Hi csmarimuthu,

Are you a biker who wakes up every morning and talking to your
mirror about compensating your fuel expenses? Well here is
something to relieve you from the stress.

1. If you see a bike's specification there will be a section about the
vehicle's torque @ certain rpm. Torque denotes the pulling force
that the vehicle can offer at that particular engine speed. Every
engine has certain rpm range where it can offer maximum torque. Try
to keep below that range (not too low) so that you don't burn a lot
of fuel.

2. Clutch riding / half clutch tends to wear out the clutch facing
quickly. This considerably reduces the power transmitted from the
engine. Some adjust the play to half clutch owing to the reason
that it is easier to drive in slow moving traffic, but they won't
realize that they are doing it at the cost of frequent fuel refills
and clutch replacement.

3. Selection of appropriate gear is mandatory. Under-gearing /
over-gearing are not good friends of fuel economy. Riding in higher
gears at very low speeds (by clutch partially engaged) and lower
gears at high speeds tends to draw more fuel. So don't hesitate to
shift gears appropriately.

4. Starting earlier to work/college will also help saving fuel
indirectly. As the peak hour approaches the traffic density
increases and it demands frequent stops and crawling speed. So why
waste your precious time and fuel?

5. Always ensure that your vehicle's transmission is sufficiently
lubricated. This is because if there is more friction between the
parts the engine will draw more fuel to compensate your speed
demand. Also friction is not healthy exercise to the parts.

6. The engine can not only be used for moving the vehicle but also to
slow it down. This is called engine braking When the throttle is
released only idling amount of fuel will be supplied to engine and
the power will be transmitted from wheels to the engine. Thus the
vehicle slows down due to the resistance offered by the engine.
There are some places to use this phenomenon like when you are
about to stop for an obstacle which is say some 10-50 meters (Note:
this range depends on your speed) ahead of you just release the
throttle rather than breaking hard near it and let the 'engine
braking' work its magic (can also be employed in slow moving
traffic). You can also down shift if you need to. This thereby
reduces unwanted fuel consumption and also saves brakes from
wearing out.

7. Don't have your head lamps turned unnecessarily ON which in turn
demands more fuel by the engine to charge the battery/run the
alternator. Unwanted electrical accessories can also be avoided.

8. Make sure that your vehicle's idling speed is set as per the
manufacturer's specification. If set higher intakes excess fuel
during idling and if set lower engine tends to stall frequently
this in turn needs richer mixture to start the vehicle.
At times when you have to wait in a traffic signal for more than 30
secs switch OFF your engine. If you have self starter try
alternating between kick starter also to avoid heavy load acting on
battery frequently.

9. Above all these maintain a log book about your fuel refills, type
of journey distance covered per journey (even if it is very short),
fuel consumption per liter to know about your driving performance
so that you can improve further.

10. Let me hope that these points will at least save you a rupee per
day. Also you are indirectly reducing the density of polluted air
for others.