Terminator v/s the Range rover........Who wons??.....

Here it is the ultimate battle, 'The TERRAMAX going at top speed of 35mph but with a load of hurdles......MAN!!! This Truck's crazy and in the Range Rover is our favourite TOP GEAR host 'JAMES MAY' Check out this amazing video with your friends....to see who wins.......and YEA DO the BIDDING for the better machine!!!

Automobile Dismantled

Monsoon Driving Tips

Monsoon make way for long drives to see the nature, trekking etc. but to reach there you have to dirve, with almost nil visibility. Here are some driving tips which would help you to drive along the monsoons.

• Keep your feet dry along with your footwear when hopping on to the driving seat as wet footwear may tend to slip on the pedals thus making driving an unpleasant one.
• It's advisable to follow (draft a car or slipstrseam) a car by keeping three times the normal distance. What it means is the car ahead of you will make for a relatively drier path after it has gone through the wet roads.
• Monsoon brings up deep waters, even on the roads like Saki Naka, Andheri etc etc. When you come across a situation like this put your car into the first gear and at half clutch accelerate thus giving your car its highest torque, and if the water is too deep that is if your exhaust is drowned as well then its better to switch the engine off and leave the car else do the above if its exteremely essential because if water enter your exhaust it may go into the car's engine cylinders and damage the engine.

• Heavy showers get along with greenery thus blocking the bridges with moving water through the rivers. This is a case in most of the villages, One such example is in my native Surya River, Maswan, Palghar, Maharashtra, India. This moving water is extremely dangerous as the intensity of the water is more than the weight of your car and if you take your vehicle through these the flow of water will take your car into the river. Thus its a strict no-no to taking your car through a bridge flooded with moving water.
• Dark gloomy conditions are often observed with clouds hanging over the skies and the days seems like late evenings. Switching on to low beam lights along with your fog lamps will enhance your visibility thus making the other car see you.
• Night driving coupled with heavy showers is a good weather but not so good for the person who has been driving. As the oncoming traffic lights are enhanced, reflected thus leading to a temporary loss of vision. So drive slow and be safe.
• Keep your windscreen clean . If you have glasses make sure they are also clean and you are wearing them.
• Last one, in monsoon's visibility is the main factor make sure you are visible. Also the other person who is ahead or behind you is facing the same conditions as you are so dont complain or irritate the person with honking care about one another.  

Remember monsoon drive is the most adventurous one so enjoy driving as well as be safe. 

Happy Monsoons :) :)

Yamaha - R15 v1 Midlife Review, Post 50k kms

R15.version1

Date of acquiring: 1st Feb 2009

Odometer reading (current) : 62350 kms

Overall fuel efficiency : 38kmpl

Type of terrain covered - All kinds - from good six lane highways to jungle trails to mountain ranges in Leh- Ladakh.


It's been 3 years since I first laid hands on this machine. I have travelled to numerous places, covering almost entire India, including the ride to Leh-Ladakh -- known as the graduation ride in the biking/touring world. Right from the beginning, people have been criticizing the tyres but I have said this before and I stand by it as firmly as I did the first time - the tyres are wonderfully awesome when it comes to griping the road irrespective of the terrain. The grip is exceptional, everytime you enter a corner, it feels as though the bike is glued to the tar. It was a time when Apache was the new sensation and Zma the ultimate tourer. Both of them very good bikes ,no doubt they were. But this machine entered the segment and increased the benchmark of Indian biking. It had in it, as Yamaha claims, the racing DNA.

Currently the bike has clocked 62,350 kms on odo. It has been a very good ownership experience.

Pros:
- Handling, even today every new bike coming in, has its handling ability compared to the benchmark - the R15
- Good fuel effeciency, the bike has consistently returned a fuel economy of around 38kmpl with the highest being +/- 45kmpl and lowest +/- 32kmpl
- Reliable - never once has the bike thrown any tantrums or unexpected issues
- Tyres - very good even on wet roads
- Light weight - light weight of the bike, makes it easy to control and handle the bike on terrains like leh- ladakh, where you might trip a number of times, ahve to lift the bike up and the weight comes into play.
- decent amount of luggage can be tied up on the backseat with bungee ropes and its stays quiet intact if done properly, leaving good space for the rider to sit comfortably
- the bike was once rammed between a car and a tree in the society parking lot, exhaust, body, rims, brakes damaged, once they were replaced I expected the bike to start giving nimble issues now and then, however, there was not even a single issue coming up after the repairs, the bike continued to be as reliable as before, good durability 

Cons:
- Tyres, though they are excellent in grip, the compound used in the tyre is softer than usually seen on India bikes. Softer the compound, better the grip but the tyre life is reduced. The way I use bike for extensive touring, rear tyre for me lasted around 8-10k kms before its started showing hints of loosing grip. Tyres are prone to punctures a lot when they are nearing the 8k mark - however V2 has some changes to the tyres done by MRF. One important point - tyres are always in shortage and its quite a task getting new stock tyres unless you know where exactly to look for them.
- Steering one - I personally think the wear and tear of the steering cone is too frequent, and replacement costs a bomb. It will definitely leave a big hole in your pocket. Though it depends on service centres how much labour to charge, on average a complete steering cone replacement costs with labour around 4k.
-Rims, in my opinion are weak. Considering it is a track tool, the wheels are supposed to be light weight, however for road use (read Indian roads), you hit a pothole at a considerable speed the the rim will either bend or have a crack! Bad! However, good news is, V2 has new rims, so hopefully the problem should have been addressed to.
- Maintenance is on the upper side compared to other Indian bikes, but so is the quality, reliability and performance, so I wouldn't really count it as a negative point.


 Overall the bike is in very good shape. Give it a wash and a polish and it shines as good as a new one(sparing the minor scratches on the tank due to my magnetic tank bag). Plastics and body part are firmly in place. No vibrations or noises. Fuel economy is still upto the mark. Reliability is totally intact. I know where to exactly find a new set of stock tyres so that hasn't been an issue at all. You cross the 7k mark on the RPM meter and you still see other vehicles vanishing in the rear view mirror. All the problems/complaints by Indian bikers have been taken into account and Yamaha has tried to make the changes in V2. It has a comparatively wider rear tyre than V1, Yamaha has cut down prices on some parts including brake pads, oil filters, etc. V2 has new tyres from MRF as well. So my opinion is V2 will definitely be better equipped than V1 and you can definitely rely on it.

Posting some pictures of the bike from the numerous rides

 At Srinagar, Kashmir

 Zozila Pass

 On the way to Leh- Ladakh

 Srinagar

Magnetic Hill

Thrilling European GP Win For Alonso.

Fernando Alonso described his victory in the European Grand Prix as "probably the best victory I've ever felt in terms of emotions".
Having only managed to qualify in 11th place on the grid on Saturday, Alonso's chances of a win looked very slim ahead of the race. However, a thrilling grand prix developed with a safety car period bunching up the pack and Sebastian Vettel retiring when Alonso was lying second before his closest challenger Romain Grosjean also dropped out. Having taken his second victory of the season, Alonso admitting he was overcome with the emotion of winning in front of his home fans.
"It's difficult to express in words what the feeling is at the moment," Alonso said. "Winning a home grand prix is something unique, a very special feeling. I had the opportunity in Barcelona 2006 with Renault, and I still remember that day perfectly. Now did the same thing here in Valencia but now with this special team - Ferrari, with all the grandstands full of red colour, full of the Spanish flags, and here now with the Euro football championships also there's a lot of Spanish atmosphere inside all of us. I'm feeling very proud to be a Spanish sportsman at the moment and winning this race in Spain is probably the best victory I've ever felt in terms of emotions - nothing ever compares to this one."
Alonso added that he had not allowed the team to be too downbeat after qualifying because of the open nature of the 2012 season.
"It's unpredictable results, but it's still a sport. Sport is about that, sport is about up and downs; yesterday we had a tough moment, we were sad about not being in Q3 but you can never give up because anything can happen in sport in general. Maybe more in Formula One, which is something that has many factors inside. There are the cars, there are the brakes, engines, anything can have a failure in the race."

http://www.formula1.com/results/driver/2012/

Decoding Tyre Sidewall

KERS- A drivers dream and a financers nightmare!!

A kinetic energy recovery system (often known simply as KERS) is an automotive system for recovering a moving vehicle's kinetic energy under braking. The recovered energy is stored in a reservoir (for example a flywheel or a battery) for later use under acceleration.

Jon Hilton of Flybrid, Adrian Moore of Xtrac and Dick Elsy of Torotrak are the trio behind the flywheel and the CVT for the KERS.

The trio explained how the system works:

“The mechanical KERS system utilises flywheel technology developed by Flybrid Systems to recover and store a moving vehicle’s kinetic energy which is otherwise wasted when the vehicle is decelerated. The energy is received from the driveline through the Torotrak CVT, engineered and supplied by Xtrac, as the vehicle decelerates, and is subsequently released back into the driveline, again through the CVT, as the vehicle accelerates. The FIA has defined the amount of energy recovery for the 2009 season as 400kJ per lap giving the driver an extra 80hp over a period of 6.67 seconds.

FIA Regulations for the use of KERS:

Currently the regulations permit the systems to convey a maximum of 60kw (approximately 80bhp), while the storage capacity is limited to 400 kilojoules. This means that the 80bhp is available for anything up to 6.67s per laps, which can be released either all in one go, or at different points around the circuit. Lap time benefits range from approximately 0.1 to 0.4s.