Showing posts with label Bikenomads. Show all posts

Night ride

Posted In: Bikenomads , Bikes , R15 , rides . By Nalin Bakshi

Dark night, curvy roads going up and down, two riders and no one on the road

Paradise!

Two engines roaring on a quiet, empty road, the light beam just sufficient enough to light up the next 15 meters on a hilly track and one doesn’t know if the road is going to turn right or left, it doesn’t get scarier than that. Reminds of another late night ride where I was going fast all set to take the tight right hander when the High intensity light from a bike behind light up the road and i saw at the very last minute that its a hard left instead. Had he been slow I would have been down the hill.But tonight I can’t control the itch to throttle up. The speedo moving between 60 to 80KMPH on way to lavasa. There is just no straight line (there are a few stretches but a very few).There was no plan to ride at night, I had to deliver a diary to a friend whose number I just couldn’t get through so what to do? I thought perhaps it was my phone so I called a friend and we got talking. Few minutes later it ended with a ride plan.Me and somanath met at Chandani Chownk (pune, India), sayan didn’t show up. Somanath said – “hey we won’t ride fast tonight, around 80KMPH* only”. And I was thinking to myself – “80 at ghats, i would be happy if I could touch 60 on those roads”. But you can’t control the adrenaline. It takes over you and when the mood is ride, the mind is at peace, the bio senses just start to perform with great efficiency. I just kept going faster and faster till the sanity part of the brain told me – “hello, your not a motorcycle world champion, keep in limits”.It was a fun ride. Wish I could record it.

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Chinmay's last ride with us

Posted In: Bikenomads , My Life , R15 , rides . By Nalin Bakshi

Life moves on and we are bound to take different paths someday.

By Sayan Jana:

Chinmaya (Kalingaputra), a fellow BikeNomad(BN)member has decided to move out of Pune as a career move. With this note, we decided to meet for a quick ride to Mahabaleshwar….little did we know that it would turn out to be one of the finest rides in my view at BN.

Initial plan was to explore Mahabaleshwar and return to Pune.

0745hrs: For a change, I had my sleep in installments….waking up once at 0130hrs, 0245hrs, 0355hrs, 0430hrs and finally 0555hrs (without the alarm ringing once). It was as if, my soul was waiting for this ride. Taking the morning shower in cold water (I just love it), doing my morning puja, I reached CC (Chandni Chowk) at 0735hrs-perhaps, was the first one to arrive for a change(normally, I am 5-10mins late). Quickly rushed to the nearest tea stall for a quick cuppa tea and a smoke.

0750hrs-0810hrs:The entire entourage arrived – Amit(New BN member), Abhishek(Zulu) with Vaishali(First time ride with BN – A Mass Communication student looking to make a documentary for her project), Nalin, Somnath and Chinmaya. Introductions follow up soon with Route Mapping and pit-stops….Finally we hit the roads at 0815hrs.

Once, we cleared Pune (Katraj ByPass), our Speedometer refused to go below 100km/hr. Going as high as 110-130km/hr, we soon covered 60-65km, when Nalin started complaining that we should stop for breakfast….Fortunately, everyone agreed since Zulu was way behind the gang. Being in Maharashtra, what else could be better than my favourite Vaada-pao?

1000hrs: We move ahead….cleared ‘Kambhatki Ghats’ (BN’s Favourite)[mountain passes on the Western Ghats in Maharashtra], we take the right at ‘Wai’ towards Mahabaleshwar. Reaching Panchgani Table Top, everyone decided to take a quick break.

Nomads stopping for a quick Photoshoot!

Our Steeds!!

The sun was pleasant around this time but was continously warning us to be prepared for a tougher day. We soon reached Mahabaleshwar where Chinmaya & Somnath suggested a place for the famous ‘Strawberry with Cream’.

The Beasts !!

Route Map

A quick stop and we were busy relishing the strawberries with cream. Everyone was in a good mood so we decided to avail the opportunity and planned our route for the rest of the day. Here, we met Harshvardhan (BN Member) who was supposed to join us from Pune. Finally, we decided to proceed via Old Mahabaleshwar – Tapola – Bamnoli – Kas – Satara and then, return to Pune.

So, finally with Route decided, we proceeded further towards Tapola.

1330hrs: We finally reach Tapola after a doing lot of bird-watching and sight-seeing in Mahabaleshwar. It seemed as if our Sun Lord was quite pleased in seeing us that he started showering his love in the form of strong heat rays.

View of Tapola from The Ghats

A quick lunch and off we went towards Bamnoli – Kas – Satara. This route had something exciting stored for all of us.Initially, the road got narrowed, then the metalled road became ’semi-metalled’, this time introducing loose gravels and rocks to us. Further down the line, ’semi-metalled’ roads became unmetalled roads. And, this all happened for a distance of 55-60km from Tapola.

The pulsars(150/180/220) started sreaming, the Karizmas(ZMA) started moaning while theYamaha(R15) started crying with pain.The riders realizing that Nalin(Yamaha) and Somnath(Karizma) were way behind the gang, decided to give some rest to their @^&$! The moment we got off our steeds, we actually realized that there was dust all over our bike, our jackets, trousers and our visors. This truely was the best part of the ride!

Ruff-n-Tuff

As we stand doing some stretching exercises, Nalin and Somnath arrived….in short, the R15 and the ZMA finally arrived.

Nalin & Somnath finally Arrive

1500hrs: A quick break and we immediately hit the roads again. Little did we know that the roads would become metalled within a kilometre’s distance. With twisties being our favourite, Somnath went on as fast as he could….without realizing that we should admire nature at times. The gang decided to take a break. After stopping a while, Nalin realized that Somnath was missing and tried to catch him but Somnath, he was way ahead. So finally, Nalin and the rest of the gang gave up the chase and took a break at a lake in Satara….playing with water….like school kids out on a class picnic (over here, adults on a BN Picnic).

Lake - Reminded us of school days' class picnic

Fatso Nalin with sayan(black tee) and chinmay

1630hrs: Unwilling to return to Pune, we make up our mind and take the last stretch to Satara. Rip all the way….uphill and downhill….reached ‘Kas’….where the Western Ghats have created a natural set for Bollywood or, pehaps….for Hollywood! How could our BikeNomad fellas resist from posing infront of the cameras?

Me and my R15

Our Steeds - Hero Honda | Yamaha | Bajaj

Chinmaya Nanda (Kaling putra) with his Pulsar 220

1800hrs: Finally, we head towards Satara and after a quick refreshments start for Pune immediately.

Finally reached Pune around 2000hrs with Nalin, Chinmaya and Amit as the remaining members had taken different routes to enter Pune. A quick stop at Cafe Coffee Day, we proceeded to our nests….I reached around 2130hrs….further, had to get ready to attend a wedding. Attended the wedding….perhaps, amongst the late-comers, finally managed to return home by 2330hrs.

As I went off to sleep, I recollected every moment of the day spent with BikeNomads….someone totally new to the group like Amit and Vaishali, someone who has helped the group grow like, Nalin and someone who have tried to contribute in someway or the other, like Abhishek, Somnath, Chinmaya and Me!

Riders: Chinmaya, Nalin Bakshi, Abhishek, Somnath, Amit Dubey, Vaishali and Sayan Jana
Image Courtesy: Amit Dubey

Written by a friend and fellow BN rider: Sayan Jana. (http://sayanjana.wordpress.com/)

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R One Five

Posted In: Bikenomads , R15 , rides . By Nalin Bakshi

Screaming Ahead

25Th Oct 2008: A blue beast stood wrapped in plastic, waiting for its rider when I walked in looking for the the king chetah among the chetahs, it looked at me and I looked back. Taking my time I looked at it and inspected it as it stood in shadows. I looked around, there were others too, but this one was the one. I smiled and took of the wrappers. It had to be this one.

I took the delivery of the bike on 26th as Iron should not be brought home according the HinduCulture. As the bike was being cleaned before delivery, I gave dad the keys of the bike and asked him to take it out

The run-in was a lengthy thing for me, I had already done run-in of two bikes in less than a year’s time and doing it for the third was making me impatient. But it had to be done. I kept the bike as a surprise to all, waiting for the 1,000KM run in clock to get over and what could be better than a ghat (twisties) section just after that. First time I opened the throttle to 7,000 RPMs as the tiny engine roared to life. The balance perfect, the brakes as of a chetah, this light bike made its way up, ahead of others. But the real performance test is yet to come, as Chinmay waits on his Pulsar 220 to see if this Chetah is faster than his panther. Only time will tell.

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Riding Formations

Posted In: Bikenomads , Bikes . By Nalin Bakshi

So you are going on a trip with bunch of riders and you are new to the group and suddenly someone says “we will use staggered formation”, what do you do. Reaction depends on people. But here is small info tip to tell you what what is. These formations have different advantages and disadvantages. So I am putting some light on what they are.

Staggered Formation

In this formation the bikes move in pair of two. The leader is on the right front, the follower to him/her is on the left and behind by few meters. The person following him is on the right and just behind the leader like in the picture shown. The advantage of this is that both the leader and the person following him/her has a good view of the road ahead. And the leader simultaneously has a view of two riders on its left-rear and the one just behind him. The riders in the middle can look at the rider in front, front -right, rear-left, rear depending on where he/she is.

Staggered formation

Trail Formation

Train formation is one in which the rider follow each other in line. Useful in tight roads and turns. Its important the people following maintain a good distance among each other. The disadvantage is the visibility. Rider in front can see few behind him, the ones in middle have limited visibility of traffic ahead.

Trail formation

Line formation

In this all bikes are in a line. This is good to make your presence felt but not good option to try.

Line

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Leh Trip Log

Posted In: Bikenomads , rides . By Nalin Bakshi

Leh Trip Log:

Day 01: 29th-May -2008 Jammu – Pathankot [Broken Bridge]
Day 02: 30th-May -2008 Pathankot – Manali
Day 03: 01st-June-2008 Manai
Day 04: 02nd-June-2008 Manali – Keylong [bike oil leak]
Day 05: 03rd-June-2008 Keylong – Sarchu [AMS]
Day 06: 04th-June-2008 Sarchu – Leh
Day 07: 05th-June-2008 Leh
Day 08: 06th-June-2008 Khardungla
Day 09: 07th-June-2008 Pangong Tso
Day 10: 08th-June-2008 Leh-Kargil
Day 11: 09th-June-2008 Kargil-Srinagar
Day 12: 10th-June-2008 Srinagar – Pathankot [Rains + water crossings]
Day 13: 11th-June-2008 Pathankot – Chandigarh
Day 14: 12th-June-2008 Chandigarh
Day 15: 13th-June-2008 Chandigarh – Delhi
Day 16: 14th-June-2008 Delhi – Noida

29th-May -2008 Jammu – Pathankot [Broken Bridge]

After reaching Amritsar we took a cab to Jammu in order to reach fast. With things deteriorating in Srinagar due to the Amarnath Shrine Land issue, our plans of taking the Srinagar route seemed to go down the drain. The only alternate was to do it via Manali.
After reaching Jammu around 01:00PM we took bath and lunch and decided to leave for Pathankot. My CBZ had some starting issue. It was nothing but some minor issue. I noticed that my bike’s leg gaurd had some wear and tear. It was that Sravanth’s bike had come off the stand and fallen on my bike. When the truck guys put it back in position, they didn’t notice that our leg gaurds were touching. And with jerks and all the leg gaurds had worn out each other.

We left for Pathankot around 03:00 PM and after withdrawing cash etc.. I think we left Jammu around 3:45- 4:00PM.

Sravanth was quick to pace out. We were ripping on the Jammu Pathankot road. I decided to stop for some water and then Hrishi noticed that his bungie came off. Luckily we had stopped for fuel else things could have gone bad for us.

After reaching Pathankot we wanted to cross it and ride one hour before stopping. But later on we came to know through someone that the bridge that we were going to take had collapsed. And since Hrishi didn’t want to ride at night, we decided to halt at Pathankot.

Day 02: 30th-May -2008 Pathankot – Manali

The fun ride. Pathank to Manali was fun ride. Good roads, low traffic and best of all hills. I made quite a few videos on the move. We also stopped at a river. It was off route but it was fun. Stopped and took some pics before we marched ahead.
The argument- I was feeling hungry after riding so much .. but Hrishi wanted to skip lunch. It was around 5:00PM and I started feeling hungry. I didn’t realise that when Hrishi said no riding in the dark he meant no riding 1 hour before it goes dark. For me dark would mean at least when you need to switch your lights on – sunset time at min. But for Hrishi it started even when sun was visible ahead. This roughed up things between us which later came up when we were looking for a Hotel. We stopped at Himachal tourism guest house, though the place had booking for the next day – which meant moving to a different hotel, Hrishi was adament about staying there despite himself making agree on the fact that they would not stay at anyplace which required changing rooms in the morning. I didn’t ask much, Hrishi had either an ego issue or he was dead tired.

Day 03: 01st-June-2008 Manali

Since we had to change the room, we spent half the next day shifting. Sravanth couldn’t do rafting and I could do para gliding which I wanted to. We did some shopping though.

Day 04: 02nd-June-2008 Manali – Keylong [bike oil leak]

Keylong and our first pass “Rohtang”. Hrishi and Sravanth took Dimox, high altitude sickness medicine. Doctors whom I had asked said it wasn’t required so I didn’t take it. We packed break fast from the resort and left for Keylong early morning around 6:00AM. Again me and Sravanth were quick to reach up. Taking pics and making videos on the way. Rohtang was a good place. I had taken only two bread slices and in the mean time Hrishi and Sravanth ate the whole pack

The clouds were coming up and so we decided to move. If the clouds would come on the road then riding would be an issue. 2Kms from there we were riding down. There was a group of Israeli cyclists. They were riding like hell.. one of them overtook Hrishi on the way down.

The army convoy. I had seen convoys before, but convoys here were huge. 10 trucks – no, 20 – no, 30 – no.. these seemed like 50 (donno if that was the case). We were stopped by the MP (Military Police) to let the trucks pass first. After they crossed, we started. We had to overtake a whole 50 of those. I let Hrishi and Sravanth pass. Halfway through the convoy I saw Hrishi standing. His footpeg had come off. Again the trucks over took us. We started to ride and over take them. Then we saw Sravanth standing and taking pics. Now Again we had overtake them. THis was getting irritating. With virtually no road, the trucks were

To be continued…

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Back from Dandeli

Posted In: Bikenomads , rides . By Nalin Bakshi

4 Days of BN Meet

4 Days of freedom

4 Days of life worth remembering

486KM ride one way.

Dandeli, BN annual meet 2008 was one event to remember. 480 KMs of one day ride

Dandeli was place for BN Annual meet. Riders from different parts of the country would meet at this place. Dandeli is a natural habitat for wildlife, its more of a jungle you can say. Located in Karnatka, this place is more like an isolated place with very few tourist.

Pune - Dandeli Route

Day 01: The ride day

We were supposed to meet atChandani Chowk at 05:30 AM and leave at 6:00 AM, but I couldn’t sleep properly whole night, anxiety I suppose. Finally I woke up at 04:00 AM, it was too early so I had corn flakes and slept again only to wake up at 5:00AM. I didn’t want to disturb my roommate so I quietly did all I could.

Finally I left at 05:30 AM and reached Chandani Chowk at 05:55AM only to find myself alone. I called up Chinamay to ask where he was only to know that all had assembled at a tapri and I was the second last person to reach , Abhishek Haldar (jolu warrior) was last. We left at 06:10 AM.

I knew that I was going to be slow so I took the responsibility to follow along with Sayan, a guy I could trust.

Soon chinmay and Somnath started ripping and were way ahead, jayraman was slow on his Pulsar 180 so was Harshad as his bike was new and had not completed its run in which meant that me and Sayan had to ride at same speeds as well.

Since me and Sayan dragging behind stopped couple of times to take pics. We stopped 3 times for the pics which left us way behind. We were some 30mins behind Harshad. We stopped next to a bridge to take some pics. The scenery around us was very good and Sayan as usual was on to getting his pics clicked. I spotted few sea eagles but unfortunatly I didn’t have cam and sayan’s cam didn’t have the essential zoom

We reached Dandeli around 6:30PM, way late than we had expected. The banglore guys Gautam and Gaurav were already there. The guys from Hyderabad had not come. The guys were slow due to bad roads and they managed to reach only around 12:30 to the destination.

Day 2: Synthery rocks, croc trek and bonfire

The second day everyone woke up at ease. I think I woke up at around 7:00-8:00. I don’t remember. Abhishek (Jolu warrior) who slept late at 12:30 was awake early while Chinmaya and Sayan who had slept early were still sleeping. After having breakfast I was getting ready for the ride only to know later that we were being given 4×4 to travel. Sayan was quick to get in and have him clicked. He got very good snaps of him. Soon everyone there got on the 4×4 to get himself clicked. There were two jeeps for us. The drive was fun, I was on the back of the jeep with Amod. The drive was downhill and the jeep behind us had some heavy weights. The driver of that vehicle had to brake many a times to slow down the momentum

[Add pic of sythery rocks here]

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Hampi Ride

Posted In: Bikenomads . By Nalin Bakshi

BN 2007 Annual meet.
Bikenomads southern India was meeting up at Hampi as part of the annual ride. Though I wanted to be a part of this but time was a constraint. I had taken too many off this year and my boss wasn't keen on letting me go on more unless it was very necessary. So for me the ride was just to see off the guys to Satara and then join them two days from then on their way back.

I had my bro's zma (HH Karizma) for the ride - friday (23rd Nov 2007) and people were to meet at CC - Chandani Chowk (Pune, India) by 6:30 and I was still at home and it was 6:15 and add to that there wasn't much fuel in the bike. I started off fast.. needed to refuel.. refuelled it but what the hell I had just 200 bucks (petrol Rs 50 a liter). It sure wasn't enough for Satara and I was already 30 KM + from CC. I was riding as hell that day - not to mention it was fun. When I reached CC, no one was there. I called up bro and he told me that were regrouping at a secondry alternate which thankfully was on the outskirts of the city and not farther. I reaached there on time, just before they were to set off.

Pic Taken after the start.. only few left for the pic

It was good to meet all of them that day, Praveen Sathaye too had to call off.. he had an interview. All of us set off with Capt Chitnis on his 220 and Nav had come on his bullet. Rest on their zma, unicorn etc. I rode along with the group 50KM short of Satara. I was getting late for the office and had to turn back..

On my way back.

On the following saturday, I got a call from Praveen Sathaye, asking me if I wanted to join him for a ride half way through to Hampi and then come back with the group. I was busy on Sunday and I told him I would join them from Katraj. I reached katraj and called up Bro and Praveen.. they were a 100KM from Satara. So instead of waiting I decided to go to Satara. Reached there and kept waiting and waiting and waiting... I got a call from Praveen that they were just 10KM from where I was but there was no sign of them. I was just wearing my mesh mix jacket and it was cold so I thought I would jump in the car and let bro ride the bike. I was looking at the road when I heard the dog horn. Doc Arnob has it.. and then suddenly some 10-11 bikes zoomed passed and a 220 stopped next to me. It was Arpan. I told him I would come on car and Vibhu (bro) would catch up with them. I called bro then and he said he was 30 KM from the place.. that was a hell too far and I was not waiting any more, so I told him that I am continuing on the bike.

With zma I had got into the feeling that catching any one while riding this bike is easy, but these guys were no where to be found. This was getting interesting. I caught up with them and continuing with them was an experience. Prasad was riding Doc's bike, Doc Captain's, Capt was with bro, Harshad was riding prasad's bike. And all of us were doing 80+ on a high traffic road.
Prasad was using the Doc's bike's special horn, lights and what all to make the road clear for us and the rest kept zooming. It was a great feeling.. people were staring out of the window to see what the hell these bikers were upto.. It was dark and risky but still these bikers were pushing .. at one point we would be slow due to the traffic at around 75-80 and then with in seconds we would be 120KMPH plus. This was getting better by the minute. The guys wanted to take a break, they were riding since long. We took a break at "Joshi wada wala" where al regrouped, including bro, bhabi, Mrs and Mr Chitnis.

The bombay guys were in a hurry so we let them off. We few pune guys started together... the road had become broader and traffic suddenly felt less. On the way back throught the katraj tunnel I accelerated the bike to full throttle, I was not maintaining any group now.. As I looked down I saw the needle at 142KMPH and that was like wow. Though I realised that this must not be the true speed but then I sure knew I was fast.

We dropped Chitnis to his place and me, bro and bhabi came back. It was 12:00 already and I was hoping that we would be back by 8:00. It was another leason, then when you go out in a group always be ready to be late. In all it was a fun ride and I was now feeling that I needed a bigger bike.

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Pulsar 220 Rev'd

Posted In: Bikenomads , Bikes . By Nalin Bakshi

I was enjoying my sleep when an SMS woke me up, it was from Suyash a fellow nomad. It read - "Me at cc", CC => Chandni Chowk (A meet up place for fellow bikers). Small ride to lavasa had been planned by Capt Chitnis, but I was fickle minded about the trip as I had some work the same day. Suyash was first to reach, couple of messages later, I was all set to go. Only thing was that CC is 35KM from my place and by the time I would have got ready and reached I would have to do a good catch up. But I was betting on two facts, one that Praveen Sathaye would be late and then Nav would refuel his bike. I started from my place at 7:10 and then later had a brawl at the petrol pump where I had asked for fuel worth Rs 300/- but the guy poured in for Rs 246/- I got the rest of the fuel anyhow.

I was hoping to catch the group not before Mutha ghat, as I was on the road to Paud I saw a guy with a Black helmet and BN sticker. It was Suyash, I stopped next to him and asked where are the rest. He said nav is getting the fuel, Praveen sathaye is late and Capt has gone ahead. Soon the Capt came back with the Angona urf the reporter as stated by Suyash. The ride started of well, Capt Chitnis on his bike was fast for his age. I am impressed.

(Praveen Shirali, Nav, Angona, Captain, Neha and Suyash)

We stopped at the Lavasa dam. Where we took some pics and Capt Chitnis asked me if I would like to ride the bike, I was in hurry but I said to myself : what the hell". Very generous him to offer the ride.

Pulsar 220 Experience:

Having ridden the Pulsar 200 before, getting the feel of the bike was not a problem, but like with the karizma (zma), the front faring felt odd. Here I ride 3 bikes and all three of them have a faring which turns with the handle bar like most others, but on this bike the faring stays at its position independent of the angle of handle bar, so it took my brain few seconds to be ok with it.

(Me on the 220)

Ignition and roll: As I switched on, the bike, it did a self diagnostic check like the RTR and 200. After that I switched on the main engine and turned the throttle, the grunts of the bike made me smile. The bike doesn't vibrate that much, but still grunts which I found pretty nice thing, unlike my old Pulsar which roars and vibrates.

Brakes: First thing I did after the initial start was try the brakes, the front was like any other pulsar but it was the rear that I was more interested in. The rear felt tight, I prefer a brake which is not too tight so that I have more control over degree of braking. Despite this the brake seemed very impressive. Later on, when on a turn, I over shot the braking point; the bike braked nicely and gave me a good control. (By this I don't mean that other bikes can't do the same but that this bike's brakes are very good). But then again I didn't get a situation to test them good.

Power and Speed: After a few turns it was time to rev the bike. I was going uphill on the Lavasa hill and power was very much evident. One good thing that I have seen Bajaj do is reduce the fast acceleration and deacceleration that was on the Pulsar 180. The sudden acceleration sometimes gave more power than needed and sudden deaccelerations felt more like braking, this might be of advantage to a pro but otherwise I feel it made the bike unstable.

The 220 has no such issues which was very much evident when i powered it up the hill, the bike started smoothly then picked the pace. I found the bike being able to go up the hill with curves pretty nicely. Fuel injection seemed to help as with increasing speed the acceleration was still maintained, which in most bikes would seem to die down. (Fuel Injection injects the fuel to the engine as required unlike the normal fuel flow which are tuned for either better mileage or power, FI enables better fuel flow at varying speeds.)

Handling: This was the fun part of the bike, going uphill I was able to turn the bike very aggressivly, it was like the bike wanted me to do that. It came to a point that I thought that my feet(paws) might touch the ground. Which didn't sound too good. I now remember Kedar saying at the Bajaj factory meet to the engineers that the main stand of the bike he was riding touched the road. Though he is heavier than me, I still wonder what could happen if one's feet touch the road.

In all the bike handled very well. I was confident on the bike

The design and features:
The design and features are cool. There is a lot to show off for a salesman. You can read more about the features at my older post on Pulsar 220 DTSFi

Overall feel:
The bike feels nice and powerful. The grunts are great with the vibrations low. The seat felt nice so did the gear and brakes. Light seems to be promising, but as it was day, I could only compare the bright light. Handle bar felt good too. The bike has a done a top speed of 131 KMPH, ridden by Praveen Shirali, I have still have to try my go at it ;)

(nav trying the bike)

Verdict:
I am not a pro, but since I have been riding the likes of CBZ, CBZ Xtreme, 200, 180, Avenger, Fiero, this 220 seem to be the best among these. So far no neagative points only positive.

Is it better than karizma?
Well I don't know. Pulsars have always handled well on good roads, the main difference I found between CBZ and Pulsar is that CBZ does good even on bad roads, unexpected bumps and all. CBZ also have been more stable over cross winds and any other air movement, like what one would feel while overtaking a fast moving truck, the pulsar, I feel lose the edge it while with CBZ its pretty convenient. According to me its how a bike handles on unexpected events that differentiates between good bike and great bike.

I rode 220 on great roads and no cross wind or any other air flow. Also there was no traffic. But with experience what ever I have I think the 220 should be good. But real comparison could be done with a bit longer ride one way on 220 and then back on zma. And if two bikers can do this and later discuss, a better judgment could be made. I hope to do the same once Vibhu comes to town and Capt Chitnis would volunteer either to participate in same or let me ride his bike.

Picture time: I asked Suyash to take few pics of mine on 220 before I could hurry back to the work I had. Suyash took some great pics in the very short time. And after that I left back in a hurry.
A good ride and thanks to Capt.. a great Pulsar ride.

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Why I bike?

Posted In: Bikenomads , Bikes , My Life . By Nalin Bakshi

This was one of the chain mails in our biking group bikenomads. So here is my answer to that.

1. Money: Yes! It was money that restricted me to buy motorcycle. I wanted something faster, safer and attractive. But I was too short of few million USD which I needed to buy a harrier jump jet, so I had to choose the next best alternative, which was a motorcycle.

2. I can't bungie jump every day: Well had bungie jumping been an alternative, I would have choosen that. Also you can move only vertically not horizontally with that, else I would have used it to go to my office.

3. Insanity: Sometimes I do like to be insane, but instead of harming others;I bike. Sometimes doing 80KMPH on busy roads. Hope no one in my family reads this.

4. Feeling it: Ever saw the Bajaj Avenger advertisment, I feel like god ? Well thats what bikenomads do and that is what I like.

5. Andrenaline: Well I don't get the adrenaline pump as my bikes doesn't break the 150KMPH barrier, so ...... (This is just to increase the point count).

6. Ever wondered why dog pokes his face out of the window. Ask a biker :)

7. Rains: I love to get wet in rains. Thats why sometimes I just go without any rain gear to ride. Hell I was once on ride from 6:30 AM to 11:00PM in rain riding, though with the rain suit which was next to useless. One newbie got crazy looking at the hands. One crazy stuff.

8. Be a gang: There are bikers and then there are people like us. So we bikers at bikenomads have different style of living. Imagine going into a cafe with guys having some part of bike in there hands and discussing about it.

9. A different world: The long rides, the people and sense of belonging. Its a totally different world out of the normal and it relaxes me.

10. Its fun!

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Oh I missed this one!

Posted In: Bikenomads , Bikes . By Nalin Bakshi

Old post but finally decided to post it as a new. Friend on mine had asked me to come on a speed gun session. But this time the speed gun was with us not the police guys (there are non here with Pune Police) so the guys tried on their machine to the paces. This was the result of it.

Most of the bikes were different models of Royal Enfield Bullets with one Yamaha RD 350, one Yamaha RX 135 5-Speed, one Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTSFi and one Hero Honda CBZ. Baring the Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTSFi and Hero Honda CBZ all bikes were modified to extract extra performance, to different level (some modifications being as simple as a different air filter or different exhaust). The details of the modifications are best known to the owner of the bike or the mechanic/tuner who did those modifications.

Following were the fastest three bikes and their riders:
Sling on his Yamaha RD350 at 145km/hr. Video
Rahul on his Bullet Lightning 535 at 140km/hr. Video
Tinu on Doc’s Bullet 500 (Std) at 137km/hr. Video

Following are the other speeds achieved by the rider and bike combo (only the fastest of all their runs is listed down).
Doc on his Bullet 500 (Std) at 133km/hr. Video
Tinu on Adil’s Bullet Lightning 535 at 125km/hr. Video
Adil on his Bullet Lightning 535 at 124km/hr. Video
Rash on his Yamaha RX 135 5-Speed at 123km/hr. Video
Tinu on Amit’s Bullet Machismo 500 (AVL) at 120km/hr. Video
Adil on Thomas’s Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTSFi at 120km/hr. Video
Thomas on his P220 Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTSFi at 119km/hr. Video
Adil on his Bullet Thunderbird 350 (AVL) at 116km/hr.
Nauzar on his Bullet 350 (Std) at 110km/hr. Video
Nav in his Hero Honda CBZ at 108km/hr.

These are the other runs (video’s not uploaded but can be provided in case of any doubts about the speed).
Rahul on his Bullet Lightning 535 at 139km/hr.
Rahul on his Bullet Lightning 535 at 139km/hr.
Tinu on Doc’s Bullet 500 (Std) at 136km/hr.
Kunal on Rahul’s Bullet Lightning 535 at 135km/hr.
Kunal on Rahul’s Bullet Lightning 535 at 131km/hr.
Doc on his Bullet 500 (Std) at 131km/hr.
Amit on his Bullet Machismo 500 (AVL) at 115km/hr.
Adil on his Bullet Lightning 535 at 114km/hr.

Data Collected by Navendu Singh viz Nav(Fellow nomad).
The riders in the list belong to various groups viz bikenomads, Road Shakers, Rubber Smokin Angels, RD Dreams and some misc others.

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My new bike!

Posted In: Bikenomads , Bikes . By Nalin Bakshi

Well well... I finally got my hands on a Honda Sports bike, that too gifted to me by a fellow BN friend Praveen. And it has the markings similar to the 500CC Honda used by Rossi (46). Well as you would have guessed by now, this is actually a scale model of the bike. And I like it a lot.

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Posted In: Bikenomads , Trips . By Nalin Bakshi

Independence Day Ride !!

"Article by Praveen Sathay, a friend on the same ride."

Independence Day Ride
15th August 2007

IAF's Retired MiG 25

Today we celebrate our independence day!! The independence which we credit to the efforts of our Leaders and Warriors who helped us get this freedom and after 1947 have continuously strived hard to maintain it. One of the most contributing members of this continuous fight to maintain freedom and prosperity are our soldiers. The men and women of the armed forces who have withstood harsh conditions and protected the country from evil eyes! This 15th August I along with a few Biker friends celebrated the occasion by riding out to the National Defense Academy, Khadagwasla. We left around 4ish in the afternoon from Baner and rode all the way via Chandni Chowk and NDA road to the Pashan Gate of the Academy. After doing the necessary formalities at the gate we found out that despite it being a national holiday it was still a working day for the cadets and hence we may not be able to actually get to move around freely.

A couple of rules were clearly laid for us before we started off. Captain would be leading the entire group on his P220, followed by Self on the P180Dittsy, then Nalin on the CBZ, Suyash on his Avvy, Priyank on his Libero, and 2 more guys in their Zen! We started off in a nice formation from the Gate and rode down towards the Airfield. This airfield used to have a dirt airstrip sometime back but with the introduction of powered flight training at NDA, they constructed a Tarmac airstrip and jazzed it up. There was a Mystere Aircraft on display there. A quick “U” turn got us back on to the Main road and gunning towards Gol market. Since it was a working day we additionally got instructions to watch out for cadets on the road who had the ‘Right Of Way’ on this particular day and we would either have to slow down till they gave us the space to move ahead. We did run into a group of cadets running on the road and it did feel rather awkward to actually not blow horn but wait patiently for the pedestrian to move out of the way. Captain has immense discipline in these things as he frantically waved us down every time he saw something on the road which was essential to notice and act accordingly.

A small detour took as via the Salaria square and Sudan Block on to the Parade ground and down towards Peacock bay. It was here that we also saw some monkeys darting across the road and a signboard warning motorists of being aware of wildlife crossing the road. I could assume jackals, foxes, and other animals also skittering across the road in night. After crossing peacock bay we came out of the Khadagwasla gate and rode towards the Kudje village. The road was wet with constant drizzling and Captain was at his street biking best negotiating curves and hairpins with ease. We had lost the other riders someplace in the distance as just three of us rode in close formation. This was perhaps the 2nd time we had to slow down to accommodate the slowpokes!! We turned around as soon as we realized we had come too far and then headed back towards NDA. After entering again we rode straight to the junction where we have the Commandant’s office and from there got off the main road on to a smaller tar strip. This incidentally was the outer perimeter road which went all the way round NDA on the outermost edge of the North-East boundary. This road was a narrow patch of tarmac with vast grasslands on both sides. As we rode further we came across the polo ground, football ground and fathomed the sheer vastness of the campus. It was here that we also came across two cadets running around the outer perimeter. Physical training is one aspect at NDA which is given immense importance and is used to inculcate discipline in the cadets. Even while punishing cadets for any misbehavior, the punishment is often just extended physical training – More running, more push-ups etc. From what I have heard most cadets do not consider going around the outer perimeter a very pleasant experience. It looked like Captain too had not been around the entire perimeter even during his two stints of 3 years each at the NDA, as a cadet and as the Squadron Commander. We also ran into some patches where an overflowing stream had caused some water logging and we waded through with our bikes and also did some semi-off-roading where slush and gravel were predominant on the road. Overall this ride was a very smooth and enjoyable patch as we were perhaps the only people on the road and were riding absolutely neck to neck at a comfortable speed of 40 – 50 KMPH. We came out at the Army Training Team area and reached the main gate once again. From here we turned back into Gol Market and finally stopped for a break.

The MiG 25 R mounted next to the Gol market caught my attention and while the rest of the gang went into one café for snacks and refreshments Nalin and I went up to the mighty bird and went trigger happy (read: Shutter Happy) on the fastest FIGHTER aircraft in the world. The MiG 25 is perhaps the only aircraft which is capable of short bursts from its cannon even while flying at speeds of Mach 2 and above. In other aircraft the speed of the projectile or rounds/bullets is slower than that of the aircraft hence they cannot actually FIGHT at that high speeds. There was a lot of interesting information about the MiG 25 and I had also heard a lot about how this aircraft found its way into NDA.

Read the MiG 25 Story here

Post the chai n snacks we again rode off towards the parade ground where we took a break and took some more photos. It was here at the FINAL STEP quarterdeck (Naval terminology), that I remembered some of my hay days at the Naval Academy. The Parade ground is impressive. So are the surroundings. The Parade ground has on display Tanks, Guns, a Sea Hawk, a MiG 21 FL, a model of INS Delhi, the Type 15 Destroyer we have. We rode off from the Parade ground and rode back to the Pashan gate, stopping en-route to click some more snaps. After moving out of NDA we came back to Captain’s place and then after bidding the customary good-byes rode towards our destinations. Nalin accompanied me home and we ended the fantastic evening by savoring some laddoos and watching a documentary on the Indian Air Force and nurturing the Patriotic spirit awakened in us after the visit to NDA.

1976 Short story of Defected MiG 25 (Short and Interesting)

Flight to the edge - with Mig25 (Long)

An amazing experience it was visiting the academy where the brave officers of our nation are trained and sculpted, where men are crafted out of young boys, the alma mater of courage and discipline. I always have held the defense forces and academies in high respect despite not having a very pleasant experience myself. But then nothing makes my heart thump louder than the sight of our weaponry, our men in uniform and the spirit of patriotism.

JAI HIND!!

Catch Photos of the Ride here:

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Posted In: Bikenomads . By Nalin Bakshi

BN Forum Launched

Finally its here!

So finally we have the forum up there. The forum was added after much thought on the website and the need for update.

A lot of people on the group have been asking about the fact that why the forum. Its all looks and etc. But here are few of the facts:

The Mailing system:
Bikenomads community though national was knit together by yahoo based group. This allowed every nomad to interact with each other. And I must say it has a personal touch. The advantages of the mailing system was that anyone who is registered could check the mails whenever he/she wanted. But many times high number of filled the inbox too fast and some mails were never read.

The new forum:
The forum was added to further enhance the capability of the group.
Here are a few advantages which every one keeps asking about.

1. Information: Unlike the mail the information on the forum would be there for longer time. In mails one can keep the mails but then searching for information is not easy and is often too specific.
2. Give back to the society: One noble thought was to give the info back to the society. Bikenomads is blessed with very fine riders and all the talk about information was hidden in the mails. With forum alot of valuable information could be viewed.
3. Easy look up: The information on the forum is easy to look. One doesn't have to spend too much time looking up topics of intrests.
4. Ignored mails: It was noticed that many a times some mails were getting ignored due to the fact that there were too many mails. This meant sometimes a good topic would go un-noticed just because there were too many mails.
5. Write less bike more: A lot of bikers just don't want to go through the hassel of reading mails. All they wanna do is ride. With all this mail coming in - a lot of people were ignoring them and at the end missing out rides. Forum provids a way for these kinda people who just want to check if there is a ride. So a section on ride was introduced.
6. Get more attention on mails: Other fact is that if we could shift most of non-ride discussion up to the forum - only relevant mails like Bike trips etc would float in. This would mean that all those who didn't read the mails as they were too many of them now would actually give it importance.
7. Features: Other than normal information - forum helps one do a lotta stuff. One can use smileys (which suggests ur mood), picture, better posting etc.

Nomad and still not on the forum?
Well head to the forum right away. Click on the link.

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And the sales man said that the suit is water resistant.....

Posted In: Bikenomads , Bikes , Trips . By Nalin Bakshi

(Ya right!)

July 4th, 2007

When: 30th June 2007
Route: Pune - Khambatki Ghat - Wai - Parsani Ghat - Panchgani - Mahabaleshwar - Ambenali Ghat - Poladpur - Mahad - Poladpur - Ambenali Ghat - Mahabaleshwar - Panchgani - Parsani Ghat - Wai - Khambatki Ghat - Pune.
Riders ‘n’ Rides: Praveen Shirali on Black P180, Nalin on Silver P180, Me on Black Fiero and Shaymal on Gray Unicorn.
Distance: 465km
Time Taken: 15hrs (6:00am to 9:00pm)

With another weekend coming, we planned a slightly longer ride this time, with the route as Pune - Khambatki Ghat - Wai - Parsani Ghat - Panchgani - Mahabaleshwar - Ambenali Ghat - Poladpur - Mahad - Varandha Ghat - Bhor - Pune. This time we were 4 riders (other 2 dropped out), as compared to 2 of last time. With the route slightly longer an early start was required so we decided to start at 6am.

Even before we could start the ride, it started to rain heavily and by the time we stopped to refuel at Reliance gas station on NH4 we were all drenched (from outside only) with our rain gears trying hard to stop the water outside.

We were maintaining speed around 80km/hr and were approaching Shirval when disaster stuck, suddenly I started to feel my front end has gone heavy, I realised its a puncture so I slowely pulled over to road side only to find the help (puncture repair shop) across the road. While the puncture guy was fixing the puncture, I sms’ed the group about my problem, few minutes later the group was back. The puncture costed us around 30minutes and Rs 60 (due to damaged valve as well).

After we resumed the ride, soon we were at the foot hills of Khambatki Ghat, traffic was heavy today. As we started to climb up, the series of breaks started, to click pictures and enjoy the scenery.

Khambatki Ghat and a waterfall there

Surface of Khambatki Ghat has gone slightly bad and potholes has started to show at various place. After crossing Khambatki Ghat we took the diversion towards Wai, traffic was lesser on this road and still the road condition was as good as it was before rains. After crossing Wai as we started the climb up the Parsani Ghat (good road surface still), the scenery started to go from nice to better to excellent. With clouds all over the place.

Enroute to Wai, Climb up Parsani Ghat

Clouds all over the place was a great sight, it was not so good to click pictures As we climbed up, the cloud cover on road got denser and denser. After we reached at the top we pulled over to Harrison Point to have a view of the valley down.

View from Harrison Point

Due to rains the muddy track on Harrison Point was slightly slushy, thankfully not too many car’s have come here so there was still decent paths for two wheelers to ride on.

Harrison Point and Bikes

After spending some time at Harrison Point, we realised that we are behind the schedule so without wasting much time we headed towards Mapro for lunch. Sadly strawberries season is over and we were forced to have sandwich with hot chocolate.

Flower ar Mapro

After Mapro our target was to reach Poladpur as soon as possible. As we started towards Mahabaleshwar it started to rain with lots of fog on road making it a wonderful ride. After crossing Mahabaleshwar we were on the Ambenali Ghat which was full of waterfalls, fog and heavy rains.

Waterfalls at Ambenali Ghat

Had we stopped at every waterfall to enjoy it, we would have spend almost the whole day here. So we kept pushing each other to carry on and only to stop at some of the best waterfalls.

Fog and Waterfall at Ambenali Ghat

The road surface of Ambenali Ghat was decent almost all the way. There was a small section where landslide was getting cleared up.

Waterfall and bikes at Ambenali Ghat

As we came down towards Poladpur the fog cleared up but no respite from heavy rains. Since we were behind the schedule (thanks to puncture and numerous halts on the way) we scraped the plan to visit Kashedi Ghat and headed towards Mahad. NH17 was having lesser traffic than normal as we ripped on wet NH17 towards Mahad. Just before the toll booth at Mahad we turned towards Varandha Ghat only to be warned by some people about road under water. We thought that we can always ride over such stretch so we carried on. After a km or so we came to a point where a ST Bus, a 4 wheeler and few two wheelers were standing due to overflowing river water running across the road (see picture below). The force was so strong that none of us could think of risking our life and hence decided to turn back. We wasted some 10min before we headed back only to see the road we have come has started to get under water. The intensity of water was still not high so we quickly crossed over it.

We now had two options, either to return back via Mahabaleshwar or try the Mangaon route. We decide to try the later route and hence headed towards Mangaon. On the way we saw almost all of Mahad under water (whatever was visible from road side). Just after crossing Mahad we came to a point on NH17 which was getting under water (see picture below). We knew if we cross this and if we had to turn back from Mangaon, this place will be impossible to cross so we decided to take the safer option and headed back towards Mahabaleshwar. On the way we saw police has already closed this road for more traffic.

Nalin riding through the flood

After a small rip on NH17 we were back at Poladpur. We took a small break for hot tea before we started our climb up Ambenali Ghat. As we climbed up we started to see some beautiful views. Cloud trying to cross over a hill (see picture below bottom left), etc.

Ambenali Ghat

As we reached the top of Ambenali Ghat the fog started to get thicker and thicker with visiblity reduced to 5-6feets. By the time we reached Mahabaleshwar fog was at its peak. (Next day I read in news that this road, Mahabaleshwar - Poladpur, is closed for traffic).

Foggy Mahabaleshwar

On the way we meet with another Nomad, Praveen Sathaye, at Wai. After a small chit chat we all headed back to Pune. Just before Khambatki Ghat we stopped for some evening snacks. As we resumed our return ride, soon it got dark and started to rain little bit. It was difficult to see the road properly due to darkness and rain drops on visor. So it was a slow ride back home for me with speeds around 50-60km/hr as I was worried about not seeing some pothole on road and hitting it at high speed.

After around 15hrs of riding I was back at home totally wet below waist (even when I was wearing rain coat’s pant. Above waist I was almost dry (got wet while taking out camera in rains to click pictures) thanks to my new jacket.

In the end though it was a wonderful ride but I still miss the Mahad - Varandha Ghat - Bhor - Pune leg, which I hope to do sooner than later.

To view image(s) in larger size, click them.

Article by Navendu. (Navendu and I were in same trip)

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Night ride

Chinmay's last ride with us

R One Five

Riding Formations

Leh Trip Log

Back from Dandeli

Hampi Ride

Pulsar 220 Rev'd

Why I bike?

Oh I missed this one!

My new bike!

And the sales man said that the suit is water resistant.....

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