Motorcycle parts that should not be replaced with aftermarket parts

We all want our motorcycles to look good, but some stupid alterations might just make it disastrous!

An automobile manufacturer or a company, spends years on developing a particular design and then launch, after putting them though rigorous testings. Now, if they do so, there must be a reason as to why they do that, putting in so much effort in the research and development; they don't merely do it for fun. All their designs, testings etc. are done, keeping the end user's safety and comfort in mind. 

Also, the styling department works on par with the engineering team to ensure the best aesthetics that fits the machine. But, some newbies feel, they can make their cars or motorcycles look much better than the original, and show their creativity in the worst possible extents. Psychology says, most of them do it to look different from the others, some of them do it to grab attention and some are just too stupid to understand that they are doing it just because other do!

Well, that's an over-exaggeration but people are often seen making similar blunders. There is nothing wrong with looking distinct or; the way you want, but that shouldn't be at the expense of your safety and comfort.

Psychologically, many genuine users or Auto enthusiasts who happen to be very finicky about cars and bikes, end up disliking their own vehicles just for the fact that the authenticity or the dignity of the name, associated with the very vehicle, is ruined by some blockheads. 

Some of the commonly seen blunders are as follows:

1) Too wide and cranky handlebars on motorcycles:

Usage of super-wide handlebars are pretty common among cruiser bikers. It's fine, as long as the motorcycles roll out of the factory with those handlebars on, as they are engineered and tested. But, there are many riders who are just fascinated by that look and modify their motorcycles with aftermarket handlebars without any proper feasibility test, without knowing the fact that it might affect their comfort and also, get them into trouble while riding. 

A handlebar of a particular motorcycle is designed to offer good stability, steerabilty and comfort to the rider, while improper fitment of handlebars are likely to affect all these, to a great extent. Also, if the bars are too wide, your posture on the bike may be compromised, resulting in being at a much higher risk to hit anything that passes close by.

2) Usage of inappropriate tyres/tires :

Riding a motorcycle with an abnormal size or improper combination of tyres could be dangerous and your motorcycle’s handling behavior  could be severely affected. You could have an accident, resulting in severe injury or even death. In addition to that, a vehicle remains efficient at its best when runs on its factory-fitted parts or parts that are recommended by its manufacturer and anything other than that is not likely to suit the vehicle. Using inappropriate tyres could cause :

• High fuel consumption 
• Bad braking 
• Instability, 
• Difficulty in speeding, 
• Poor ride quality, 
• Difficulty in manoeuvring, 
• Body ache and a lot more. 

Nevertheless, if at all you want your existing motorcycle to look distinct, at least consult a person who has sound knowledge of automobiles as to what could be altered and what could not be, but certainly not at the expense of the aforementioned problems.

3) Replacing the stock exhaust with an aftermarket exhaust :

It's often seen that bikers replace the stock exhaust of their bike with an aftermarket one, perhaps to look cool or make loud noise, thereby gaining attention. 

You need to keep in mind that your motorcycle is designed and optimised for the best performance with the existing jetting needles.

Of course, you can fine-tune, but it's not worth taking the risk of running overly lean, ending up killing your engine. The bikes with a huge amount power inside, come fitted with appropriate exhausts, which is why they are naturally loud. It's quite obvious, no matter what exhaust you use on a 100cc bike, it's never gonna sound like a Harley; but, would definitely make you look stupid. Also, noisy exhausts are banned in many places. 

Well, if you still think of doing so, the only people you are going to attract are the ones sitting in the white car with siren and lights! 😂

4) Using extra or auxiliary lights on a motorcycle :

There are many, who get their bikes literally ornamented with innumerable lights, which is, first off, illegal and secondly, extremely dangerous!

It's true that riding a motorcycle with the inbuilt headlamp is, sometimes, troublesome. While riding around the hills, penetrating fog and cloud, the stock headlamp doesn't always serve well, which is why, the auxiliary lights became quite popular among the adventurers. But, it is mainly to assist the headlamps in these conditions, you look for auxiliary lights, to have a better vision through the dark. 

However, if you ride mostly within the city, you barely need them, but there are many, who unnecessarily keep them on, even in a clean weather, just to gain attention as discussed earlier. These lights happen to be so powerful that they could easily blind the drivers of the oncoming vehicles, which has been a prime cause of majority of the road accidents that take place at night.

There are many other modifications that a vehicle user does, but we first need to know or study about the vehicle we are dealing with, before making any alterations.

Here is a video that will enlighten you a little more 👇

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