This is not much of a concern for those who still have their chain covers. Chain covers keep away most of the dirt and prolongs the life of your drive chain.

But if you have exposed your chain to elements, then you have to take more care. Ideally, the chain should not contain any dirt or grime. So, if you have an exposed chain - sprocket set, then it is advisable to keep it clean.

First, ride the bike couple of meters (around 300-500 mtr is enough) to warm up the chain. Then put the bike on the center stand. Now take a metal brush or a old tooth brush and clean the chain. Brush off all the dirt and grease. (For those who want to go a step further, you can unlock, remove your chain and clean it). Now wash the chain with a rag soaked in detergent or kerosene. Clean and dry the chain as much as you can. Drive around to fling off the detergent / kerosene and put the bike on main stand again. Clean the chain again with dry rag - clean and dry it as much as you can.

Then apply grease to the inside of the chain links carefully. Make sure you don’t leave it all over so that it won’t smear or keep flinging off while you ride. 


If you want to take out the chain and clean, go ahead. Unlock the chain, take it, clean it with brush and kerosene/detergent and then dry it. Then put the chain in a old pan (coil it and put it) and put it on a hot plate. When it gets hot, add grease in small quantities. Do it till the molten grease cover the chain. Don’t put all the grease together or boil the grease and put the chain. It may cause air entrapment under rollers and the effect of lubrication will be wasted. 

Why should you use grease? Why cant you use Oil? Simple - oil is less viscous, so it will fall off the chain soon - it won’t stay inside and provide lubrication. The lube is supposed to sit inside the chain and protect it from water and dirt - Oil attracts more dirt than grease. Grease, on the other hand, stays inside the chain, keeps it lubricated, repels water and collects less dirt.

For those who use a chain guard, once in a while - once in 2K - 2.5K km, remove the chain cover and do the lubing. Keep checking the lubrication of chain for every 500km, and re-lube when you feel chain is dry - never let your chain run dry. It will reduce the life of your chain/sprocket.

If you are more finicky then you can use specially formulated chain lubes – like Honda HP Chain Lube, Motul chain cleaner or any of the other makes.

There are chain sprays avilable here in India now, and you can use it to give a coating over teh grease you applied - it heps the grees to be in place for long time and makes the chain catch less dirt. 

Helmet is one of the most commonly used and useful protective gear discovered for us, Bikers.
As sensible riders, I urge each of you to wear a helmet, even if you are taking the bike to the shop in next street.

Helmet is designed to protect our head from a crash. And one crash is what takes the helmet to expire its usefulness. Fist and foremost thing to take care about a helmet is, if you had a nasty fall and helmet saved you, it is time to replace the helmet. Don’t gamble with your life - you have got only one head - protect it.

One common practice almost all of us do is to hang the helmet on the rearview mirror. This in turn leads to the compression of the thermocol like stuff (it is made of polystyrene and it is what absorbs the impact) and the ability to absorb the impact lessens as it gets compressed.

Keeping the helmet in helmet lock and riding is another practice people resort to. Other than the obvious danger (helmet is made to protect your head, not to be locked in a helmet lock), the shocks can weaken the shell of your helmet and if you do it long, the jaw part can even break. Helmet locks are to keep the helmet safe when the bike is parked, not while riding. These are very flimsy, and if some one really want to whack the helmet, it is not at all difficult. I personally don’t like / use helmet locks.

Keeping the helmet on the tank / seats is another sure shot way to shorten the life span of a helmet. Keeping it as such is not a problem, but invariably, at some time or other, the helmet falls down and each impact on the helmet shell will lessen the life span of the helmet.

Be careful when you carry your helmet around - don’t bang it or drop it. Banging the helmet or dropping it is same as subjecting the helmet to an impact.

Another common thing I have observed is riding without strapping on the helmet. A helmet is not something you use just to adorn your head - it should protect you when you fall down. If it is not strapped down, the helmet will fly even before your head hits the ground. A loosely strapped helmet or a unstrapped helmet is as god as you not wearing a helmet.

A helmet has a life span - and in case of international brands, it is around 5 years. But for Indian brands, it is as short as 2 years - after that, the compounds stiffen and it won’t offer you much protection. Don’t try to save money in the helmet department - buy the best helmet you can afford, and keep replacing it in 2 ~5 years (depending on the helmet you buy). I use GP-One/AGV helmets and I replace them within 2 years of time. (Btw, if any of you know where I can get a KBC for a decent price, please drop a comment)

Putting lots of stickers are also is not a safe practice - I am taking about the aftermarket stickers we put - not the decals the helmet comes with. The stickers can have an adverse effect on the outer shell.

Clean your helmet and visor once in a week - a clean visor helps in long way to improve your visibility.

A ride is a perfect way to unwind - and it is more fun when you are with friends. A group ride is one of the best ways to enjoy the company of friends on a long ride. When you plan for a ride, there is no spoil spot like having a breakdown and realizing that you have left that elusive part back at home. If all the riders follow some basic rules, a group riding can be a very enjoyable experience. 

First - choose a Lead (or Spot) and a Tail (Sweep). Spot should be a guy who knows the route, or some one who have good understanding of the way all are heading, and he should know the comfort speed of the group. The tail should be some one with enough practical knowledge to fix the bike in case of a break down, and he should be patient enough to sweep the whole lot of riders. No one should overtake the lead and no one should go slow than the tail.

Keep your headlights / pilot lights ON all the time - it is very easy to spot and coordinate the group. 

Keep staggered formation when riding in a wide enough road, but when road becomes narrow, follow a single file pattern.

Keep at lest 2 bike length distances from the bike in front of you, and always make sure you can see the headlight of the bike following you.

Fix both the rearview mirrors. They are life savers. 

Never overtake any one from left side. If you want to overtake the rider in front of you, honk and use flasher to inform him and then over take. 

Wear helmets - both rider and pillion. 

Wear shoes, not chappals. Wearing basic protection gear like Jackets and Gloves is very much recommended. 

Don’t ever follow the rider in front of you blindly, especially when he is overtaking a vehicle. Wait till he over takes and then overtake.

Spot should give hand signals indicating road breakers, potholes etc and should signal when he wants every one to slow down. The signals from spot should propagated through the group. 

Pull over to road shoulder or left most lane to stop. use both indicators and hand signals while stopping. When spot decides to stop, every one should stop.

Decide on meet up / re-union points en route. If any one gets lost or suffer a break down, he can catch up with others at these points. When one has a break down, tail should stop and assist him to fix. If any one is having a break down, inform fellow riders by honking and flashing. 

When you go for a ride, service your bike at least 2-3 days before and make sure you ride it around - don’t go for a long ride on a freshly serviced bike - you never know what will go wrong.

Always carry your Driving license, RC book (copy or original), Insurance papers and PUC certificate.

Carry some basic spare parts and a basic tool kit and medicine kit.

Don’t forget to pack in:

Spare cables
Spare bulbs, especially head and tail lamp
Spark plug
Spare tube
Chain link
A piece of wire
Insulation tape
Bungee chords
Commonly used spanners
Pliers
Screw driver


And don’t ever forget - with more power, comes more responsibility. The next guy has as much freedom to use the road as you. Remember, it is not a race, but a ride. Let us make sure of our safety and that of others - be responsible riders.