Delhi speedsters beat the fog

Armed with nitrous oxide cylinders, city bikers turn their regular two-wheelers into mean machines, reaching speeds of up to 160 km/h. So what if it's illegal

Armed with nitrous oxide cylinders, city bikers turn their regular two-wheelers into mean machines, reaching speeds of up to 160 km/h. So what if it's illegal

In the months of December and January the fast-paced life in the Capital slows down to a crawl. And it's all because of the murky weather. But there's a breed of thrill seekers to whom the roads are their playground and the misty environs are like a breath of fresh air; a veneer to get away with breaking the law.u00a0

Testing the limits: The fog cover helps these bikers escape the clutches
of the law when needed. pic/mid day

Not everyone can afford a Ducati 998 or a Daytona 955i. So innovation is the key for Delhi's speed merchants. To fulfil their passion for velocity, the city's bikers equip their machines with Nitrous Oxide Systems (NOS), which provide that extra thrust. The only catch is all this is illegal.

Get reel!
You may have seen it in films like Torque and Dhoom. When injected into the vehicle, nitrous acts as an oxidiser, allowing you to burn more fuel rapidly, and increases intake pressure, which gives you more power, and higher revolutions per minute (RPM).

The same procedure is applied by these bikers who can be spotted doing various stunts and testing their machines' capacity on the Greater Noida Expressway, DND and Gurgaon- Jaipur highway.

They are mostly young, undergraduate students. These thrill seekers mostly hit the road late at night or early in the morning.u00a0 Most of the Indian bikes are fitted with a 300ml nitrous oxide can that is sufficient to propel the 150-250 cc bike forward for 15 short bursts.

Fast one
When approached by MiD DAY, a biker who is a student at an engineering college in Ghaziabad and drives a Pulsar 200 CC claimed that with the kit his bike can do a 0-60km/h run in 3.87sec flat, and the 100km/h mark is done and dusted in 10.06 seconds. Without it, the bike touches the ton at a relatively slow 16.10 seconds.
These bikers don't only break rules; they also like to show off.

They click pictures and videos of their adventure ride and post them on social networking websites. There are also reports that heavy bets are placed on drag racing contests. This is where the veil of fog comes in hand. These bikers always travel in groups.

So the cops have their task cut out, provided they can keep up in the first place. Most bikers come for enhancement of their Hero Honda Karizma, Bajaj Pulsar or Yamaha R15 and FZ16. No bike modifier openly accepts installing an NOS kit, but it's big business.

This 'performance boosting' equipment comes with a price tag of Rs 10,000, depending upon the importer. According to bikers there are several shops that have these kits, but they do deals only on recommendation.

Gone with the wind

Types of nitrous systems:
Dry
In a dry nitrous system, extra fuel required is introduced through the fuel injectors, keeping the manifold dry of fuel. This property is what gives the dry system its name.
Wet single-point
A wet single-point nitrous system introduces the fuel and nitrous together, causing the upper intake manifold to become wet with fuel.
Wet direct port
A wet direct port nitrous system introduces nitrous and fuel directly into each intake port on the engine. These systems are also known as direct port nitrous systems.
A multi-point system is the most powerful type of nitrous system, due to the placement of the nozzle in each runner,
as well as the ability to use more and higher capacity solenoid valves.
Plenum bar
Another type of system is called a plenum bar system. These are spraybars that are installed inside of the plenums of the intake manifold. Plenum bar systems are usually used in conjunction with direct port systems in multi-stage nitrous systems.
Propane or CNG
It is possible to combine the use of nitrous with a gaseous fuel such as propane or compressed natural gas. This has the advantage of being a dry system and yet still maintaining proper air/fuel mixture.

Headach for cops

The Noida expressway has always been bikers' paradise. The Noida police has been taking stunt biking as a very serious problem for quite some time now.
A senior Noida police official said: "Mobile vans have been deployed on the expressway to check dangerous stunts performed by young kids. Most of the bikers' clubs seek permission for the activities. But there are some groups who perform stunts without permission and we take action against them."u00a0

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All gas

In vehicle racing, nitrous oxide (often referred to as just "nitrous" in this context to differ from the acronym NOS which is the brand Nitrous Oxide Systems) allows the engine to burn more fuel and air, resulting in a more powerful combustion. The gas itself is not flammable, but it delivers more oxygen than atmospheric air by breaking down at elevated temperatures.
Nitrous oxide is stored as a compressed liquid; the evaporation and expansion of liquid nitrous oxide in the intake manifold causes a large drop in intake charge temperature, resulting in a denser charge, further allowing more air/fuel mixture to enter the cylinder. Nitrous oxide is sometimes injected into (or prior to) the intake manifold, whereas other systems directly inject right before the cylinder (direct port injection) to increase power.
One of the major problems of using nitrous oxide in a reciprocating engine is that it can produce enough power to damage or destroy the engine. Very large power increases are possible, and if the mechanical structure of the engine is not properly reinforced, the engine may be severely damaged or destroyed during this kind of operation.