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INTRODUCTION.
Bikeism is a new age coinage. And I seem to be not too far from it. I have not had a craze for high power between my legs. But I did not mind looking at the powerful bikes in the few magazines that my father got from his technical library and some others that I got to see from my biker friends when I was small. But I rarely got to see one in real life on the streets of India. In all, I would have probably seen a dozen bikes in this country where bigger capacity bikes is still a restricted item and rightly so. I had done some amount of touring in Rajasthan, some in Himachal and little bit as a kid sitting pillion with my father. But nothing compared to some of the extreme touring done by some people I know today. Then I went abroad and I got to see BIG bikes. I fell flat on my face as I saw those monsters roaming the streets freely like caged circus lions and other wild beasts let lose. And I took for granted that in these countries it is possible. And one can never own such bikes in India.
I let it go at that and I let go of a dream that I could have nurtured. Almost a decade later, with huge advances in IT, and the Internet crossing the billion users mark, I joined an online biker’s club, xBhp.com, with lots of offline activities. Soon I started joining in the offline activities and I started dreaming once again. And it wasn’t long before I started my search, this time in earnest for a superbike. We will not go into the details of definitions of what exactly is a superbike.
At the same time I was getting out of a terrible crisis in my personal life and Bikeism and a certain Ritu guided me through the dark period to get me grooving yet again. And I moved up in bike engine capacity. I went gradually into superbikingdom through stages. But that is another story that I will talk about some other time.
Once I had acquired my now-prized possession of a brand new Yamaha YZF R1, 2006 and had well and properly broken into it, I had to take it out longer than just the Greater Noida Expressway or a quick ride to the Aravalli Resorts on NH8 which is what most bikers with “Big” bikes do once a month. I knew Vivek, also from the same club. He has a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R. He is also an avid tourer. I got hold of him and we decided to hit the road on our respective bikes some time in November. That is how this tour took shape.
---------------------------
The Decision... and it begins.
Touring on superbikes? You are crazy. No one does it here. You buy a superbike, put it in your bedroom, look at it, polish it, look at it some more, call people to look at it and go out in your car. And then sell it off at the end of the year to buy the newer model and put it again in your bedroom.
I like to tour. And I like touring on bikes. And I wanted to tour on my newest acquisition, my R1, which had just come out of breaking-in period. I told Vivek, lets go to Rajasthan. We could not and had not decided till the penultimate day where we were going. We met, we talked, we discussed, but we were undecided on our destination. Did we want to do fast straight lines through the desert, or did we want to do twists and some attempt at canyon scratching. It was either Jaisalmer with fast straights or Mt. Abu with lots more to biking than just straight lines. Finally we decided on Mt. Abu a day before our departure.
And soon, after much pestering Vivek at his work place with innumerable phone calls, I got a check list from him which looked something like this:
1. Camera
2. Thermal inner
3. General medicines
4. Octane boosters
5. Balaclava
6. Shaving kit + mouthwash + comb + shampoo + Soap
7. Moisturizer
8. SPF 30
9. Face wash
10. Mobile phone and charger
11. Handkerchiefs
12. Change for one day
13. 100ml measurer
14. Spare key
15. Trouser/payjama
16. Puncture repair kit
16. Air pump
18. Spare bungee cord.
19. Small tube for Petrol xfer
20. Eye drops
21. Cash for petrol
This was a pretty comprehensive list and I added Eicher Maps, swimming trunks and swimming goggles to the list. While Vivek and I were on phone calls over two days, another female voice started calling us from the electronic media, CNN. She was doing a story on the GQ= Golden Quadrilateral, her sector being Delhi – Jaipur, she wanted to cover us in that stretch. It is really a global village we are living in. Vivek and I had barely managed to nail our destination and the media already had the whiff of it. Why not, I mused! As long as our plans don’t get disturbed. But then that is another story.
(For people who ride Sbks, interesting info regarding Octane Boosters, you will get SPF octane boosters in Khan Market)
I started packing my stuff and I was wondering how will all my stuff from the check-list get into one bag that I was planning to carry on my back. I managed to do it, pack everything in. It looked a bit bulky. It felt heavier still. And on my back, I looked more like a trekker in Ladakh than someone who was planning to do 700 kilometers on a 174 Bhp Supersports bike! I checked myself in the mirror and decided that this will have to do. What a way to get things going!
The Riders: Vivek
And yours truly:
Photo credit: Sunny.
The Bikes.
24 Nov 2006.
Vivek was supposed to come to my house at 6 in the morning, have breakfast, and move on, meeting point with CNN on NH8, Airport Road, at the end of the runway, a place we lovingly call Jumbo Point since my JNU days since those days I used to go there with my girlfriend on my Blue Bullet sixteen years ago to see the Jumbos land and take off in awe while the ice-cream dripped all over our fingers. Now I was going there with another friend on a Ninja and me on an R1, both BLACK! Vivek was bang on time, as usual. He had a light breakfast and off we went.
The TV crew was already there in place. So were the POLICE! How can there be bikers and no Police! But these police were nice. They were in their best behaviour. So were we. Somehow we are in our best behaviour the moment there is a camera rolling somewhere! I even let the cops sit on the R1. And they even smiled! Yes the police can actually smile. I smiled back and they looked embarrassed.
After the takes of whatever they were shooting for our departure, we said that we would move off and wait for them at the uphill bend of Manesar. With that we left the CNN crew behind with their black Scorpio to pack up and Vivek and I started warming up our bikes on the flyovers in Gurgaon that have been opened to traffic. We were doing 150+ on those stretches, a sheer pleasure, with no traffic, the sun just about rising, the nippy morning air, and the five lanes in front, all to me. The tyres were cold, and I had to warm them too. So I started slaloming gently across the width of the five lanes at 150ks. Whoa! Have you done it? I strictly advise you to do it. If your tyres need breaking-in, go to the Gurgaon flyovers at 7 in the morning and slalom around the place at 150 km/h.
We started pretty early. At 0630 hours. We reached the bend of Manesar and parked to the side. We realized that the TV crew would not be there in a hurry. Vivek decided to lubricate my chain. It was quite early in the day, but I started getting worried when the black Scorpio did not show up for 10 minutes. I did not want to get too delayed. And finally they came limping up the slope, what a waste of a Scorpio. And then we were stopping every 15 kilometres, to shoot, to take sound bytes, to shoot us coming in, us riding off, us bending into a curve, and then retakes and re-retakes galore, coz a take is never good enough and a retake is just a repeat of the same mistakes! And before we knew it, it was past 10 in the morning and we had barely 150 kilometres. And a highway board announced Jaipur 107 kilometres. And we were a good 700 kilometres from our final destination! I wanted to leave Jaipur by noon at worst. But then the new age adage goes thus, Man proposes, Media disposes!
Waiting for the CNN crew!
The Reporter explaining finer points to Vivek the Rider!!
The whole team grabbing a byte!
Camel Vs Ninja!
Fuel to burn!
Amer Fort.
The Conquerors:BIKANER PALACE. It was nearly midnight. A room was allotted to us. It felt good to find a nice cozy bed and I was out like a light.
Nov 25 2006
Breakfast in Royalty.
This was a day of doing nothing. Took the bikes out for short rides. I had to go out. I cannot resist riding if I see my bike sitting there right in front of my eyes. In the afternoon we walked to the Delwara Temples, the most intricately carved marble temples in human history. No other marble carving even comes close. And the oldest temple is nearly one millennium old!
In the morning we walked to downtown, lazed around near Nakki Lake. We came back to the Bikaner Palace. Ambled around in the vast campus. It is a Palace built by the Maharaja of Bikaner in the beginning of the 20th century as a summer palace where he used to come down either with the Royal family or with guests, Indian or foreign in cooler climes.
Bikaner Palace, Mt. Abu.
We sat in the huge gardens soaking up the sun and we discussed our biking exploits. It was a fantastic ride the previous day. I never thought that I would be doing nearly 800 kilometres in a single day on a superbike someday. We talked about performance, about petrol quality, about bending and curves details of which are posted in the Notes section below.
We were still pretty tired and Vivek slept a lot! Both during the day and the night.
Royal Retreat!
Nov 26 2006Nov 27 2006
We wanted to leave early to reach early to avoid the Gurgaon traffic. That did not happen. By the time we left the hotel, it was past 0930 hours. We stopped to take gas. And then we hit the four-lane highway. And we were cruising at speeds of 150km/h. There was practically no traffic. I did something to avoid strain. I did not crouch. I nearly lay down on the tank. And I started resting my elbows on my knees! This felt pretty neat and comfortable as I cruised at 150. Of course the moment there were bends coming along I got back to the usual riding stance.
I had started applying Vivek’s inputs on bending the bike and I was getting progressively confident. In fact I am pretty happy on wide large bends doing them at over 120 km/h rather than the close hilly curves. Me being a miserable bender of the bike, I ended up taking some curves upwards of 140km/h. I was pretty pleased with myself.
The Return.
Pit Stop
Raring to BLAST!
Pit stop again
We hit the GVK Expressway once more. Stopped for a light lunch. And continued our way to Delhi. I crossed 200 several times on this day on every stretch (see Notes below). Finally at 1730 we hit Gurgaon, horrible time to be there. Vivek and I split there and went our respective ways.
I reached home, parked, climbed the stairs, and unpacked. And then I started planning my next trip. I called up Vivek. He had reached home safely.
It has not even been 48 hours and we are already planning our next trip!
NOTES:
Need better helmets than Gp1! These helmets don’t stay in place on speeds higher than 130Km/h. The ears stay pressed and I don’t like that. I like the helmets like HJC that I tried in which my ears pop free once the helmet settles down on the head.
We were doing regular stops, every hour or 100 kms: to drink, re-hydrate, take a pee, stretch, clean visors which gets totally covered with smashed bugs after an hour of riding! It is very important to stop while riding really fast crouched. One should relax the neck, stretch the back and the cervical.
Bending techniques: Vivek’s input: I am a miserable bender of the bike on curves. Vivek said, get into the curve with a speed that you feel is the slowest that you can do at the optimum gear. Do not change gears once you have hit the bend, or do not accelerate fast before the apex and before you see the road clear ahead of you, even if this means doing the curve at 20km/h with a superbike. Doing this often enough will help you gain in confidence. And you will start getting into the curve progressively faster with time, patience and practice.
We decided to refuel with Reliance as we thought that there were less chances of adulteration since they are company owned pumps. I used Speed once and I was definitely not happy. I was putting in 120 ml of Octane Boosters to about 16 liters of fuel. But at the last fill, when I reached Delhi, I could hear pinging when I was loading the engine.
Crossing 200 on relatively busy two-lane highways with no fencing, jaywalkers, animals straying on and even vehicles coming in from the gap in the median, it is a question of sheer luck. If you believe luck is on your side, go ahead and do it. I advice you to stay between the 140-150 mark unless you are absolutely sure of doing faster times. On three-lane highways, like the GVK Expressway between Jaipur and Ajmer, with clear visibility, more spaced traffic, proper fencing, no stray animals, I was doing 200+ often, Vivek was going berserk in ecstasy and it was clearly less risky on this particular stretch. But I don’t advice it still. On the way back from Jaipur, while I was doing 150+ at one stretch when suddenly a Maruti 800 came on to the road without even looking on to the oncoming traffic. I don’t know how I managed to swerve to the left and save those poor soul’s lives, else I would have cut them in half probably. Bottom line: ride fast enough leaving enough reaction time to adjust and save damage to life and property.
Special mention and a big thanks to Ninja Rider Vivek for is company, his endless stories about touring, his expert advice and his readiness to help and tour. Hope to tour with you again.
Thanks to CNN IBN reporter, Urvashi, for not making life too difficult for us.
Text and Photos: Krishnendu Kes aka KEN.
Post Scriptum: A lot has changed in the last two years. I use Shark Helmet always. SMX4 Riding boots and so on. I am putting this post up yet again for the benefit of certain riders who may be contemplating a similar venture soon. There are two routes back from Udaipur. Both are fun. I have done both, recently and on Superbikes. I may put up the ride report shortly. Any questions... I will gladly answer.
For those who are aware of this thread... there will be the subsequent Part II, III and IV coming up as well.
Bikeism is a new age coinage. And I seem to be not too far from it. I have not had a craze for high power between my legs. But I did not mind looking at the powerful bikes in the few magazines that my father got from his technical library and some others that I got to see from my biker friends when I was small. But I rarely got to see one in real life on the streets of India. In all, I would have probably seen a dozen bikes in this country where bigger capacity bikes is still a restricted item and rightly so. I had done some amount of touring in Rajasthan, some in Himachal and little bit as a kid sitting pillion with my father. But nothing compared to some of the extreme touring done by some people I know today. Then I went abroad and I got to see BIG bikes. I fell flat on my face as I saw those monsters roaming the streets freely like caged circus lions and other wild beasts let lose. And I took for granted that in these countries it is possible. And one can never own such bikes in India.
I let it go at that and I let go of a dream that I could have nurtured. Almost a decade later, with huge advances in IT, and the Internet crossing the billion users mark, I joined an online biker’s club, xBhp.com, with lots of offline activities. Soon I started joining in the offline activities and I started dreaming once again. And it wasn’t long before I started my search, this time in earnest for a superbike. We will not go into the details of definitions of what exactly is a superbike.
At the same time I was getting out of a terrible crisis in my personal life and Bikeism and a certain Ritu guided me through the dark period to get me grooving yet again. And I moved up in bike engine capacity. I went gradually into superbikingdom through stages. But that is another story that I will talk about some other time.
Once I had acquired my now-prized possession of a brand new Yamaha YZF R1, 2006 and had well and properly broken into it, I had to take it out longer than just the Greater Noida Expressway or a quick ride to the Aravalli Resorts on NH8 which is what most bikers with “Big” bikes do once a month. I knew Vivek, also from the same club. He has a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R. He is also an avid tourer. I got hold of him and we decided to hit the road on our respective bikes some time in November. That is how this tour took shape.
---------------------------
The Decision... and it begins.
Touring on superbikes? You are crazy. No one does it here. You buy a superbike, put it in your bedroom, look at it, polish it, look at it some more, call people to look at it and go out in your car. And then sell it off at the end of the year to buy the newer model and put it again in your bedroom.
I like to tour. And I like touring on bikes. And I wanted to tour on my newest acquisition, my R1, which had just come out of breaking-in period. I told Vivek, lets go to Rajasthan. We could not and had not decided till the penultimate day where we were going. We met, we talked, we discussed, but we were undecided on our destination. Did we want to do fast straight lines through the desert, or did we want to do twists and some attempt at canyon scratching. It was either Jaisalmer with fast straights or Mt. Abu with lots more to biking than just straight lines. Finally we decided on Mt. Abu a day before our departure.
And soon, after much pestering Vivek at his work place with innumerable phone calls, I got a check list from him which looked something like this:
1. Camera
2. Thermal inner
3. General medicines
4. Octane boosters
5. Balaclava
6. Shaving kit + mouthwash + comb + shampoo + Soap
7. Moisturizer
8. SPF 30
9. Face wash
10. Mobile phone and charger
11. Handkerchiefs
12. Change for one day
13. 100ml measurer
14. Spare key
15. Trouser/payjama
16. Puncture repair kit
16. Air pump
18. Spare bungee cord.
19. Small tube for Petrol xfer
20. Eye drops
21. Cash for petrol
This was a pretty comprehensive list and I added Eicher Maps, swimming trunks and swimming goggles to the list. While Vivek and I were on phone calls over two days, another female voice started calling us from the electronic media, CNN. She was doing a story on the GQ= Golden Quadrilateral, her sector being Delhi – Jaipur, she wanted to cover us in that stretch. It is really a global village we are living in. Vivek and I had barely managed to nail our destination and the media already had the whiff of it. Why not, I mused! As long as our plans don’t get disturbed. But then that is another story.
(For people who ride Sbks, interesting info regarding Octane Boosters, you will get SPF octane boosters in Khan Market)
I started packing my stuff and I was wondering how will all my stuff from the check-list get into one bag that I was planning to carry on my back. I managed to do it, pack everything in. It looked a bit bulky. It felt heavier still. And on my back, I looked more like a trekker in Ladakh than someone who was planning to do 700 kilometers on a 174 Bhp Supersports bike! I checked myself in the mirror and decided that this will have to do. What a way to get things going!
The Riders: Vivek
And yours truly:
Photo credit: Sunny.
The Bikes.
24 Nov 2006.
Vivek was supposed to come to my house at 6 in the morning, have breakfast, and move on, meeting point with CNN on NH8, Airport Road, at the end of the runway, a place we lovingly call Jumbo Point since my JNU days since those days I used to go there with my girlfriend on my Blue Bullet sixteen years ago to see the Jumbos land and take off in awe while the ice-cream dripped all over our fingers. Now I was going there with another friend on a Ninja and me on an R1, both BLACK! Vivek was bang on time, as usual. He had a light breakfast and off we went.
The TV crew was already there in place. So were the POLICE! How can there be bikers and no Police! But these police were nice. They were in their best behaviour. So were we. Somehow we are in our best behaviour the moment there is a camera rolling somewhere! I even let the cops sit on the R1. And they even smiled! Yes the police can actually smile. I smiled back and they looked embarrassed.
After the takes of whatever they were shooting for our departure, we said that we would move off and wait for them at the uphill bend of Manesar. With that we left the CNN crew behind with their black Scorpio to pack up and Vivek and I started warming up our bikes on the flyovers in Gurgaon that have been opened to traffic. We were doing 150+ on those stretches, a sheer pleasure, with no traffic, the sun just about rising, the nippy morning air, and the five lanes in front, all to me. The tyres were cold, and I had to warm them too. So I started slaloming gently across the width of the five lanes at 150ks. Whoa! Have you done it? I strictly advise you to do it. If your tyres need breaking-in, go to the Gurgaon flyovers at 7 in the morning and slalom around the place at 150 km/h.
We started pretty early. At 0630 hours. We reached the bend of Manesar and parked to the side. We realized that the TV crew would not be there in a hurry. Vivek decided to lubricate my chain. It was quite early in the day, but I started getting worried when the black Scorpio did not show up for 10 minutes. I did not want to get too delayed. And finally they came limping up the slope, what a waste of a Scorpio. And then we were stopping every 15 kilometres, to shoot, to take sound bytes, to shoot us coming in, us riding off, us bending into a curve, and then retakes and re-retakes galore, coz a take is never good enough and a retake is just a repeat of the same mistakes! And before we knew it, it was past 10 in the morning and we had barely 150 kilometres. And a highway board announced Jaipur 107 kilometres. And we were a good 700 kilometres from our final destination! I wanted to leave Jaipur by noon at worst. But then the new age adage goes thus, Man proposes, Media disposes!
Waiting for the CNN crew!
The Reporter explaining finer points to Vivek the Rider!!
The whole team grabbing a byte!
Camel Vs Ninja!
Fuel to burn!
Amer Fort.
The Conquerors:BIKANER PALACE. It was nearly midnight. A room was allotted to us. It felt good to find a nice cozy bed and I was out like a light.
Nov 25 2006
Breakfast in Royalty.
This was a day of doing nothing. Took the bikes out for short rides. I had to go out. I cannot resist riding if I see my bike sitting there right in front of my eyes. In the afternoon we walked to the Delwara Temples, the most intricately carved marble temples in human history. No other marble carving even comes close. And the oldest temple is nearly one millennium old!
In the morning we walked to downtown, lazed around near Nakki Lake. We came back to the Bikaner Palace. Ambled around in the vast campus. It is a Palace built by the Maharaja of Bikaner in the beginning of the 20th century as a summer palace where he used to come down either with the Royal family or with guests, Indian or foreign in cooler climes.
Bikaner Palace, Mt. Abu.
We sat in the huge gardens soaking up the sun and we discussed our biking exploits. It was a fantastic ride the previous day. I never thought that I would be doing nearly 800 kilometres in a single day on a superbike someday. We talked about performance, about petrol quality, about bending and curves details of which are posted in the Notes section below.
We were still pretty tired and Vivek slept a lot! Both during the day and the night.
Royal Retreat!
Nov 26 2006Nov 27 2006
We wanted to leave early to reach early to avoid the Gurgaon traffic. That did not happen. By the time we left the hotel, it was past 0930 hours. We stopped to take gas. And then we hit the four-lane highway. And we were cruising at speeds of 150km/h. There was practically no traffic. I did something to avoid strain. I did not crouch. I nearly lay down on the tank. And I started resting my elbows on my knees! This felt pretty neat and comfortable as I cruised at 150. Of course the moment there were bends coming along I got back to the usual riding stance.
I had started applying Vivek’s inputs on bending the bike and I was getting progressively confident. In fact I am pretty happy on wide large bends doing them at over 120 km/h rather than the close hilly curves. Me being a miserable bender of the bike, I ended up taking some curves upwards of 140km/h. I was pretty pleased with myself.
The Return.
Pit Stop
Raring to BLAST!
Pit stop again
We hit the GVK Expressway once more. Stopped for a light lunch. And continued our way to Delhi. I crossed 200 several times on this day on every stretch (see Notes below). Finally at 1730 we hit Gurgaon, horrible time to be there. Vivek and I split there and went our respective ways.
I reached home, parked, climbed the stairs, and unpacked. And then I started planning my next trip. I called up Vivek. He had reached home safely.
It has not even been 48 hours and we are already planning our next trip!
NOTES:
Need better helmets than Gp1! These helmets don’t stay in place on speeds higher than 130Km/h. The ears stay pressed and I don’t like that. I like the helmets like HJC that I tried in which my ears pop free once the helmet settles down on the head.
We were doing regular stops, every hour or 100 kms: to drink, re-hydrate, take a pee, stretch, clean visors which gets totally covered with smashed bugs after an hour of riding! It is very important to stop while riding really fast crouched. One should relax the neck, stretch the back and the cervical.
Bending techniques: Vivek’s input: I am a miserable bender of the bike on curves. Vivek said, get into the curve with a speed that you feel is the slowest that you can do at the optimum gear. Do not change gears once you have hit the bend, or do not accelerate fast before the apex and before you see the road clear ahead of you, even if this means doing the curve at 20km/h with a superbike. Doing this often enough will help you gain in confidence. And you will start getting into the curve progressively faster with time, patience and practice.
We decided to refuel with Reliance as we thought that there were less chances of adulteration since they are company owned pumps. I used Speed once and I was definitely not happy. I was putting in 120 ml of Octane Boosters to about 16 liters of fuel. But at the last fill, when I reached Delhi, I could hear pinging when I was loading the engine.
Crossing 200 on relatively busy two-lane highways with no fencing, jaywalkers, animals straying on and even vehicles coming in from the gap in the median, it is a question of sheer luck. If you believe luck is on your side, go ahead and do it. I advice you to stay between the 140-150 mark unless you are absolutely sure of doing faster times. On three-lane highways, like the GVK Expressway between Jaipur and Ajmer, with clear visibility, more spaced traffic, proper fencing, no stray animals, I was doing 200+ often, Vivek was going berserk in ecstasy and it was clearly less risky on this particular stretch. But I don’t advice it still. On the way back from Jaipur, while I was doing 150+ at one stretch when suddenly a Maruti 800 came on to the road without even looking on to the oncoming traffic. I don’t know how I managed to swerve to the left and save those poor soul’s lives, else I would have cut them in half probably. Bottom line: ride fast enough leaving enough reaction time to adjust and save damage to life and property.
Special mention and a big thanks to Ninja Rider Vivek for is company, his endless stories about touring, his expert advice and his readiness to help and tour. Hope to tour with you again.
Thanks to CNN IBN reporter, Urvashi, for not making life too difficult for us.
Text and Photos: Krishnendu Kes aka KEN.
Post Scriptum: A lot has changed in the last two years. I use Shark Helmet always. SMX4 Riding boots and so on. I am putting this post up yet again for the benefit of certain riders who may be contemplating a similar venture soon. There are two routes back from Udaipur. Both are fun. I have done both, recently and on Superbikes. I may put up the ride report shortly. Any questions... I will gladly answer.
For those who are aware of this thread... there will be the subsequent Part II, III and IV coming up as well.
.Hats off to you guys for touring on such beasts!!Lovely pics and narration!The Introduction part is awesome!!!Wish I could tour on such beasts someday
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