Troubleshooting Bullet starting problems

Yesterday I kicked at it for almost half an hour. Till my right leg muscles began to cramp. Gave up took an auto to office. These videos helped a lot.

Today morning I was determined I would find out what exactly is wrong. Keys on, right switch on, petrol lever down. And I tried the horn, it did'nt work. Voila, so it was a dead battery. Success at the first troubleshooting I did. I am sharing this with everyone who think of their rides/gadgets etc as black boxes. You input a fuel/energy and it gives back what you need. But sometimes a lil bit of coaxing does help. As I learn more about the bullet in particular I will share it here.

I will start with the very high level modular scheme. A internal combustion engine needs three things to run:

1. Fuel
   
2. Compression
   
3. Spark

If the engine gets good quality fuel and it is compressed with the right mixture of air. And at the right moment it gets the spark from the spark plug, the engine will run. So any troubleshooting should be three pronged. First should find out which of these 3 things has the problem. And then go onwards.

Expect more such posts in the future :).

A haiku dedicated to my new ride.

silent grabber
aching right leg
kickstart trouble.

I hope future ones are a tad bit happier.

Got a bull!

After a long internet search and pussyfooting I got myself a bullet today. My last bike was a second hand splendor, and was a lemon so to say. God save its soul, as it never gave me trouble, still I had to refill its engine oil every month. Coz its piston was nearly gone. And bullet was always like a dream vehicle for me from childhood. And the image it has with popular perception that only men with big "personality" can drive one. The thing which goes with me is its basic design, a design which can be explained in under 200 words. Also the traveller that I am could expand my wings with this. So I decided to buy a bullet. Now the first obvious choice after a second hand splendor was a new bullet. Who wanted lemons when you could have company warranty. Online research showed that bullet has more variables than that.

The models which were made in England, between 1960-70s had a heavy crank in the engine, which to a layman would mean that the engine was more flexible and could be ripped to high speeds. By flexibility, I mean that a bullet with a heavy crank can be driven in the fourth gear at very low speeds. And some of these bullets were expensive. A visit to Karol Bagh, to a shop called "Gurdial Auto Engineers", gave me an entire different perspective. Most of its clients are embassy people (firangs), who get a second hand nearly junk (khatara) 1960s bike and restore it. After restoration some would even cost more than a lakh. Close to a new bullet.

So I decided against popular wisdom that a newbie should go for a electric start new bullet, and went for a second hand 1990 machismo. The point being, that once I am inside the bullet world (which is very close to a clique, considering many bullet owners considering all other vehicles pansy/sissy), I would be at a better position to decide. Riding it since morning, with the occasional stuck at a signal trying to kickstart, overall its been smooth. And to every guy who thinks that a bullet needs a heavy built "personality", may rest assured that it needs none. For bullet I can say other vehicles are ridden, while bullet rides itself.

More bullet posts ahead :D.