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South Indian Peninsula trip 2-up on a BMW R1200GS
Its been few weeks since I completed my dream trip, but work has taken the better of me making spare time a rare commodity. Anyway, I am finally putting it together here.
Prelude:
After the European Alps ride in May 2010, I suddenly seem to be a man in a hurry! Having ridden on the European continent, I decided to embark on a different kind of a ride- one that would be very different but nevertheless thoroughly rewarding and most suitable for the SUV of Adventure Touring bikes- The BMW R1200GS. In fact few years back when I first rode a BMW GS as well as a Suzuki V-Strom, my biking instincts instantly told me, here are 2 fine machines for long distance touring in India and it was love at first sight with the GS, although I also immensely liked the V-Strom which can do most of what the GS can do at almost half the price! So it was natural when I bought the GS, touring in India was a must do on my list of things. Long story short I ship my GS from Saudi Arabia to India on a temporary Carnet (more on that on a different thread) that allows me to run the bike in India on the existing Saudi Arabian number plate for a max period of 6 months. Shipping delays mean the trip in October now takes place in December with some more bureaucratic red tape to add to the adventure experience.
Bike secured & ready at my doorstep in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia back in September
Loading onto the container for its long journey by ship across the Arabian Sea
This trip was more about the ride and not the destination. Purely to enjoy the ride on a big bike thru the varied roads & states of the South Indian Peninsula. So, naturally, most of our pics and few videos are shot while on the move by our onboard amateur cameraperson(!) juggling between a point-n-shoot camera & a handycam).
Acknowledgements:
My heartfelt appreciations to each one of you on xbhp, who guided me with all the required information on routes, POI etc. in this thread.
http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/help-me/...de-my-bmw.html
Further, having personally met all the wonderful xbhp members in Bangalore, Trivandrum & Chennai, I could feel the comaradere & strong passion for biking that runs deep within all of us irrespective of what we ride or how we ride. Again proud to be part of this forum.
Special thanks to our kids Adil & Amal who permitted us a few days off to pursue our biking interest and to their grandparents who took care of them during our absence. Sincere appreciations to Subhash, Pradeep & Anzel for their excellent co-ordination with customs authorities for easing the Carnet formalities at Cochin seaport. Lastly, thanks to Johnson at Hella India for providing me a set of complimentary Hella FF50 fog/running lights.
Tit-bits:
Yes, on this trip I may have altogether answered a thousand times the 2 standard question on the - Price of the bike & the Mileage...
Countdown to D-Day:
After some delay with customs, I received my bike key late evening on 6 Dec & hence I was regretfully unable to take it to the small coffee G2G our wonderful bangy boys had arranged on 5 Dec but I think I compensated that with the Baklava sweet & Tanga joke!
Anyway the following day was spent with all related preparations such as packing the essentials into 3 hardcase boxes & one tankbag.
The messy room before the final take off
BEFORE
AFTER
Day 1 to follow...
Its been few weeks since I completed my dream trip, but work has taken the better of me making spare time a rare commodity. Anyway, I am finally putting it together here.
Prelude:
After the European Alps ride in May 2010, I suddenly seem to be a man in a hurry! Having ridden on the European continent, I decided to embark on a different kind of a ride- one that would be very different but nevertheless thoroughly rewarding and most suitable for the SUV of Adventure Touring bikes- The BMW R1200GS. In fact few years back when I first rode a BMW GS as well as a Suzuki V-Strom, my biking instincts instantly told me, here are 2 fine machines for long distance touring in India and it was love at first sight with the GS, although I also immensely liked the V-Strom which can do most of what the GS can do at almost half the price! So it was natural when I bought the GS, touring in India was a must do on my list of things. Long story short I ship my GS from Saudi Arabia to India on a temporary Carnet (more on that on a different thread) that allows me to run the bike in India on the existing Saudi Arabian number plate for a max period of 6 months. Shipping delays mean the trip in October now takes place in December with some more bureaucratic red tape to add to the adventure experience.
Bike secured & ready at my doorstep in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia back in September
Loading onto the container for its long journey by ship across the Arabian Sea
This trip was more about the ride and not the destination. Purely to enjoy the ride on a big bike thru the varied roads & states of the South Indian Peninsula. So, naturally, most of our pics and few videos are shot while on the move by our onboard amateur cameraperson(!) juggling between a point-n-shoot camera & a handycam).
Acknowledgements:
My heartfelt appreciations to each one of you on xbhp, who guided me with all the required information on routes, POI etc. in this thread.
http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/help-me/...de-my-bmw.html
Further, having personally met all the wonderful xbhp members in Bangalore, Trivandrum & Chennai, I could feel the comaradere & strong passion for biking that runs deep within all of us irrespective of what we ride or how we ride. Again proud to be part of this forum.
Special thanks to our kids Adil & Amal who permitted us a few days off to pursue our biking interest and to their grandparents who took care of them during our absence. Sincere appreciations to Subhash, Pradeep & Anzel for their excellent co-ordination with customs authorities for easing the Carnet formalities at Cochin seaport. Lastly, thanks to Johnson at Hella India for providing me a set of complimentary Hella FF50 fog/running lights.
Tit-bits:
Yes, on this trip I may have altogether answered a thousand times the 2 standard question on the - Price of the bike & the Mileage...
Countdown to D-Day:
After some delay with customs, I received my bike key late evening on 6 Dec & hence I was regretfully unable to take it to the small coffee G2G our wonderful bangy boys had arranged on 5 Dec but I think I compensated that with the Baklava sweet & Tanga joke!
Anyway the following day was spent with all related preparations such as packing the essentials into 3 hardcase boxes & one tankbag.The messy room before the final take off
BEFORE
AFTER
Day 1 to follow...
... waiting for more riding pics and video links plz
... Sad part is, tourists have been touching it and the stone strings have started to worn out and some are damaged 
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