Bike Maintenance – Page 5 – Ramblings of a Singapore Biker Boy

Valve Clearance Check on my Pulsar 200NS

It’s been 14,000km since I had my engine top rebuilt in Chiang Mai and I’ve not done the valves clearance check on my Pulsar 200NS. And since it was the Chinese New Year holiday and I’ve completed my CNY visiting, with some time at hand, I decided to DIY the valve clearance check this afternoon.

To get to the valves, the following has to be removed: tank cover, fuel tank, air filter box, and then the valve head cover. I’ve previously blogged about the removal process of the above.

Remove these 4 special bolts from the engine head cover.

After removing the 4 bolts on the engine head cover / valve head cover, carefully remove the cover taking care not to damage the gasket. I visually inspected my head gasket and found it to be in excellent condition (approx 6 months old), and although I bought a new piece for this procedure, I had decided that it was good enough to re-use. I’d probably replace it if / when it starts to leak. Continue reading “Valve Clearance Check on my Pulsar 200NS”

Pulsar 200NS Front Sprocket Cleaning

When was the last time you opened up the front sprocket cover when chain cleaning? I don’t know about you, but I’ve been rather lazy to do just that. For the last 10,000km since the chain and sprocket set was replaced, I don’t recall myself opening up the front sprocket. After all, why does one need to? Especially if you’ve been diligent about cleaning and lubing the chain, right?

I WAS SO WRONG!

MASSIVE accumulation of gooey, pasty gunk! I would estimate this pic to contain only about 1/4 of the total gunk I eventually removed!

Continue reading “Pulsar 200NS Front Sprocket Cleaning”

Bajaj Pulsar 200NS DIY Maintenance Guide

I’ve received many requests for information on how to perform some DIY maintenance on the Pulsar 200NS. In this Bajaj Pulsar 200NS DIY Maintenance Guide, you’ll learn the following:

Fuel tank cover removal.
Fuel tank removal.
Air filter replacement.
Coolant replacement.

Some of the tools required:

8mm, 10mm and 12mm hex sockets
Hex bit set
Phillips-head (+ shaped) screwdriver
Long-nose pliers

Continue reading “Bajaj Pulsar 200NS DIY Maintenance Guide”

Pulsar 200NS Side Stand Replacement

My bike’s side stand seem to have given in to the weight of the bike. When kicked down, it folds forward more than usual, causing the bike to lean forward more than usual. In fact, I was fearing that the side stand will one day reach a tipping point just give way. And if it happen to be in a typical Singapore motorcycle parking lot, it will make for some interesting motorcycle domino scene.

Eventually got it replaced at Universal Motors for S$20. Bike now leans more normal.

Pulsar 200NS Fork Oil Change

My 200NS has run for 44,000kms and coming to 4 years. And that includes the arduous 2-month SE Asia Tour earlier this year. I don’t think the fork oil on my bike has ever been changed. The Bajaj owner’s manual calls for a fork oil change interval of 10,000km. But this is one of those things that is commonly neglected – and yes, I’m amongst the guilty ones.

You see, I bought the bike pre-owned and I have absolutely no history of its previous maintenance. So I took the bike to Universal Motors and tried to schedule for a fork oil change. But the mechanics there dissuaded me and casually mentioned that “it’s not a necessary procedure unless it starts leaking oil”. And since there was a pretty long queue with 5 other bikes before my turn, I decided to hold out the fork oil replacement for awhile at least.

Just then, it almost seem as if my Pulsar had a soul, it didn’t seem to like the neglect treatment. And in protest, the fork seal start leaking 6 days after my visit to UM. So, now I REALLY have to get it changed. Continue reading “Pulsar 200NS Fork Oil Change”

Why I use Motul 7100 instead of 300V

Time for an oil change. My previous Pulsar blood was a concoction of Respol fully synthetic 4T 20W50 (800ml) and Motul 300V 15W50 (400ml). The Repsol was what remained from the oil change when I was in Phnom Penh’s Bajaj dealership, and the 300V was what remained of the oil that I brought along for the long SE Asian tour.

To be honest, I did like the 300V. But my own research suggested that the 300V, while being an excellent oil, was really designed for “racing use” (only). At the recent Singapore Bike show, I had the opportunity to speak to the technical representative at the Motul booth. He confirmed my suspicion that the 300V was built for “racing use” and the 7100 4T was probably more suitable for my purpose – daily commute and touring.

Continue reading “Why I use Motul 7100 instead of 300V”

sgBikerBoy 2016 SE Asia Tour post-trip maintenance

The last 11,000km brought me through various kinds of roads – good roads, bad roads, dirt roads, potholes, gravel, off road, bumpy roads, grass, and almost every other variety of bad Asian road. Also together with the fall in northern Laos, there are several stuff I had planned to replace when I’m back in Singapore.

Yesterday, being a national holiday, most shops weren’t opened. So I took the opportunity today to get some bike parts replaced: Continue reading “sgBikerBoy 2016 SE Asia Tour post-trip maintenance”

Installing the Yuasa YTX9-BS Battery on Pulsar 200NS

Yes, it was about time I replaced my battery. I bought the Pulsar 200NS pre-owned, and it is now about 3 years old. I am not sure when the battery was last replaced as there was nothing marked on the existing battery. But I do know that on the battery, there is a stamp “140114”, which seem to suggest that it’s manufactured on 14 Jan 2014? So it could have been about 2 years old or so.

The Yuasa YTX9-BS comes in a standard looking box.

Continue reading “Installing the Yuasa YTX9-BS Battery on Pulsar 200NS”

Changed to Motul 300V oil

Decided to swap out the mineral oil in my engine previously used to flush the “teh-tarik treated” engine – coolant mixing with oil. Can’t wait to try this mix in my upcoming weekend trip…

Ironically, with the stock bike, the coolant appeared green and the engine oil looked red’ish. Now, my bike’s coolant is red’ish and the oil is green. Almost looks like I got the 2 liquids mixed up – putting them in the wrong refill orifice.

Weekend Project #1 – Replacing lime juice with grape juice

As I had purchased my 200NS pre-owned, I really wasn’t sure if the previous owner had ever replaced the coolant. When I adopted the Indian machine, she was over 2 years old. Back then, the odometer reflected approximately 24,000km of adventure. And since Bajaj’s manual calls for a coolant replacement every 30,000km or 2 years – whichever comes first, I figured that there will be a good chance that my mechanical steed is still carrying the same coolant that it was fed from the factory.

And so I did some research and narrowed my choices to one of these 3 coolants – Evan’s Waterless Coolant, Engine Ice and Maxima’s Cool-Aide. So, the cheapo in me Continue reading “Weekend Project #1 – Replacing lime juice with grape juice”