DIY - Replacing Amp Meter on Royal Enfield Electra 5s

Amp meter is mostly found on Iron Barrel (/Cast Iron) models of Royal Enfield. As the name says it shows the electric current flow/consumption in the motorcycle (wiring). 

Royal Enfield Amp Meter Grey, for Electra 5s

Now in the real world, the following are some of the use of the Amp meter, which I am aware of:

1. When the engine is running, it should lean towards the + sign (this means the battery is getting charged)
2. When any accessory (e.g. blinkers, headlight, horn, fog lamps, etc) is switched on, the meter needle dips towards the - sign, indicating power being consumed. Higher displacement of the needle to the left means more power is being drawn by that electronic accessory.
3. While kick-starting, if the needle dips towards the - sign, mean there is compression in the cylinder (first decompress the engine using the lever and give a half kick, and then try to start as usual)
4. [Update] If battery terminals are wrongly connected (reversed), the needle may dip to the -ve sign (This is just for info, plz do not try this one!)

Now am not sure if there is any other use for this thing. Feel free to leave a comment on this post if you know of any other use. So coming to my bike, it runs with an HID as the main light source and a set of halogens (55w x 2) for fog/rain, and on long tours, the phone (/gps) is wired to the charging port all the time. So I just keep an eye on the charging of the battery part, and hence have to rely on the amp meter from time to time. And of course, while kick-starting in the mornings. Anyway, now the amp meter on my bike had conked out a while ago and I had to get it replaced. Today I got some time to get my hands dirty. I had purchased a spare one for my Electra, so I just had to unplug the old one and put the new one in place. Yeah, its that easy, provided you have tool-friendly hands (meaning you know how to use tools without being all over the place and making dents and scratches on the bike).

Here are the steps to follow to get this job done.

Unplugging the old Amp meter from the main harness:

1. Ensure that your ignition is off and possibly take the key out for now
2. Get a feel of the set of cables, which is popping out from, below the amp meter, and see where its plugged into the motorcycle's wiring harness
3. If you can freely reach that plug from the side of the doom, then just try to unplug it (/detach) from the main harness by releasing the tiny plastic lock on one side
4. If you are not able to reach that connection/plug from the side of the doom, remove the doom from the head (do it carefully and keep it aside on the floor or on a cloth to avoid damaging it) and complete step 3

The female plug, is part of the motorcycle's wiring harness (notice the locking mechanism on the right side of the plug)

I had to open the headlight doom to reach the amp meter cable

Now the amp meter set is unplugged from the main harness, it is time to pull out the meter console from the head.

Removing the old Amp meter console:

1. Get a screwdriver and a piece of cloth (the one you keep for wiping your bike is also fine)
2. Now put the cloth on the handlebar, using it as a fulcrum, and with the flathead of the screwdriver try to slightly pry out the amp meter's ring from the head (do this slowly) 
3. Do the same thing from the front side as well and with each attempt try to lift the meter by half an mm and avoid being too hard on it
4. After a couple of attempts from front and back you should be able to pop out the meter (and maybe with the rubber sleeve around it out of the socket

Now as the old one is out, now the task is to fit the new meter in.

Fitting the new Amp meter console:

1. Put the new rubber sleeve into the slot, until it fits flush (as you can see in the images below)
2. Slowly put the cables inside the hole and work your way with the meter to sit in the slot perfectly
3. Slowly push the meter down until it fits in the slot and only the rim of the new rubber sleeve is visible below the metal edge of the meter
4. Now carefully take the meter cable route it around the speedo cable and plug it into the motorcycle's wiring harness ensuring that the plastic locking mechanism has slotted in properly
5. Move the handle from side to side and check the cable you just routed should not be getting pulled/stressed at any position of the handlebars

New amp meter without the rubber sleeve

First, put the new rubber sleeve in, then carefully slide in the amp meter cable followed by the meter console

Time to test the new setup before calling this DIY complete.

Testing the new Amp meter:

1. Put the ignition key in and switch it on
2. Switch on the blinkers and see if the needle flicks toward the -ve sign
3. Repeat step 2 for horns, headlights, fog lights, and any other accessories you wish to see the power consumption for
4. Now power up the bike using kick/self-start and see when it's idle, if the needle is leaning towards the + sign

That's it, the meter seems to be working fine. If you had to open the doom for this job, now you can fix it back.

 Amp meter needle in a neutral position : the ignition key is turned on, but the engine is not running

The engine is running and with a slight twist of the throttle the needle is going towards the + sign (in idle it still goes towards the + sign, albeit very less to capture in a photo)

Hope this DIY comes in handy when you are in need. For queries/suggestions, leave a comment below.

Cheers !!

Sid

BMW GS and Me - Part 2 of 2

..Continued from Part 1 of 2

Last month I was in Johannesburg on a work trip and got to meet a colleague who was from India and rides a motorcycle to work every day. In a developed country with first-world infrastructure, riding a bike is not a common practice. The motorcycle is considered for commuting only if someone is really passionate about riding or, that's the only available option (e.g. you don't know driving and public transport is not feasible due to some reason). Add to it being an Indian abroad. Let's face it, most of us are risk averse, unlike the majority of westerners. I might be wrong here, but this is just my opinion coming from my own meanderings experience. Having said that I had a chat with him and he turned out to be a very enthusiastic person who is big-time into marathons and also into motorcycling. Before no time we were talking about motorcycles and which ones we like, which ones we don't, etc. When he mentioned that his steed is a BMW GS, my immediate response was, 'Don't tell me it's a 1200 !!?'. This wasn't a question really, it was more of my strong belief coming out in words, that a person of my stature definitely wouldn't consider a 1200GS. Well, I was wrong, he does ride an R1200GS. I had to drop my perceptions of the 1200GS right at that moment. I knew I had to see that bike again, more for my self-belief than anything else. 

After work, we caught up at the basement parking and I had a quick walk around and saddle-up view. It was a 2012 model (if I remember correctly) and in good condition. The immense torque from the lateral twin boxer engines was evident from the twist of the throttle. Though meeting Rupin affirmed the fact that R1200GS is not that bad for an average-built person, still there was no denying the fact that it was a big bike on which I can't flatfoot. Those who ride should already know, not every rider has to be tall enough to flatfoot, especially girls. I know a few of them who have ridden across long distances (across provinces) and still doing such rides and all with their chosen bikes, with tall seating. But honestly, I have never had such a problem with any of the bikes so far, until this German beast showed up. Anyway, had it been a rental motorcycle I would have been interested in riding it, as in a way I would own it for the time I hire it? So it would be just a matter of paying off for any damages if I fall. But this one is a private motorcycle, I wasn't really keen on riding this bike. Instead, I wanted to do a photoshoot of this GS for my blog here. So I proposed to Rupin to pick a spot and let's meet up so that I can take some shots of the bike. He readily agreed, rather he suggested I ride along as a pillion, which was perfect for me too. So this plan was on!

Now it was time for us to pick a route. I love twisties and Joburg got none of that stuff, at least not close to the city. So we consulted another colleague of ours, JP. He is a seasoned GS rider and knew some good riding routes close enough to the city for a breakfast ride. He drew a route map online and passed it to me. And I and Rupin started looking for a suitable date on our calendars. Partly due to Rupin's family commitments and partly due to my work schedule, that day didn't arrive until, my very last day in Joburg. I had to attend work, pick up luggage from the hotel, drive to the airport, drop the car at the rental agency, and catch a flight, all this before lunch. On top of all this, I hadn't got time to pack my luggage the night before due to a dinner invitation we had received at the last minute. But when it's about a ride, I know how to make time. I finished all my packing till morning at 3AM on Friday and set an alarm for 5. Got up at 5 all fresh (trust me, for motorcycling I do such crazy stuff:P ). Took a shower and put the camera gear and riding gear in the boot and drove off to Rupin's place. I was just hoping it works out for him, as being a family man and an architect, he had more commitments to keep, than me. Luckily he was up early and he came to the entrance on his bike to fetch me. Wasting no more time, I just parked my car, at his house, put on the riding gear, and kept the cam and shades in the top box of the bike. The next thing I know, we were cruising on the highway doing around 130-140 on the open stretches. Man, this bike still had some rev range to go. It was refreshing to be out on a motorcycle after months, especially in Joburg after driving to work every single day since my arrival in the city.

Here are some of the photographs we took that day.

The windshield on this one makes perfect sense while ripping on motorways above 120kph

Analogue speedo and tachometer with digital info display for everything else

Rupin with his BMW R1200GS

Stopped for a break and soaked up the morning sun.

After escaping from the city, Rupin asked me to ride. Though I really had not planned on riding his bike, mostly due to the fear of the tall seat height. However, due to Rupin's encouragement and riding/handling tips, I decided to saddle up. And so I did. 

Slowly traffic was appearing on this stretch around the countryside, so we had to slow down a bit. 

This beast does obey commands after all. 

South African ride's memorable shot for my office laptop:)

While saddling up, I took the bike off the side stand and there was this wobble (which scared the shit out of me), as I am so used to putting the weight on my right foot while climbing up. Whereas here I could only press against the ball of my (front) foot. I had to ensure that I don't lean too much to either side, or else the weight and high center of gravity of the bike will take me down. Once I got hold of the bike off the stand, I hinted to Rupin to take the seat. Again due to the top box, Rupin had to swing his leg around it to take the pillion seat, which tested my skills in keeping the bike still. Anyway, soon I was over the initial gut feel and once the first gear was engaged and I released the clutch, I was in familiar territory. My experience from riding the behemoth HD Heritage Softail back in the UK helped me a bit. This is because I knew that, keeping the bike in a good torque range and keeping it upright was the key to controlling it at slow speeds. I discussed the emergency braking technique with Rupin, hoping that I don't have to use it that day. In the next few minutes we were doing 100+ and I decided to keep it below 120, both for my comfort on this bike and safety in case of an emergency braking situation.

Wind in the hair would be a bit too much to ask for on this one, so adjusting my buff before putting on the helmet again.

I requested Rupin to take over the ride as I wanted to take some photos.

Off-roading on this GS would need some serious skills for sure. And no it's not much to do with how tall or big you are.

The bike seems to have taller gear ratios because I could keep the bike in 6th gear, even when I had to drop the speed to as low as 80 kph. Neither it stuttered nor gave me any trouble in catching up to speed when I needed to. The turn indicator switches were just like the ones on the Harley, one on each side. And there was a separate button on the right-hand console, to switch off the blinkers. This took me some time to get used to. Leaning on such a big bike needs guts to start with and then comes riding skills. I didn't try too much with leaning, rather leaning the bike just enough to get by at the speeds of 100-110, mostly maintaining my line of the ride. Countryside roads are mostly dual carriage types and could be a bit unpredictable, so had to keep scanning the road far ahead. Initially, I had to be in alert mode, but as I rode longer I was more comfortable and could enjoy the views and be more relaxed than I was when I started riding this mean machine. This I would call phase 2 of testing any new machine and I had a great time after this. We stopped on the way a few times for a couple of shots and then decided to take a U-turn home as we had an office to attend to that day and I had a flight to catch before lunch:)

Here we decided to take the last break before we head towards the city.. just to get into the Friday traffic on the way.

An interesting contrast: Marvel of German engineering on African soil:)

On the way back we visited the BMW Showroom and workshop as the top box needed some minor work. Meanwhile, I walked around and checked out the BMW fleet. What caught my attention here was a used 'F800GS Adventure' on sale with expanded fuel tanks and BMW panniers and all this in a color, which could easily be one of my favorites for an adventure bike.

Outside the BMW Motorrad in Fourways, Joburg

These are the used BMW motorcycles on sale. If you can notice the F800GS on the left-hand side row 4th one from left, towards the end

BMW F800GS Adventure with expanded fuel tank and pannier rack (picture taken from internet)

All in all, riding the BMW R1200GS was a sheer pleasure, mixed with the fear of the heavyweight, added to the tall seating, and not forget the extra horses between the legs. Again these challenges are just the ingredients that made my ride that much more exciting.

A special thanks to Rupin for this awesome ride and also for sharing his experience on this bike. Though this ride was too short to evaluate the ability of the bike or the rider (me), still this experience has taught me a thing or two about riding heavier machines like this one. One thing changed for me now, I won't be looking at the best adventure touring motorcycle in the world (currently!), i.e. R1200GS, the same way I have been doing so far.

Until we meet again :)

Ride Safe & Ride Far,

Sid

BMW GS and Me - Part 1 of 2

This post is gonna be a wordy one, so if you really have the patience and interest, grab yourself a cup of coffee or hot chocolate (or any other drink that suits you). This is about my stint with a particular model of motorcycle from BMW. Here is a spoiler to start with, no, I don't own one, not yet;). Now you may ask 'then why write about it? Why not about any other motorcycle? There are plenty in the market currently, to aspire for, isn't it?!!' Well, you are right in asking so, and ironically, this model is not something I wish to buy either. It's just that I have a special corner for this bike due to some reasons, which I will be talking about here in this post. So if you are curious to know, I sincerely thank you for your interest and you may read on.

Well to start with and make it very clear, Adventure motorcycles, which I think have descended from the breed that used to be known as general-purpose motorcycles, are totally my thing. Of course, I do love sports bikes, cruisers, and dirt bikes, heck I even had a lot of fun on a punny 80cc moped. Each one has something to offer in terms of riding, provided the person on the saddle knows what to expect from the steed. Having said that, my motorcycling interests started to lean towards adventure touring due to my love for nature and passion for exploring new places. I used to get very excited every time we encountered a new trail route or a water stream during my cycling days. Same interests I just carried over to motorcycles I guess. The only difference was, the motorcycles I had access to (e.g. HH CD100, CD100SS, HH Splendor, HH Sleek, and maybe a Bajaj Boxer, etc), were built for anything but trails. You may ask what about Off road?!! Well during my childhood days, growing up in a small town surrounded by a lot of greenery and hills, any detour from the main street would take you to the trails. I consider myself blessed to have experienced that and made the most out of it on my mountain bike(/cycle). But taking the 100cc feeble HH on such routes was sheer torture for the vehicle, and of course, my dad never got to know how that well-maintained motorcycle got all shaky and loose every now and then:P I am sure he must have figured it out by now:)

So those were the kind of bikes I used to ride and for drooling over, I had the posters and computer wallpapers of sports bikes from Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, etc.  As I rode more and more I realized sticking to the pavement seemed like the only option, more so due to the lack of capability of the motorcycles at hand. However, I used to ride as far as I could, with the only constraint that I had to be back at home before sundown. Of course, back then my folks didn't know that I was going so far, for them I am always at a friend's place just around the corner of the street. lol.

My interest in touring got shaped up along the way, but there is this one incident, to which I owe the fire in my belly for adventure touring. It was somewhere in 2004. On a Sunday morning, I was just skimming through the newspaper looking for mostly product advertisements. LOL. I think that's what I used to enjoy looking at, among the otherwise biased news articles. So I kept turning pages, reading through some of the headlines which seemed mildly interesting to me. Just then my eyes got stuck on one of the articles about these two lads from Britain and their around-the-world motorcycle trip which ended in New York.

Photo Courtesy: My good 'ol motorcycling scrapbook, i.e. Sid's Motorcycle Diary v1.0

Boy oh boy, was I excited. The thought that somewhere in this world, someone is going around the globe on a motorcycle, through new places, and meeting new people was just so amazing. The assurance I got from this article about touring the world on a motorcycle, was comparable to that of a saint who just experienced the presence of God. No kidding!! This news was very important for me at that point, as being a rebellious kid (which I used to be back then against the norms set and followed by others), to justify my hobbies/interests of exploration, to my parents and everyone else, so that they stop worrying and stop restricting me too much. I kept reading that article loud a couple of times to annoy my parents. Lol. It was so much fun, to have the feeling of being right. Hehe:P

Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor

Pic of the stock bike (picture taken from the internet)

The route they took for the world trip

In 2005, R1150GS got replaced with the R1200GS

Back then I used to gather engine specs for various motorcycles and learn about the features of every motorcycle on the international market. But I was mostly stuck with either super sport bikes or Harley Davidson, due to a lack of awareness about other segments I guess. But this article got my attention to this new breed which these two guys rode all around the world. I wasted no time in digging out all the information from the internet, I could about the bikes. I also started taking more interest in other bikes in this category. But much to my bad luck and the Indian motorcycle market, these never really arrived in India (let's not talk about the BMW Funduro here!). With time I forgot about this bike, until a few years ago. While I was living and working in the UK, I used to see two of these bikes in my parking lot, almost every single day while entering the office building. They looked fabulous for the first few weeks, but as the days passed by, I realized they were too big for my size and kinda impractical for me to think of doing long-distance touring on them, let alone off-roading. Not that I could afford one back then, yet I just wrote it off from my wish (/upgrade-to) list. Rather I developed an interest in the 650/700/800 cc models. Which for me seemed would be just perfect. I know I can lift one up if I crash. As fate had it I crossed paths with the younger siblings of 1200, from time to time.

Saw this F650GS on the streets of Barcelona in 2012

BMW F650GS side view (picture taken from the internet)

I Met Dan from the UK (here with Heiko, a world tourer from Germany who was astride his Honda African Twin) while riding from Kargil to Leh last year.

Dan's F650GS Dakar. He used to own an F1200GS but sold it off as it was too heavy for him, for adventure touring.

This is how the F650GS Dakar looks like when fully loaded (picture taken from internet)

So basically during this period of riding and exploring, somehow the mighty BMW R1200GS got faded out from my thoughts, until last month.

Continue reading Part 2 of 2.

Not so Easy - A Motorcycle Safety Film

Hello,

Have you seen the movie 'easy rider'? No ?!! Do you even ride bro ?! That was a rhetorical question by the way. Just kidding!! Peter Fonda is a famous Hollywood actor who achieved a cult following in the 60s for his movie 'Easy Rider'. 

Though the lifestyle shown in the movie is not something to be followed as a biker (in my opinion), the instructions shared in the video by Peter definitely are. This documentary is possibly shot in the 70s, but all riding tips are quite elementary and hence stand true to this day. And emphasizing the importance of safe riding habits is none other than the famous (did I say famous, read as 'the iconic') stunt rider 'Evel Knievel'.

Note: The video is shot abroad (probably US) where people drive on the right side of the road (opposite to what we do in India), so some of the instructions need to be understood (/translated) correctly considering Indian road rules. I have watched the complete video and most of the techniques mentioned are generic and hence can be followed by riders from any country.

Hope you learned something from this video today.

Ride Safe & Ride Far,

Sid

Keanu Reeves knows how to kick-start a vintage motorcycle !!

Yello,

Keanu Reeves needs no introduction, especially if you are a sci-fi action movie buff or a Hollywood moviegoer. He is one of the most popular yet down-to-earth people who has ever graced the American movie industry. I have no first-hand encounters with him (yet!), but the countless interviews and his movie co-stars' interviews on you-tube, speak volumes about his generosity and humility as a person. That's the whole reason why I am writing a paragraph on him, on my otherwise motorcycle-centric blog. Many of my favorite celebs also love motorcycles, but someone as nice as Keanu deserves a post on this blog. However today's post isn't about the celebrity (which he of course is!), it's more about this man's love for motorcycles. To put things into perspective, Keanu Reeves currently owns an uber-cool custom motorcycle company named 'The ARCH Motorcycle'. You can check out some of their craftsmanship here.

Keanu Reeves posing with a custom motorcycle based on HD Dyna [Picture Courtesy: Cycle World]

Now some of you must be drooling over the motorcycle above and all the goodness you got to know about this legendary actor today. However, what I 'actually' wanted to share is the video below. This is recorded by a bystander when the actor was out on his classic motorcycle.

So those of us who still do kick-start the bike, the old-fashioned way, well... we are not alone. Even 'Neo' does it ;)

PS: I would love to ride with Keanu Reeves one day.

Ride Safe & Ride Far,

Sid