Bike Shifting in Madiwala

Madiwala has plenty of buildings with a restaurant or a tiffin room on the ground floor and flats above. The rent is lower, and tenants accept the smells and the noise. Downstairs, the bike usually parks in the space behind or beside the kitchen, near the back door where the waste bins and the exhaust fan are.

Two things happen to a bike parked there for a year or two.

The first is grease. A kitchen exhaust pushes out fine droplets of oil with the smoke, and they settle on everything nearby. On a bike, they leave a sticky film on the tank, the seat, the panels and the mirrors, which catches dust and turns grey. It doesn't come off with a dry cloth; wiping it just smears it. It also hides scratches, which matters for the condition note at pickup.

The second is rats. Restaurant waste attracts them, and a parked bike is warm, sheltered and full of interesting places: under the seat, behind the side panels, around the air filter. Rats chew wiring, especially newer bikes whose insulation is made from soy based materials they seem to like. A bike that ran fine last month can have a chewed wire that cuts out the lights or the starter. Some rats nest in the air box.

So deal with both before the move. Wash the bike with warm water and a mild detergent or a bike shampoo, which lifts the grease, then rinse and dry it. Look for scratches once it is clean, and point them out at pickup.

Then look for rats. Lift the seat and check the boot and the area underneath for droppings, shredded paper or nesting. Look at the wiring near the battery and the headlight for chew marks. Start the bike and check the lights, horn and indicators. If anything is chewed, get it repaired before the move; a wire that fails on the carrier can't be fixed there.

At the new place, try to find a spot that isn't beside the bins or under an exhaust vent.

Before handing the bike over, take a slow look at it in daylight. Grease builds up quietly: a dark film on the rear of the panels, a sticky patch on the seat where a vent drips, dust that has caked onto the chain. A wipe with a degreaser and a clean cloth removes most of it, and the chain can be cleaned and lubricated in a few minutes. It matters for the move, because the crew handle the bike by its panels and grips, and greasy surfaces slip in gloved hands. It matters for the other goods too, since a grease coated scooter can mark the boxes or furniture loaded beside it.

Look closely at the wiring for rat damage while you are there. Chewed insulation near the battery, the horn or the headlamp is a common find behind restaurant rows, and it is far better found in the lane than on the highway. If a wire looks bitten, have a mechanic tape or replace it before the bike travels, and mention it to us so the crew don't pull on that harness.

Our Madiwala packers page explains cleaning kitchen grease out of fabric before a household move. Here the subject is the bike parked downstairs.

An electric scooter's wiring and battery connectors are just as attractive to rats. Check them carefully, and don't charge the scooter if any cable looks chewed. Name the scooter's make and say where its pack sits when you book.