Most of the regular viewers of BikeAdvice have very great attachment towards your bikes. The moment a scratch appears on it, it’s like we getting a cut on our body.
When the furst scratch appeared on my bike’s fuel tank, I wasn’t really able to sleep for a couple of days. So guys, follow these precautions and protect them from that nasty look.
- Whenever you are to park your bike in a tight parking lot, make sure you always park it on its main (centre) stand and not on its side stand. This is because, when you park with the side stand, your bike is easily prone to be touched by the neighbouring bike when the person takes his/her bike out thereby getting scratched.
- Apply a coat of Teflon periodically so as to avoid the minor scratches (atleast).
- Whenever possible, try avoiding very busy parking areas. When you are not busy, park it in some free area a little far away and walk the mile. (Good for health too..!!)
- When the number of scratches is more, making the bike look really bad, there is nothing to panic. There are so many spray painters in almost all the cities. Try discussing with them on re-painting on that particular area alone. Out of my personal experience I tell you, it works out really well.
- You also have spray paint in small cans at very affordable prices (mostly, it doesn’t exceed 300 bucks). If the scratched area is very small, this would prove to be an apt solution. But, be very careful in using them. The problem with these paints is that they don’t get adhered onto the body as you spray it. It usually clots downward, thereby creating a mark all along the body. So, use them on surfaces where clotting would be minimum..
- There are more chances of your bike getting scratched during service. Might sound odd, but true. Careless handling and lack of space results in getting your bike scratched. So, tell them about this issue and give it for service.
- In traffic signals, do not try to push yourself into every single gap. This is where most scratches happen. If it’s true that you love your bike a lot, don’t attempt to do it.
- Riders having a R15, Fazer, Karizma, Pulsar 220 and other such bikes with side fairings need to drive carefully because it is this part that projects outside the body. Especially, when you get down from some other bikes and get on to this. This is when you don’t get the feel of extra projections. Don’t take this light, it’s happened to my pal.
- Do not wipe your bikes with clothes other than soft ones. These days, you get separate soft cloth to wipe bikes. Hardly, costs you a hundred bucks. Worth the penny.
- Last but not the least, Clean your bike regularly. Wipe it immediately when you find come bird-droppings. This may lead to scratches if not wiped off.
Regards,
Naren
