TOP GEAR’S RICHARD HAMMOND CRASHES HIS MORGAN

 

Top gear presenter mr. Richard hammond was involved in a minor car collision, when he crashed his brand new £ 110,000 morgan aeromax car into the back of a nissan. The accident happened due to a pile up involving a small number of cars, as the car in front of hammonds braked sharp, richard hammond happened to drive into its rear and heavily damaged the aeromax’s front end. since hammond was the last person involved in the pile up, atleast the morgans rear end was saved from damage. although no one was hurt in this accident, mr. richard hammond wud have been deeply worried about crashing his morgan, which he had lovingly purchased only few months back.

it was not very long that hammond was critically injured in a 280mph dragster crash during filming for the popular BBC Two show TOP GEAR.
We at redliners wish a speedy recovery for the aeromax

– CRANKSTER

NEW BAJAJ PULSAR 220 DTSi Vs YAMAHA R15 COMPARISON

So you are in the market to buy the latest performance bike. there arent many options for you to choose from. Its bang on, either
the yamaha R15 or the bajaj pulsar 220 DTS Fi. Bajaj realised that yamaha had really eaten up on their tail in the sales chart even
with a rs. 1Lakh plus bike, and decided to fight it back their own way. Thats how the 2009 pulsar 220 DTSi was born. you may wonder
about the new pulsar loosing the Fi letters from its name tag. It is true the new pulsar now makes do without a fuel injection system and in
its place is a 32 venturi CV carburettor. so can this bike really hold a candle to the yamaha’s performance and can it prove
at the right place where it matters the most “SALES”. we present the first comparison test report between indias most wanted performance bikes.

LOOKS, APPEARANCE & FEATURES:
First thing that catches your attention on the new pulsar 220 is the all black treatment. Although now common with almost all of the bajaj bikes
this is the first time it is appearing on the pulsar 220, and it really adds up to the sporty character of the bike. Once seated on the bike you are greeted
by a nice looking digital display with a new carbon coloured tacho.

Other than the small “F” logo on either side of the front semi fairings and golden
finished brake calipers, rest of the bike remains unchanged. One fine thing about the pulsars switch gear are that they are back lit, and it is a very nice touch I must admit.

On the other hand, the yamaha R 15 looks more like a scaled down R1. The full fairing with twin head lights lend it a supersports look. Although the bike feels a tad tiny compared to other bikes, it is sleek for the job it does. The R15 also has the best looking digital speedo in the market, the well marked tachometer and the tell tale lights are easy to read and have a cool blue back lighting.

RIDE, HANDLING & BRAKING:
Sit on the Yamaha R15 and you immediately feel the need for speed. Such is the seating position, low and lean. The sporty clip on handle bars and nicely rear set foot rest give the R15 the most sportiest riding position ever. The R15 is the first and only Indian motorcycle to come out with a twin spar steel frame and a monocross link rear suspension. The front is a twin telescopic unit, which is usual on most Indian bikes. The suspension is set a little soft keeping in mind the Indian road conditions, but the overall geometry of the chasis has been tuned to offer best in class handling. Around a race track the R15 can not be touched in the handling department. Turn in is razor sharp and so is the mid corner stability. The bike feels extremely agile and safe around a fast corner. On the road too the R15 feels at home, except for the crouched seating position, that takes people some time to get used to.

Things are now a little different with the new pulsar 220. this bajaj bike has never been know for its handling prowess. Mainly due to the soft shock absorbers and a chasis geometry which is more relaxed compared to the sporty R15. To handle all this, the bajaj engineers have made the front shocks a little stiffer, by changing the valves inside the telescopic forks. This change really makes its presence felt when u grab that strong front disc brake and haul the bike down from crazy speeds. The older pulsar had a problem of excessive dive under braking, which is almost non existent in the 2009 model. But this has taken a toll on the ride quality as the stiffer shock absorbers don’t really cushion the road undulations as well as the older pulsar. The bike comes with the same broad tyres, although now with a softer compound rubber that helps increase the grip levels. While all these modifications have improved the pulsars handling, it can never compete with the R15 on a race track or even a twisty ghat road. The R15’s handling is simply light years ahead of the pulsars.

Both the bikes come with a front as well as rear disc brakes. Although the new pulsar now comes with a steel braided front brake fluid hose which reduces hose flex and gives a sharp as well as direct feel to the braking.

ENGINE, GEARBOX AND PERFORMANCE:
The R15’s single cylinder 149.8cc engine is filled to the brim with pure technology. Liquid cooling, 4 valve head, fuel injection, diasil coated engine cylinder, forged piston and what not. But the engine still develops only 17ps of power and 15nm of torque much lower than expected. The engine is mated to a 6 speed gearbox, which is well spaced and has a nice actuation feel to it. Once on the move the R15’s 17bhp can be felt only after 7000rpm or so, such is the engines tuning and setup, it makes power only at higher rpm’s. low rpm pull is decent but not good enough to poter around town or for stop go traffic.

On a slight contrast the pulsar 220 has a air and oil cooled single cylinder engine. Fuel injection has been scraped and is replaced with a newly developed UCAL UCD 32 size carburetor, in other words the largest carburetor ever to be used on an Indian bike. in addition to this, other modifications like graphite coated piston to reduce friction, high lift camshaft, bigger exhaust resonator(exhausTEC) has helped increase the output of the engine to 21.04ps with torque remaining the same 19.12 nm. To improve the cooling system bajaj has also increased the size of the oil cooler by about 33%. Now all this translates to unadulterated performance on the road. Touch the throttle and the engine revs like nobody’s business, the amount of thrust in the midrange puts every other bike to shame. Pin the throttle at about 3000rpm and iam not exaggerating the P220 surges ahead like a mini superbike. In 0 to 100kmph the P220 is the quickest in the country, infact 100 kmph comes up flashing on the digital speedo much more often. The 5 speed gearbox felt a bit notchy compared to the R15 with 1 or 2 mishifts in between, but we think the gearbox will set in properly once it piles on some miles. The 5th gear ratio has been made taller to increase top speed and aid cruisability. So out on the highway the bike easily cruises at 110 kmph or even 120kmph without much stress. We reached a speedometer displayed top speed of 141kmph with more rpm left. so we can safely assume the real speed to be more than 135kmph, which is the fastest in the country. But only gripe about the engine is the amount of vibration it produces. Right from the lower rpm’s the bike starts vibrating a lot, mainly surfacing through the front fairing and handle bars, but it is not something that you cant live with. Other than this the engine is a real beauty. The performance simply leaves the R15 in dust!!!

PRICE & VERDICT:
People buying a bike from this segment usually don’t give a second look at the fuel efficiency figure of these bikes, but still both the bikes would easily manage to give about 35kmpl with the R15 slightly higher due to the fuel injection system. So to cut it all short and simple, the R15 costs 1,07,XXX rs , where as the Pulsar 220 costs 79,XXXrs both OTR Chennai almost 30,000rs of difference. The R15 may have a better technology in the form of liquid cooling and fuel injection system and better handling package to justify the 1lakh rs plus price tag, but the pulsar with almost all the bells and whistles and actually better performance than the Yamaha beats it flat on the power to money ratio. All said if I were in the market to get a performance bike I would close my eyes and head to the bajaj showrooms.

Story & Photographs- CRANKSTER aka Badri

Long Termer No.2: Royal Enfield Thunderbird (50th Anniversary Edition)

REDLINER : Tandeep (a.k.a) WALK-DA-TORQ

REDLINER RIDE : Royal Enfield THUNDERBIRD

Roayl Enfield.. Built like a Gun, Goes like a Bullet.. the famous tagline from eons ago.. the tagline has changed but the engine n styling hardly.. a brand that commands respect, loathing and every other possible oxymoron of feelings. Love it or Loathe it, You just can’t ignore it. That’s character, a trait possessed by very few these days. Since the time i’ve spent with the bike i’ve gone through a gamut of emotions, hey it’s a bullet and do pardon me if i’m very very partial to it cause it’s my bike 🙂 Got it last year and even though it says 50th anniversary edition, i still kick my bike like a mule every morning to bring it to life 😉

Styling: 3/5

Looks are very important when it comes to enfields, the presence and the charisma et al.. this one has got loads of it. First thing you obviously notice is the headlight.Round with circular instument pods lavished with a thick wad of chrome.. nice!! secondly the side panels are different. elongated rectangular with a chrome bottle attached next to it, where one of them is a dummy and the other holds the tool kit. nice touch looks a lot neater than the older thumper’s side panels. If u look carefully the tbird’s tank is slightly tilted upwards to give it a more upright stance and this subtle touch has quite dramatically created the desired effect. the paint job is good but i really hate the fact that those fins are actually stickers.. sorry not my cup of tea. Another thing that really put me off is the tbird comes only in two colors “magic black” (which is bascially a dark olive green.. u can call it a british racing green if u like 🙂 i do) n cherry red. By god enfield wat on earth happened to the silver ash and dark blue colors.

The exhaust another victim of the “lay on the as much chrome as u can” factory. It’s different from the rest of the family of exhausts. Its unusually long (like how this article is gonna be) and is basically an elongated bottle and extends beyond the rear wheel. Umm thanks to nannying legislation. So now instead of a THUMP you get a thump. sigh!! The back rest is very handy and is quite useful, which i realised after i removed it and lotta pillions were complaining. heck the ex didnt mind 😉 so its still stacked in my store room somewhere..

Build Quality: 3/5

Not the best built bike is the enfield. you can see weld marks in the chassis frame and things are bound to shake loose, thanks to the vibrations from a big single. However all said and done, the Tbirds a lot better built and a Little TLC will keep your maintenance cost down by a huge margin.

Ergonomics: 4/5

This has to be one of the most comfortable bikes to cruise on. Nice comfy seating position thanks to the handlebar seat and footpeg relationship. However i think the old thumpers and the electra are more suited for the upright riding posture and gives the rider a commanding presence. this doesn’t do that. Thanks mainly to the upswept handlebars and the thin seat. You sit “in” the bike not “on” the bike like most of us do on indian bikes. It’s a nice feeling, cocooned and comfy, perfect for chasing the horizon !!

Engine: 3.5/5

This bike finally breaks the mould of the cast iron block and comes with the new (well few years back it was) AVL engine with aluminum head and cylinder block, termed Lean Burn. The engine has been tuned to run on a lean mixture, hence the acronym LB. There’s something missing in this engine and yes its the THUMP. Purists of enfield will stay away from this one, and there are many who’d still go for the cast iron block.But it runs a lot more smoother and thanks to the lean burn is more efficient thermodynamically (ask some mechanical proffesor how, not me) and is consequently more fuel efficient. hmm boooring..

The new single cylinder heart displaces 350cc (yeah baby!! ) with dimensions 70 x 90 mm (yeah baby again !!) but puts out only 18bhp ( ;…() y o y did u even bother makin such a big engine) but but it makes a healthy 2.8 kgm of torque. beat that ha!! this amounts to lazy crusing and easy overtaking manouevers without having to downshift.

Gearbox: 3/5

Bullets aren’t known for smoothness and really you do wonder whether the gear lever your operating is actually a sledge hammer, cause tat’s what if feels like. That’s how the old ones were, the tbird is a lot better and is more like a operating a firing pin of an old enfield rifle, not the smoothest but sure as hell better than using a sledge hammer. Gear ratios are well spaced out and ideal for cruising.

Ride and Handling: 4/5

The Thunderbird is a bit more stiff than the usual set up of enfield bikes, i don’t know why but it rides real smooth when two up. So don’t worry about the bike wobbling even if the missus has put on a few pounds, the bike stays rock steady on the road. Personally I like the stiff setup cos it gives awesome feedback from the the rear tyre through the rider’s posterior, and you can cruise with your damsel with utmost ease on this steed. Passenger seat isn’t too broad but it’s appropriately comfy.

It’s amazing how such moderately wide tyres can offer so much grip through the corners and remain rock steady. At first the bike may feel awkward to ride but once u get used to it, boy oh boy can that chassis take curves and at really steep lean angles. You’ll be grinning ear to ear when you ground the footpegs and getaway with it :-))) It’s no sports bike but boy she does handle and ride like a beauty. I’d given it a 5/5 but then you’ll accuse me of being too partial.

Oh and i left this improtant part out.. the forks up front dive too much under severe n sudden braking, so its best you don’t try being a track hero out there on the road. It’s a bike meant for the road, however you can get around this by learning how to brake moderately n in bits. This is good in a way as it smoothens out your riding.

Now for the bad bit, it’s a handful through traffic. It’s lumpy and cumbersome and you’ll bitch about why you took the bike out during peak hours, this bike is suited for empty roads and long curvy roads like the ECR. However once you get the hang of the bike peak traffic won’t be a problem, jus plug into your ipod and sit and wait for the jam to clear 🙂Final Verdict:6/10

Well I think I’ve said enough about this machine and in the end it all comes down to whether you love bikes with a character and that which will put a smile across your face. The thunderbird did it for me and that’s why i steered clear of other bikes. It grabs a lot of attention on the road, will keep u entertained however u never know when an enfiled will conk. it’s happened before so be prepared for the worst. also the spares are unusually expensive. Don’t forget the moolah, thick wads in cash amounting close to a lakh, yes that’s exorbitant but you never know it’ll be just worth it, just !!

WALK-DA-TORQ

Long Termer Review : BAJAJ Pulsar 180 ug 2.1

REDLINER RIDE: pulsar 180 ug2.1

REDLINER : #18 Suren (a.k.a) PoweRband

Ever wondered why is this indian government so stupid abt importin motorbikes ,and at last we end up with products that don t even deserve to be called a motorcycle ! but this has a flipside too ,this makes some manufaturers to try something to satisfy the average joe who needs performance with a performance motorcycle ! and one such product , or maybe even the first of its kind is the BAJAJ pulsar 180 .

DATE AQUIRED : 9 th AUG 2005

MILEAGE : 10200 kms

RIDE & HANDLING :

The ride is ok and can do wonders with a stiffer suspension setup ! otherwise it ain t too soft either ,for hard riders stiffening up would be a better option ! overall :7/10

the handling is a slick and is good for cutting traffic ,but when u reach a corner its like in no mans land , u need to slow down to take the corner otherwise it understeers a lot ! overall:7/10

The brakes are very good and the disc upfront is very good and any good rider would feel secure to brake late , the rear brakes are ok and tend to lock at moments ! overall:9/10

Expenses on parts related to ride (shocks setup n stuff ) = nil

Expenses on handling parts =changed the cone fork which got a little too tght and led to crappy handling

Expenses on brakes= disc pads have been chnged twice

ENGINE & GEARBOX :

The engine feels a bit stressed but still performs really well and the response is also good, with proper maintainence like timely oil change and proper carb tuning the engine performs wonderfully well ,and the revs rise quickly with no lag reaching the powerband with ease .The clutch after excessive engine braking and hard shifts looks to have worn out and requires a chnge soon Overall = 9/10

The gearbox is a bit notchy ,the usual bajaj stuff .. and false neutral occurs with ultimate ease if u don t concentrate on the shift ! so u need to ride a lot to find the optimum speed and time where u can shift with no false neutrals and then it ain t a problem ! but still for new riders and careless riders who complain about the machines it is diff to shift !Overall:6/10

Expenses on engine : the usual oil chnge and nrml bike maintenence stuff alone

Expenses on gearbox : Nothin actually

PERFORMANCE & FUEL CONSUMPTION:

The performance is top notch ! and has just got better with the engine getting better with every km , there was never a drop in performance of the bike ! , the top speed (as on the speedo) achieved is 125 kmph (single rider 70kg) the acceleration is vgood till 60 (good enuf to b a zma) and then the bike takes some time to reach 100kmph and even more to reach the top whack!Overall:9/10

The fuel consumption is vgood when u ride sane ,and it does not burn ur pocket when u ride hard ,its the best bike u can get now if u want proper fuel consumption and performance together . BEst Efficiency : 43kmpl ; Worst ever : 29kmpl ;Average:38kmpl overall:8/10

UPGRADES : A MICHELIN pilot sport 130/70 section For the rear and it performs expcetionally well over the stock rear tire ! COST= 3200 rs

FINAL SAY :

One of the best bikes in the country which satisfies the thirst to some extent for the small percentage of performance enthusiasts ! with proper maintainence and care should be a great buy bike to have OVERALL : 8/10
>> RIDE ON>>

PoweRband>>

Suren

Scorpio??

Hmmm…. was browsing the net as usual and ran into a Scorpio which looks like this.

To check out more to this SUVs story, Check out http://www.4x4offroads.com/mahindra-scorpio-suv-from-india.html

Hats off to Kishan Lohiya.

-need4nos

Automobile Commercials in India – The best of them

hey people I got this sudden inspiration on writing about the ad scene in India. Its a great tug of war session to promote a car. I believe these are some of the best ads ever made. Please comment and remind me, if i have left out any.

-need4nos

Animals Vs Cars Part 1

Its been just another boring holiday day. So today since i am so jobless, i have come up with a equally jobless article. Today is the comparison between cars and animals. Yeah this has been an age old joke and a great time pass. But this time we are going to look at it in a scientific method :D. Btw this has been totally inspired by a crazy conversation in top gear about animals.

-need4nos