hey bro, it was so glad that i had a ride with u and mithun!! and was my first Xbhp g2g
while entering the underpass (tunnel, the place i used to check my RDs beats usually). the tunnel roared actually. i couldnt recognize which was which bike. it was truly awesome music which almost resembles like a big storm passing through the tunnel.
anyway the 3 6-speed transmissions(R1,R15 & RD) moving together shocked most of the trivandrum guys and the young chaps moving around the road!!



its being our pleasure to help u guys, actually we are the ones to thank you for informing us!!!




thanks kenda. it was a life time achievement to meet the fellow Xbhpians whom we usually see as posts and pics in Xbhp and their beautiful rides.



few pics from my side!!
1.shocked bharat(turbo>>) drooling seeing the 08 R1 and wonderstuck meeting rossiter

2. the master and his masterpiece

Born and brought up in Trivandrum but out of there for more than 5 years now, I am missing my native a bit too much. The travelogue brought back sweet memories...time to plan a trip!

@Akhil: awesome log and pics man! great stuff there. U guys had a fantastic ride together!

Day 4:

I woke up at 3.45 AM, set about with getting ready. It was then that I realised that my cousin had turned off all the water valves and connections, and I spent a good 15-20 minutes outside the house in the dark, figuring out the connections to the bathrooms. Got them working, and I discovered that the water tank was empty. Switched the pump on, and waited for a few minutes to get the water in the pipes. Half an hour was lost already. Woke Mithun up and we made the most of whatever time was available and got ready.

I set about strapping my annoying tailbags on, and we were ready to hit Kanyakumari for the sunrise. Joe had been waiting for us for a good 45 min, and he bade us goodbye as we left.



I tanked up the R1, and we hit the road to Kanyakumari. The time was 5.35 AM.

The route plan for the day was Trivandrum-Kanyakumari-Tirunelveli-Madurai-Dindigul-Namakkal-Salem, and if possible, Bangalore itself. Trivandrum to Salem via Kanyakumari was a total of about 560 kms, and to Bangalore from Salem was another 210 kms. Since we had an early start to the day, and the apparently fantastic GQ route from Kanyakumari, we were aiming to hit Bangalore directly by dinner.

Almost immediately, our plan was getting derailed. There was a massive 2 km long traffic jam in a place called Neyyatinkara. The NH highway to Kanyakumari being narrow and patchy also did not make it any easy for us. We weaved and dodged between the lorries, tourist buses and cars and somehow escaped the jam, but we had lost a good 25-30 minutes by way of that jam.

By then, we were still a good 50 kms or so out of Kanyakumari and daylight was breaking. It was clear that we would not make the sunrise. Sure enough, the sun came up nice and low and straight into our eyes because we were riding in an easterly direction for most part.. I had a spare visor but it was translucent, not enough to shield me from the blinding light. So I got my Ray Ban out and wore it, but it still did not protect my eyes fully. Both of us were having this problem, but we soon got over it once the sun was high enough. By then, we were in Kanyakumari! We found some nice scenic spots overlooking the sea and quickly parked up and began to take in the sights. The view was unparalleled beauty! The authorities have built a road high up and right by the sea which provides for some magnificent views.
















Kanyakumari is a religious hotspot, with a lot of history and culture behind it. The Thiruvalluvar Statue and Vivekananda Rock is located side by side and is an example of
We took our time at the place, and although it was time to go, I just didn't feel like leaving. It was very windy and cool, and the view was just spectacular. But we had a target and we had to stick to it. So we left soon.

We took the supposed GQ route to Madurai, which was first a 25 km two laned badly paved road from Kanyakumari. Along this route, we came across a massive number of windmills, easily 1000+. The sight of the huge blades of the windmills spinning was an interesting and captivating sight, and for about 10 kms, on either side of the road, all we could see were windmills of various sizes/capacities.







After that, it was GQ alright, but the nightmare began right there for us. The route is not fully open, and someone in NHAI taking care of the construction of the GQ must be applauded for his brilliant stupidity and genius in the way the road has been opened to the public. The roads are nearly complete in both directions, but for some reason, NHAI diverts the traffic back and forth onto each lane every couple of kilometres. While they may have a genuine reason for doing so, the effect it has on the vehicles and the users is massive. The road laid on the two km stretches are top class, but the diversion road connected the laid parts is downright horrible, and the gradient coming down from/going up to the well laid stretch is abrupt and steep. The road was like this all the way to Salem!! With these conditions, getting to Bangalore was going to be a challenge.

One of the many "Take Diversion" boards:









And to make things more interesting, there was a slight drizzle which turned into rain along the way. We made it to Tirunelveli and Mithun sighted a hotel where we had a good breakfast, and a few minutes of rest. The One's rear was coated with mud and grime. We spent some time there chatting up with some elderly tourists from Chattishgarh and they were zapped to hear about the R1 and our tour We left the hotel and continued on towards Madurai.

We finally reached Madurai at lunchtime, and I needed to get the R1 fuelled badly. We were forced to take a detour into a small town called Kovilpatti just to put in enough fuel to get The One to Madurai. This happened because I could not get a petrol pump in Kanyakumari, one of my planned refuelling stops. Anyway, we reached Madurai and began looking for the famous Hotel Gowrishankar. I fuelled up, and after a couple of signals and navigating the city traffic, we found the place and snuck in for a quick lunch. The boss there was kind enough to make space for us right by the entrance so that we could have a view of our bikes while we ate.

After a hearty meal, we left the place and began to make our way to Salem. Madurai to Salem is about 240 kms, and we were hoping to hit Salem by nightfall. But the highly annoying GQ construction put paid to that plan. We encountered nearly 60-70 diversion roads, so multiply that by four, you get the number of jolts we received each time we made the transit from the bad road to the good and vice versa. This rapidly tired me out, and at one point, I was planning to stiffen the front so that the jolts would not affect my arms or my spine. As we went about this routine again and again, I began to get tired and weary. I asked Mithun to lead and he took to the lead as if he was starting the day just then. He took off and I followed him.

By the time we got to the outskirts of Namakkal, I was pretty much washed out. Salem was still 85 kms away. I signalled Mithun to stop at a petrol pump and I fuelled up my R1 and took a breather. The pump owner happened to be an MLA of that area and he along with the others, advised us to stay put at Namakkal itself. The road conditions would not change until Salem. I was ready for it, and Mithun also looked knackered, but was in far better shape than me. He was okay with going ahead with Salem or Namakkal, either way was fine. Tired, I decided to stay at Namakkal, and Mithun also agreed. Then the MLA became a bit pushy and began to recommend his friend's hotel, which he said had 5 star luxuries at a 3 star price. Tempting as it was, I was somehow not comfortable with that. But resigning to my condition, I just gave in and took the card. I began lubing the chain, which by now was coated with mud, grime and was badly in need of some TLC.

We left the pump, and a few kms down the road, we spotted our saviour for the night.

A cherry red Innova, whooshed past us and he seemed in a tearing hurry. By the looks of it, he was headed to Salem. I told Mithun, that I could manage it if we just followed the guy. We wouldn't have to spot and concentrate on finding the diversions signs if we followed him. Mithun agreed, and with that, an epic dash to Salem ensued. The Innova driver had some serious talent! He would keep the engine on boil and pull off some amazing overtaking maneuvers. We began pushing ourself and our machines responded with absolute delight. This chase went on for about 40 kms or so, when I noticed my engine starting to misfire on loading and completely cut out on me whenever I pulled the clutch in. I didn't want to lose sight of the Innova, so I began pushing the R1 as well. Soon, it was clear that something was seriously wrong. The engine was progressively getting worse. The engine was spluttering and was behaving as if it was short of breath. So I signalled Mithun and pulled over by the roadside. I started to think what could be wrong.. Clogged air filter, fuel filter, bad fuel.. It could be any of those. But Mithun and I thought it could be the fuel because the problem surfaced after I fuelled up outside Namakkal. In either case, it was too late to do anything about it, and I stopped pushing the R1 for the rest of the way.

The remainder of the distance to Salem was a blur and I don't remember much of it, except Mithun leading the way, and us suddenly coming upon the entrance to the city.
I asked around and found a decent hotel to stay for the night. There was no way I could do another 200 odd kms in the night and on such roads. The time as it is, was 8 pm. My neck had also started to hurt from the constant banging the roads dished out. As I went about getting the room, I was thinking about the number of vehicles that ply on that stretch every day, and was trying to calculate the cost of wear and tear of parts, lost fuel economy, and vehicle user level that the design of the road meted out. It had to be staggering. Imagine slowing down for the diversion, going through the bad patches, speeding up to 90-100 and then slowing down again. Multiply that by the number of diversions, and you have a massive loss to everyone concerned.

Anyway, the hotel had a basement parking, which would be locked in the night. That was safe enough for me, and I just got the gear off, hit the bed and was out like a light.

Day 5:

We had a really late start, at around 9.15 or so. It was a relatively easy stretch to Bangalore from there. The GQ was complete and we could nail it all the way without any issues. The R1's engine was still not happy, and as soon as we got to Krishnagiri, I fuelled up from the COCO pump and we stopped to eat something at the BPCL Adyar Anandha Bhavan complex.






After a heavy brunch, we left the place, and almost immediately, the R1 was a lot better. So it was bad fuel at Namakkal after all! I was relieved that the problem was solved, and we made quick progress past Hosur and into Karnataka.

As soon as you enter Karnataka from the Hosur side, you are greeted with the worst of the roads. It was hot, dusty, and bad roads again. We negotiated through the roads, and soon got to Silk Board junction. Snaking through the mid day traffic, we went through Banashankari and decided to split at the DG Petrol Pump. We stopped for a customary trip ending photo and went on our way.







I reached home, had lunch and immediately rode out again to see the madam who was huffing and puffing

All in all, an amazing ride.. complete with drama and humour. We met some kind souls who helped us in times of need and am thankful to them for the timely help. The route, the scenery and the machine was an absolute delight. I don't know when my work will permit me to ride like this again, but I will definitely do this again soon.

Special mention to Mithun once again, for patiently waiting, and adjusting his leave plans to suit my ever changing schedules. He also kept me great company, and a steady, safe chap who is a delight to ride with. Thanks buddy

Trip log ends

I'll post the trip statistics, with fuel consumption figures shortly.

akhil you can make a movie man.. nice logs...

BTW how come the R1 is so dirty and the R15 is so clean

All this while i was sleeping like a lazy pig ..

I reached home and luckily my madam came home to see me

Special thanks to Akhil for making this trip and royal stays i had all through the trips.. i never in my life has drank so much coffee in 3 days Ton Thanks for your uncle and aunt and shyams mom

And not to mention the way you rode.. Always waited for me and you rode in my comfort zone thanks a ton for that..

Through out the trip this is the only moments he was so relaxed

U should have seen the A'star suit it was more dirty than R1

Akhil just one word you are the man with " Metal back " awesome ride logs and pics a 5 star rating from my side.

you both desreve a pat on your back.

@thanks pradeep

Few pics from my camera

Unbelievable stamina shown by both you guys.
Kudos mates..!!

@Akhil : The diversions that you've spoken of, apparently seem to be a feature of all highways. On a trip to Goa by bus, i'd seen these diversions liberally peppered along the route, all through the night.

I wonder what necessitates these diversions
If its repair work of some sort, im sure it can't last for a couple of years as id been to Goa two-three years ago...

@Mithun and Akhil: Enjoyed reading your South Indian trip log. And thanks for sharing your experience.

@mithun: awesome pics there man!! The one with the hills really reminds me of home.

O.T : These diversions reminds me a comic scene from atamil movie where after taking diversions within city limits vijay & vivek land up in andhra pradesh

Glad you both of you never ended up in andhra

Ive seen that flick
Vivek might have hit upon that idea for a joke after seeing the state of our highways i guess

OT's aside :
Seriously, Its a major nuisance even when travelling by bus. The entire vehicle keeps wallowing this way and that.
One can easily feel that even the state run transport services would save a lot of travel time and hence money if these 'diversions' were fixed...

maybe becuz of the Indianized mud guard