[NEWS INDIA]: Rider on the storm - xBhp.com : The Global Indian Biking Community

rachitkohli · 12-21-2011, 03:30 PM

Rider on the storm

Gokulram Vasanthi who rode from Chennai to Marsimek-La on a low-powered Bajaj M-80

Gokulram Vasanthi has a strange sense of humour. For a road adventure all the way from Chennai to the forbidding Himalayan passes of Khardung-La and Marsimek-La and back, he bypassed a 350 cc Thunderbird and a 250 cc Jawa Model ‘B' and settled on a low-powered 76 cc Bajaj M-80. “I have gone on long rides on those big bikes. This time, I wanted to do something different,” explains Gokulram..
Gokulram wanted to ride to Kanyakumari and turn back towards Delhi, where his friends from Madras Bulls would join him with their bigger bikes — transported from Chennai — and the group would head to Leh and the passes. Restoring the dilapidated 1995-model M-80, which involved installing a second-hand bore procured from Pudupet, and getting a fitness certificate from the RTO resulted in a delay. Gokulram had to revise his timetable and his route. On July 6, he set off from Chennai towards Ongole.
With barely sufficient time to join his friends who had taken a train to Delhi, Gokulram had to make do with brief stops at villages, cities and towns on the central route. When he entered Sagar at night, he sensed warnings of an electrical problem. The following morning, there was no sign of the glitch. The bike started and ran without any hitch all the way to Jhansi and then to Gwalior.
Stranded on the highway

“When I left Gwalior, I experienced an unexpected and severe cloudburst, the bike's wiring got fired up. It was a Sunday and I was stranded on the highway with a bike in disrepair. As it was futile to look for a mechanic, I settled down to re-wire the electrical system,” he recalls . “By then, the hope of meeting my friends at Delhi was dashed. They were on their way. Bypassing Delhi, I headed towards Amritsar via Rohtak. They were sight-seeing in Amritsar when I caught up with them.”
Gokulram now faced a different challenge: keeping pace with his friends and their powerful machines. Rajasekhar and Hari, who rode 500cc Royal Enfield bikes and Vineeth, who was on a Yezdi Roadking; and later at Leh, Sankar who joined the gang with his Pulsar.
When they rode on the Pathankot-Udhampur route, Gokulram was not handicapped by the bike's lack of speed. “Despite a top speed of 60 kph, the M-80 managed very well,” says the proud owner. The group stayed at Patni Top. Gokulram and Vineeth left earlier. Due to a heavy downpour on the way to Srinagar, Vineeth and Gokulram were separated. Reaching Srinagar first, Gokulram booked a boat house where the rest joined him.
Reaching Leh via Kargil, they explored places around Leh for two weeks. Reaching Khardung-La gave them a high. But the more daunting Marsimek-La still lay ahead. “While on the way to Marsimek-La, we were stretched to the limits. There were no roads, only trails. The path was straight and steep. At five points, we had to get down, accelerate our bikes and run along with them. It's still a wonder how my M-80 withstood this ordeal.
As oxygen levels were low at Marsimek-La, a pass believed by many bikers to be higher than Khardung-La, we had to return after spending just five minutes savouring the success of our expedition.”
On the return journey, Gokulram's biker buddies bid him goodbye at Delhi. “Between Ajmer and Indore, I was caught in a flood.” With the Chittorgarh river in spate, he halted for three days before embarking on an all-night ride towards Pune.
After Goa and Mangalore, he was heading towards Thrissur when the engine valve broke. “I pushed the bike for 20 km to reach the city. After much difficulty, I located a second-hand auto spares market where I found a reed valve.” Riding through Thiruvananthapuram, he reached Kanyakumari.
On the way to Chennai, he was met by 40 bikers from Madras Bulls at Mamandur (near Chengalpattu). For the short trip back home on August 21, he was accompanied by this motorcade. The Madras Bulls have honoured Gokulram in another way: they call him ‘Terror'. For them, it's additional proof that nothing daunts this soft-spoken, 25 year-old biker boy.
In 2005, he lost three fingers on his right hand while performing a procedure that is linked to his mechanical engineering course. Within six months, he overcame the handicap and learnt to accelerate a bike with just two fingers.

Source : The Hindu : Life & Style / Motoring : Rider on the storm

P.S.
I met him at Drass, on my way back from Leh. Infact, his friend mentioned here 'Vineeth' who got separated, stayed with us for a night in Govt. Guest House's, Dinning Room at Kargil. We couldnt get accomodation to stay at kargil, so had to request a care-taker & managed to get a corner in Dinning Hall. Later Vineeth joined us on Yezdi RoadKing. He was telling us, when we go further we may meet his friend coming down on M80 & convey the message, that Vineeth is waiting for them at Kargils guest house. I was shocked..!!

The next morning we heading towards Drass & further, I see a guy in green florescent, riding a M80 with TN number plate. Without a single doubt, I came in his way & stopped him

. Even he gave me a weird look, initially.

He thanked, after me telling him about his friends whereabouts though. Crazy Guys ..!! Thats all I can say

sunilg · 12-22-2011, 12:05 PM

Inspirational!

proves that you don't necessarily need a higher CC bike to do this kind of stuff....just your will power is enough.

rachitkohli · 12-22-2011, 12:17 PM

Yeah.. This is an answer for anyone who is confused with "Can my/this bike go to Leh"

Juris · 12-22-2011, 12:34 PM

Maverick

Kudos to his enthusiasm.

Rajarshi · 12-22-2011, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rachitkohli

Rider on the storm

Gokulram Vasanthi who rode from Chennai to Marsimek-La on a low-powered Bajaj M-80

Gokulram Vasanthi has a strange sense of humour. For a road adventure all the way from Chennai to the forbidding Himalayan passes of Khardung-La and Marsimek-La and back, he bypassed a 350 cc Thunderbird and a 250 cc Jawa Model ‘B' and settled on a low-powered 76 cc Bajaj M-80. “I have gone on long rides on those big bikes. This time, I wanted to do something different,” explains Gokulram..
Gokulram wanted to ride to Kanyakumari and turn back towards Delhi, where his friends from Madras Bulls would join him with their bigger bikes — transported from Chennai — and the group would head to Leh and the passes. Restoring the dilapidated 1995-model M-80, which involved installing a second-hand bore procured from Pudupet, and getting a fitness certificate from the RTO resulted in a delay. Gokulram had to revise his timetable and his route. On July 6, he set off from Chennai towards Ongole.
With barely sufficient time to join his friends who had taken a train to Delhi, Gokulram had to make do with brief stops at villages, cities and towns on the central route. When he entered Sagar at night, he sensed warnings of an electrical problem. The following morning, there was no sign of the glitch. The bike started and ran without any hitch all the way to Jhansi and then to Gwalior.
Stranded on the highway

“When I left Gwalior, I experienced an unexpected and severe cloudburst, the bike's wiring got fired up. It was a Sunday and I was stranded on the highway with a bike in disrepair. As it was futile to look for a mechanic, I settled down to re-wire the electrical system,” he recalls . “By then, the hope of meeting my friends at Delhi was dashed. They were on their way. Bypassing Delhi, I headed towards Amritsar via Rohtak. They were sight-seeing in Amritsar when I caught up with them.”
Gokulram now faced a different challenge: keeping pace with his friends and their powerful machines. Rajasekhar and Hari, who rode 500cc Royal Enfield bikes and Vineeth, who was on a Yezdi Roadking; and later at Leh, Sankar who joined the gang with his Pulsar.
When they rode on the Pathankot-Udhampur route, Gokulram was not handicapped by the bike's lack of speed. “Despite a top speed of 60 kph, the M-80 managed very well,” says the proud owner. The group stayed at Patni Top. Gokulram and Vineeth left earlier. Due to a heavy downpour on the way to Srinagar, Vineeth and Gokulram were separated. Reaching Srinagar first, Gokulram booked a boat house where the rest joined him.
Reaching Leh via Kargil, they explored places around Leh for two weeks. Reaching Khardung-La gave them a high. But the more daunting Marsimek-La still lay ahead. “While on the way to Marsimek-La, we were stretched to the limits. There were no roads, only trails. The path was straight and steep. At five points, we had to get down, accelerate our bikes and run along with them. It's still a wonder how my M-80 withstood this ordeal.
As oxygen levels were low at Marsimek-La, a pass believed by many bikers to be higher than Khardung-La, we had to return after spending just five minutes savouring the success of our expedition.”
On the return journey, Gokulram's biker buddies bid him goodbye at Delhi. “Between Ajmer and Indore, I was caught in a flood.” With the Chittorgarh river in spate, he halted for three days before embarking on an all-night ride towards Pune.
After Goa and Mangalore, he was heading towards Thrissur when the engine valve broke. “I pushed the bike for 20 km to reach the city. After much difficulty, I located a second-hand auto spares market where I found a reed valve.” Riding through Thiruvananthapuram, he reached Kanyakumari.
On the way to Chennai, he was met by 40 bikers from Madras Bulls at Mamandur (near Chengalpattu). For the short trip back home on August 21, he was accompanied by this motorcade. The Madras Bulls have honoured Gokulram in another way: they call him ‘Terror'. For them, it's additional proof that nothing daunts this soft-spoken, 25 year-old biker boy.
In 2005, he lost three fingers on his right hand while performing a procedure that is linked to his mechanical engineering course. Within six months, he overcame the handicap and learnt to accelerate a bike with just two fingers.

Source : The Hindu : Life & Style / Motoring : Rider on the storm

P.S.
I met him at Drass, on my way back from Leh. Infact, his friend mentioned here 'Vineeth' who got separated, stayed with us for a night in Govt. Guest House's, Dinning Room at Kargil. We couldnt get accomodation to stay at kargil, so had to request a care-taker & managed to get a corner in Dinning Hall. Later Vineeth joined us on Yezdi RoadKing. He was telling us, when we go further we may meet his friend coming down on M80 & convey the message, that Vineeth is waiting for them at Kargils guest house. I was shocked..!!

The next morning we heading towards Drass & further, I see a guy in green florescent, riding a M80 with TN number plate. Without a single doubt, I came in his way & stopped him

. Even he gave me a weird look, initially.

He thanked, after me telling him about his friends whereabouts though. Crazy Guys ..!! Thats all I can say

awwwwwsmmmm....

Guru_DTSi · 12-22-2011, 12:56 PM

Another example of "It's not about the ride, but more about the rider"....

vikhyath · 12-22-2011, 01:56 PM

Very Inspirational. Sure got me thinking of attempting something like that!

Lonely Rider · 12-22-2011, 02:03 PM

Truly Inspirational. Awesome.

eliksir · 12-22-2011, 02:37 PM

insane stuff. crazy guy.

Prakritij · 12-22-2011, 02:46 PM

no words to express man. I even shudder thinking to take a M80 out of City and you are Leh-ing it. Kudos bro

RIDE SAFE

12-21-2011, 03:30 PM	#1 (permalink)
rachitkohli HardRider Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: New Mumbai Posts: 2,009	Rider on the storm Rider on the storm Gokulram Vasanthi who rode from Chennai to Marsimek-La on a low-powered Bajaj M-80 Gokulram Vasanthi has a strange sense of humour. For a road adventure all the way from Chennai to the forbidding Himalayan passes of Khardung-La and Marsimek-La and back, he bypassed a 350 cc Thunderbird and a 250 cc Jawa Model ‘B' and settled on a low-powered 76 cc Bajaj M-80. “I have gone on long rides on those big bikes. This time, I wanted to do something different,” explains Gokulram.. Gokulram wanted to ride to Kanyakumari and turn back towards Delhi, where his friends from Madras Bulls would join him with their bigger bikes — transported from Chennai — and the group would head to Leh and the passes. Restoring the dilapidated 1995-model M-80, which involved installing a second-hand bore procured from Pudupet, and getting a fitness certificate from the RTO resulted in a delay. Gokulram had to revise his timetable and his route. On July 6, he set off from Chennai towards Ongole. With barely sufficient time to join his friends who had taken a train to Delhi, Gokulram had to make do with brief stops at villages, cities and towns on the central route. When he entered Sagar at night, he sensed warnings of an electrical problem. The following morning, there was no sign of the glitch. The bike started and ran without any hitch all the way to Jhansi and then to Gwalior. Stranded on the highway “When I left Gwalior, I experienced an unexpected and severe cloudburst, the bike's wiring got fired up. It was a Sunday and I was stranded on the highway with a bike in disrepair. As it was futile to look for a mechanic, I settled down to re-wire the electrical system,” he recalls . “By then, the hope of meeting my friends at Delhi was dashed. They were on their way. Bypassing Delhi, I headed towards Amritsar via Rohtak. They were sight-seeing in Amritsar when I caught up with them.” Gokulram now faced a different challenge: keeping pace with his friends and their powerful machines. Rajasekhar and Hari, who rode 500cc Royal Enfield bikes and Vineeth, who was on a Yezdi Roadking; and later at Leh, Sankar who joined the gang with his Pulsar. When they rode on the Pathankot-Udhampur route, Gokulram was not handicapped by the bike's lack of speed. “Despite a top speed of 60 kph, the M-80 managed very well,” says the proud owner. The group stayed at Patni Top. Gokulram and Vineeth left earlier. Due to a heavy downpour on the way to Srinagar, Vineeth and Gokulram were separated. Reaching Srinagar first, Gokulram booked a boat house where the rest joined him. Reaching Leh via Kargil, they explored places around Leh for two weeks. Reaching Khardung-La gave them a high. But the more daunting Marsimek-La still lay ahead. “While on the way to Marsimek-La, we were stretched to the limits. There were no roads, only trails. The path was straight and steep. At five points, we had to get down, accelerate our bikes and run along with them. It's still a wonder how my M-80 withstood this ordeal. As oxygen levels were low at Marsimek-La, a pass believed by many bikers to be higher than Khardung-La, we had to return after spending just five minutes savouring the success of our expedition.” On the return journey, Gokulram's biker buddies bid him goodbye at Delhi. “Between Ajmer and Indore, I was caught in a flood.” With the Chittorgarh river in spate, he halted for three days before embarking on an all-night ride towards Pune. After Goa and Mangalore, he was heading towards Thrissur when the engine valve broke. “I pushed the bike for 20 km to reach the city. After much difficulty, I located a second-hand auto spares market where I found a reed valve.” Riding through Thiruvananthapuram, he reached Kanyakumari. On the way to Chennai, he was met by 40 bikers from Madras Bulls at Mamandur (near Chengalpattu). For the short trip back home on August 21, he was accompanied by this motorcade. The Madras Bulls have honoured Gokulram in another way: they call him ‘Terror'. For them, it's additional proof that nothing daunts this soft-spoken, 25 year-old biker boy. In 2005, he lost three fingers on his right hand while performing a procedure that is linked to his mechanical engineering course. Within six months, he overcame the handicap and learnt to accelerate a bike with just two fingers. Source : The Hindu : Life & Style / Motoring : Rider on the storm P.S. I met him at Drass, on my way back from Leh. Infact, his friend mentioned here 'Vineeth' who got separated, stayed with us for a night in Govt. Guest House's, Dinning Room at Kargil. We couldnt get accomodation to stay at kargil, so had to request a care-taker & managed to get a corner in Dinning Hall. Later Vineeth joined us on Yezdi RoadKing. He was telling us, when we go further we may meet his friend coming down on M80 & convey the message, that Vineeth is waiting for them at Kargils guest house. I was shocked..!! The next morning we heading towards Drass & further, I see a guy in green florescent, riding a M80 with TN number plate. Without a single doubt, I came in his way & stopped him . Even he gave me a weird look, initially. He thanked, after me telling him about his friends whereabouts though. Crazy Guys ..!! Thats all I can say __________________ ..»».. I will rather ride my Bike thinking about God, then sitting in a Temple thinking about my Bike.. »».. Mumbai - Leh - Mumbai June '09 :On xBHP: Ride With me to Leh Blog : Mumbai - Leh - Mumbai : 21 Days, 6500kms. Journey to Heaven..June'09 GreatIndianRide - West India on a 110cc for over a month 2nd, Mumbai-Leh-Mumbai : July'11 (blog coming soon)

12-22-2011, 12:05 PM	#2 (permalink)
sunilg Super Moderator Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Ghaziabad, UP, India. Posts: 5,075	Inspirational! proves that you don't necessarily need a higher CC bike to do this kind of stuff....just your will power is enough. __________________ (Been There Done That) x 3.25 Join xBhp On

12-22-2011, 12:17 PM	#3 (permalink)
rachitkohli HardRider Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: New Mumbai Posts: 2,009	Yeah.. This is an answer for anyone who is confused with "Can my/this bike go to Leh" __________________ ..»».. I will rather ride my Bike thinking about God, then sitting in a Temple thinking about my Bike.. »».. Mumbai - Leh - Mumbai June '09 :On xBHP: Ride With me to Leh Blog : Mumbai - Leh - Mumbai : 21 Days, 6500kms. Journey to Heaven..June'09 GreatIndianRide - West India on a 110cc for over a month 2nd, Mumbai-Leh-Mumbai : July'11 (blog coming soon)

12-22-2011, 12:56 PM	#6 (permalink)
Guru_DTSi Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 395	Another example of "It's not about the ride, but more about the rider".... __________________ Some of the Happiest people in the world don't have everything. They just make the best of everything life brings their way !!! Stay happy, Smile always :)

12-22-2011, 02:03 PM	#8 (permalink)
Lonely Rider Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 251	Truly Inspirational. Awesome. __________________ RE Thunderbird Since Jan 09 onwards Suzuki Zeus Jan -Dec 08 -- Sold Honda Unicorn Oct 06-Dec 08 -- Sold New edition : BSA Mach 19" 6 Speed-- Sold Schwinn Sporterra -- Up and running

12-22-2011, 12:34 PM	#4 (permalink)
Juris Soar high , if not fly on two wheels Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 334	Maverick Kudos to his enthusiasm.

12-22-2011, 01:56 PM	#7 (permalink)
vikhyath Senior Member Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 463	Very Inspirational. Sure got me thinking of attempting something like that!

12-22-2011, 02:37 PM	#9 (permalink)
eliksir Elixir of life Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Calicut Posts: 673	insane stuff. crazy guy. __________________ CRAP Blog

12-22-2011, 02:46 PM	#10 (permalink)
Prakritij Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Kerala Posts: 634	no words to express man. I even shudder thinking to take a M80 out of City and you are Leh-ing it. Kudos bro RIDE SAFE

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
[What Bike]: Honda CBR250 R or RE Classic 500 Desert Storm	sasen	What Bike?	27	05-24-2012 04:13 PM
[Ownership Thread]: 2011 Classic 500 Desert Storm	dctmfoo	Motorcycle Ownership Experiences	26	04-14-2012 05:00 PM
[Ownership Thread]: Royal Enfield Desert Storm!	me is rossi	Motorcycle Ownership Experiences	41	12-22-2011 01:45 PM
Desert Storm 2010	sudev	Motorsports	5	11-28-2009 05:16 PM
STORM is here!!!! and Thanks to those who made it happen!	KwokFist	Pit Stop:General Biking Discussion	56	09-30-2009 10:03 PM

Register Now for FREE!
Are you registered on xBhp yet? If not, do so now and start participating to be able to share photos and experiences with other members. It will also enable to you have a chance to be a part of xBhp contests and roadtrips in the future! Username: Password: Confirm Password: E-Mail: Confirm E-Mail: Birthday: Image Verification I agree to forum rules