Topic Approved.

Nice thought there novice, though i would not be able to join but yes just a suggestion from my side is try to avoid night riding, instead you can make a move in the morning wee hours

Yes i do agree with Andy..pls avoid night riding... Start off early in the morning say 5-6 Am...and reach as soon as possible... Its better to reach ur destination or to take a pit stop before its dark...
good luck on ur ride and ride safe...

Night riding is fun if you're up on the awareness game. Trumps the boring daytime ANYDAY

post across other forums as well - someone would surely be leaving mumbai

or hang around at a dhaba at panvel till you see a group leave, then tag along !!

best wishes all the same

Old novice:
If u really game for a night ride i suggest you take NH4 all the way till Belgaum, and then a right turn from there to GOA which is abt 100 kms. Sounds crazy isnt it , but let me tell you its much safer at night than the NH17 where you will see no lane descipline and more over mad truck drivers. NH4 is a butter smooth route and easily doable at nite time. I had been to Belgaum this Jan and i can vouch for the road quality (Check my album). Moreover no ghats on NH4 till Belgaum. I guess only one ghat you will come across called Amboli or something i dont know the exact name plse check. but thts only after Belgaum.

Belgaum is abt 500km from Thane where i stay. Where are you starting from?

The return leg you can come via NH17 since most part you will cover in day time.

Just a thought. take care ride safe.

Cheers.

I am in Andheri. From my home, Panaji (after crossing the bridge) was 560 kms, if I remember right. I was thinking of starting 5:30 in the evening. Taking night halt in Ratnagiri, though I would have travel additional 20 kms. for Ratnagiri. And then starting in the morning from Ratnagiri.
Waise I have a train reservation along with friends. Train would leave from CST at 10 pm and would throw us on Margao at 7 in the morning, which is very easy and convenient.
But somehow I feel if I dont go on bike now, I wont be able to go ever.

Hi!!

we were some of us who did the exact same thing....Friday evening left for Goa and returned on Sunday by midnight.

NH17 is a route that can be taken while coming back and as Pushkar(Rak>>>) suggest should take the NH4 to Belgaum and then to Goa from there if u are planning a midnight ride..the roads are better there as u get the GQ.

Recommend to leave by Friday evening by 10 so that u reach Goa by morning and then chill in Goa the Saturday and relax proper on Saturday night to help u return early from there to Mumbai...Leave Goa Early as it will help u negotiate the smaller roads at Vengurla etc...

Regards

I have decided to go to Goa from Mumbai all alone. I have not done a long trip alone before. Although I have taken my LML vespa scooter from Delhi to Bareilly, Bareilly to Lucknow, Bareilly to Meerut etc., but they were 200-250 kms. trip and were done in day time and more importantly I was 5-6 years younger than.

Although I have done few long trips from my car, Swift LXI. Ahmedabad - Mumbai, Mumbai - Goa - Mumbai. But none from my bike

Now I have a 5 year old Pulsar 150. I would like to believe that I drive super fast and have not taken good care of my bike.

I would do the following replacements in my bike.
1. Both the tyre tubes
2. Clutch plates
3. Oil
4. Speedometer - Although my meter tells the speed it does not tell the distance
5. Battery (depends on the advice by the mechanic)

Is there anything else that you could suggest

If the tyres are close to replacement, go for tubeless..
MRF Zapper.. just 2-300 bucks more than tubed tyres..

thanks nitin, thats a valuable advice. i didnt know that

I've done the Bombay-Goa route 4 times --> last trip was on the way to Kanyakumari. We left Mumbai at 5 am (Bandra) and reached Margao by 6 pm.

The road is really good and now is the perfect time to go. Here's the route for you
FromToDistanceDist bet
stopTot Dist CoveredStop
#Dep TimeArr TimeDurSpeed
(kmph)Break24th

SatBandraPanvel50504:305:200:5060PanvelPen29.279.279.215:205:500:30600:10PenMahad92.0892.08171.2826:007:301:30600:15MahadPoladpur14.19185.477:458:000:1560PoladpurKhed34.9149.1220.3838:009:001:00490:10KhedChiplun21.7421.74242.1249:109:4510:35400:10ChiplunSangameshwar46.846.8288.9259:5510:100:15400:15SangameshwarHathkamba34.934.9323.82610:2511:150:50400:15HathkambaRajapur47.4147.41371.23711:3012:401:10400:20RajapurKankauli6262433.23813:0014:001:00600:15KankauliSawantwadi6363496.23914:1515:451:30600:15SawantwadiState Border3838534.231016:0017:001:00600:15State BorderMapusa2222556.2317:1517:450:30500:15MapusaPanaji11.3567.5318:0018:300:3030PanajiMargao25.8837.18593.411118:3019:150:456010:45

We reached about a hour ahead of schedule as our Thunderbirds were able to go through the ghat sections at 65 to 70 instead of at 40 as calculated. But you can use this as a template for your journey.

Be aware that if you want to reach Goa in one day, you MUST leave Mumbai before 7 am or the traffic to Panvel will slow you down. If you want to break journey then you will get good places to stay at Mahad, Chiplun and Sangameshwar.

I'd always advise a one-day trip, so preferably leave at 4/4:40 am

It's chilly until 8 am, and then extremely hot after 11:30 so a loose shirt is good (don't advise a leather jacket as you will boil -- the best is to get a cramster/Joe Rocket biking jacket and you can remain cool as well as protected, however, my first 3 trips were all with loose shirts) -- you need this to prevent sunburn and to keep yourself cool.

There are a lot of petrol stations along the way, however try not to dip below 1/4 tank between each of the places I've listed -- you don't want to be stuck without fuel!

There are loads of signs along the way, so you shouldn't get lost -- keep your eyes out after Pen though, there is a left turn you need to take that is not well marked.

There are also quite a few villages with speedbumps and rumblers, so stay alert.

There are loads of good dhabas along the way, so you won't need to worry about where to eat.

Carry your bike papers for the Mah-Goa crossing.

hmmm... that didn't come across quite as I planned!
Here's the details:
Bombay - Panvel --> 50 km
Panvel - Pen --> 30 km
Pen - Mahad --> 92 km
Mahad - Poladpur --> 14 km
Poladpur - Khed --> 35 km (start of Poladpur ghat)
Khed - Chilpun --> 22 km
Chiplun - Sangameshwar --> 47 km (Midway point: 300 km)
Sangameshwar - Hathkamba --> 35 km
Hathkamba - Rajapur --> 48 km
Rajapur - Kankauli --> 62 km
Kankauli - Sawantwadi --> 63 km
Sawantwadi - State Border --> 38 km
State Border - Mapusa --> 22 km
Mapusa - Panjim --> 12 km
Panjim - Margao --> 26 km

I agree with Andy and Abhishek --> night driving on the NH17 Goa stretch is a big no-no, there are loads of ghats and the Bombay - Goa tourist buses drive at top-speed.

One place to watch out for is before Manmad - there's always a Sumo accident there. It's quite difficult for a four-wheeler to overtake on this 2-lane road, but for a two-wheeler, overtaking is quite do-able: just keep a lookout for another guy trying to overtake YOU!!

Another place to be wary is Sawantwadi -- this has narrow lanes that have huge buses speeding through.

Goa' my native place n i've been to Goa many times on bike..
Riding to Goa at night is ok only if it's a group of 2 or more bikers. Solo night ride is a bit risky...

My opinions...
atch out for road till Wadkhal fron Pen.. Coz if u plan to leave in the eve..u'll get lots of traffic in that region n people in this region are far away from discipline..
Once u cross Wadkhal n take the diversion to Goa..The roads are considerably free and u wont find any on coming tourists buses but will find lots of them overtaking u from Behind...

Be careful in the ghats, specialy in Parshuram ghat. Make sure ur headlights are well set before leaving.

My opinion would be to reach Hathkhamba just before Ratnagiri and on NH17 itself. There's this hotel called ALankar. You can stay there for the night and then leave as early as u want in the next morning. I have done this thing and i knw it works that's suggesting u.

Even if u leave Hathkhamba by 4 in the morning, u'll easily make it too Goa befor afternoon and enjoy the rest of the day...


All the best brother and enjoy ur journey..

Dont forget to post pics and logs once u come back..