How to Maintain a Motorcycle

My youngest brother is 20 years old, currently he is studying at Melacca. Due to long distance between the hostel and faculty building, he brought his favourite motorcycle from Penang to Melacca to ease the study journey.

My youngest brother asked me about how to maintain a motorcycle as he still need this motorcycle for 4 years studying at there. Well, i teached him few methods of mine..Hehe..

1. Check tire pressure and inspect the tires before every ride. Check the wheel bearings once a year.

2. Check the brake cables and operation before every ride to ensure the brake is in good fuctionality.

3. Always keep our bike clean so it's easier to spot missing parts likes bolts, nuts or cotter pins.

4. Add air pressure as needed as many blowouts are the result of low air pressure.

Safety of Motorcyclists in Heavy Traffic

There are always heavy traffic every Monday morning on Penang bridge. A lot of cars , lorries, buses and motorcyclists are going to cross this Penang bridge which is only have two lanes provided. So, of course all the vehicles will be stuck at the toll gate.

It is dangerous when i saw motorcyclists strive to be the first and fear to lag behind to cross the bridge. I would share some safety of motorcyclists when caught in heavy traffic for those motorists to draw their attention to prevent collision with motorcyclists.

1. For car driver, look through the back windows or windshields of cars in front of you,pass only in instances where it's legal and safe.

2. Stay out of other motorists' blind spots. Motorcyclists always need to assume they're invisible to everyone else.

3. When riding in heavy traffic on a highway, try to stay toward the center of the lane; this allows other traffic to see you more easily.

4.Try to refrain from weaving in and out of traffic, as drivers cannot predict where you're going to be next.

Choosing a correct Helmet

When i was on my way to office this morning, i found that there are a lot of motorcyclists wear "unfit" helmets and some of the helmets was old and loose. It is dangerous as loose-fitting helmet is just as dangerous as no helmet at all.

When we choose a helmet, there are few things we need to take into consideration such as..

1. Buy a bright color helmet such as red, white, yellow or orange and make sure it fits snugly all the way around.

2.While test fitting a new helmet, shake our head vigorously. If the helmet lags behind our head motion, then it doesn't fit properly.

3. Choose a helmet that are free of defects such as cracks, loose padding, frayed straps or exposed metal.

4. If you wear glasses, make sure that the helmet fit comfortably while wearing a helmet.

Preventing from MotorCycle Accidents

I watched a TV programme last night, and according to the research on accidents happened in Malaysia since Jan 07 till Dec 07, the percentage of the accidents caused by motorcycles has increased obviously. Many motorcyclist dint put the safety priorty while riding on road.

In fact, it is not difficult to prevent from motorcycle accidents if cyclists are always beware of several tips as below....

1. It is important to keep an adequate space cushion when following, being followed. Dont follow a vehicle in short distance.

2. Wear highly visible clothing and helmets such as white, yellow or shining shirt especially riding in night time.

3. Using the proper signals, brake light, and lane position before a turn is made.

4. Remain alert and be prepared to avoid a crash or speedy vehicles.

Car Fuse

I studied about functionality of fuse when i was in Form 5. Fuse will burn out if that amperage is exceeded. My friend was asking me what is the difference for car fuse? In fact all fuses have same functionality. Car fuses are safety devices that protect wiring and components from excessive damage if a short circuit or overload of amperage occurs.

In the process of replacing fuses with the same ampere rating as the dead fuse. A larger ampere rated fuse will not protect the circuit correctly and could cause further damage to the circuit and wiring. A fuse that is too low in amperage will fail if the current flow exceed its rating.

If you want to replace your car fuse, you may purchase spare fuses from any car accessories shop. Buy a few different sizes for spares. Some fuse panels have specific sockets in them for spare fuse storage.

Car Wheels Cleaning

Penang was raining this aternoon while i drove for lunch. When I park my car, i found that my car wheels were extremely dirty which "COVERED" by smut and dirt. I have no experience in cleaning car wheels, so i came across a car website regarding the method of cleaning car wheel effectively.

How to clean car wheels effectively? Here are few steps..

1.Use the highest pressure hose and spray off the excess dirt from our wheels and tires. Wash one tire at a time. It is because dried soap can leave spots on your tires and wheels.

2.Apply the soap and water mixture on a cloth and start removing the dirt buildup.Scrub the tire and the all the crevices on you hubcaps.

3. Finally, wash the rest of your car. Use a different sponge because dirt from tires can contain small bits of metal that will scratch the surface of you vehicle.

Prepare Of Selling Used Car

Yesterday my friend was asking me how to set the price to sell her car. She asked me again regarding how to prepare to sell a car so that she can sell out her car with higher price. I told her some of my opinions, and she said she will try it out..

In my opinion, there are few simple and basic things we need to prepare before selling our car. Firstly, wash our car ( if can, have snow car wash), and vacumn the interior of car and the carpets. if the carpets distressed, change it.

Secondly, dust the dash and the instrument panel. Vinyl conditioners do a good job of shining up dashboards and other vinyl interior parts. Then replace an air-refresher.

Lastly, wipe away any excess or spilled oil from the engine by opening the hood and top off all the fluids.

Selling a Used Car

When i reached office this morning, i received an offline instant message from my friend, who informed me that she would like to sell her car. And she has no idea how much should she sell out her car. Actually i never sold my car before, but there are some basic knowledges which i know about selling car, so i share with her and she greet thousand thanks to me..hehe..

First of all, we can refer to classifieds for similar cars. Then decide whether our preferred price is greatly above or below the market for that kind of car.Identify the top price and add a few hundred ringgit more ( this is to reserve for discount if customer ask for it) I am working as a sales so i know this basic tactic.

You can also Bump up the price less if the car is in bad condition, more if it's in good shape. This is an extra opinion to share with those who are interested to sell their used car.

Communications with Mechanics

Nowadays, communications are very important in our daily life. From family members to friends, from professional to intellectual. Anyway, it is important for us to communicate with car mechanics too esspecially when your car is going "wrong".

When we communcate with mechanic, try to tell the mechanic politely what the car is doing wrong but not what you think the problem is. Describe our car trouble as accurately as possible.

Besides, make an appointment whenever possible so that the shop's manager can assign the right person to the job.

Furthermore, its is important to ask questions so that we're sure what's being done to your car. Anyway, the asking skills must be in a polite and gently way. Some mechanics might charge the repairing fee expensively if we behave rudely.

Punctured Tire can be repaired by ourselves???

I went to shop for baby stuffs yesterday with my mother. While i was driving, my mother openned my ar drawer to have a look and she found a small plug and asked me what is that, so i explain to her, those are tires plugs. Due to my car tires punctured quite frequently, i bring some tire plugs in my car for spares.

You must be curious how i know to repair the punctured tires? It is pretty simple to repair the tires esspecially when you run out of time to a destination. First of all, if the puncture is less than 1/4 inch in diameter and only if the puncture is on the tire's tread.

Remove the punctured tire from rim. Clean the interior of your tire and lastly plug the tire. A mushroom shaped plug with the top inside the tire and the "stem" filling the area that was punctured.

Replacing New Side Mirrors

I've gone through a car magazine last week. There is a interesting article regarding DIY replacing car new side mirrors. Do you interested to know how to do that? Let me share with you ...

1. First of all, we need to disconnect the battery's negative cable to avoid electrocution.

2. Take off the interior door panel in order to remove the trim pieces. Then use the screwdriver to remove the screws.

3. Take out the mirror bolts with either a socket wrench to remove the entire mirror assembly.

4. Use a driver to extract the screws, and then pry the plastic tabs on the backing until the two pieces separate.

5. Put the new mirror, attached to the backing, into the mirror assembly.

Jack Up a Car

I went to visit my friend in Parit Buntar during Hari Raya Haji. When i was on my way to Parit Buntar, i found that my car tire was punctured. Luckily i was not alone at that time, as my husband accompanied me to Parit Buntar. Those shops all closed for public holiday, so we have to change the tires ourselves. But before we managed to change, we have to jack up our car, so how to jack up a car?

1. For safety issue, place a brick behind the wheel diagonally opposite one being jacked up. After that, place the jack under the car's frame nearest the wheel to be jacked up.

2. Secondly, insert the handle and ratchet the handle to make the jack rise.

3. Raise the jack high enough to replace a flat tire, and lastly, lower the jack when you're finished.

Anyway, it is better to jack up a car using a jack together with jack stands. But due to my car is only have jack, so we raise the jack without jack stands.

Buying new Tires?

Knowing the tires information and buying new tires is totally different issue for a car-user. Many peoples know the tires information but they dint know about how to buy a new and suit tires to our own car.

Firstly, to buy a new tires, we should consider few points as below..

1. We need to know our current tires. It is better to replace our tires with those of the same brand, design and size that are same with our current tires.

2. Buying from tire shops should also include free rotation and balancing while you purchase the tires.

3. It's important to rotate tires as manufacturers suggest as new cars are sensitive to mismatched tires.

Car Tire Info

I visited my friend after working yesterday. She told me that she is going to change the car tires as it is already reached the "duration" of changing :) I wonderred how she will know the infomation about her tires. She told me that she came across a car megazine which provided " how to know the car tires information", so i would like to share with you all here...

1. The manufacturer will put a sticker on the pillar post area of front doors which provides tire and vehicle load information.

2. The numbers indicated on side wall of the tire will give you some information to purchase appropriate replacement tires

Tires should always be changed in pairs at a time with same sizes and types to avoid adverse performance.

Voltage Measurement for Car Battery

One of my friend reading the articles that i posted in my blog, and asked me about how to determine our car battery is in good condition by measuring the voltage. I was no idea about this actually, therefore i get some advices from my mechanic friend.

So how to measure our car battery? Actually it is pretty easy and simple..Let me share with you and hope you will enjoy reading...

1. First of all, remove the ground (negative) wire and live ( positive) wire of the battery by using a wrench. It is important that you remove them from preventing you don't shock yourself while testing the battery and to insure that you don't accidentally short circuit the battery.

2. There are red and black wires at the voltmeter. Place the red wire to the positive (live) and black wire to the negative (ground) end of the battery.

3. If the voltmeter reads at least 12volts, your car battery has enough voltage to power the car. Else it is time for you to replace the battery with a new one.

After Remove, How to Replace a New Car Alternator?

After removing the alternator, let us learn on how to replace the new alternator.

1. Locate the new alternator into place and replace the bolts that held the previous alternator.

2.Attach the wires to the new alternator, adjust the tension of the belt and wrap the belt around the pulley of the new alternator.

3. If the belt is not put back properly, it will not be tight enough and the vehicle will malfunction.

4.Connect the negative battery wire back to the negative terminal on the battery.

5.Before driving the car, it is better to test the output of the new alternator using a voltmeter.

Remove Car Alternator

I am quite interesting in car recently, no matter it is from exterior to interior or from its accessories to maintainance. I have a friend who work as a mechanic told me some DIY car maintainance, which I can save a few dollars from sending to a car shop. I went to visit my friend today at his workshop. He was removing the car alternator while I visited him. Let me share with you how to remove alternator ourselves to save some labor costs : -

1.Turn off the car engine and wait for 20minutes for it to cool down. And disconnect the negative cable of the battery.( If you do not disconnect the negative battery cable, you may damage the vehicle electronics.)

2. Find the serpentine automatic belt tensioner by referring to the car's pulley and belt configuration diagram (if you don’t know) , turn the automatic belt tensioner by using a socket wrench, then slip the belt off the alternator pulley.

3.Lastly, disconnect all the mounting bolts and wires attached to the alternator, then remove the alternator from the car.

Prevent Windshield Cracks from SPREADING

I was in bad luck last year and this year. Do you know why? My car windshield cracked twice within this two years , and i spent more tham 1K for replacing these 2 pcs of new windsheild ( labour charge and windshield cost). It might be my car is always in solarization and the hot and suffocating air heat inside my car caused the windshield cracked.

I received an email regarding how to prevent windshield cracks from spreading. If i read this email earlier, i might need not to spend so much for my new windshield..Hehe..

1. If you notice a crack in your windshield, bring it to a repair shop as soon as possible. Often the crack cannot be fixed if it is over 30 days old.

2. A good can repair the crack and chipped area. The crack will remain visible but much less noticeable and the windshiled won't crack any further.

3. Another option is try to scroll down the side mirror a little bit under a sun rise ( avoid to scroll too wide, as your car might be stolen ) to avoid our car interior get overheated and thus spreading cracks happened.

Cool the Engine when it is overheated

A friend of mine went to Genting Highlands last week. On the way up to Genting, her husband car's engine was overheated and force them to stop at the side of road so wait for the enigne to cool down. I never thought of this problem before "How if a car engine overheated at the half way to Genting Highlands " ? How to cool the engine when it is overheated?

I asked my friend whose husband is a mechanic, and he shared some valuable opinion to me as below...

1. Turn off the engine and open the hood. Pour water on the outside of the radiator itself.

2. Take about 20minutes to wait for the engine to cool significantly before opening the tank to add coolant ,look at the coolant reservoir to check the coolant level.

3.if the level is below the low line, use a funnel to add coolant to the reservoir. You have to call a tow truck if a low coolant level is not the problem.

To Clean Car Battery Terminals

I was watching TV programmes last night while my husband was busy finding a baking soda. I asked him what he was going to do with the baking soda as the day is late already. He replied he need the baking soda to clean his car battery terminals. I was curious about what my husband said so i asked him to show me the way of cleaning.

1. First of all, he filled a cup with water until is 3/4 full and put in 5 table spoons of baking soda ( sodium bicarbonate) to the cup dissolved it.

2. Pour the mixed water over the battery terminals and let it work for about 15 seconds.

3.When it is done, pour some natural water on the battery to get all residues off.

It is pretty simple and it keeps our car battery from working at its best, and many times from working at all. You may try this at your own too.

Cleaning Car Windows Tint

I never know that there are some differences in cleaning car window with and without tinted until my friend informed me about this today. Maybe it is because i never tint my car windows so i do not have such knowledge.

If your car windows were tinted, how to clean it? Let me share with you..

1. According to my friend, we should be careful not to touch the window tint for the first 5 days and do not clean it for 30 days.

2. If the windows covered with dirt and dust, clean it using a soft cloth with soap or water, do not use a hard cloth or newspaper as it will scratch it.

3. Be careful when we load some items into car as it might caused the tinted windows nicked.

Adding Water to Car Battery

I went back to my Sungai Bakap house yesterday. I drove my parents to had Dim-Sum breakfast at Tasek. I went to petrol station to "feed" my car with petrol as it is almost empty. When i finished entering the petrol to my car, i started my car few times, but i failed. I tried and tried again until i gave up. So i enter the petrol customer service centre, and the officer came out to inspect my car battery. Oh no, i was informed that my car battery was out of order ( The main reason i cannoty started up my car is because my battery water was empty).I have to buy the new battery from the petrol which cost me RM175.

The officer informed to me examine the battery water one per month to prolong the life of battery. How to add water to the battery ? The office provide some guidelines to me as below...

1. First of all, do not smoke while adding the battery water. Clean the battery surface top before opening the inspection caps to avoid getting dirt and debris into the car battery.

2. Filling a car battery with only distilled water. But before that, remember to check the water level in each cell of the battery.

3. Do not over fill the water level as it can cause the leakage of acid water mixture.

Life for Car Tyre

i went to change my 2 pairs of my car tyres last Saturday ( actually the workshop assistant adviced me to change the tyre since two months ago, but i only change it last Saturday). It totally costed me RM550 ( after giving me 10% discount). Wow..So heartache as RM550 is quite big amount to me :(

So i asked the workshop assistant on how to extend the life of tyre to have smoother and safer driving. According to him, we need to check our tyre pressure at least monthly so that it is not over inflat.

Secondly, it is better to do tyre-balancing if there is a vibration in the steering wheel that occurs only at low speed and goes away if you drive faster. This vibration of course will caused the exhaustion of tyre depth.

Besides, it is good to have alignment checked on all our tyres @ 10,000 miles when tires are rotated to prevent it drifts in one direction when driving on a straight road.

When Car battery Light Goes On ~ How?

I went to take my car behind my office and planning to drove to Maxis Centre to pay my bill during lunch time hour today. When i started my car, i found that my car battery light goes on. I still can remember that once upon a time, my car battery light on and at last i cannot start my car.

So just now when i saw the light was on, i quickly off my radio and air-conditioning (Don't assume that the light is broken. It's possible, but unlikely. ). At the moment, we are not encouraged to turn the engine off and on. It is because starting car uses more of the battery's charge. After that, i drove to a mechanic to do an alternator output test.

How if the auto repair shop is not near to your location when your car battery goes on? First of all, look for the battery cable ends, clean it if it is full of powdery corrosion. Also, ensure the cable ends are tight and secure at both ends and the connections at the back of the alternator are secure.

Adding Windshield-Washer Fluid

Penang was having raining and sunny day for last few days. The changing of weather has caused my car covered with dusts. I wipe my windshield everyday before i am driving. I plan to check the windshield fluid level so that it will be in full supply all the days. But how to add windshield washer fluid?

Find the windshield-washer fluid reservoir which labeled with a symbol on the cap showing two spurts of water. the following that, check the fluid level and it is encouraged to add windshield-washer fluid using a funnel to avoid leakage. Finally, put the cap back on the reservoir.

Making offer on a Car

LastSunday i went to a shopping mall to visit a car exhibition. I saw a sales man promoted a Myvi car to a young lady, and what made me surprised was the young lady dint bargain to the salesman and pay the deposit straightforward to him. Wow..Maybe she is rich enough, but in the point of view, i felt that she has less experience in bargaining.

How to make an offer to a car? I wish to share with you who knows you might need it one day when dealing with car-seller..

1. We have to do some surveys about the price of car we wish to buy before negotiations. Stay firm with the final price you are willing to pay and if the car-seller disagree, we just walked away.

2. Make a lower offer that you are willing to pay but of course, allow the seller to counteroffer for it.

3.We can also take into account for extras services such as free maintainance for 1 year, tinted windows and etc.

4. Inform the seller that you might consider and will call him after you make decision. This will definitely makes the seller offers a price close to what you have in mind.

Inspect a Used car Before buying ~ Part 2

Besides inspecting exterior and interior of the car, the most important way to determine the condition of the car is test-drive. When we test-drive a car, the first part to test is check the brakes. If the brake are in good condition, it should bring the car to a stop in a sufficiently short distance and shoudn't be any grinding sounds.

Furthermore, do send the car for mechanic for a "prepurchase inspecting" . It is because mechanic would be able to check for the malfunctional parts that we cannot inspect from outside. Mechanic would diagnosis the malfunctional parts through a faulty code with more details. As a pre-buyer, we have the rights to ask the seller for all the services and repair records of the used car.

Inspect a Used car Before buying ~ Part 1

I have a colleague who sold out his Toyota Corolla SE Limited on March. Then he purchased a used Toyota Altis in May. After he drove Altis for two months, the problem " appeared". Therefore he sent the car to mechanic( few mechanic shops) to examine and repaire,but the problems still dint solve. Finally he sold out the Altis, and now purchased Toyota Camry. He learned a leasson from buying Altis, as he dint really test drive and examine it before buying.

Here, i have few opinions to share with you about what / how to inspect before buying a USED car...

1. Look at the car's exterior such as bumpers, wheels and unseen area as normally the exterior often distract from larger problems such as underlying rust.

2.Look for inconsistencies for both sides of the cars as they may be clues to previous wrecks.

3. Besides,we need to check the interior for tears in upholstery, ensure the air conditioning, sunroof, power steering, air bags are in good functionality.

Finding of CHEAPEST Car Insurance, HOW ?~~

I was talking about how to buy the car insurance for new car, but certain people still looking around for cheapest car insurances to cut-off their budget. I have a friend who work as agent for car insurance gave me some tips on how to get a cheapest car insurance for our cars esspecially used cars for few years.

1. Search online / Yellow pages to obtain quotation from insurances companies. Most of the insurance companies have their own website with various kind of policies. Collect the informations about the premiums for the services and risk covered by the companies.

2. It is better to purchase / re-new our car insurance policy a year up front. It is because the insurance company typically gives us a better rate if we pay for a extended period up front.

3. We can also obtain further discounts such as NCB if we have a "clean" history ( no accideent / claimable record)

4. Always keep in touch with the agent for latest informations as some companies will provide some further discounts to their affiliated members.