Whenever I have a few moments to myself, I thank God for the sort of life that I have been given. I get to ride motorcycles, something I love doing. Being a Motovlogger, I get to share my stories with my fellow riders and hence the name, StoryOnWheels. I have ridden to quite a few places and I keep doing that but sometimes, I take up a ride simply to meet up with my followers. This helps me to connect with the people who have made me who I am today and I get to ride too. Best of both worlds.
Due to different reasons, including the pandemic, riding has been less lately and I have missed being able to organize meetups and get-togethers. But things have improved and my old life is slowly making its way back to me. That said, I am not sitting idly by and working to create those opportunities for myself. One of those was the chance to be a CEATxPlorer for xBhp. Imagine my joy when I got a call letting me know that I have been selected!
For a while, I was planning a ride across Maharashtra organizing meetups in different cities. Since it was monsoon season, I knew that a ride like this would be difficult but then, it is a beautiful experience too which more than makes up for that slight inconvenience. After all, the monsoon is the best season to explore the western ghats of Maharashtra. That’s when I came across xBhp and CEAT’s #CEATxPlorer project and registered myself.
That was a little foreword about this ride and now, on to the real deal. Since the conditions were going to be tricky, I was in preparation mode. For a ride like this, you not only have to prepare your motorcycle properly, you have to prepare yourself as well both physically and mentally. CEAT was kind enough to send me the tyres for my Dominar 400 10 days before the start of the trip so that I can break them in and get accustomed to them as well.
About the tyres, I went with CEAT Zoom Rad X1 as they match the Dominar 400 tyre size. I had heard a lot about these tyres but I wanted to see if the hype was real. And boy was it real! This ride also served as a platform for me to review these tyres in different conditions and some really tricky conditions. After the ride, I was more than happy with their performance but more on that later.
Everything was ready and it was time for me to begin the ride. Despite breaking the tyres in, I was cautious in the first couple of hundred kilometres. But that was more due to the luggage that has a significant impact on the dynamics of a motorcycle. The tyres, well, they were awesome right off the bat and inspired a lot of confidence allowing me to keep a decent pace despite being wary of both the added weight and the weather.
My ride started from Mumbai and the destination for Day 1 was Mahabaleshwar and so, I was looking at around 320 km of riding. The distance was not a bother because I have done more than that in one day. What had me worried a little was the weather which was looking ominous right from the moment I started the ride.
Most of my ride consisted of highways followed by some twisties as I inched closer to Mahabaleshwar. Riding the NH-4 was a delight. The Bajaj Dominar 400 is a fantastic sports tourer and the CEAT Zoom Rad X1 is a fantastic sports-touring tyre. The straight-line stability and the braking stability is simply amazing.
Even in the rain, I found the tyres to be adequately grippy. So I did not have to worry about anything else apart from simply enjoying the ride, drinking in the scenery and capturing some good photos for all of you guys. Once the highways gave way to the twisties, it got even better. Mahabaleshwar is a beautiful place in any season but it is simply breathtaking in the monsoon. The journey took me 10 hours but it was very well worth it. The whole vibe of the place just reels you in and you are compelled to explore as much as you can.
I was already at cloud 9 after the first day of riding and I was even more excited for day 2. I was going to ride from Mahabaleshwar to Satara, exploring some of the most beautiful places in the Satara region, and get to witness the amazing views of Koyna backwaters and the dense forests of the Western Ghats. While the excitement fought to keep me awake, the fatigue finally caught up and I went to sleep.
The next day, I started my ride a little later than usual. I did that because I wanted to witness the beauty of Mahabaleshwar and not simply escape it by leaving at dawn. This also set the stage for the remainder of the ride as I got to witness the full beauty of the mountains along with the Koyna river. I did not have a lot of distance to cover so I had time on hand, time that I utilized in taking frequent photo breaks. This resulted in me taking at least 10 breaks within a span of 150 km. It is that beautiful!
Now even though the ride was fun for the most part, I did encounter a really bad patch of road. I did encounter many moderately bad ones but this one was really tricky. Despite that, the tyres took everything the road threw at them and came out on top. Witnessing them in action even in such tricky conditions helped me decide that these will be the tyres that I’ll use on my Dominar 400 from then on.
Finally, after a day full of riding and taking photos, I made it to my destination but it was pretty late and I had some plans for the next day, so I decided to get some rest. Day 3 of the ride entailed visiting some waterfalls along with The Valley of Flowers also known as the Kaas Plateau. This place is just around 25 km from Satara City and if you’re around the area, this is one place that you just have to visit. Kaas Plateau also became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012.
After some sightseeing and photography, it was time to take up the other part of this ride- meeting fellow riders. I arranged the meetup at the famous For Ajinkya Tara. The meetup was amazing and it is always a treat to get to meet like-minded people and talk about shared interests which in this case is singular- motorcycling. After some great conversations with the riders of Satara City, I made my way back to my stay and rested up for the next day’s ride.
The destination for the day was Pune. It is known as the Oxford of the East as it has several educational institutions. But Pune is also one of the most active cities in India when it comes to motorcycling. A lot of my followers and fellow riders hail from this city so a meetup here was obvious. I arranged the meetup at Destination Moto and it was a great sight to behold the riders of different age groups engaged in animated conversations about motorcycling. I also got to share stories from my previous rides along with this one.
Motorcycling means a lot to me and it has played an important role in defining who I am but so have the people who have supported me and trusted me in all these years. That is the reason why meeting with them is almost always a part of my rides. After Pune, I was to head back home and so, this ride came to a happy conclusion. I would like to thank xBhp and CEAT for this opportunity and, of course, for the fantastic set of tyres. I will be back with more stories next time!
Tyre Review: CEAT ZOOM RAD X1
I had a great time with the CEAT Zoom Rad X1 tyres and to the extent that these will be my go-to tyres for my Dominar 400. The Dominar is a motorcycle that made its name for sports touring and for that purpose, the Zoom Rad X1 tyres are just perfect. The radial construction means long jaunts on the highways are effortless even at triple-digit speeds. The stability and the confidence these tyres inspire is something else. Even when you have to brake hard from a decent speed, they never lose a step and the ABS rarely gets to intervene. Then, in the corners, they behave like tyres meant for much sportier riding. You can just lean on them further and further and yet, you will hit your limits much before the tyres do. Despite all their dry grip, CEAT Zoom Rad X1 tyres are a revelation in wet conditions. You can tell the grooves serve both form and function as they help dissipate water from under the tyres giving you enough confidence to maintain a decent pace in the rain too. With all that, I can easily say that CEAT Zoom RAD X1 is perhaps the best tyre for the Dominar 400. And if you have one, then these tyres surely deserve a look!
