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SanjeevMahen

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  1. My mechanic is Ruwan who owns and runs 'Hapuarachchi Motor Garage (Ruwan Garage)' on Old Nawala road. Its tagged as mentioned on Google maps, so finding it won't be tough. I'd whole heartedly recommend him as a genuine, no nonsense and down to earth guy whose charges are very minimal and fair. Only downside is that he works alone and doesn't have full time golayas and has excess demand which is above his capacity. The demand is due to his genuine qualities and exceptional mechanical skills. You could take your vehicle to him once this curfews end and things calm down, for a free and honest diagnosis. He can give you a rough idea on the cost involved as well. Parts' prices may differ depending on a variety of factors but I can assure that he wont rip you off. Just be a bit patient incase he is overloaded and cannot accommodate your vehicle right away. He'd usually tell you when you can bring it in for repairs, if he cannot take it in that day itself. One major down side of him working alone is that he is not able to attend to all the calls to his mobile
  2. Thought to add my experience here. I got fascinated with the Y60 few years back after a friend did a total rebuild on one that he bought for a comparatively lower price. I had a spin in it and loved everything about it. This was when I'd been having the 2007 Hilux (HL3) for seven years. I'm an occasional off-roader due to not being able to spare much time for it. Btw, I'm not a real CAR guy and hence my bias towards taller, higher ground clearance, 4WD vehicles. So looked around and checked out several Y60s and finally found a second owner specimen which was the best out of the lot. Manual gearbox. Original TD42 had been replaced with a new TD42t in it but had been done proper. CR had been updated as well. So though the asking price was high, considering the fact that it had a few mechanical and cosmetic issues to be fixed, still went ahead and bought it. This was because it was a minimalistic vehicle and there isn't anything that cannot be fixed. After purchase, changed all the oils, break pads/liners, rebuilt the diesel pump, replaced the clutch booster, pressurized the injectors, new clutch/pressure plates, bushes and few other bits and pieces and she was running much smoother. Been two years now and I'm so used and very comfortable with it. Daily runner and 90% within the city. Recently changed the Maxxis MT Bighorns on it (were extremely noisy as they wore on and gave a rough ride) to Cooper LT AT3 XLT and now its much quieter and smooth. Also changed from factory coils/shocks to Tough Dog (3" lift) and she sits as I prefer now. Of course doesn't pull like the Hilux. Not at all nimble either. Poor turning radius too, takes three full lanes to turn. No ABS, so better watch out and brake early. The rear disk brakes help a lot though. Lets not compare the TD42t and 2KD for fuel efficiency But when it comes to torque....the TD42t is in a league of its own. It taught me that its not always HP that matters. Gentle off-roading is easy peasy for the Patrol. Yet to do anything serious off-road in it. Parking is a challenge, unless you are somewhat of a master of judging dimensions and visualizing whether the patrol will fit within a certain slot or not. You got to be able to get in and out afterwards too. I do all my errands in it and been managing somehow without any major issues. Before I park in any place, I try to ensure that I would be able to maneuver and get out of there and won't be blocked by our fellow city dwellers who park as they fancy. Also after parking, I don't mind walking 150 meters to my desired location. So that helps. Mine is a high roof wagon. So, entering basements or any indoor car parks, got to be watchful but even with the 3" lift, I'm yet to come across an indoor car park (been to almost all the malls, hotels and hospitals) where the roof was too low for my Patrol. I've been to several parts of the country. Even remote ones and I've made sure that the Patrol is mechanically sound at all times to ensure I don't get stranded anywhere with any issues. Compared to the Hilux, travel lag is very much less in the Patrol. Possibly due to the coil suspension at the back and more head room due to the high roof as well as dual ac. If you are a genuine enthusiast for the vehicle of this nature, who would not see the above as negatives but have pleasure in working around them (which I do), go ahead and buy it. But please rebuild the original TD42 and keep it. There is a guy in Alawwa who stocks all Patrol stuff. You can source almost anything Patrol related from him. Good luck with whatever decision you make.
  3. Sorry bro not aware of much detail on the importation and its nitty-gritties. You could check with someone who is in to the auto import trade. I doubt if its possible cos otherwise all the Indian manufactured Toyotas and Mitsubishis as well as several brands of motorbikes (low cc ones), intended for their local market would have made their way here. Also never heard of anyone having imported any bikes from India on their own. But not saying its not possible. You can make inquiries and see. However, you'd have to pay considerable amount of tax for sure. If really interested, you could check with DPMC on whether they are willing to import a Dominar for you on special order. Should not be impossible since they already brought down a batch and also service the same. Pricing might be an issue. Another thing you could do is to hunt down one of those already sold and try to buy from the present owner. I'm not selling for now I remember seeing one for sale on the quick site abt three months ago, but that was in Jaffna and was asking 900k.
  4. Yeah I agree that the new ones looks awesome in green with USD forks. Don't like the split exhaust canister though. With the present situ, do not see it being brought down by DPMC. I guess the younger generation prefer the radical looks of the KTM. Also the price of the Dominar is quite beyond most, similar to the KTM 390 (the engine that is shared with the Dominar with some differences). Hence from a sales perspective DPMC did the correct thing by bringing in KTM and its lower capacity varieties. Havent ridden a FZ, so don't know much about it. Indian bikes still have some distance to go to but as I said considering the ease of maintenance, I'd prefer them over any grey import jap for the time being.
  5. The number of Dominars here being just a handful and at the price they cost, I doubt they are being daily ridden or being ridden to go to grab something from the shop at the junction. Rather I presume they'd be ridden mostly for pleasure. Other than mine, the only other one I've seen (twice) is in the Wellawatte area. Coming to spares, touch wood, I haven't had the necessity as yet. The oil filter is the same as in the NS and I use Liqui moly 15w50. Clean and lube the chain with LM products and all has been well so far.
  6. Since the topic shifted to Indian bikes, I thought to add my two cents here. The only Jap bike I've ever had was a Kawasaki Eliminator 250. Awesome bike but parts were rare and was a pain when it had issues. Moving on to the Indian bikes that I've had, I've had a 2006 Pulsar 180, 2008 Discover 135, 2011 TVS Apache and a 2016 TVS Wego (scooter). All single cylinder engines have heavy vibration. Pretty much unavoidable as a whole but can be reduced by tightening all panels / fixtures. On the newer bikes you could go through some effort and add some dampening material to the inside of the plastic panels and get it all to smoothen down to a certain extent. I presently have a 2017 Bajaj Dominar which is a 379cc Single cylinder, water cooled, twin-channel ABS bike. Best Indian bike I've ever ridden. Needless to say awesome power and the ABS has saved me several times on our chaotic roads. Effortless overtaking. In fact the cruising speed is too high to maintain on our inconsistent roads. Wont brag anymore abt it since you can read online reviews about it. AFAIK, DPMC brought down only one batch of 10 bikes and didn't bring down again even though the bike was a huge hit in India. Coming to the rest of the Indian bikes, I don't like the KTMs, may be cos I'm bit too old for that sort of bikes The Yamaha's FZ250 looks nice and I too heard about the torque but the rear seat seems unrealistically small. You may want to look at the TVS Apache RR 310. I don't have much of an idea on it. Looks more of a track bike. Considering the cost of spares, official agent support, etc. I would recommend going with an Indian bike since they've come a long way in the last two decades. Also in the worst case, you can always get the necessary parts down from India through some contact or an importer. Way easier than the hassle of having to search for used parts for a Jap bike.
  7. Check the TVS Lanka website. They have comprehensive lists with addresses and contact numbers of all their dealers (sales, service and spares). From that list you can identify one closest to you.
  8. Take the car to 'C*r Ch*cks' in Kohuwela. They are quite good in what they do. You can check them out on FB before going. The price you pay for the inspection is worth it because they will give you a comprehensive report which would come in handy, incase you do end up buying the car. Cos you'd know what needs to be looked in to after buying. Good luck.
  9. Yes. Emission test report is required from the second year onwards. I got the test report and renewed my revenue license online.
  10. Well, I'm a bit late but hope this is useful to someone in the future....
  11. Thanks. That's a good price cos I think TL price is well over 100k. I might be wrong though... I guess yours is the normal turbo as well and not the VGT one that's found in most Thai trucks.
  12. Nice to hear that you got it solved. I have a 2007 Hilux HL3, 2.5 liter intercooler turbo. Nearing 200k KMs now and the turbo does not perform like earlier. I believe the fault should be similar to yours. Mind sharing details on how much the turbo cost you and where you sourced it from?
  13. Last year, I did some research and ended up buying the TVS Wego for my short runs/errands, just like the OP. Pros- 1.External fuel inlet. So no petrol fume smell on the items kept in the under-seat storage. I got the front inside plastic panel changed to the one with cubby, which is very useful to (somewhat) securely store a few items. It was offered with the plain recessed panel, which gave more leg room but no storage. Even with the cubby, I have no issues in leg space, me being 5' 10". 2.Combi brake on the newest model. I.e both front and rear brakes are actuated simultaneously with left brake lever. So no need to balance your braking between the front and rear tires with two separate levers. 3.Tubeless tires. Also the 12' alloy wheels were larger in diameter in comparison to other scooters, which meant better ride on poor roads. Most other scooters at the time came with steel wheels. 4.Headlight was mounted on the handle bar, so you could turn the handle in the direction you are travelling in to see in the dark. On the Dio and some other models the headlight was fixed on the body and hence illumination in the dark was quite fixed to the area only in front of the scooter. 5.Digital meter console with service reminder/battery/clock/fuel level as well as Odo/speedo, which gives a feel of modern scooter than being limited to the usual speedo and fuel meter of most scooters. 6.Unlike the most other models, Wego came with a silencer which was of a narrow, rectangular design, resulting in a silencer that was not protruding outside much and looking awkward. It also contributed to the practicality of reducing the width of the scooter, enabling to be parked in narrow slots, etc. 7. I had a friend at TVS Lanka, who offered to strip the scooter and undercoat the chassis and body panels before delivery. This was very worthwhile, since the iron used on Indian vehicles tends to rust very easily. I would recommend to do this if you are buying a new scooter. 8. External body panels were metal and hence would only cause dents(slight or severe depending on impact). Whereas on most scooters, it's plastic which would crack and splitter on impact, might need replacing immediately. 9.Phone charging USB port, located inside the under seat storage. Useful but bad placement, since the phone also has to sit inside the under-seat storage when charging and zero chance of its' ringing being heard by the rider. Cons- 1. Recently getting some noise from front shocks/steering handle column when going through deep potholes. As if some bearing has gone bad. A real pain with the scooter being only 1200KMs old. Yet to take it to the agent to check. 2.Key has to be inserted to a barrel at the rear left of the seat, to open the seat or fuel lid. On the Hero Dash noticed that the same key barrel operated all utilities, which is very convenient. 3.Large seat is quite comfy and non slippery but trade off is get easily heated after being parked in the sun and unbearable to sit on. 4.TVS agents all over are not good at all and do shoddy service jobs, even with me monitoring them. I guess it's to do with the level of society that rides motorbikes/scooters where the level of care for the ride is very minimal and it has shaped the service providers in the same manner. Demanding perfectionism or even some commitment from them is dreaming too much. Not trying to demean anyone here but gone are the days where most people valued their rides and took care of them. 5.Drum brakes. Not the greatest but given the low HP, sufficient to ride safely. Honda Dio is the largest selling scooter in SL but it was somewhat basic and had a few rough edges. I heard that it's engine is the best in the market with almost no reports of issues. The Hero Dash's rear design and colour themes were a real turn off for me. But very utilitarian design with nice touches. The Yamaha Ray might look masculine and sporty but it has too much going on in the design with very little purpose. Comes with steel wheels and a silly looking rear grab rail and for the price, it wasn't worth it. I hope above is useful to the OP or anyone looking to buy a scooter. There are always new models comingin with newer better features. So better do your own market research considering your requirements and taste before deciding.
  14. I see that the Clex dashcam project has completed. Have you received your unit yet? If yes, how is it overall? Worth the USD99? Or having issues? Whats the resolution of the front/rear cam? How is the footage in bright sunlight or headlights from vehicles in the rear?
  15. That seems to be one heck of a clean up / service and repair job Sampath. Do you mind sharing the AC guys charges for the job? I'm contemplating giving up my present AC guy for this one. Can you share his exact location and any other details about him / his operations? From what little I know of auto AC, this seems to be an excellent job. And after completion that temperature at the vents, is pretty unbelievable. I might sound stupid but can anyone tell me, if it's actually possible to get such a low temp reading in a car's airconditioning?
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