Re: Road trip enquiry


Query Approved

First off, you never POST ANYTHING LIKE THIS on a public forum. Accentuating like this refers to shouting in the forum. I've corrected your errors now, but make sure you don't engage in the same.

Cheers!
VJ

Re: Road trip enquiry

Hahahah.. I remember my thread I wrote the whole thing in bold... Monk was kind enough to allow it and have a word with me... But its the first time i've seen it being corrected and posted... [MENTION=39214]B7ACKTHORN[/MENTION] has a big big big heart...

Anyway, I'm not sure how to advise you on money, i'm sure someone out here can contribute to that...

As far as replying to some of your questions...

The Bike:


One of the most important aspects to a ‘Biking Expedition’, having a bike that you love and love to ride will make a world of difference to your approach to it. For example when I bought my first Enfield Bullet, I really didn’t have to try too hard to ride out long, the bike will tell you through its RPM-Gear relationship that it wants to head out long and that is enough of a push usually to get going for at least day trips. For Indian riding, I would suggest a reliable bike that can give you fair latitude with milage, being a large country with tonnes of inroads and bike-able terrain, you’ll surely be left stuck gauging the fuel gauge in some interesting moments. I find most new generation Indian bikes capable of doing good rides if run at optimum RPMs.

Prep to Ride: (Ignore if you do ride around long normally).


Do not take on massive rides before you experiment and practice short distances on your bike. Short rides will tell you a great deal about riding long. Here are a bunch of things you need to keep in mind on practice rides or short runs;


- Ride for 100kms non-stop to gauge which parts of your body are likely to come under strain.
- Experiment adjusting positions to come to the most comfortable ride position (your ankles, foot, butt, back, neck, hands, head… Everything matters).
- Test out optimum rpms on the bike and get comfortable with it since you’ll be spending most of your time riding in that rpm.
- Buy a good comfortable certified helmet and get comfortable in it. A bad helmet can mean the difference between a good ride and a bad one.
- Yoga or stretch exercises can massively aid in keeping your joints and muscles strong, supple and trustworthy for a ride.

I find having a good biking jacket which is padded serves a multitude of purposes apart from basic protection. I usually to follow a basic rule of layers which would mean I would either peel off or put on a layer depending on the heat/chill factor respectively. The all-weather Jacket is sort of ideal for Indian conditions; built with peelable anti-rain and thermal layers it also usually features a mesh outer construction that keeps the body cool with wind circulation while riding the sweaty Coastal middays or the hot middle lands of India.


A set of Thermals and some water-proofing is essential... I dont mean water resistant material... I mean water proof like duckback rainwear and industry sheet plastic that you can get stitched to cover your baggage... When I did Leh on my RE CI 350, thats all the options we had... but basically you want something that you can cover yourself and your luggage giving you the ability to face some harsh weather conditions and still have something dry to change into (at 16000ft a lot of little things matter). Make sure you are adequately protected from the wind chill factor while riding.

As for luggage, what I normally did was fasten two duffle bags to the sides beside the pillion seat with hooked bunjee chords (readily available in local auto markets). I also kept a small bag fastened on top of the pillion seat – this was also to provide a backrest when needed. Of course this comes with its own mental baggage of worrying about the bag sagging or an unhooked hook… Especially after innumerable number of potholes and rattle rumblers you fly past in our beloved country. Fortunately there are very good saddle bags from Cramster, Rhinox and many other brands available that you can buy and combine that with your own odd bag tied up with bunjee chords. Saddle bags prove to be good buys; it means 15 mins prep time instead of a 45 min prep time every morning, it means clamp on – tighten up and forget it, it means the right pockets for the right things at the right places, it even means giving a drop to an old man for 27 kms (like it happens with me when I'm going solo) and most of all it means you don’t have to look back or hold it in place for the entire ride.

Bike Service Checklist:


Engine Oil Change
Brake Fluid Top-up
Brake Shoe Check
Brake Cable Check
Clutch Cable & Clutch Play Check
Gear Oil Check
Accelerator Cable Check
Chain Link/Chain Play Check
Wheel Balance Check & Tire Air Pressure Check
Carburetor Clean & Idling Check or Fuel Injection Check with Idling
Timing and Point Check (In older bullets its advisable to waterproof the point in some way).
Check for leakages worn out parts
Service and Wash
Chain Lubrication post washing

Best not to ride right after service... best is to service 4-5 days before the ride and moderately ride around to see if any fairing screws left or silly mistakes are made by the mechanic.

Spares to carry with you on the ride: (If applicable)


Clutch Cable
Accelerator Cable
Brake Cable
Extra Engine Oil (Enough to top it up on long rides – not too much)
Chain Clean (I find these very useful. One instance I had a plastic cover squashed between the chain gaps and sprockets, couldn’t stand the ‘Kweeetch Kweeetch’ sound while riding)
Fuses
Chain Link Lock
Head Lamp
Tubeless tyre repair kit with compressed air can or spare tube
Spark Plug
Bungee Hook Chords (Good to have spare in whatever case)

Things you just cannot afford to forget:


Helmet
Original Bike Papers; Registration, Insurance and Emmision certificate (all up to date) kept safe where you keep your money and other important stuff.
A copy of the above to be kept in the bike.
Original Driving Licence
Spare Key
Provided Toolkit and your personal set of tools if you use any.
Hand Sanitizer (when something goes into your eye, you’ll need clean hands and water to wash it off)
Mobile phone (for emergencies at the least)
List of Authorized Service Stations and their phone numbers (applies especially while soloing)
Research about the area you will travel through, our country is diverse and sometimes extreme in both ways; common sense, respecting local cultures and etiquette, Adaptivity, kindness and gratitude are key traits to have in yourself while travelling. You will find that most people return the given respect with a smile.
Update your antivirus… uh… i mean get yourself vaccinated if you are a foreigner (consult your physician and tell him your plans he’ll know what to do).
Get a basic First aid kit.
Mosquito Repellant.
Water Purifying Tablets.
Flashlight, Matches and Pocket Knife.

Some generic medicines that you’ll want to carry with you for unforeseen uncomfortable eventualities, please remember that these meds are India centric and available in India (Disclaimer – These are medicines that I normally make a kit of, I am no doctor – Please consult with your family physician to verify, check recommended dosages and take other specific medicines you might need).


Tablet – IMOL PLUS – For headaches, body aches, throat ache, backpain etc.
Tablet – ONDEM MD 4mg – One tab on tongue to stop vomiting or some such sensation.
Capsule – ELDOPER – For loose motions, watery stool.
Tablet – DOLO 650 – For fever and headaches.
Tablet – NIMEK SPAS – For stomach pain, menstrual pain.
Tablet – STEMETIL – Take one tablet with DOLO 650 at onset of migraine.
Tablet – AZIWOK 500mg – Antibiotic – once a day for sustained cough, cold, throat pain and fever.
Tablet – PAN 40 – For Gastritis, heartburn.

First try something natural like taking a good sleep, eating fibrous meals, practicing yoga or flexibility exercises etc that balance your body’s natural levels… most often than not its this imbalance that is experienced as various illnesses when you’re just out of balance not ill.

For the brave, enterprising and adaptive traveler, the routes in this country can blow our minds with its rich diversity in experience, terrain, foods, people, accommodations, silent interactions with fellow travelers and much much more.

There are many more people more capable of advising you to this particular scenario and there is a ton of really good information right here in the forum... If you cannot search for your queries inside the forum also use keywords in google search with xbhp mentioned... you'll be surprised by the amount of things you can find here... #treasuretrove of information.

Happy Riding bro and keep the forum updated with pics...

Re: Road trip enquiry

Pls go through this completely, understand word by word & then come back for specifics - http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/tourer/1...-motorabl.html

Warning - Pls don't jump to questions before going through the above material!!

Fuel Cost = (Total Km/Fuel efficiency) X cost of 1 liter of fuel
Accommodation = Actuals; depending upon where one stays. If I were to ride, I would simply leave that option to CHD at HVK Message Board & Forums
Food = Actuals; since don't know the consumption hehe

That said [MENTION=52105]Vykier[/MENTION], quite informative, but all these & more are already covered years ago in the above thread

Re: Road trip enquiry

[MENTION=52105]Vykier[/MENTION].. This is some info. :thumbup:
would help many. Thanks.

I think mods should merge this thread with the 2014 Leh thread which is alread up and other could also benefit from the info.

Re: Road trip enquiry

Just couldn't help man... at home having a drink alone so you know...

Re: Road trip enquiry

Thanks everyone. And tell something about avenger mods please.