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Duke 390 | Bangalore to Hyderabd & back!
Hi All,
This is my 1st post on xbhp forum, inspired by many fellow bikers. I have done multiple solo rides but will start with the most recent one : Bangalore - Hyderabad - Bangalore
Onward Start time : 28th July - 6 AM
Return start time : 30th July - 9:30 AM
Bike : KTM Duke 390
The birthday of someone special to me was on Sunday (29th July) and I decided to be there in person. Took a day off on Monday to avoid this trip being a tiring one!
I decided to start around 5 AM on Saturday and expected to reach there by 3-4 PM as per Google Dada's estimate. I generally prefer having 6 hrs of sound sleep before any trip but dues to some issue, I had to sleep late. Cut short, I was able to leave my home at 6 PM.
Pre-trip preparations:
I fueled my bike (~10 ltr), got tyre pressure checked. I also cleaned & lubricated the chain on Friday night.
Onward journey day:
I was carrying a Rynox tank bag tied to pillion seat using bungee cords. Opened up Google Maps and was surprised to see that Google Dada is showing me route vie MG road (I stay near HSR) instead of ORR. There was a delay of 2 hrs via ORR. So, I took the route suggested. In around 30 min, I was on Hebbal -Airport flyover, cruising at 100 Kmph. The weather was great with chilly wind currents. I crossed Airport Toll & reached Nandi Hill signal in another 1 hour. Stopped there for a tea (& Parle-G
)
After this I decided to stop for fuel as I had heard lot of praised about Blr-Hyd highway. As soon as I started & traveled 20-25 kms, I realized that the praises are not doing enough justification to the highway. Any 150cc+ bike can hit triple digit speed easily. My bike was cruising at 130-140 Kmph! I covered almost 90Km in next hour before stopping for fuel.
After re-fueling, I realized that it's damn easy to maintain average speed of 100 Kmph given the road condition and power packed D390. I though of giving it a try. I started and immediately I was at cruising speed of 120+ Kmph. The roads are in brilliant condition. You won't even find patchwork on them!
I had to admit that after sometime, the road became boring. I generally like roads with curves, turns, bit of greenery. This highway is straight like a stick (well, most of it). Also, I found the scenic quotient on bit lower side. Considering all these factors, I decided to go all in and took it as a challenge to maintain average speed of 100 Kmph for as long as possible.
Somewhere on the way -->
Customary bike pic-->
I made 2 more fuel stops in between and crossed Hyd airport at around 12:15 PM! I didn't stop for any tea/snacks break in between. By 1'o clock, I was at my destination. It took me ~7 hours (3 hrs less than Google Dada's estimate) from my home to destination (~584 Kms) taking only 5 hours from Blr airport to Hyd airport.
Himayat Sagar lake-->
Return Journey
This time I knew the time it would take me to drive back home so I slept for good amount of time, didn't wake up too early and had a proper breakfast. I was ready to leave by 9:30 AM
I thought of again breaking my own record for traveling longest with average speed of 100Kmph. For first 60-70Kms (mainly till Hyd airport), I met moderate traffic. Post that, I opened up my throttle to reach 3 digit speed. I only made one stop for tea and 3 fuel stops.
ISKCON Temple somewhere on the route-->
I learnt an important lesson while returning - Always carry cash for fuel. I generally stop for fuel when DTE (distance to empty) is ~40Kms. So, I made this stop, asked the guys if they accept card and he said No. I wasn't much worried as he told me that next fuel station is only 8kms away. I reached this next station and to my surprise, he also wasn't accepting card. I traveled for another 10 kms to find that the next fuel station was out of fuel! I started panicking as console now showed only 20Kms as DTE. The next station I found was only after 10-11 Kms and to my relief, it was accepting cards. I made a note to myself about carrying some cash, always.
After the last panic attack, there was no more surprises. I reached Blr Airport toll at 3:45 PM (covered 457Kms @ average speed of 102Kmph!).
My home is around 55 Kms from airport and it took me good ~2 hrs to reach my place thanks to infamous traffic for Bangalore. The return journey took 8 hrs.
To summarize, it was a great experience. Never thought that it is possible to have speed of 100 Kmph on Indian roads. Hats off to NHAI!
My personal record
-->
Looking forward to share many more of my trips.
Ride safe!
This is my 1st post on xbhp forum, inspired by many fellow bikers. I have done multiple solo rides but will start with the most recent one : Bangalore - Hyderabad - Bangalore
Onward Start time : 28th July - 6 AM
Return start time : 30th July - 9:30 AM
Bike : KTM Duke 390
The birthday of someone special to me was on Sunday (29th July) and I decided to be there in person. Took a day off on Monday to avoid this trip being a tiring one!
I decided to start around 5 AM on Saturday and expected to reach there by 3-4 PM as per Google Dada's estimate. I generally prefer having 6 hrs of sound sleep before any trip but dues to some issue, I had to sleep late. Cut short, I was able to leave my home at 6 PM.
Pre-trip preparations:
I fueled my bike (~10 ltr), got tyre pressure checked. I also cleaned & lubricated the chain on Friday night.
Onward journey day:
I was carrying a Rynox tank bag tied to pillion seat using bungee cords. Opened up Google Maps and was surprised to see that Google Dada is showing me route vie MG road (I stay near HSR) instead of ORR. There was a delay of 2 hrs via ORR. So, I took the route suggested. In around 30 min, I was on Hebbal -Airport flyover, cruising at 100 Kmph. The weather was great with chilly wind currents. I crossed Airport Toll & reached Nandi Hill signal in another 1 hour. Stopped there for a tea (& Parle-G
)After this I decided to stop for fuel as I had heard lot of praised about Blr-Hyd highway. As soon as I started & traveled 20-25 kms, I realized that the praises are not doing enough justification to the highway. Any 150cc+ bike can hit triple digit speed easily. My bike was cruising at 130-140 Kmph! I covered almost 90Km in next hour before stopping for fuel.
After re-fueling, I realized that it's damn easy to maintain average speed of 100 Kmph given the road condition and power packed D390. I though of giving it a try. I started and immediately I was at cruising speed of 120+ Kmph. The roads are in brilliant condition. You won't even find patchwork on them!
I had to admit that after sometime, the road became boring. I generally like roads with curves, turns, bit of greenery. This highway is straight like a stick (well, most of it). Also, I found the scenic quotient on bit lower side. Considering all these factors, I decided to go all in and took it as a challenge to maintain average speed of 100 Kmph for as long as possible.
Somewhere on the way -->
Customary bike pic-->
I made 2 more fuel stops in between and crossed Hyd airport at around 12:15 PM! I didn't stop for any tea/snacks break in between. By 1'o clock, I was at my destination. It took me ~7 hours (3 hrs less than Google Dada's estimate) from my home to destination (~584 Kms) taking only 5 hours from Blr airport to Hyd airport.
Himayat Sagar lake-->
Return Journey
This time I knew the time it would take me to drive back home so I slept for good amount of time, didn't wake up too early and had a proper breakfast. I was ready to leave by 9:30 AM
I thought of again breaking my own record for traveling longest with average speed of 100Kmph. For first 60-70Kms (mainly till Hyd airport), I met moderate traffic. Post that, I opened up my throttle to reach 3 digit speed. I only made one stop for tea and 3 fuel stops.
ISKCON Temple somewhere on the route-->
I learnt an important lesson while returning - Always carry cash for fuel. I generally stop for fuel when DTE (distance to empty) is ~40Kms. So, I made this stop, asked the guys if they accept card and he said No. I wasn't much worried as he told me that next fuel station is only 8kms away. I reached this next station and to my surprise, he also wasn't accepting card. I traveled for another 10 kms to find that the next fuel station was out of fuel! I started panicking as console now showed only 20Kms as DTE. The next station I found was only after 10-11 Kms and to my relief, it was accepting cards. I made a note to myself about carrying some cash, always.
After the last panic attack, there was no more surprises. I reached Blr Airport toll at 3:45 PM (covered 457Kms @ average speed of 102Kmph!).
My home is around 55 Kms from airport and it took me good ~2 hrs to reach my place thanks to infamous traffic for Bangalore. The return journey took 8 hrs.
To summarize, it was a great experience. Never thought that it is possible to have speed of 100 Kmph on Indian roads. Hats off to NHAI!
My personal record
-->Code:
[B]Road condition[/B] : Excellent [B]Fuel stations [/B]: Plenty (please carry cash :P) [B]Scenic beauty [/B]: Less (compared to other destination near Bangalore) [B]Food availability [/B]: Decent [B]Speed breaker visibility [/B]: Very good. There are proper warning signs
Ride safe!
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