Conquering the Himalaya(s) Part 5 - 2,500km Service and a Dead Battery

The bike has now travelled just over 2,500km and the engine feels at peace and, with the tuning adjustments to date, much smoother and stronger than it did initially.

I have just completed an oil and filter change and a general service and all is going well, with the exception of the battery – which is not going at all.

Only a few mornings back as I prepared to unleash some 25-odd horse power of pure Indian ambition upon the road to work I was just thrilled to find an almost total lack of electricity.

Bugger - still not to be outdone, I rode a different bike as a form of protest whilst steeling myself for the evening of fault-finding to come. Fortunately, no real fault-finding was required as a load test on the battery showed that it had failed in all the ways a battery can.

A trip to my local battery supplier of choice and a more upmarket replacement was found. Unfortunately, as there is so little room in the battery compartment, finding a replacement with a slightly higher capacity in the same physical size case did require a firm(ish) application of cash, but I could see little point in another box of acidic Indian misery when Mk 1 lasted less than 12 months.

So, with a new ‘proper’ battery all is again as it should be.

The bike has now travelled just over 2,500km and I am still to consider some further tuning with the main jet, and perhaps a change in the gearing to facilitate some more open road time!

More on the main jet and the gearing to come…