Save Money On Petrol? Tune In!
By Gregory X • Jun 2nd, 2008 • Category: Features, ThrottleZine
If you missed first article in our special 5-part feature on saving money amid soaring petrol prices, it is available here.
And in case you missed it, I did tell you at the end of that article to stay tuned to this second installment. Stay tuned, geddit?
3. Tune down for better mileage!
What did you expect? The equation is simple: the more power your crotch rocket packs, the more gas it guzzles. And while we’ve worked relentlessly to jack up the bhp on our machines, the time has come to go the reverse direction.
Unless you’re riding a race-dedicated machine (or you’ve got money to burn), contemporary machines have more than enough torque to pull away from traffic in normal street riding. The truth is, you don’t even need that much power on city streets!
So, unless you’re planning plenty of trips to the Pasir Gudang, Sepang and Tuas circuits, hop on down to your mechanic and request he tunes down your engine for less power and better fuel economy. even dropping your idling rpm a couple of notches can go a long way in saving money.
If you’ve got money to burn, forget about the whole series altogether. And donate generously to ThrottleZine instead.
4. Stock Up for Major Savings
Forget Leo Vince, Yoshimura, Arrow and K&N. Unless your 2-wheeler rolled out of the factory with these specs, of course. Returning your bike to “stock”, or original factory conditions, is one of the most obvious fuel-saving methods, albeit one of the most painful measures for the biker.
That after-market exhaust, air-filter and carburettor can boost bhp remarkably. But in this time of belt-tightening, it’s best to hang those pipes on the wall above your bed until further notice. Sorry folks, if you want to save money, you just have to sacrifice on a bit of performance.
Damn.
We’re just glad Malaysia is in favour of the “small man“!
Meawhile, gear up for the next installation in our 5-part special!
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Gregory X is your typical Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde when it comes to motorcycles. In the day, he sees himself as a combination of Peter Parker and Clarke Kent -- soft-spoken, awkward with the women, and with a quiet passion for photojournalism. But put him in the saddle of a motorbike, and he transforms into the local superhero, more than happy to blip the throttle and flip the birdie at road bullies.
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