Motorcycles are the most sold type of vehicle in Sri Lanka. A motorcycle has become an item that anyone can save a little money and buy at home even for a small lease. So, even if we go to the showroom to buy a motorcycle, or search the internet, it is difficult for us to understand the details. Let’s try to understand a few things simply.
01. Bike type
When talking about the spec of a bike, the relevant model is important. When it comes to bikes, most of the time you see naked and standard bikes on the roads of Sri Lanka. Bikes that are well-designed and made for races are sports bikes. Bikes made for travelling in harsh regions at a little higher altitude are called trail bikes or off-road bikes. Bikes that have to sit on a very low seat and ride in the fun become cruiser bikes. Bikes like Harley Davidson, which have modified the cruiser a bit and made it go faster, belong to touring bikes. Also, there are scooters without gears and not difficult. There are many bike models like that. The technical spec of the bike varies depending on the model of the bike.
02. The weight of the bike
In the past, there are loads of bikes from Japan and Europe. But now the models coming from India are not heavy. In the early days, our people said that these Indian bikes are like Papadam. But to clean the oil of Indian bikes and reduce production costs, they make bikes lightly. Trail bikes or off-road bikes are generally lighter than other bikes. Off-road, the lighter the bike is, the easier it is to move the bike over the rocks. Also, scooter models are produced to reduce weight relatively. Some of the big bikes you see in America weigh more than five hundred kilos. The manufacturers do not try to make those bikes with large cylinder capacity for tens of kilometres strangely light.
03. Power and torque
Power is often measured in horsepower. And torque is measured in newton meters. Most of the time bikes are classified here according to the cylinder capacity. According to that, we usually see bikes with numbers like 100, 110, 125, 150, 160, 200, 250 etc. There are times when the cylinder capacity and power are unequal. Let’s take a Yamaha FZ 150cc bike that we often see in often. The maximum horsepower of F Z is stated as 13.2. But the power of the 125 cc KTM Duke bike is shown as 14.5. Accordingly, even though the cylinder is bigger, the power provided is not always the same. Therefore, when looking at a bike, it is important to look at the maximum torque and power.
04. Oil processing
Mileage is a very important factor in buying a bike in Sri Lanka. Hero bikes like Hero Splendor, Dawn and Bajaj models like CT 100 also oil well. It has been mentioned that some bikes do more than 60-70 per litre. Here, apart from the spec of the bike, it would be valuable if you could ask two or three people who use it. Because instead of burning oil on a flat road where there is no one, there is a possibility that oil consumption will increase a little on the roads we have to go to.
05. Wheelbase and inclination
The handle of the Pulsar is not the same as the handle of the GN 125 bike. Depending on the model of the bike, the length and inclination of the handlebars will change. In a bike like Harley Davidson, there are times when the rake angle or the inclination of the handlebar is about 35 degrees. It seems that these bikes with long handlebars are a little difficult to handle at low speeds, but when the bike reaches the required speed, the bike can be handled like a baby.
06. Seat height
Apart from trail bikes, other bikes have a lower seat which makes handling the bike more convenient. In trail bikes, when you get on the bike, the seat is positioned to the point where you can barely hit the ground with your toes. Whether the height of this seat is high or low, there is a way to sit on the seat and keep your legs on every type of bike. When looking to buy a bike, it is very good if you can put your legs in a way that fits the bike and see if it fits you.
07. Engine details
Even if the engine is of the same capacity, the power varies according to the number of valves set in the engine. This is why Indian bikes now have four valves. Two valves are also mentioned. Also, when the size of the bike increases, a liquid cooling method is better. Liquid cooling makes it possible to cool the engine more efficiently than conventional cooling. Larger traffic bikes have larger, slower two-cylinder engines. But common people rarely see multi-cylinder bikes on Sri Lankan roads. As the number of cylinders increases, the power is good. But in our country, due to slow fueling and bike prices, as well as taxes and license cases for bikes larger than 500 cc, we see fewer big bikes in our country.
08. Brakes and Suspension
As mentioned earlier, Indian bikes use oil well in 100 cc bikes. But when the bike is pedalled faster than 60, the bike starts shaking along with us. Therefore, if you buy a bike with the intention of going a little faster, it is worth looking into the comfort and suspension of the bike. Even if there is only a single shock, monoshock bikes are more comfortable than dual shocks. Now 150 cc bikes also come with ABS brakes. In those antilock brakes, even if we don’t press the brake pedal hard, we can hit the appropriate brake with a little pressure. Now many bikes come with disc brakes. The bike’s design, length, width, height, weight and tires also affect the brakes and suspension.
If a bike is a religion, then there are things that we can learn by looking at books as well as things that we need to learn from experience. It is much more valuable to know a few details and go on a bike than to get on and ride a bike like a mundane habit. (Lifie)
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