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:

1. What is Power and Torque?
2. What is power band?
3. Optimal Gear shift points
4. Should you up-shift if your target destination is only 50-100 feet away?
5. Quick Overtaking while touring

Let’s first get into some technical discussion. Everyone has heard the terms bhp. And most consider that higher bhp, faster you can go. WRONG. Power (bhp) and torque (Nm) are two different things.

“Power determines a vehicle’s top speed and torque determines how fast a vehicle can reach this top-speed.”

Note: We understand that there are many important factors like weight, aerodynamics, gearing, etc. which contribute to determining a vehicle’s top-speed and acceleration. In order to keep it simple and easier for everyone to understand, we have assumed these factors to be constant and not discussed them in this article,  Also note that the explana

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.

So let’s see how this magic upgrade works.

If you are looking for the relation between sprocket and acceleration/speed and don’t want to dive into the details here it is for you:

• A bigger rear sprocket/ smaller front sprocket will give you an increase in acceleration but decrease your top speed.
• A smaller rear sprocket/bigger front sprocket will reduce you acceleration but increase the top speed.

It is as simple as that. No guesswork. Now let’s look at the Sprockets in detail:

There are lots of options available in the market right from aftermarket ECU (for motorcycles having fuel injection), bigger carburettors to air filters and what not. All *claim* to provide a lot more power without any penalty in fuel economy or any other penalty. Today we want to take a look at one such mod that will deliver what you want. No guesswork about how much you would gain. It is simple mathematics.

Sprockets: What is this?

Let us first understand some basics about what sprockets are. A sprocket is a toothed wheel whose teeth engage with the links of a chain. Any motorcycle with a chain drive system has two sprockets and a chain connecting both the sprockets. The smaller one at the front is called the “Driver” while the bigger one at the rear

We have all been exposed mostly to one type of bike engine i.e. Single cylinder engine found in most of the motorcycles. But there is lots of variety in type of engines that are used in motorcycles. Know what they are? Read on.

Commonly found motorcycle engine types are:

1. Single cylinder engines
2. Two cylinder engines
3. Triple cylinder engines
4. Four cylinder engines
5. Six cylinder engines

1. Single cylinder engines :

Single cylinder engines work best on small cc bikes. They are cheap to maintain and fix if something goes wrong. So you will find them across all commuter bike range like Splendor, Platina and even Yamaha R15.

You may have heard the term “Pushrod Engine”. It is a type of single cylinder engine. It used to be found in Royal Enfield earlier. In Pushrod engines, the camshaft sits in-between the cylinder heads of the engine. The crankshaft is connected to the camshaft via a chain or gear system, so that when the crankshaft turns the camshaft follows. When the camshaft turns, a lifter pushes a pushrod that opens and closes the engine’s valves. This engine benefits from higher torque at lower rpm b

While everyone enjoys riding their motorcycle, do we ever give a thought to the drive type we are using and why? We guess not. That is why this article to explain benefits and disadvantages of each drive type.

There are 3 drive types for motorcycles:

1. Chain Drive
2. Belt Drive
3. Shaft Drive

Now let’s look at each drive type in details.

1. Chain Drive:

Chain drives are the most commonly found drive type for motorcycles. Chain drive comprises of a simple chain of linkages connecting two sprockets. The front sprocket is connected to the gearbox output shaft. It is the driving sprocket and the one at the rear wheel is the driven sprocket. Both these sprockets are connected through a chain, which also comes in a variety of designs. 

Disadvantages:

• One of the disadvantages of chain drive is that it requires frequent lubrication (every 500-700km).
• Chain Drive systems have lower life as compared to other two drive systems.

Advantages:

• Chain and sprockets are the most efficient at transmitting power, with only 1 – 4 % transmission loss. That’s significantly less than belt drives & shaft drives.
• Chain drives are very simple in their functioning and are very cost effective to run and replace. This is why this chain type is most commonly used.

2. Belt Drive:

You must have heard stories of altitude sickness that xyz suffered at Khardung La or at Chang La and are worried whether you can actually ride at high altitude. Fear not. We explain you what AMS is all about.

The points that we will be covering are:

• What is altitude sickness?
• How high do you have to be to get altitude sickness?
• What Causes Mountain Sickness?
• Altitude sickness symptoms
• Altitude sickness Prevention
• Treating Altitude sickness
• Altitude sickness medicine
• List of medicines to carry while riding at high altitude

What is altitude sickness?

Altitude sickness is also known as Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS). It is a pathological effect of high altitude on humans, caused by low partial pressure of oxygen at high altitude. People suffering from AMS feel the symptoms like flu, dizziness or a hangover.

There are actually 3 types of Altitude sickness.

• Acute Altitude / Mountain Sickness
• High-altitude pulmonary Edema (HAPE) and
• High-altitude cerebral Edema

High-altitude cerebral edema and high-altitude pulmonary edema mostly occur at very

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 I decided to compile and list down all known facts and myths about running in of a new engine. Here's our 2020 guide to Running-in of a motorcycle. Here are the points that we will be covering in this guide.

1. 7 tips to break in a new engine to get more performance
2. Do modern engines need running in?
3. Best Engine break-in techniques
4. How long does it take to run in an engine?
5. Does high rpm hurt engine?
6. How do you break in a new engine for