahead so there is time to fix what you find. Once you are back, inspect the chain and sprockets, tyres, brakes, oil, suspension and fasteners, and give the bike a proper deep clean. The pre-trip checklist and post-tour checklist go through each one in order.
Q7: Are auxiliary lights legal on motorcycles in India?
A7: It is a grey area. Officially, the total number of forward-facing lights is capped at four and only ARAI-approved units are meant to be fitted, but enforcement varies a lot by state. Many touring riders fit them anyway and ride with awareness, using them only when needed and aiming the beam down. See our auxiliary lights buying guide for the details.
- September 10, 2026
Post-Tour Motorcycle Servicing Checklist
Our pre-trip mechanical checklist covers getting a bike ready before a tour. This is its natural bookend, what to check once you're back, because a few thousand kilometres of mixed terrain, altitude, water crossings and long days puts wear on a bike that a normal commuting schedule simply doesn't.
Skipping this check doesn't usually cause an immediate problem. It causes a slow one, a chain that wears out early, brake components that fail sooner than they should, or a small issue from the trip that turns into an expensive one by the time it's finally noticed.
When to Do This Check
Within a few days of returning, while the trip's conditions are still fresh in your memory and before the bike goes back into daily use. Riding a touring-worn bike straight back into a regular commute
- September 09, 2026
Pre-Trip Motorcycle Mechanical Checklist
A pre-delivery inspection tells you a new bike left the showroom in good order. It says nothing about whether that same bike, six months and a few thousand kilometres later, is ready for a five day tour through changing terrain and weather. That's a different check, done at a different time, for a different reason.
Most mechanical issues that end up stranding a rider mid-tour aren't sudden failures. They're things that were already showing signs before the trip started, a chain running loose, a tyre worn past the point it should have been replaced, a battery that was struggling to turn over even in the driveway.
This checklist covers what to actually check before you load the bike and leave, not a full service, but a focused inspection aimed at catching the things most likely to cause trouble on the road.
When to Do This Check
At least one week before departure, not the night before. This
- September 07, 2026
How to Choose Auxiliary Lights for Your Motorcycle
Stock headlights on most Indian motorcycles are built for city traffic, not a monsoon downpour on the Mumbai-Pune expressway or a foggy climb toward Rohtang. That gap is exactly what auxiliary lights are meant to close.
The problem is that most buying advice online is written for BMW and Harley riders in the US and Europe, where the roads, the weather, and the traffic rules are completely different from what you'll actually deal with on a Royal Enfield or an adventure bike in India. This guide skips the DOT and E-Mark talk and focuses on what actually matters here: which type of light suits your riding, how to wire it without draining your battery, and the legal grey area that most guides don't mention at all.
Fog Light, Driving Light or Passing Light? Know What You're Buying
"Auxiliary light" is an umbrella term, and the three most common types under it solve different problems.
- March 06, 2024
The bike’s chain is probably one the most important parts on a bike for it's brand new out of showroom feel. The kind of acceleration and deceleration forces that the chain handles are immense. In the course of normal riding, the chain probably goes through the most wear and tear as compared to any engine component; remember, almost all engine components are almost always lubed by the engine oil and are encased away from the harsh surroundings (mud, dust etc) whereas the chain is mostly exposed to the elements of nature.
The chain’s exposure to natural elements make it age rapidly unless cared for. The difference in performance between a non-lubed chain and a properly maintained one is huge and can be felt almost immediately.
Why is cleaning bike chain necessary?
In most modern motorcycles, chain is not covered in full chain cover and is exposed. It gets subjected to dirt, dust, water every time you ride. Cleaning a chain and lubricating it properly will (a) mak
- February 28, 2024
I recently received a call from a very good friend informing me that he has bought a new bike. Not being an enthusiast, his demands from the machine were limited to regular commute to his office, market place and an occasional trip to outskirts within 100 kilometers. When I reached his place, his bike looked as new as it could. Having taken the delivery a few hours back, the bike was gleaming and sparkling with all its glory.
He started the bike and then in a display of utter neglect, revved the bike hard enough for its nuts to fall off. Not just that but he also ensured that he redlined in the lower gears while demonstrating the potential to me. Thankfully, I was only a spectator standing a few meters away. While the display of his riding prowess and that of his machine were ignorable, what is not worth ignoring is the fact that his bike might have endured some of the toughest moments of its life.
So then we decided
- July 06, 2023
With the upcoming monsoon, we, as riders are worried about protecting our pride and joy from rains. People have questions right from “Is it OK for a bike to get rained on?” to “how to protect my motorcycle from rusting”. So decided to put together a guide with tips. Here it is -
How to protect your motorcycle from rains:
- July 01, 2023
Every rider wants to be faster. Even being 5-10% faster would be sufficient for most. And not everyone can keep upgrading the bike. And in most of the cases, you don’t need to be upgrading. It is time to see if you are actually utilising the full power of your existing bike. Read on.
We will be discussing following points in this article:
- June 28, 2023
Every rider wants to go faster and if you can find some more power or top speed in your existing bike; that too without spending much money, who wouldn’t want it? The solution to more power or more top speed is chain/sprocket kit. You can get exact percentage gain that you can calculate before modification.
- Does a smaller rear sprocket make you go faster?
- Bigger sprocket faster or slower
- What does a smaller front sprocket do?
- Bigger front sprocket does what?
- Does a bigger sprocket increase speed?
We have been asked these queries so many times that we decided to write a detailed guide about it.
So let’s see how this magic upgrade works.
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