Nice pictures and log Dazzler. Thanks for Sharing.

How is the bike on the highways? What was a comfortable cruising speed?
What was the fuel efficiency for the bike on the tour?

8 hours(10:30 AM to 6:30 PM) from Pune to Poladpur is a long time. The ghat road must have been really bad.

OK.. I have read 2 days of your log... one correction.. The Bus stand @ Mumbai Naka, Nasik is Mahamarg Bus Stand.. not CBS(Central Bus stand). CBS is 2.5km away from that place.

On day 2.. the better route (And from now on... my recommended route) to take for reaching Pune from Dhule was through Malegaon, Manmad, Kopargaon, Shirdi, Ahmednagar, Pune. I figured this out on my Lucknow ride. It took me just 4 hrs and 30 min to ride from Pune to Malegaon(300km).. and another 30-35 minutes for Dhule(58km). (Including 4 tea stops in between for covering the 360odd km). Apart from the odd bad stretch of 500 meters 3 times.. this road was the best you can get.(This side of a 4-lane highway) We have to thank Balasaheb Vikhe Patil for the excellent roads inside Ahmednagar district and try to use those roads at any and all oppurtunity. NH50 is shit in comparison.

As a guideline.. Just to avoid the NH50 blues.. Always remember to "NEVER GO TOWARDS SANGAMNER". (I have done Pune - Nasik by NH50 ample times to know this ).

Edit: Just read day 3: Another practice I follow and recommend is that never ride with the person you asked directions from. Even if the guy claims to be a policeman.. you never know anybody's intentions. Thats why, Truckers are the safest people to ask directions from (when at tea stops @ Dhabas). If you happen to ask for directions from people on bikes.. make sure that the bike is slower than yours . Just confirm what you already know and zoom ahead .

Truckers in Maharashtra are very well behaved.. can't say the same about the ones plying in MP (on NH3 on the other side of Dhule).

@Hyperion I have seen that road in (what I believe) its worst condition. But I still feel 8 hours was a bit too slow. Considering the fact he was trying to avoid night riding but still managed to reach only by 12.30 am.

@ antz: Thanks for the Detailed Correction i agree about the Correction in the names wrt Nashik part. also i agree with the route from dhule to pune. though i would have missed a lot of thing which i saw on that route which was amazing, only the later NH 50 was in very very bad shape..
however about asking the direction to unknown people i asked that guy only to confirm that i was going on right route cause 90 % people i asked the route said poladpur was max 45 kms from mahabaleshwar which turned out to be 60 kms. and secondly i could see that i would be entering a village after a few turn.. speed factor this is my first bike till date. u can say i learned how to ride a bike on this one. i am still not comfortable doing off-road(a Little bit). and off-roading while in ghat. never had experienced such thing untill day 3 of my first tour.

@hyperion: Thanks mate. the bike was amazing for the overall journey i used petrol worth 2200. day 1 i was cruzing comfortable at 107 for almost 10 mins on NH 3 later i slowed down to 95-98 only to keep it in average but going above 100 was not big deal 7-8 RPM on 5th gear can take you to 107 kmph speed. and the red line start's at 9.5 rmp. i got the best average on day 3 from pune onwards as i was using Shell oil i so i decided to put shell petrol i filled up the petrol worth 500 to make the tank full. i reach ratnagiri and i refueled for 100 on day 5 that too because i wanted a little buffer. i haven't done service after returning from tour as i am waiting. i was able to do stretching exercise, while mataning a good 90-100 kmph speed. smoother on smooth road and supreb on off-raoding and the bike never loose the grip on any kind of road. pickup is sweet as the statement say 1 second is what it takes

The bike listens to the rider no matter how u drive it. i even have taken her on off road for many kms during the journey what u have read in the log till date was just the beginning in real learned off-road on day 4 onwards.. i am really happy to go for this bike..

Great pics & nice log! Your bike looks great.Golden color has really done the trick

Which shell oil your using? Fully synthetic or semi?

Thanks mate.. it has now actually became a eye candy wherever i go. lol people are bound to ask me about the paint

i am using shell semi synthetic vsx 10w40. the oil is giving same performance from the day one till day. no change in vibes, pickup problem etc.. i enjoy using it. more of it if u get shell petrol then a killer combo for this bike gives u approx 60 or more average..

Loved the log!, So u are finally doing what you craved for! Solo touring a great experience in itself!!

Indeed i did and also planning for second one is done..

nice share bro....

Thanks Mate

anyways check this out

What is the cost of shell vsx 10w40?

Its around 300 to 350 Rupees..

Your life seems to be stuck between a 1 and 7

Good stuff :P