"Air" - apparent?

This tapered cylinder u see above has drilled a major hole in my not so fat pocket!A hole worth 1800 bucks!So what is this little cylinder that I, Mr. Kanjus as my best friend calls me (shes got it wrong though, iam "careful" with my money,*chuckles*), have spent this small fortune on?Ladies and gentleman, may i introduce, my latest aquissition and the latest addition to my bike, a K&N Free flow Air filter model R-1060!

What does a K&N do?Well, to put it simply, it allows more air to enter the cylinder. Reulting in higher air density. Resulting in higher performance. And efficiency!Plus its a one time investment!I never need to change the air filter on my bike ever again!

K&N are renowned the world over for their expertise in air-filters and air intake systems designed to improve the performance and efficicncy of engines.They have a various range of filters for cars,bikes,trucks even lawn movers!The buck stops here as far as air filters are concerened!

So, now lets look at what the R-1060 has done for my redhead. Firstly, the air-induction noise at higher throttle openings has me hooked!Mmmmm..Sheer music to the ears!Now for the performance. This being a bare basic base model, the increase in performance is not gut wrenching, but perceptible. Its subtle, but its there.

Me being a mechanical engineer, i have to give specs right?Iam bound by the law!:o)...Here are the specs..
Product Style: Round Tapered Universal Air Filter
Base Outside Diameter: 3 in (76 mm)
Flange Inside Diameter: 1.688 in (43 mm)
Flange Length: 0.625 in (16 mm)
Flange Type: Centered
Height: 2.75 in (70 mm)
Top Outside Diameter: 2 in (51 mm)
Top Style: RubberTop
Material/Finish: None
Flanges: 1
Inner Wire: No
Weight: 0.5 lb (0.2 kg)
Product Box Length: 4.5 in (114 mm)
Product Box Width: 4.5 in (114 mm)
Product Box Height: 4.25 in (108 mm)

To sum up, my bike just got a "nose job".And its made her hotter than hell!To many more happy miles on my redhead!Vroooomm.....

David & Golliath?

Catastrophe struck the coast of New Orleans last week Hurricane Katrina ripped through the coastline leaving thousands dead and lacs homeless. A month and a half back, the same happened in our very own Mumbai. A typhoon rippd through the city and left thousands dead and homeless. See some similarities in my sentence construction?.Well, if according to this data received by me on email is anything to go by, the similarities dont end here. Read on..Its very interesting...

1. Inches of rain in new orleans due to hurricane katrina... 18
Inches of rain in mumbai (July 27th).... 37.1
2. Population of new orleans... 484,674
Population of mumbai.... 12,622,500
3. Deaths in new orleans within 48 hours of katrina...100
Deaths in mumbai within 48hours of rain.. 37.
4. Number of people to be evacuated in new orleans...entire city..wohh
Number of people evacuated in mumbai...10,000
5. Cases of shooting and violence in new orleans...Countless
Cases of shooting and violence in mumbai.. NONE
6. Time taken for US army to reach new orleans...48hours
Time taken for Indian army and navy to reach mumbai...12hours
7. Status 48hours later...new orleans is still waiting for relief, army and electricty
Status 48hours later..mumbai is back on its feet and is business is as usual
8. USA...world's most developed nation
India...third world country.

If these stats are anyting to go by, this is definitely a case of David triumphing over Goliath.Obviously our dear Chief Minister Mr. Vilasrao Deshmukh read these stats.Or something similar.Cause he was quick to point out that "They (American relief operators) are still perplexed at how to control the situation...compared to them, we did well". Capice!

But this brings us to an important question doesnt it?..Are all administrations like ours?...The Americans knew one week in advance that Katrina was going to hit..then why did so many people die?....Same in Mumbai?..Rumours have it that the typhoon was predicted before hand..but the administration chose not to take the caution seriously...well...food for thought right?

All I can say...thousands of lives were lost when a majority of them could have been isolated from the tragedy...somehow the will to do good has been superceeded by the lust for money.... but as I say....where there isnt a way....There is God!..

Right Next Door To Hell!

Well...travel along any road in Pune!..What is that you notice?....Daredevil bike riders?...Bandit queens...or putli bai as they are fondly called?..foul mouthed rickshaw drivers?...cars with drivers who treat the world as their own personal spitoon?....smoky PMTs?...Well all of the above..Plus one more very important ingredient!..POTHOLES!...All these make up for one deadly recipie. Everyday when i get out of my house to go anywhere, the words that leave Aai's mouth without fail are "Savkash Ja" (drive carefully)!

As we all know this year Maharashtra has been hit with torrential rain. As a result and as expected..the roads have taken a terrible beating...the roads resemble the scene of a landmine blast..this has been the condtion for the past two and a half months.Mr. Kareer (the municipal commissioner) has been assuring us that the roads would be repaired on top priority..well..they repaired them all right..by filling them with bricks, stones, mud and god knows what else...not a single drop of bitumen..."temporary repairs" they call them...temporary all right..raises everybody's "temper"....

These potholes by themselves are a major safety hazard for drivers especially those on two wheelers...but by filling them up with bicks and mud and finishing it off with khadi (loose stones) is not making matters any more rosy...this is a major factor for vehicles skidding especially if the loose stones are peppered around a bend in the road..But the PMC still maintains that they have repaired the roads.

But alas!When it rains again, these so called repaired potholes get transformed into pits of slush...all that mud mixing up with water and making matters worse...and when its not raining all this dust rises up and increases the SPM level dramatically...making it a nighmare driving thru these clouds of dust.....also this damages the vehicles to a certain extent...ruined suspension components...nuts and bolts working themselves loose...wires shorting out ...Grrrrrr.....

I wish someone somewhere will see some sense soon...and get atleast some of the corruption out of their systems....this so called shortage of bitumen is non existant...nobody in their right mind is gonna believe that we have a shortage of bitumen for 3 months...this apathy is hurting the business chances of Pune in its goal of being the IT capital of India...the more the PMC spends on roads the more revenue they will generate..through increased business activity..wake up and smell the coffee Mr. Kareer!...Ofcourse these bad roads are giving back specialists a lot of business...peoples backs(incuding mine!!) are taking a severe beating..But thanks to the gas charged dampers on my bike i am isolated from the undulations on the road to a fair extent....

Petrol has hit Rs. 50/- in Pune..God bless us all!