READERS WRITE
If you are on this page, you must be someone who does not take his set of two wheels to be a mere means of transport. What it takes to be a loving owner is having a sensible-heart rethink time and again before carrying out any mods on the motorcycle. We all love to personalize our machines according to our taste and, at times, our needs. But what if our actions are going to render the machine’s warranty null and void? There will be a number of owners who might have experienced this, suffering the loss of warranty because of a customization job.
Furthermore, manufacturers have not clearly pointed out what modifications will render the warranty null and void nor have they come up with after-market offerings for their motorcycles. We do not want too much when we say this. Maybe, it’s too tedious a job to offer custom add-ons for each of the bikes in their line-up. Specifications vary and so will the add-ons. They provide us the basic stuff such as leg-guards and seat-covers, etc. Marques like KTM, Kawasaki, Harley-Davidson, and Triumph, et al, have come a long way in this respect by offering a number of official after-market accessories at their outlets and even on their websites, which do not affect the motorcycle’s warranty in any way.
However, the real challenge lies if you own an entry-level 150-200-cc bike and want to add a better auxiliary illuminating source to your bike, which, in fact, you have to if you tour; or, say, if you own a fully faired motorcycle and are planning to get frame sliders/crash protectors/ saddle stays, etc. Maybe, even a wrap job might become a nightmare. Therefore, manufacturers ought to answer these unanswered questions to their prospective customers, oughtn’t they? Arunava Das, Dehradun Dear Arunava,
We agree that not all manufacturers, particular those who produce small-displacement bikes, offer a wide variety of factory-fitted accessories. However, things are changing. Everything from the new Yamaha YZF-R15 V3 to the new BMW 310 siblings offer a slew of factory-fitted accessories that potential customers can pick from. The issue that the manufacturers typically face is that they need to ensure that these accessories available at the showroom don’t damage the bike in any way, either in the short term or the long term. This would require extensive testing for a product that typically won’t be bought by anyone but an ardent enthusiast. We hope that clarifies your doubt.