GaadiTilt the scooter when petrol runs out
Fuel light on and the pump is 2km away? Lean the scooter hard to the left for a few seconds, then start. It pushes the last bit of petrol in the tank towards the outlet. Enough for a kilometre or two.
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Petrol pump: ask for the meter to be zeroed
Watch the display go to zero before filling starts, and ask for a round amount that is not a common preset. Both take three seconds and both remove the two most common ways of being short-changed.
Gaadi
Check tyre pressure on a cold tyre
Pressure read after a long ride is falsely high because the air has heated. Check in the morning before you ride. Correct pressure is the cheapest mileage improvement there is.
Gaadi
Cardboard under the parked car
A flattened carton under the engine overnight tells you whether the car is leaking and what colour it is. Brown is engine oil, red is transmission, green is coolant, clear is just the AC and nothing to worry about.
Gaadi
Bike cover, or a bedsheet in a pinch
Sun destroys a bike seat faster than rain does. Any old bedsheet thrown over it while parked outside adds years to the upholstery, and the seat is not scalding when you get back at 4pm.
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Wet cloth over the AC vent on a hot start
Before switching the car AC on, drive with all four windows down for thirty seconds to push out the trapped hot air. The AC then cools a much smaller problem, and it gets cold faster.
Gaadi
Rear-view mirrors are not decoration
Half the bikes on Indian roads have the mirrors folded in. Set them so you can see the lane behind your shoulder, not your own arm. It is the cheapest safety equipment on the vehicle and it is already fitted.
Gaadi
Keep a spare key with a neighbour, not in the bike
The magnetic-box-under-the-frame trick is well known to exactly the people you are hiding it from. A spare with a trusted neighbour or in your office drawer is the version that works.
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Chain lube after a wash, always
Washing the bike strips the chain, and a dry chain rusts within days in monsoon. Lube it after every wash, and wipe the excess or it collects grit and grinds itself down.
That is all 9 of them. बस, इतना ही।