Showing posts with label seat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label seat. Show all posts
Saturday, May 27, 2023
Monday, November 28, 2016
First drive on a Royal enfield Bullet classic 500 chrome graphite
The odometer reading on my bike was 8.3Km when the bike was handed over to me at the warehouse. The distance to my home was approximately 5 Km and it had to be done in thick traffic. I still had to get to the petrol bunk to fill up. Sonny was in the pillion seat. I had not driven a bike in the last 8-10 years. That too, now, I get to ride a bike so heavy, I was afraid I would be mocked all over the road. Anyhow, maintaining composure, started the bike with sonny on the pillion and made my way towards the petrol bunk. Reached the bunk and gave the 2 litres coupon received from the showroom and then told the boy to fill another 10 litres. Knowing that the fuel capacity was 12.5 litres. It has been my style that I would top up my vehicle well before reserve situation. But better sense prevailed and then asked him to top up with only 5 litres.
The drive home was very tiresome. Plenty of traffic. Reached home did the quintessential ode to God and asking his best wishes for a safe journey the entire life of the vehicle for the rider, pillion and all the other people and living things on the road. Here the priest was about to apply vermilion on the engine casing. I stopped him on time. The crank case and the cylinder were already so hot, one touch and the priest would have summoned the worst demons on to me and to my bike. While taking a turn, I really struggled to get the bike moving to turn 180 degrees. It was now time to rest the heavy slugger and its driver.
Woke up the next day and was still in two minds as to whether take the bike to work or not. Lot of work had to be done. The car had to be moved from its original position. There is one more bike which also had to be moved which unfortunately will be locked. At the last moment decided to bite the bullet and did all the above things to bring out the 500cc. Pulled up the choke lever and hit the electric start button. The engine chugged to life immediately. Waited for a minute or so and then off I went on my first real drive of the 500cc. The morning drive was awesome. The cold breeze, a rare vehicle here and there. Maintained a consistent 40-50 Kmph to maintain the ride in. The bike vibrates like crazy. The mirrors only tell you that you have a vehicle at your back. It is difficult to find out which vehicle is it.
The seating position is awesome. Sitting upright gives a princely air about the bike. It is difficult to drive at 60 Kmph in the 5th gear. The vehicle Will be nudging you to rev the engine but I remembered the limitations of the ride in and maintained the designated speed. The handle could have been bent a little towards the rider. The front disc brakes are excellent. The suspension is good enough. I did not feel the potholes much. It handles bad roads with aplomb. The major problem I faced is the rear brake lever. The foot has to go a long way down to use the brake. I think I should have raised the lever a notch and also reduced the total throw of the foot lever. This I will take up when I am free in the day. But, the rear brake pedal is a pain in the A*&. The driving position is completely destroyed when using the rear brake. I despise the total rear brake package.
The drive, is unique, one of a kind. The torque is available to you in all the gears. Perfect city bike once you get the hang of the bike and optimized the location and travel of the rear brake, of course. Reaching the neutral gear is something to be practised. Just in one day's drive my accuracy is nearly 60%. That is good going(patting myself). Don't change the gears when the bike is in stationary condition. hold on the clutch lever or switch of the engine in the same condition. Don't worry, you cannot move the bike that easily to change the gears all by yourself and also in the busy traffic where there will not be any place to do so. The thump, the vibration, I never knew that shortcomings in technology also could be used as USP and this bike is a mirror to this. I thoroughly enjoyed the drive in the mornings as well as traffic in the evening. The glances you get as you rev your engine, priceless and add to it the chrome. Now I know why people are so keen in going to Valhalla. Now I know the relation between chrome Valhalla. Now I know why chrome is sprayed on half lifes. Now I know why George miller is so adamant that he will not feature an electric car in his Mad Max series. Now...... I ............Know.........
The drive home was very tiresome. Plenty of traffic. Reached home did the quintessential ode to God and asking his best wishes for a safe journey the entire life of the vehicle for the rider, pillion and all the other people and living things on the road. Here the priest was about to apply vermilion on the engine casing. I stopped him on time. The crank case and the cylinder were already so hot, one touch and the priest would have summoned the worst demons on to me and to my bike. While taking a turn, I really struggled to get the bike moving to turn 180 degrees. It was now time to rest the heavy slugger and its driver.
Woke up the next day and was still in two minds as to whether take the bike to work or not. Lot of work had to be done. The car had to be moved from its original position. There is one more bike which also had to be moved which unfortunately will be locked. At the last moment decided to bite the bullet and did all the above things to bring out the 500cc. Pulled up the choke lever and hit the electric start button. The engine chugged to life immediately. Waited for a minute or so and then off I went on my first real drive of the 500cc. The morning drive was awesome. The cold breeze, a rare vehicle here and there. Maintained a consistent 40-50 Kmph to maintain the ride in. The bike vibrates like crazy. The mirrors only tell you that you have a vehicle at your back. It is difficult to find out which vehicle is it.
The seating position is awesome. Sitting upright gives a princely air about the bike. It is difficult to drive at 60 Kmph in the 5th gear. The vehicle Will be nudging you to rev the engine but I remembered the limitations of the ride in and maintained the designated speed. The handle could have been bent a little towards the rider. The front disc brakes are excellent. The suspension is good enough. I did not feel the potholes much. It handles bad roads with aplomb. The major problem I faced is the rear brake lever. The foot has to go a long way down to use the brake. I think I should have raised the lever a notch and also reduced the total throw of the foot lever. This I will take up when I am free in the day. But, the rear brake pedal is a pain in the A*&. The driving position is completely destroyed when using the rear brake. I despise the total rear brake package.
The drive, is unique, one of a kind. The torque is available to you in all the gears. Perfect city bike once you get the hang of the bike and optimized the location and travel of the rear brake, of course. Reaching the neutral gear is something to be practised. Just in one day's drive my accuracy is nearly 60%. That is good going(patting myself). Don't change the gears when the bike is in stationary condition. hold on the clutch lever or switch of the engine in the same condition. Don't worry, you cannot move the bike that easily to change the gears all by yourself and also in the busy traffic where there will not be any place to do so. The thump, the vibration, I never knew that shortcomings in technology also could be used as USP and this bike is a mirror to this. I thoroughly enjoyed the drive in the mornings as well as traffic in the evening. The glances you get as you rev your engine, priceless and add to it the chrome. Now I know why people are so keen in going to Valhalla. Now I know the relation between chrome Valhalla. Now I know why chrome is sprayed on half lifes. Now I know why George miller is so adamant that he will not feature an electric car in his Mad Max series. Now...... I ............Know.........
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Mahindra Scorpio Sle, My drive.
Well, now that I have got my vehicle let me drive it my way(A pun on sachin tendulkar's line "Now that I am captain, Let me do it my way").
1. The stance: The way the vehicle stands on the road is majestic. I don't think mahindra is going to change any of the exteriors. There are no sharp corners like the XUV(That is the major reason i dislike it and also the stance is that of a traditional SUV. We have many with similar looks on the road) All the corners are contoured and rounded. Sufficient bonnet length to make the driver feel safer. I don't know the effectiveness of the crumple zone but, here i will take mahindra's word. The way it lunges forward is awesome.
2. The indicators are clearly visible. But I thought that the rear indicators throughout the height of the vehicle are a little too much. I have seen a lot of scorpios with the tail lights painted black for the top half and I liked the way the vehicle looked at the rear after this. Would I get it done, I don't know for now.
3. The road clearance is ample but a bit lesser than the LX which does not come with the claddings all around. Trust me, the claddings are required. Climbing the vehicle can be daunting for people used to smaller cars and the steps all around the vehicle attached to the claddings are very much a requirement.
4. The extra moolah spent on the chequered flag sticker is really well spent. It provides a sense of class to the vehicle and breaks the mundane white throughout the vehicle.
5. The front grill is good but it can still be perfected and be made a bit meaner.
6. Step on the driver seat and the feel is elated and elevated both at the same time and is more so for people coming from driving small cars. All of a sudden you will be seeing the road with a different look. The vision clear and lucid. The driver height which is a major feature of any SUV is spot on. The seats are comfortable. But there is definitely lot of scope of improvement. The steering wheel is nice and with angular adjustment, that is the only degree of freedom for the driver. Seats cannot be adjusted. The height of the steering wheel cannot be adjusted. Turn back from the drive seat and have a look at the space. It will be a shocker.
7. The cabin space is as large as a standard room. If you go for the captain seats, the amount of air flow in the cabin is going to surprise you. Don't go for lighter colors for the seats you will regret it. Particularly with kids moving around the space available. It is very easy to change seats with the captain seat configuration. Believe me there will be lot of movement between the inmates. The largess of your vehicle is clearly visible when you reverse your vehicle and you see the awesome distance between your seat and the rear end of your car.
8. The rear seats are for kids and shorter people only. With the adjustment available in the captain seat configuration, the middle seat can be adjusted for ultimate comfort or for medium comfort based on whether we have people in the rear seat.
9. Driving the vehicle requires lot more effort than the usual small cars. Especially in city traffic, you can get really tired. The hyper-vibrating gear knob does not help at all. The long travel clutch pedal is also a hindrance while driving in city conditions. Make sure you have lengthy legs to drive the scorpio for the long travel of the clutch pedal. The first half travel of the clutch pedal does not do anything. The action starts from above half the travel of the clutch pedal.
10. Long drives, huh, you have the perfect vehicle. I had a lot of trouble keeping the vehicle between 60-80 Kph. It will easily slip into 120 kph once you engage the fifth gear. I have decided to drive the vehicle within this band so as to keep the RPM below 2000 for at least 2000 Km.
11. Braking is nice and ABS works perfect. I am new to this ABS thing and I like the grace it gives to the vehicle during braking.
12. The way the spare tyre was positioned got me thinking. What was going throughout the designer's head at that time. I thought that they forgot completely about the spare tyre and then decided the position as an after-thought. The sales person was explaining the way to remove the spare tyre from under the rear and I was really amused. Much smaller and cheaper cars have awesome placing of the spare tyre. Terribly disappointed at this aspect of the scorpio.
13. Mileage, forget it. Don't ask me. It really hurts here. My monthly spending will be doubled.
14. Does this vehicle rock? It rocks like a boat. Even small humps when negotiated on one of the tyres rocks the vehicle sideways. It takes a considerable amount of time for this movemet to be dampened. People driving high end cars will definitely be put off by this aspect of the scorpio. The vehicle rocks length wise also when you negotiate a hump all of a sudden. This vehicle definitely rocks(rolls and yaws)!!!!!!!!!!!. Drive the vehicl smooth and slow over any undulations in the road.
15. Dont use the hand brake frequently. It will lose its capability and the stroke of the hand brake is very much limited. Keep it for situations which really demand it. Park the vehicle with first or the reverse gear engaged(This is recommended in the manual also).
16. Idylling generates lot of sound. After driving a little the sound reduces during movement.
17. The scropio has gone through many revisions. The way I look at it, the revisions have been in the form of retro-fits. I have never seen a vehicle with that many wirings out in the open. I just looked beneath my seat and I saw lot of wirings below the driver seat as well as the middle row. These thing happen only because of retro-fits. Hope that the next avataar of the scorpio is a really re-designed one and not a retro-fitted one.
18. Since the remote central locking does not close the windows automatically(If they are open while you alight from the vehicle), I was informed by the sales guy that a retro-fit (here we go again) to this effect is in the works and may be available in a couple of months.
Summary :-
I love my drive. "Its the driver. Not the drive", is it? What's the driver without his drive? Huh............
1. The stance: The way the vehicle stands on the road is majestic. I don't think mahindra is going to change any of the exteriors. There are no sharp corners like the XUV(That is the major reason i dislike it and also the stance is that of a traditional SUV. We have many with similar looks on the road) All the corners are contoured and rounded. Sufficient bonnet length to make the driver feel safer. I don't know the effectiveness of the crumple zone but, here i will take mahindra's word. The way it lunges forward is awesome.
2. The indicators are clearly visible. But I thought that the rear indicators throughout the height of the vehicle are a little too much. I have seen a lot of scorpios with the tail lights painted black for the top half and I liked the way the vehicle looked at the rear after this. Would I get it done, I don't know for now.
3. The road clearance is ample but a bit lesser than the LX which does not come with the claddings all around. Trust me, the claddings are required. Climbing the vehicle can be daunting for people used to smaller cars and the steps all around the vehicle attached to the claddings are very much a requirement.
4. The extra moolah spent on the chequered flag sticker is really well spent. It provides a sense of class to the vehicle and breaks the mundane white throughout the vehicle.
5. The front grill is good but it can still be perfected and be made a bit meaner.
6. Step on the driver seat and the feel is elated and elevated both at the same time and is more so for people coming from driving small cars. All of a sudden you will be seeing the road with a different look. The vision clear and lucid. The driver height which is a major feature of any SUV is spot on. The seats are comfortable. But there is definitely lot of scope of improvement. The steering wheel is nice and with angular adjustment, that is the only degree of freedom for the driver. Seats cannot be adjusted. The height of the steering wheel cannot be adjusted. Turn back from the drive seat and have a look at the space. It will be a shocker.
7. The cabin space is as large as a standard room. If you go for the captain seats, the amount of air flow in the cabin is going to surprise you. Don't go for lighter colors for the seats you will regret it. Particularly with kids moving around the space available. It is very easy to change seats with the captain seat configuration. Believe me there will be lot of movement between the inmates. The largess of your vehicle is clearly visible when you reverse your vehicle and you see the awesome distance between your seat and the rear end of your car.
8. The rear seats are for kids and shorter people only. With the adjustment available in the captain seat configuration, the middle seat can be adjusted for ultimate comfort or for medium comfort based on whether we have people in the rear seat.
9. Driving the vehicle requires lot more effort than the usual small cars. Especially in city traffic, you can get really tired. The hyper-vibrating gear knob does not help at all. The long travel clutch pedal is also a hindrance while driving in city conditions. Make sure you have lengthy legs to drive the scorpio for the long travel of the clutch pedal. The first half travel of the clutch pedal does not do anything. The action starts from above half the travel of the clutch pedal.
10. Long drives, huh, you have the perfect vehicle. I had a lot of trouble keeping the vehicle between 60-80 Kph. It will easily slip into 120 kph once you engage the fifth gear. I have decided to drive the vehicle within this band so as to keep the RPM below 2000 for at least 2000 Km.
11. Braking is nice and ABS works perfect. I am new to this ABS thing and I like the grace it gives to the vehicle during braking.
12. The way the spare tyre was positioned got me thinking. What was going throughout the designer's head at that time. I thought that they forgot completely about the spare tyre and then decided the position as an after-thought. The sales person was explaining the way to remove the spare tyre from under the rear and I was really amused. Much smaller and cheaper cars have awesome placing of the spare tyre. Terribly disappointed at this aspect of the scorpio.
13. Mileage, forget it. Don't ask me. It really hurts here. My monthly spending will be doubled.
14. Does this vehicle rock? It rocks like a boat. Even small humps when negotiated on one of the tyres rocks the vehicle sideways. It takes a considerable amount of time for this movemet to be dampened. People driving high end cars will definitely be put off by this aspect of the scorpio. The vehicle rocks length wise also when you negotiate a hump all of a sudden. This vehicle definitely rocks(rolls and yaws)!!!!!!!!!!!. Drive the vehicl smooth and slow over any undulations in the road.
15. Dont use the hand brake frequently. It will lose its capability and the stroke of the hand brake is very much limited. Keep it for situations which really demand it. Park the vehicle with first or the reverse gear engaged(This is recommended in the manual also).
16. Idylling generates lot of sound. After driving a little the sound reduces during movement.
17. The scropio has gone through many revisions. The way I look at it, the revisions have been in the form of retro-fits. I have never seen a vehicle with that many wirings out in the open. I just looked beneath my seat and I saw lot of wirings below the driver seat as well as the middle row. These thing happen only because of retro-fits. Hope that the next avataar of the scorpio is a really re-designed one and not a retro-fitted one.
18. Since the remote central locking does not close the windows automatically(If they are open while you alight from the vehicle), I was informed by the sales guy that a retro-fit (here we go again) to this effect is in the works and may be available in a couple of months.
Summary :-
I love my drive. "Its the driver. Not the drive", is it? What's the driver without his drive? Huh............
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