Re: Day Rides

Last weekend Sunday, my wife and I rode off to Wai for a quick breakfast run at 7.15am. Enroute we hit a short stretch which was covered in mist with the temperature a cool 5 degrees lower. Met up with Sandeep on his Z800 who along with Tanya on her CBR1000 and Kurush on his Ninja650 were also out for a ride. Incidentally, Sandeep is the go-to-guy for decal work in Pune. We reached home at 10am feeling charged up for the motorsport events of F1 and Motogp that were in store for the day.

Separately, got news that 2 bikes crashed, off which the Daytona on a ride to Charoti out of Mumbai was a fatality. The rider hailed from Malcolm Baug in Mumbai, R.I.P brother! The red Ducati Hypo Motard crashed at Lonavala, the rider was from Pune and was fortunately alright, though his bike was in pieces. Sad stuff!

Re: Day Rides

A quick morning ride to Lonavala for breakfast yesterday, Dussehra brought a smile to my face as after a long time I pulled a ride midweek. I caught up with some riders from Mumbai who were riding Triumphs, Bonneville, Rocket and Daytona at Ramakrishna which is the preferred pit stop for breakfast. After some chit chat and scrumptious medu wada I reached home at 10am. I liked the ohlins shock absorbers on the Bonneville. Sadly, I didn't see any bikes from amchi Pune, but on the way back from Lonavala rode past a couple of groups heading South toting saddlebags and happiness, they were probably off for a long ride to make most of the long weekend. Good for them!

P.S. my first attempt at a selfie. Ha!

Re: Day Rides

Yesterday's ride to Lavasa after over two months was invigorating. The hill was packed with bikes off all sorts and the twisties buzzing with bikes cornering and riders pushing lean angles to their limits. Passed friend Ashish Pillai in the opposite direction whilst on the ascend. I was able to take some video footage which I shall compile along with some other ride in the near future. The pit stop or "tapri" just outside the entrance to Lavasa was chock-a-block with over fifty bikes and with their riders sporting riding gear makes for nirvana. Checked out the newly launched Mojo and got to know about the finer details from Mahindras relationship managers who had ridden the bikes. Also got to see the new Yamaha R3 in the flesh. As the place was packed, I did a quick turnaround and headed for the descent and stopped along the way for vada pao and a cuppa chai. I then headed to my riding buddy's house to watch the Malaysian Motogp race. Truly a dramatic race may I add and a sad outcome for 46. All-in-all another super Sunday.

Re: Day Rides

Great going!
How is the appearance of Mojo and R3 as compared to their quarter liter counterparts? Asking you because you have seen and felt a lot of bikes from the place they were meant to be seen - the road!

Re: Day Rides

In my opinion, the Mojo looks trendy and muscular though underpowered for a 300cc bike. The bike is shod with Pirelli Diabolo Rossi II tyres which to the enthusiast will stand out. The riding position is setup for touring and with that comfy extra padded seat should make long rides a breeze. Since I haven't ridden one as yet I wouldn't know about the vibes being a single cylinder engine but much credit to an Indian manufacturer for producing an affordable bike like this in our Country. The R3 on the other hand just didn't come across to me as a bigger bike, it just didn't register a noticeable difference. Sadly missed on this Yamaha will be the deltabox chassis which I think would have upped the rideability of this bike by leaps and bounds. Again, since I haven't ridden one as yet I wouldn't know about the performance, though I suspect it wouldn't be a slouch on the straights to its counterparts.

Re: Day Rides

Awesome thread bro! Ride safe!

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Thanks! Well, I have put together the video from Sunday's ride to Lavasa. Unfortunately, the camera angle was off, so I got very little usable footage. Nevertheless I hope you like it.

Re: Day Rides

This set of pictures is from a ride Diwali week to Goa. We were celebrating dear friend Anji Mehra's ride 50 years ago from England to India on his BSA Super Rocket 650cc Twin. At the 7am meetup in Pune the group consisted of Nobby,Ishaan, Jamal, Ashish Pillai and myself along with the Friction team in a car. Since we decided to surprise Anji, we caught up with him and his son Asheesh (riding his BSA 650cc Golden Flash Twin) in small groups at different points enroute to Wai. Jamal had ridden down the previous day on his Bonneville from Ahmedabad and Ishaan had flown in from Delhi to make this super ride. The destination for the first day, Sunday Nov 8 was Kolhapur and we stayed at Krishna Hotel for the night. JP Singh of the Motomonks fame joined us as well in Kolhapur. As everyone was meeting up after a long time, some after a Ladakh ride in June this year, the evening was late with 30 bottles of lager down the hatch. We were joined by the Friction Team of Ashish Pillai on a KTM390 along with Joel and Sam in a car who were video shooting this event.

As I had to return back to Pune for my 20th year anniversary I rode back from Kolhapur to Pune on Monday Nov 9 leaving at 8.15am and reaching home 11.15am. The rest of the group continued on to Goa via the fantastic Chorla Ghat. They were joined in Goa by Ashok Naidu, xbHp biker of the year 2013, on his Czechoslovakian Jawa 1952 Parak who had ridden down from Pune.

On Thursday Nov 12, I gunned the Ninja at 6am from Pune and rode down to Goa amidst a cool morning with the weather around 15 degrees. I reached Oritel Hotel, Vagator at 2.30pm and after a bite to eat and a snooze, I caught up with the group in the same hotel for a swim in the pool followed by drinks and dinner by the poolside.

On Friday Nov 13, we left at 9am for Chiplun via the coast road NH17 aka Mumbai Goa highway. This was a tiring days ride as the weather was warm and humid nevertheless we pushed on and enroute stopped for some scrumptious fish at Ganpatiphule. We found a hotel opposite the HP pump in Chiplun and settled in for the evening around 6pm. After cleaning out the town of mild beer and numerous masala papads, I crashed at 1.45am.

After much debate the previous evening including some heated ones, we decided to take the Chiplun - Karad crossover to NH4 instead of the Poladpur Mahabaleshwar route which is in terrible condition. Taking this route was a good decision and surely saved a lot of unnecessary bike bashing. We left Chiplun Nov 14 Saturday at 9.30am and were thankful for cooler riding climate which we hit on the ghat ascent. Asheesh and I passed through a small town called Patan where we stopped for some minor repair that was needed on the Golden Flash, and suddenly we were sourounded by some folks off which two brothers from the town turned out to be owners of 18 classic bikes, a Jawa 1948 included. After a short regroup outside Katraj tunnel, I reached home 5.30pm

I thoroughly enjoyed this ride as it was a mix of being able to ride by myself at faster speeds as well as leisurely with the group. All in all, a Happy Diwali.

Re: Day Rides

Check out the "Ride of the Legend" video from the Diwali week ride. Hope you enjoy it.

Re: Day Rides

Cool vid. Is that a gopro vid?

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I use a SJ4000 camera. In essence it is similar to a gopro.

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What are some good places for a short weekend day ride around Mumbai to start with

Re: Day Rides

Well, if you plan to return the same day, then some places off the cuff that come to mind are:

Charoti
Lonavala, Amby Valley
Alibaug (I think there is a ferry crossing from Mumbai)
Kasara Ghat
Igatpuri

For an overnight ride

Mahabaleshwar, Panchgini (hill stations)
Dapoli, Anjarle beaches
Daman
Nasik (vineyards)
Lavasa
Malshej Ghat

Except for Alibaug and Vadkalnaka where the road conditions are bad, the rest is smooth roads. Hope this helps and you make a ride. Do post a travelogue.

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Thanks a lot. I am gearing up for rides after quiet some time now..probably all will be solo but do hope to find someone to tag along.cheers

Re: Day Rides

A few more pictures from the "Ride of the Legend" week to Goa