Re: Golden Quadrilateral ride on Dominar 400

Great captures!

Re: Golden Quadrilateral ride on Dominar 400

Awesome brother.

Re: Golden Quadrilateral ride on Dominar 400

31 Dec 2018:
Last day of the year. We were excited about today's breakfast at Samrat. A small eatery in opposite lane of city palace entrance. Tandoor Chai, kachori, fresh Jalebi, Samosa... No need to say I had everything. Our saddlebag were heavy due to last night's shopping. So we couriered all the shopping home and left Jaipur by 12 in the afternoon. The roads are good here with less traffic. Topography turned dry and aried. Taller trees have been replaced by small bushes and thrones. Flat tarmac for long kilometres was surrounded by sand, well mostly.
At 7 we reached our Airbnb stay. Got freshen up and headed towards a nearby mall. After a delicious Italian BMT sub we headed back to our room and crashed early in bed. Everyone was celebrating outside, we slept like logs. Today we covered 434 kilometres in 6 hours.






1 Jan 2018:
Left Udaipur just before Sunrise. A new year, new experience and a new challenge of finding dhaba for breakfast. Everything was closed. Perhaps they might have slept few hours ago. Later we found one. A delicious one. Today's plan was to reach till Vadodara and if we're not tired and still left with time, we will continue till Mumbai. From Udaipur one should take Godhra highway till Vadodara. As usual, Google map showed us a shorter route which was shit. Somehow we touched Vadodara at 2 pm. Cancelled our Vadodara booking and decided to head home. We had a delicious Gujarati lunch and now started a high speed chase to home. This route is familiar, demands speed, precision in navigating traffic at high speed and the tarmac is smooth. Reached Mumbai at 9 pm, covering 726 kilometres in 13 hours.

Re: Golden Quadrilateral ride on Dominar 400

After 6,155 kilometers, 11 days and 12 states, we completed Golden Quadrilateral ride on our Dominar 400. Clicked some pics at Dahisar toll Naka. We entered our building with a big surprise welcome. Our family and building people gathered to welcome us at the gate. We were not tired after 13 hours of ride. We were proud, satisfied, stoned, happy.... lot of emotions. In one trip we witnessed almost the whole India. The greenery and colourful temples of South. Wetlands and small jungle patches of Andhra and Odisha's east coast. Not so friendly parts of Jharkhand and Bihar. Incredible hospitality of Uttar Pradesh. One of the finest expressways of our country get you pass through the Capital city. Bushy, sandy, beautiful Rajasthan and Gujarat led us to west coast.
These connecting highways through megacities are not touristy. They form a backbone for transportation in our country. States like Karnataka, West Bengal, UP, Gujarat have built excellent roads. The Sunsets and sunrises we witnessed while on road were amazing. I had least expectations for a good picture and every time I've been surprised.
During food and fuel breaks people approached us with curiosity. Some checked out the loaded bike and were amazed to see Maharashtra registration. It started many conversations. Many helped us with navigation and timings. Some dropped their jaw after hearing our route plan. People are usually nice throughout. In Andhra, we were having brunch at a roadside dhaba. Masala Dosa and it came with a red garlic chutney and I so much loved it!!! I somehow managed to ask him to pack some for me. Though it was not for sale, he instantly prepared it fresh and packed for us.
Speaking of food. Hummm. We absolutely enjoyed it. Except few restaurants we survived on roadside dhabas/eatery. Sambhar rice, Dosas of South India were deliciously different and pure than Mumbai. Breakfast at a dhaba in Andhra was a special experience. All the local workers were picking up tiffin for their day and we were feasting the same laziz Chole Puri with them. Lunch at SFC food hub Vizag, Dal Khichadi at Chitradurg, Breakfast at a dhaba in UP, Paneer subji at Gurugram dhaba, Kachori and Jalabi breakfast at Jaipur.... such a delicious journey in one tour.
We're not the only riders to complete this Golden Quadrilateral route on motorcycle but, yes, one of the few. To complete the circuit one requires experience, focus, precision and planning. I had this route in my wishlist for some time. After switching from RE Bullet to Dominar 400, I started thinking of rides which were out of our league till now. I opened my wishlist and GQ was perfectly fitting in the holiday season. A route plan was made. It started from south coz I wanted to keep good roads in the last patch of our ride. I planned two rest days at Vizag and Varanasi respectively. After one long day, next day was short ride. Couple of weeks before we booked Airbnb stays till Udaipur. We covered maximum 1,052 and minimum 322 kilometers in a day. Some days we rode 21 hours and some days just 6 hours. We used to leave by 6-7 in morning everyday and reach to destination by 8 to 12 in night.
We knew that we will be spending really long hours on the bike, so we were prepared. For a few weeks we followed yoga, walking, stretching, etc. to be enough fit for the ride. To protect bumps and lower back, we bought air cushion seats, which literally saved our asses. The ride was most tiring on Kolkata to Varanasi route and best on Agra to Jaipur (via Delhi) route. Another major concern for us was Safety. We bought a good quality (LS2) helmet for pillion. Riding jackets, gloves, knee pads, balaclava, etc. were purchased for added safety. To carry luggage we bought Saddle bag from Dirtsack. I changed my engine oil to Motul for better performance.... and it's a long list...
Riding is a joy. There's no satisfaction like covering kilometers and fighting against winds. I enjoy every process of riding . Pulling clutch, shifting gears, acceleration, braking, shifting lanes, overtaking, leaning in a deep curve, high speeds, cutting traffic, broken roads, ghats. ... No matter what bike, I love riding.

Now, GQ is done, next ...

Re: Golden Quadrilateral ride on Dominar 400

Hi. Great trip. Could you share a ballpark budget for this whole trip?

Re: Golden Quadrilateral ride on Dominar 400

Thanks. We spent around 46K on this trip. Including stay, food, petrol, misc.

Re: Golden Quadrilateral ride on Dominar 400

Kudos to you both for completing such a challenging marathon journey through the Golden Quadrilateral.

I'm curious to know, since you traveled through 12 different states, did you take NOC(No Objection Certificate) for all the states you visited?

Re: Golden Quadrilateral ride on Dominar 400

Thanks for inspiring words.
So about the documents part... there's no document required when you cross the state borders, as long as you are on motorcycle and following rules. We carried original and Xerox copies of motorcycle documents i.e. RC book, Licence, etc.
We also kept our Aadhar and Pan card with us. This was required at Airbnb/Hotel stays.
Hope this solves your query. Let me know if any more questions

Re: Golden Quadrilateral ride on Dominar 400

As per my knowledge only few states/places need some documentation before you visit.
Parts of Ladakh, Rohtang pass, Arunachal Pradesh. These are few I recollect.

Re: Golden Quadrilateral ride on Dominar 400

Thanks for the info. I asked regarding the NOC since I have seen traffic policemen in the cities stop and ask for NOC when they spot a vehicle with Non-local registration number. However since most part of your journey is on highways you might not have encountered such issues.

Also please share details regarding the preparation you had made before starting the trip- like the mods you have done on Dominar for the tour, luggage accessories(saddle bags/top box/tank bag), the safety gear you wore, and also do & dont's or tips based on your experiences, this would really help other fellow riders.

Re: Golden Quadrilateral ride on Dominar 400

Ohh lucky us.. we didn't got caught by Policeman.
I'll post a list of mods and gears. Thanks.

Re: Golden Quadrilateral ride on Dominar 400

Mods on Dominar:
1. Saddle stay
2. Phone mount
3. Hand guards from KTM 390
4. Motul 10W50 engine oil
5. Top rack

Gear used:
1. ViaTerra tankbag
2. Dirtsack saddlebag - Longranger Pro
3. Oceansac 20 ltr
4. Rynox & Tarmac riding jacket
5. Scoyco knee guards
6. Studds and LS2 helmets
7. RideOnAir and Fego float.

Suggestions:
1. Get a windshield.
2. Handlebar riser would be a plus.
3. Get a helmet which has less wind noise.

Re: Golden Quadrilateral ride on Dominar 400

Thanks for the info.
Is this a backpack or a water sac?

Can you share the price for each of these riding gear if you don't mind?

I really wondered how you were able to complete such a long and tiring journey without a windshield!

I guess the new 2019 version Dominar has a raised handle bar though. Don't know if that's sufficient. New owners can clarify this.

Well, does the design of helmet really help reduce the wind noise, I was of the opinion that windshield alone would suffice.

Re: Golden Quadrilateral ride on Dominar 400

Hi,
So, Oceansac is a waterproof bag. It has roll top design. Nowadays it is available in Decathlon.

For gear prices I will suggest to visit a motorcycle gear store for better deals. For just prices you can check respective brand's websites.

For my height (5.6ft) I felt the need for risers.

I have installed a windshield now and bought a new Shiro helmet also. Helmet is nice but a bit noisy at speeds above 100 kmph.

My next purchase will be riding pants and crash guard.

Thanks.