Terrific Rossiter! Loved the log, now waiting for the continuation..

Naah the people were more interested in the One because of the huge rear tier and the allien suit the rider was wearing

That 116 top speed was of my bike.. the Gps was with me.. and the One would have done 10 kmphr more.. Akhil was always just in front of me.. he controlled his 180 BHP and rode it like 180CC bike

Ken they had some ancient speed gun.. we were doing 85-80 kmphr.. they said the speed limit is 60 kmphr.. We didnt pay fine though because they were more interseted on the bikes..

One funny incident happened here, one of the cop told to start the engine to check out how the one sounds.. when it was idealing the other cop twisted the throtle a bit and the R1 did a VROOOOOOM.. u should have seen the expression on his face.. he almost shit in his pants

And about he estate.. man what a place it is.. the house sourrouned by rubber plantaion, paddy field in front of the house and the brezze is so cool..I loved this place..

Nice pics and log akhil.

That patch after mysore on the way to coimbatore is still bad even after two years. Damn !!!

Waiting for more .......

@ rossiter bhai and mithun08
we told you wen we met you, well i say it again u guys rock. waiting for more......

Ho ho! ROTFL! Imagine if there were D&D or Two Brothers...

So this is why our 54kg rider was not seen on the forum nowdays

Akhil nice log and pics, any pics taken at sunset !!!!



Trust me with two brothers they would have really pissed in there pants

Yes wait till Day 3 logs you will find few pics..

Day 2:

We had covered about 480 kms on the first day, and while I was quite alright at the end of it, Mithun was a bit tired. In any case, we did not have much to cover on the second day.. just about 260 odd kms. So we decided to get a late start by around 830-9 or so. The route was Vadakkencherry-Trichur-Athirapally-Vazhachal-Angamaly-Aluva-Kottayam-Alleppey. This route would take us through the famous Kuttanad backwaters, and through the lesser known, but more worthwhile parts of Kerala.. the Trichur-Palghat district.

I washed my bike quickly, and sprayed the chain and Mithun checked his tyre to see if the puncture repair had set in properly.





All systems okay, and we were set to go. Another massive breakfast later, we got onto our bikes. My aunt and grandma sent us off.

We got off to a nice and easy start, but soon hit traffic in Kuthiran Ghats. While going through the ghats, I saw two Zmas with some luggage strapped by the roadside, and was hoping they wouldn't see us and start a mad speedfest. Unfortunately they did, and by the time we were out of Kuthiran, they were onto us. I could see them flitting about in my RVMs, bothering Mithun but largely staying out of my way. Finally, we slowed and let them speed off into the distance. But a few kilometres down the road, they had slowed down and were puttering along waiting for us. They kept us company all the way through Thrissur to Chalakudy where we had to go off the highway to go to Athirapally. For the most part they were unobtrusive, but it was a slight nuisance nonetheless.

Athirapally Falls is just one of many falls in the district. A member from the area who is now in Australia, Surjit was telling me a while ago about some of them. I cannot emphasise just how beautiful this area is, and just how less people know about these parts of Kerala. All they would think of is backwaters and/or Kovalam. These places are a must visit for any nature lover.

Just up the road of Athirapally Falls, 5 kms away is Vazhachal Falls. Both are unique and beautiful in their own ways. Athirapally is a bit more crowded, and people often turn back from there. So that makes Vazhachal relatively unspoilt and empty.

The road from Chalakudy to Athirapally is about 30 odd kms, and it has everything that a biker worth his salt around a corner would imagine in his wet dreams. Long graduated curves, which would suddenly dip away in elevation, uphill sharp turns, adverse camber turns.. that road has it all! Coupled with a butter smooth road surface that would shame a Karnataka PWD official into retirment, it makes for a highly enjoyable stretch of biking road. In fact, I would rate this stretch to be right up there among my favourite twisties, right up there with Aldoor-Chikmangalur.

With a big grin on our faces, we arrived at a small scenic spot which had a smaller version of a waterfall with the water flowing under the road bridge. It was nice enough to stop and take some quick photos.



We carried on to Athirapally, and while I got a glimpse of the waterfall from the road, it was not a good idea to stop as we had to walk about a kilometre or so after parking the bikes by the roadside. And there were a few bus loads of tourists so it was a no brainer. We carried onto Vazhachal.

Vazhachal Falls was absolutely empty, except for a few cops manning the checkpost into the sanctuary. It was safe enough to leave our bikes while we went and had a quick look about the place. It was beautiful and serene, and the fact that it was unspoilt and maintained well really made me happy. Some quick photos and a brief moment later, we walked back to our bikes and left Vazhachal back to Athirapally.





We stopped at Athirapally, in a convenient viewpoint constructed off the road, and took some photos.











We decided to hurry up as we were planning to hit Alleppey in time for the sunset. We were planning to take a ferry from Athirapally to Angamaly, but unfortunately the ferry service had stopped a couple of months back. So we took a shortcut from there to Angamaly.

From there on, everything went downhill for me. The trick new Kriega bags were starting to hang off the right side of the bike, prompting a stop to adjust and re-tighten every 5-6 kms. It was very frustrating, and coupled with the increasing oppressive heat, I was starting to lose my energy. The last thing you want to have while on a ride is to have your gear slow you down. Kriega is rated as one of the best, but within a day of use, the stitch on the straps had come undone, and causing it to shift around behind me. So, I was forced to tie the individual straps together for the rest of the ride, increasing the time required to get started each morning.

Me fixing the bags..





Again..



The road was also bumpy, and narrow, 20 feet wide at best. It was winding and going through some small villages and plantations, and I was beginning to wonder when we'd hit the highway. The heat was now at least 36-37 degs and it was very humid. The One meanwhile, was taking it all in its stride.. happily snorting away although complaining every now and then about the heat by blasting hot air back to me. The leathers did the job fantastically, keeping the heat out. In fact, I was more comfortable in full leathers than my Nero, because the leathers breathe more easily than the jacket.

Finally we hit the highway just before Angamaly, and we reached Aluva in no time. My aunt, who lives in Aluva, was expecting us for lunch. Aluva would also be my third refuelling stop. I was running on reserve, and I decided to refuel while starting off after lunch. So we parked up at my aunt's place, and I left the fans running to cool things down while I scrambled to get into the cool shade. The coolant temperature at this stage was at about 120 degs, very high. After a while I heard the fans switch off so I went back and turned the ignition off. After a leisurely lunch and a welcome break from the heat, we decided to leave by around 3.30-3.45. We geared up, and got onto our steeds. I turned the ignition and... Nothing. There was nothing

in the display, no whirring of the EXUP, no priming of the fuel pump.. nothing.

My battery was dead.

Dead battery:



Mithun and I started thinking about what to do, and we decided to try and push start the bike. Mithun pushed while I tried to bring the engine to life, but it just wouldn't come on without the ECU or the fuel pump getting power. We even rigged up a rope between the R15's rear handles, and the forks of the R1, and towed it to a distance, but it just would not come to life.

That was a real scene alright.. an R15 towing an R1! (Mithun - Now who said an R15 does not have torque )

I began checking the fuses for any blowout and it all seemed okay.

Needless to say, while we were doing all this, we attracted a curious bunch of onlookers, and luckily, right opposite my aunt's place, there was a battery outlet. The men there were kind enough to piggy back a charged up 9 Ah battery onto the dead battery so that I could at least get the bike started and charge it up. We got her started and I rode back slowly to my aunt's place. We had a quick discussion on what to do, because an hour and a half had gone by and it made no sense going on to Alleppey which was an hour away. We decided to halt at my aunt's place for the night, leave the battery for charging, and start early next morning.

What happened in the meantime was, a couple of guys from the crowd by the roadside, followed us to my aunt's place and began peppering us with questions. I was really uncomfortable with this for a variety of reasons. But they seemed harmless, so I spent a few minutes talking to them about the bike. We then left in search of a guy who would "instant charge" the battery within 10 minutes. I was sort of doubtful about this method, because I had not heard about anything like this. We found a guy in Aluva town, and he told us that the battery has to be charged overnight. But then, we wouldn't be able to leave early as he would open only at around 10 or so. And then he suggested something remarkable that I did not expect. He told me to take his battery charger home with me, charge the battery overnight, and get it returned to him by 10 somehow. I was taken aback by his gesture, and
thanked him while taking the charger home. He showed me how to use the charger and I took it back home and immediately hooked it up.

In the meantime, I began disconnecting the security system and the perimeter sensor that I had recently installed because I didn't want any additional load on the battery. In any case, I think the battery lost its charge because of the fans which were continuously running. In any case, it was only a post mortem, so I shrugged it off and rested. If Mithun was tired on Day 1, then I was flattened on Day 2. The heat, the traffic, the patchy roads in between, and the battery problems had tired me out. I rested and had a comfortable dinner.

I then remembered that there are a few xBhp members in Trivandrum who I had been in touch with on and off recently. I called Vish and he sounded them out. Told me they'd be expecting me in Trivandrum tomorrow. and went to sleep.

R1 and R15.. No more action for the day.



Day 3:

We woke up nice and early, 5 AM, and began getting our things together. I installed the battery and switched it on. The bike came to life and everything seemed perfect. My uncle told me that he'd return the charger to the battery chap. I thank Mr .Abdul Saleem of Exide Battery House Aluva, without whom I would've been stranded for another day, or at the very least lost another 5-6 hours of riding time.

The plan for the day was Aluva-Alleppey-a few kms on MC Road and back-Kollam-Varkala-Trivandrum. Total distance of about 240 kms, and riding time of about 6 hours. The destination for the day was my cousin's place in Trivandrum. (I just happen to have a lot of relatives in Kerala, just in case this caused a multitude of questions to pop up ) We wanted to get into Trivandrum, dump our stuff and head to Kovalam to see the sunset.

We packed up, geared up, and I found this waiting by my gear:



By the time all that was done, it was about 6.15, and the day was breaking. Time to go.



The R1 fired up easily, and we were off. I had to find a place to fuel up, and I did.



Next stop was Alleppey beach. Getting out of Aluva, and entering the Cochin byepass was a challenge. The byepass is very busy at that time and it was a slow process getting out. We reached Alleppey and immediately headed for the beach. Alleppey beach is empty, and clean. Unlike Kovalam, Goa, or any other hyped up beach locations, this is actually a good destination if all you want to is be away from the touristy crowd. The beach was all to ourself, and Mithun went crazy seeing the beach. He immediately sand bagged his R15 deep into the beach, while I parked at a safe distance



And in no time, he was in the water







Mithun running for his R15.. Navnish: Insert your caption, I know you're salivating..



Coming out of the beach..



R1 parked safely on an old stone jetty.





The R brothers..





Me walking along the beach.. I couldn't escape work after all






Curious onlookers:



Mithun busy with the camera





So after a good 45 minutes at the beach, we decided to leave and get some breakfast on the way. I fuelled up the R1 again,

and found a decent place to hog, where we could have a view of the bikes and our stuff.



We had a nice brunch and took off for Trivandrum. The roads were very bumpy and the very rude traffic sense of the people on those roads made for a very irritating few hours. I lost count of how many times I showed my hands, and legs at people in SUVs who would just barrel down the oncoming lane without the slightest consideration for a two wheeler. Not even the permanently on projectors of the R1 would discourage them. We rode on to Kollam, where I decided to tank up again. I had decided to tank up on fuel wherever I would find premium fuel and it turned out to be a good, safe move.





To be continued:

simply awesome pics and logs.. loved each and every part.. specially an R15 towing an R1!
will add some captions later... to busy with some stupid office work...
waiting for more ...

great trip, log n pics..

waiting for more....

The battery running out of juice was a little scary, but everything is well that ends well.. Nice...Waiting for more.

The trip log AND the pics so far have been awesome to say the least
The drained-battery episode reminded me of the time when you'd left the ignition ON overnight. The ensuing 'rolling start' with a video was quite something to see
Anything to add about the two 'suspicious' guys. I was expecting a follow up to that incident for some reason (strange ?)..

Kerala is one helluva beautiful place. Gotta make a trip happen to my native Palghat(Palakkad) in a year or so (finances permitting)
Looking forward to the next episode Akhil.

@mithun.08 & Akhil : Pick any Shammi Kapoor song as the caption for mithun running towards the R15 and it'll do fine

P.S : The first part of the log has paragraph breaks in weird places. You might wanna correct that bro...

@Akhil nice write as usual..

After reaching Alleppey beach.. i was so excited seeing the beach, no crowd and clean beach where can one find now a days .. i rode the bike in the sand and pulled my side stand and realized that the sand is too loose to park the bike Called rossiter and asked him to get some stone waited for a min couldnt resist.. removed my shoe.. pulled my side stand on it and i ran to the beach like mad dog

Bringing back the R15 was task.. i was pushing the bike and reving pull it get it out of the sand.. poor R15 was not willing to come out to the tramac..

This was one more super day.. especially the road to athrepally.. man roads paved by gods i can say.. seeing R1 taking those corners was mind blowing.. and later not to mention towing the One

Wow!!! Great trip u guys had. Good snaps too... I have always wanted to tour around Kerala but its been eluding me for a long time now!!! Gotta do that for the next long weekend!!

@Rossiter: And now that ur free, I see that ur avtaar's changed!!!