Maruti Gypsy-The vagabond

   It was warm summer time in march 2003, when i was busy enjoying my vacations with what a teenager would normally do ;), until when my dad surprised me  with a 1000 cc beast, THE MARUTI SUZUKI GYPSY. Even though a  2nd hand, but was sparingly used with just 10,000 km driven since December 2001 as it was used by a retired colonel  who drove it not very often to his farmhouse.(he knew what was it built for). But now she was ours, a new member in our fleet of a 1990 maruti Suzuki 800 & a Mahindra 540 jeep.

   

   The beauty of this beast was that it actually caused my teenage puberty hormones to burst into those of an ADULT.In easy words it was the reason for my transformation into a much matured BOY. SHINY TOUNGE RED, fitted with stock accessories ; fitments, an inborn killer look to die for. Being an underage driver i took the control of the steering 1st when i was in the 7th grade without anyone's knowledge. But the gypsy didn’t allow anymore secrets of mine to be kept with myself. Being a 9th grade student i didn’t have much technical Knowledge about anything related to a ride. The only expression that i had while & after driving it was AWESOME. Over the years due to my technical knowledge i not only understood the ride well but could also better my skills of handling an actual S.U.V.

   

 The gypsy was 1st launched in 1986 by Suzuki under its collaboration with MARUTI. Gypsy is Manufactured in India by Maruti Suzuki, & was 1st introduced in the Indian market in December 1985 with the 970 cc F10A Suzuki engine and while sales was never very high it became very popular with law enforcement. It was launched as MG410, which stood for "Maruti Gypsy 4 cylinder 1.0 litre engine". Initially, it was only available as a soft-top, but a bolt on hardtop was later introduced to the public after the after-market hardtops became popular. It instantly replaced Premier Padmini as the NEW FACE of the  Indian rally car due to its performance, reliability, tun-ability and the go-anywhere capability. The carbureted F10A engine makes a  45 bhp (34 kW; 46 PS) and was meshed to a 4 speed gearbox. The 4WD transfer case had 2 speeds. 4 HIGH for higher torque in slush & 4 LOW for lower torque in gravel.

   It has a freewheeling mechanism on the front axles that unlocked the front axles from the hub when 4WD is not used; It reduces rolling resistance, thereby improving fuel efficiency. However, many owners of the Gypsy who constantly complain about the poor fuel consumption do not know about this novel feature. 

   The two major complaints of the vehicle in the civilian market are poor fuel consumption and poor ride quality especially in the rear seats. The suspension is indeed harsh with live axles and leaf springs all around. If it wouldn’t had been so then it would had never been the most popular vehicle in the INDIAN ARMY as it is one of those few vehicles that are able to take the recoil velocity of a Rocket Launcher Mounted on its chassis, without much difficulty. It features almost no creature comforts, like power-windows and power-assisted steering, hence enabling the driver to develop their forearms.

  

Wide Track 1.3L engine

In June 1996, Maruti added the engine from the Esteem. The new engine was the all-aluminum 8-valve G13BA engine displacing 1.3L and made a respectable 65 bhp (48 kW; 66 PS). This engine was carbureted unlike the US market G13BA engine.

It was meshed to a new 5-speed gearbox. It was codenamed MG413W and called the Gypsy King. The F10A-engined regular Gypsy continued in production until 2001. The visual differences of the Gypsy King compared to the MG410W are the pronounced bulge on the hood and a completely different grille design with horizontal slats.

    
In India, it is widely used by the police and defense forces. In fact, the MG413W model is now the mainstay of the Indian Army. In civilian use, the Gypsy is a popular choice as a low-cost SUV and is a common sight at rally and the toughest of all RAID DE HIMALAYAS & the DESERT STORM RALLY.

   As quoted by Autocar India, "There is nothing that can touch a Gypsy off the road, except perhaps an Arjun battle tank. The trouble is that everything else does better on the road - the ride from the archaic leaf springs all round is horribly bumpy and the interiors are utilitarian as well. Gypsy in a loaded condition (200 kg load) is more comfortable. And available with only two doors, it’s inconvenient too."

     As a 4x4 at this price point, it’s only Indian competitors are sold by Mahindra and Force Motors. The petrol engine in the Gypsy is also much more refined than the diesel mills used in the cars from the two above mentioned companies. As of 2011, the Gypsy is only available against an order with an advance payment and a waiting period of over 3 months. This has led to the creation of a strong market for used Maruti Gypsys.

 
      No doubt the gypsy’s a masterpiece that’s traded for exorbitantly high prices depending upon the vehicle condition & the goodies fitted in & on it. But if you are lucky enough to come over across the Government auctions. Preferably the gypsy’s belonging to the railways & civil services are well maintained & better kept than those of the Police vehicles, which are not worth a buy. These vehicles cost anywhere between 15,000 to 40,000 Indian Rupees.

 FILE PICTURE OF THE AUCTION QUOTATION IN THE TIMES

- Vikas Bhatia 
  (The Grease Monkey Blog)

Rims...

15" ALLOYS FOR TOYOTA INNOVA

  BORED with the Monotonous look of the Chiseled SHEET METAL in your garage?? Wanna try something new..then follow the BABY STEPS & uplift the look of your ride..

 Good Question.. Where to start from??

  You can judge a person by the shoes he wears..BUT..don’t worry  in case of rides ..YES YOU CAN..ALLOYS/MAGNESIUM WHEELS (MAG Wheels) is the answer..Replacing your standard Steel Disc wheels with Swanky new Alloys is not only a Step towards the Makeover of your ride,but also is an Performance upgrades too..Alloy wheels are  made up of Alloys Of ALLUMINIUM or MAGNESIM, or both..the alloys come in a variety of patterns like ODD/EVEN number-spoke, Multi Spoke, Spinners, Low profiles etc..

  The idea behind the discovery of alloys is simple..CHANGE with respect to design looks & performance..the look of the conventional discs is very basic and standard..also due to excessive overheating the braking also gets affected & as a result certain times the vehicle can not be maneuvered effectively..more over alloy wheels are llighter in weight and as a result it reduces the UPSPRUNG MASS & the stability of the vehicle increases too..the heat dissipation in case of alloys is more & as a result the effectiveness of braking in tricky situation increases..

  Alloys come in a variety of styling..name it you have it..black chrome, chrome, powder coated, metal finish etc..all wat suits ur vehicle is very important..for instance innova is a grand vehicle..any attempt to make the vehicle sporty would spoil the look..the following pattern of the rims make the vehicle look elegant..

OZ GT ST 20-21"

  There are many manufacturers from india, japan,taiwan,indonesia & CHINA as well..the problem with the Chinese rims is that they look too good but the quality starts to deteorate..companies like road master, champion, DZ, Sterling, NEO etc..there are many other branded rims like the OZ’s G.M.P Italia KOEINGG etc..these rims are specially casted alloys..extreme light weight and performance oriented..

FIT IT TO FEEL IT...


-Vikas Bhatia
 TGM Blog Team

Royal Enfield

The world’s population ,according to me,is divided into two categories-people who know me,and people who don’t.People who know me,have,invariably,at some point of my life commented upon/laughed at/looked with disgust at,my ride. People who don’t know me,well,some of them atleast,have seen a rickety old motor-cycle being driven by some random guy,and have commented upon/laughed at/looked with disgust at,his ride.It didn’t take much for my mathematically challenged brain to put two and two together and infer that the whole world hated my poor Victor.

So,like any other 20-yr old under peer pressure,the pressure to get a girl-friend, and the pressure of disgusted faces every time I passed those faces on my bike,I decided to change my ride.I usually aim high, so I thought of getting a Royal Enfield. An Enfield,unlike some cell phones,costs something in the range of 1-2 lakhs,and I didn’t have that kind of cash on me.So,daddy dearest had to be convinced.

Now, convincing my father to get me a new bike wasn’t going to be easy.Conversations,especially those which involved the flow of dough from his hands to mine,were like a chess game.I needed to play my moves correctly if I had any chance of conquering that royal stash of cash. Fortunately,I had convinced my mother that I needed a new bike by confusing her with my technical wizardry.Mum was convinced,I had the queen playing for me. I played my pawn with some confidence.

“What do you need a new bike for?”Asked my dad as he read about India’s loss to South Africa.India had lost the game.Dhoni,unknowingly,had made my father grumpy,and by extension,had jeopardized my chances.That fu*ker.

“The Victor’s gear box,clutch plate and camshaft are in a bad shape.The repairs will amount to about five grand.”

“I don’t mind,take the money from my wallet and send the damn thing for repairs”.Little width offered,and Soham’s dad hits it for a four.I felt stupid.I looked for help.

Mum went,”The neighboring kid had a bad accident on his motorcycle. Maybe we should go visit him”

“Yeah.Idiotic guy,must be riding his bike too fast to handle.”he said as he peered over the paper.Good,we had him falling.

“I suppose,but he wasn’t at much high a speed,around 60ks an hour”I said.

“Is it? Then how did he end up hurting himself?”

“His brakes failed,baba.2002 model Passion.Old bike,rickety parts,happens all the time.”



 “He should have got them repaired ”A good ball,but defended well by the batsman.I felt dejected as Ricky Ponting stared at me from the back of the page. I wondered why dad never read Bombay Times. Rejection, laced with a look at Scarlett Johansson’s cleavage, was any day better than rejection laced with Ricky’s frown.





 
I looked helplessly at mum.She tried again “These old bikes are getting risky. Maybe we should get him a car.”A fast in swinging yorker,and the batsman was shaken.Mum had appealed to the analytical CA’s mind.”As it is ,the bike consumes about the same petrol as car does,we might as well get him a safer ride.”Both,me and dad knew this was a bit over the top,I mean,my bike wasn’t the slickest of all machines,but it did give an average of 35.But mum looked serious, none of us dared to point that out to her.

Now,I had his full attention,it wasn’t shared with Dhoni’s abysmal captaincy. Pointing’s face was flat against the table;Preity Zinta popped out from some page, proclaiming she’d come first if she played cricket.Or something like that.I knew there was a dirty joke that I was missing there.I didn’t bother,I wanted to get rid of the dirty bike.

The CA asked(for those of you who haven’t got it by now,my dad is a CA,I didn’t want to insult others’ intelligence by mentioning it earlier)-“Okay,the rides getting risky?”

“Yes baba,it is getting risky”A vigorously bobbing head said.

“And you reckon the bike consumes petrol like you drink Frooti?”

(He had absolutely no business teasing my distaste for aerated drinks there,I was bubbling inside,but a shiny bike’s vision burst the bubbles)

“Yes.It is getting quite expensive to drive it. Perhaps we should get a new bike, the cost will be recovered in the petrol”

A hint of a smile.I thought he was proud that I had used economic considerations to convince him-showed him I had gained respect for money after all.

“Alright.I have a solution that offers far less risk(he looked at mum) and decreased cost(and here,at me)since you have begun thinking about money so much”

His tone was cocky,mocking.I had heard myself using that tone many times. And I never said anything good in that tone.I hated it.

“Travel by bus”. And Pointing stared at me once more.I thought he was smiling a bit.That bastard.









Royal Enfield zoomed away from my imagination leaving me screwed. Royally screwed.

 - Soham Sabale.
   (Guest Writer)
The Grease Monkey Blog