Aprilia RS 125, smoker from Italy

As I have a serious love for two strokers, and personally this is the bike that i like to own apart from the list of super bikes that are available in India. The Aprilia RS125 is the world’s only two stroke bike that is still in production meeting the racing standards of perfection. The bike was first introduced in the year 1992 that had a distinctive angular tail section and a swept front fairing, three spoke alloy rims, engine air intakes, square cut head light and much more for it's time.

 As time evolved, the design also evolved giving the latest offering that Aprilia has. Some of the key features that one can thrive for are:

HOW RIDERS ARE SHAPED FOR MOTOGP

We all know that MOTOGP is one of the toughest races in the world that demands more from the man as well as the machine. In the case of the machine we will be aware of the technologies involved in shaping the machine for the circuit and the amount of hard work put in to make the machine a winning history.

But are we aware of the process that the riders are being put through before the racing season??? Now, please don’t think that the riders are celebrities and they come only a day before the season to tune their bikes according to their needs and then start practicing and then qualifying and finally race. There are much more than that, all riders have to undergo some of the toughest physical training and tests to take part in a race and this training depends on the climatic conditions, track conditions, the stress level exhibited in the race and much more. Let’s take a sneak peek into the training process.

 The ANNUAL PLANNING consisting of the physical training and development for a rider is divided into four periods:

 

• THE PRE-SEASON
• PERIOD OF COMPETETION
• SUMMER BREAK and
• END OF SEASON

 THE PRE-SEASON: The Pre-Season usually starts in December and continues till the beginning of the forth coming March and the training during this period is basically the Cardio-Respiratory exercises to increase the stamina and overall strength of the rider. In this period the rider works six days a week with training sessions that lasts minimum six hours a day with just one day of rest. The sessions are divided into three hour sessions approximately with the first session being on a Bi-Cycle and the second one in the swimming pool.

 

PERIOD OF COMPETETION: This session depends on the proximity of a GP race. The training during this part of the year is any one of the two types: If there is a free week without a race then the physical work is completely aimed at increasing the muscle volume but if there is a week with a race then the muscle volume work-out’s will be lower but with raised intensity. This continues for two to three months and gradually the amount of work to increase the physical volume is reduced and again the intensity will be increased. This is again accompanied by introducing more specific work depending on the needs of the rider himself.

 SUMMER BREAK: In this period the exercises introduced will be according to the demands of the rider which will be monitored for the riders needs whether they have to improve overall or just work to build up a specific area. 

 END OF SEASON: This is the last period of the training for the current year where the body is given a month’s rest and in this period the riders will not be subjected towards total rest. They will just be given the advantage to choose the sports of their liking such as badminton, basketball etc… and other games and activities that will increase their speed of their reflexes.

 TYPE OF TRAINING:

 CARDIO-RESPIRATORY: This training is to mainly improve the strength and stamina of the rider. The work-out will be like road-racing bicycling and swimming. Riders will ride some hundreds of kilometers every year, climbing mountains similar to “Tour De France” and for the winter the riders will do a cross-country skiing.

 ANEROBIC: This training is specifically designed in increasing the physical strength of the body to be precise the upper body and the parts are sternocleidomastoid muscle, trapezium, deltopectorals, biceps, triceps, and forearms. The main target of these exercises is to attain maximum strength with minimum volume. This exercise also concentrates mainly on reflex actions that are vital for a rider during the race failing to which the results can be fatal.

 SPECIFIC WORK: This happens during the racing season, depending on where the race is the physical work can be modified a bit so that the rider adapts better to the conditions that they will face during the race. The overall aim of this training is to give the rider the taste of the different conditions that they will be subjected to during the race so that the rider can very well adapt to the stressful changes without much stress.

 FOOD PRACTICES: Riders will have a normal diet but with an eye of general control over their food as overweight can be a loss in the race. The riders will have a complete breakfast with lots of calories as they all get burnt during the sessions on the bike. The lunch will constitute protein rich food such as meat or fish and at night carbohydrate rich food will be given as their basic design over this is to have a balanced diet without gaining weight.

 LIQUIDS: During a race the rider will approximately lose 1.5 to 2.0 Kg of liquid from their body due to excessive heat, stress etc… So, keeping them hydrated is something very important and also fundamental. The same is followed for the cycling training where the rider consumes a lot of liquid to keep his body hydrated. During the race sessions each rider will carry two essential bottles of liquid one with an isotonic mix and the other with water to keep them hydrated as dehydration means loss of electrolytes and mineral salts that produces higher level of tiredness and cramps that can be fatal during a race.

REST: This is one of the main thing that a rider must get after all the above mentioned work out’s. The team will ensure that the rider gets 8 hrs sleep a day which is vital, missing that the rider will be subjected to tiredness and fatigue which when happens during the race can be disastrous to himself as well as the others on the circuit. If the rider needs some more rest, then the team will also ensure that the rider takes a small afternoon naps to refresh his mind and body. These are the vigorous tests that each and every MOTOGP rider is subjected before hopping on to their monsters with some X amount of Bhp’s and Torque that can top an excess of whopping 320 kmph or more in just a few seconds. Pretty easy on papers isn’t it??

HID's - A Brief!

I know that this is one hot topic that is creating a staggering presence amongst all; both in terms of technicalities as well as its road presence after the installation. So What are HIDs Ok, I do agree that it’s mere white light, but what makes it so special that is one step ahead in terms of technology? Because even other top brands and some Chinese brands have halogen bulbs with a blue tint coating that resembles HIDs. Lets do a deep diving session on HIDs.

What is a HID: A simple abbreviation of HID is High Intensity Discharge. A halogen bulb consists of a normal filament resembling a normal bulb but with some inert gas surrounding it, when current applied at the hot and the cold terminals the filament glows brightly producing light. In contrast the HID bulbs has not filaments at all, but instead consists of Xenon gas, mercury and metal halide salts that are ignited by an arc of high voltage current that glows brightly.

The high voltage that is required by the bulb for arching is generally produced by Ballast that works on DC power. Although these HIDs sometime before were to be found only in expensive and exotic cars, now they have come with different pricing and technical options that can be easily installed in today’s Motorcycles as well.

Why Install HID’s When I have Halogen: Although this is purely a personal choice HIDs produce 300% more light than normal halogen that gives great illumination in the nights that are really helpful for tourers. HIDs can also produce two different beams namely the Hi and Lo from a single bulb by a small magnetic solenoid that moves forth and back and are known as Bi-Xenons that can be used for vehicles carrying the bulb type H4. There are also single beam xenon’s that can be installed in H4’s.

Color Options Available in HIDs: There are plenty of color options available from some of the unknown manufacturers ranging from golden yellow to bright pink. But generally 4100K where K is the unit of color temperature which gives out Bright Daylight white and 6000K which is bright white is permitted in most of the countries. There are also other manufacturers who produce HIDs with a color temperature ranging from 4100K to 30000K but anything above 6000k is illegal in any country. The more the Kelvin the more bluish the light will be and the end results will be more fatigue resulting to some nasty disasters at night. That’s the reason why company manufacturers stick to 4100K and 6000K.

Can I Install HIDs in My Current Bike? The answer is yes; of course you can install it in your current bike, with lots of aftermarket HID conversion kits available in the market today but conditions apply satisfying some of the main factors. The Battery, the more the amps the better it is, minimum 12V 9A battery will do the job perfectly. Although it is illegal in India to use HIDs without projectors one can install the HIDs with the given LOBES that minimizes the direct contact of the light source to on-coming vehicles thus minimizing distractions. The advisable color range is always 4100K where there is abundant light that can be used. The more the Kelvin the less the light on road because of the reflections and always remember the higher Kelvin range HIDs are cop magnets. The last one is the bulb type as most of us carry is H4 generic and only Pulsar 220 has H7 that is of a car’s model anyone can install it specifying the type of the bulb.

How Are HIDs Priced: This is where a lot of people back-off considering its price. Yes, HIDs are a bit expensive, they cost from a mere 2500 rupees to a whopping 12000 rupees for bikes and same for the cars depending on the quality of the product. The Chinese ones will be the most inexpensive but branded ones like Philips and Osram will cost you more than 6000 rupees and they go all the way up to 12000 but as they are OEM manufacturers they do not exceed 6000K for safety purpose. But, investing in HIDs is a wise investment that one will never regret later for the amount of illumination and the life hours it is always worth every penny.

What Should I Look Into While Buying HIDs? The first and foremost thing is the brand, although Chinese ones are cheaper they are not worth even that money as they can trouble you from day one as they don’t carry a warranty with them. Branded HID conversion kits come with a standard one year warranty that can be replaced with the new ones if they are found to be defective in nature. The second thing is the Kelvin color temperature; do not exceed 6000K as anything above 6000K is illegal and the best known cop magnets.

Inside The Box You Will Find: One HID bulb, one wiring Harness, one Ballast with built-in igniter and one relay.Although HIDs are a boon over the conventional halogens, these should be treated and used in the way it is meant to be as using technology in illegal ways can lead to some nasty disasters.

- Ram

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