Re: Pune to Nagaland (Dimapur) - help needed.

Approved!

Maybe [MENTION=57593]saquib3005[/MENTION] can help.

Re: Pune to Nagaland (Dimapur) - help needed.

"Confused" might be an understatement ;-)
ur totally right to question the safety aspect, espcially traversing the MP-UP-Bihar section. if you must travel this section, ensure u reach a city and stay at a hotel at night.
alternatively, u can take atleast 1 direction via Bhubneshwar route...
about engine oil, i don't think u need a fully synthetic oil if it is not required by the manufacturer. but just ensure whichever oil you put is good for the cold.
about oil changes, i would say, you should get one service done at midpoint of the journey, ie nagaland.
carry basic spares with u like clutch and accelerator cables, a puncture repair kit, and an air pump if possible.
wrap everything in plastic bags before putting it into your sack.
i know gixxer is a comfy bike, but pulling 1000 km is difficult even for seasoned riders, so i would recommend taking it slow, atleast for the onward journey.
since you have 8 days to make the 1 way trip, go sightseeing, it is plenty of time...
roads in UP and Bihar are quite bad, expecting to pull 600+ km is too ambitious.

i will be tracking your thread because i intend to do a similar trip in march-april...

all the best and happy riding...

Re: Pune to Nagaland (Dimapur) - help needed.

Are you planning to travel or meet deadlines! Riding all night and 1000-1200km a day for multiple days on a 150cc motorcycle will be anything but fun. Are you doing this for fun or to check another place of your bucket list!

About the route. Take the first. Pune to Indore is good. From Indore to Shivpuri it is bad. From Shivpuri to Jhansi-Kanpur is great. Kanpur to Lucknow is a traffic fest. Lucknow to Muzzafarpur is awesome. Muzzafarpur till the Bengal border is awesome again. Bengal roads are terrible till Siliguri. Post Siliguri the roads are great till Guwahati. Roads in Assam are okay, in Nagaland i have heard the roads are not good (not been there though).

Roads in UP and Bihar are fantastic on this route, those who say otherwise haven't been on this route!! The only bad thing is traffic and in Bihar safety at night.

I do not know your endurance for long distance rides. So i cannot comment on it. But if i were doing this route then it would be something like this:

Day 1: Pune to Jhansi 1150 km, long run for the first day when you are fresh in the saddle.
Day 2: Jhansi to Muzzafarpur 850km. Shorter run to make up for the fatigue from the first day.
Day 3: Muzzafarpur to Siliguri 400km. Shorter ride gives you a bit of a buffer to make up for any time lost.
Day 4: Siliguri to Guwahati 500km: Ideally bypass Guwahati and depending on the time of the day get as far as you can. Remember the sun sets earlier here, so you want to find a hotel fast.
Day 5: Destination

I would ditch the tent, because along most of the route, pitching a tent is not a very sensible idea.

Cheers and all the best

----consecutive posts auto-merged-----

Also i didn't see anywhere a mention of when you plan to go for your ride. Because in the winter fog will be an issue in north india. Slowing you down terribly. Also preferably don't travel through UP and Bihar during elections

Re: Pune to Nagaland (Dimapur) - help needed.

Thanks guys, for the thread approval, the replies, the wishes, the advice, and information about the road status. I'm quite relieved to know that most of the roads are in good shape.

I'm making the journey now, because I've just turned 40, and it's been a long time since I've had an adventure. And, I've discovered that I quite like riding my bike on open roads.

I'm going to my in-laws place in Nagaland, where I'll be staying for a month. My wifes already there. She's busy for 3-4 days in the first week of December, so if I manage to finish the trip within that period, I may be able to keep my ride a secret till she sees me. She said that she'd kill me if I came there on my bike, and I'm quite scared of her.
She probably will find out about my ride when I'm en-route, but I'm hoping I manage to reach her doorstep before she has time to stew in her anger. I think once she sees me, all tired and exhausted, she'll melt eventually and commute my death sentence. But how long she takes to melt will depend on how long she's been simmering!

I don't know how much I'll be able to travel in a day. I'm going to try and make the trip as fast as possible, but if I can't travel more than 5-600 kms a day, then so be it. I believe that all experiences are good, even when they're not too enjoyable, so even though I'm not in the best physical shape, I'm going to try and keep a positive attitude on the trip, and see how far that takes me.

I'm going to make a list of alternative pit-stops along the way, so that if I feel I can't reach where I'd planned, I still know where to stop for the night.

I'd love to be able to stop for a few hours each day, and see some sights along the way. Like the Sanchi Stupa, or the Khajuraho temples. But I don't know how I'd manage that with the bags on my motorcycle.

I bought an air-pump a year back, and have been using that to fill air in the tires ever since. I've also got a puncture repair kit, and in theory I know how to use it, but I don't know how well that'll translate into reality. I'll pick up the accelerator and clutch cables when I give my bike for servicing. I'll carry along a chain cleaning kit (toothbrush and 80-90w gear oil), and maybe a spare can of engine oil. I've got the basic repair kit that came with the bike, would I need anything else?

I'm planning on making a day trip to Nashik next weekend. It's a 500km ride, and should give me a better idea of what to expect on a ride 6 times as long.

Re: Pune to Nagaland (Dimapur) - help needed.

Okay, the new info you have given changes everything. I didn't realize you are 40 and going to meet your wife Your first post sounded like a hot blooded 18 year old who wanted to reach his destination in the shortest time possible, come what may!

If you are not used to 500-600km in the saddle, then the break up i shared previously will be difficult to accomplish, i would suggest to ride in the day only and therefore reduce the number of kilometres per day, including on the first day.

Also, considering you will be riding up north in December (i assume you aren't used to cold here), do carry sufficient winter riding clothes for the journey.

1. Pune to Indore
2. Indore to Kanpur/ Lucknow
3. Kanpur/ Lucknow to Muzzafarpur
4. Muzzafarpur to Siliguri
5. Siliguri to Guwahati
6. Guwahati to Destination

I know this is longer than what you want, but considering that you are riding a 150cc bike and are not habituated to long distances, this appears to be the most feasible.

Re: Pune to Nagaland (Dimapur) - help needed.

So...I began my trip. I had planned to go last year, but had strained my back, and was out of action for a couple of months.
Anyway, I began my trip on Sunday, the 11th. I was planning on leaving a week earlier, but delayed my departure using the currency mess as an excuse. Then, I planned to leave on the 8th and started off at 4m, but I'd packed so badly that the bike wasn't balanced, and there was something poking me in the back.
So I delayed the trip again, and for the next 2 days I used the excuse of not waking up in time. But the real reason was that I was loathe to forgo my comforts.
On the 11th I decided that I had to go, and I did leave my house (at 5.30 am, not 4 like I'd planned). But for the first 90 kms I kept asking myself why I was putting myself through so much discomfort.
The next 10 kms I was going "woohoo!!" and then the road gave way to gravel, followed by a gravel covered speed-breaker. The next thing I knew, I was down, and my bike had sustained some damage.
The leg-guard had twisted, my led spot lights were pointing sky-ward, the head-lamp wasn't aligned, which was no surprise, because the digi-console had been pushed back, and had bent the key, and had made the keyhole inaccessible to the spare key. The gear lever had bent, making gear changes a little difficult.
My knee guard had sustained a bit of damage, my outer rain pants were ripped at the knees and hips, and my elbow was bleeding like crazy. My saddlebags were sightly scuffed, and had lost 1 strap. My helmet, jacket and knee guards had done a decent job of protecting me, and I don't think it's my jackets fault that it couldn't protect me from a getting stabbed by a sharp piece of gravel.
Anyway, I'd taken a tumble, and before I realised what had happened, there were half a dozen people helping me. I wasn't in any pain, just winded, and disappointed and I decided to head back home, get my bike fixed, and try again a few days later.
But 10kms on the way back, I realised that the bike, though a bit beat up, was okay, my bags were fine, and I wasn't in bad shape. And also, that if I went back home, i'd probably never take the trip.
So, I turned around, and continued on my journey.
I did Pune to Sangamer to Indore.
Pune to Sangamer, the roads are not great. Where they are good, they're followed suddenly by bad stretches. And it's a 2 lane highway, so I couldn't go as fast as I would have liked. Also, Here Maps took me into a narrow road in between houses and insisted that was a national highway. I shifted to Navii Maps after that, and that worked well. Except Navii Maps doesn't do by-passes. It thinks the fastest route is the shortest, and takes me right through the middle of the city.
Anyway, so I continued on my journey, and realised later that my ankle and knee were in agony, and I was having a really hard time changing gears. And it didn't help that the gear lever had twisted too.
Then, when i had to top up the tank, I used the bent key to open the petrol cap, and the key broke off inside. It really wasn't turning out to be my day. I was stuck 300kms from home, lame and bleeding, with a bike that I couldn't start, and too much luggage to leave unattended. I was staring at the piece of the key in the petrol
tank, and thinking of ways to remove it, when this really sweet young truck driver came up to me and began making conversation. He saw the problem, and began helping me without my even asking. We managed to get the key removed, and straightened up the console enough so that I could use the spare key to start the bike. And that's when I realised that this is who Indians are. The few bad people in the news give all of us a bad name. I've been through Maharashtra, MP, and am in UP at the moment. I've only met a few people, and for the most part they've been really nice - so far. I'm in UP now, and have been cheated at the petrol pump, have had my thermos lifted while I was stuck in traffic, and have been overcharged (in my opinion) at a dhaba. But other than that it's all been positive.

The road to Sangamer isn't great, and the scenery isn't nice either. The road from Dhule to Indore is good, and the scenery picks up.
I managed to reach the outskirts of Indore by about 9pm, and checked into a hotel.
Left for Khajuraho the next morning at about 8.30-9.
The road from Indore to Bhopal is brilliant. Great roads, no speed breakers, no traffic (in fact there's hardly been any traffic on the highways, so far), and really great views. Naviimaps took me through Bhopal, instead of letting me use the bypass to get to Sanchi, and I had a 1 hour tour of the city, and realised that it's not a place I'd like to visit anytime soon. The road to Sanchi is scenic, but not great. I had a small picnic at Sanchi Stupa, and then proceeded to Khajuraho.
It began to get dark at 5, and I decided to set-up my tent in the forest. I'd just got it up, when a local tough came on his bike, with a companion.He got off the bike, and pulled out a huge danda! Then he began asking me what I was doing there, who I was with etc, etc. I was a bit scared, but welcomed the new experience. Anyway, turns out he was a forest warden, and was looking out for poachers, and illegal tree fellers. He made me speak to the warden for permission, and they offered to put me up in a guest house, telling me that the area wasn't safe, and the currency shortage was making people commit murder for 10 rupees. They convinced me to move on, and I sped towards Khajuraho. The roads so far were brilliant, with hardly any speed breakers, and largely deserted. I managed to reach a town called Sagar, where I decided to spend the night, as the roads were too lonely, and the rangers had scared some sense into me.
The road from Sagar to Khajuraho is in pretty good shape, except within the forest. But it's got some great views, and I loved it.

Stayed overnight at Khajuraho.

Left Khajuraho for Muzzafarpur via Lucknow. Initially the roads aren't great, but then they get brilliant. Really smooth, no traffic, and great views.
Once you enter UP, the views lessen a bit, and you get a bit more traffic. You also get a lot more air pollution. The roads go from a 2 lane to a 4 lane highway somewhere near Kanpur. The road from Kanpur to Lucknow had hardly any traffic on it, and what traffic there was, was fast moving.
It took me a while to get clear of Lucknow, even though I took the pass. I tried to cover as many miles as I could before dark, as I realised that driving with my lights in bad shape in really dense fog wasn't the best idea. The roads are brilliant, but UP election campaigning has begun, causing a few snarls and delays. I managed to reach Ghorakpur bypass, about 250kms short of Muzzafarpur at 5pm, and the fog began to thicken, and the sun had practically set. Like an idiot I decided to stay in Ghorakpur city, instead of a highway hotel/guest house, and spent more than an hour and a half in the worst traffic I have ever experienced.

It's been 4 days, and I've done about 1800 kms so far. Riding the bike hasn't been tiring, rather, so far, I've found it quite refreshing. But the first 2 days I wasn't prepared adequately for the cold from the wind-chill, and that slowed me down a lot. It's a lot warmer at 60kmph than 85kmph. Today, I dressed extra-carefully, and I didn't feel the UP winter.
I hope my clothes manage to keep me warm on my 650 km (hopefully) ride to Siliguri tomorrow. I did almost 650 kms today, but tomorrow I've got to start 2 hours later because of the fog, and I think it's get dark sooner too.

I just wanted to add an update, but instead, i've posted a mini-travelouge!

Re: Pune to Nagaland (Dimapur) - help needed.

Another update - had a tough time leaving Gorakhpur. My bill wasn't ready till 9, and then there was a huge traffic jam at a railway crossing. I got onto the highway only around 10.30-11.
The fog was super dense, and visibility was about 200 meters. I tailed a couple of fast moving cars and was making good time. Then the cars changed direction, and I was on my own. I continued travelling at about 90kmph, as I could see fine. But apparently, even with my headlights and indicator on, I'm not too visible to trucks from their rear view mirror. A truck driver pulled out of a parking space, I braked, trying to be careful, but the bike crashed anyway. Luckily I managed to avoid hitting the truck.
I wasn't hurt badly again, luckily. I think I'd slowed down enough to avoid major pain, and the protective gear did the rest. But my bikes console pushed back into the key again, bending my spare key, and I wasted an hour getting a spare made. But I also managed to get someone to align the headlight, so now driving at night should be easier. My handlebar is twisted though, and it'll have to be replaced.
So, in the end I only managed to do 300kms, and reached Muzafarrpur.
The road was depressing. Gloomy because of smog, flat, with no views, it didn't make for an interesting ride. The roads in UP had jams in every second town because of elections, and the roads in Bihar were pretty awful for the first 40-50 kms. This was the only day so far when the ride wasn't very enjoyable.
But on the positive side, after my accident a lot of people came to help me, and were genuinely concerned.
I'm looking forward to entering the North-East tomorrow. But with the early nights, and dense morning fog, I don't know how much ground I'll be able to cover.
Are the roads near Siliguri safe at night?

Re: Pune to Nagaland (Dimapur) - help needed.

Sir, IMO please find a nearest suzuki service station and get your bike repaired. It can be risky to ride till siliguri if your bike is not in perfect condition. Meanwhile you can use a day or two to relax yourself

Re: Pune to Nagaland (Dimapur) - help needed.

Sir,

Hats off to your determination. You kept going despite of these situation. Its remarkable. As suggested please change your handle bar & check for any other failure because of the crashes.
Anyway I am glued to your thread as I need to know about siliguri-guwahati road condition.(Although I know it's good). BTW I stay in Guwahati so if you need any help please contact me(7085052130/9132330132). I have done the Guwahati-Dimapur route(Nov'16). IMO you should use Guwahati>Nagaon>Kaziranga(you can have a safari if you want)>Numaligarh>Garampani>Bokajan>Dimapur. This route is a bit long but you will have company all along.(Avoid night riding). Apart from that you will see why Assam/NE is beautiful. I would recommend to start from Guwahati as early as possible because you will need a good 8-9hours continuous journey if you want to reach Dimapur before sun down. Otherwise you can break up your journey as Guwahati-Kaziranga(If you are lucky you can get rooms in Govt. Guest house, if possible try Aranya guest house; otherwise you can stay anywhere, plenty of hotels are there.) Do the Kaziranga-Dimapur next day, fully refreshed & relaxed. Although I must warn you that the last 100kms road approaching Dimapur is very bad.


Regards,

Ritabroto

Re: Pune to Nagaland (Dimapur) - help needed.

Thanks for the concern guys.
I can't tell anyone in my family about my crashes, not till the trips over anyway, as I don't want them to worry, and it helps to talk about them here.

I think the only time I had to make myself go forward was after stepping out of my house on the first day. The rest just took care of itself.
And, even though it sounds scary to have a crash, the truth is, we're not made of glass, and a few bruises shouldn't stop anyone from seeing this country.
My bikes fine, the handlebars a bit bent, but the tyre/handlebar is aligned correctly, and everything works as it should. It just looks like it's taken a fall. I had all my protective gear on, so I'm in better shape.
Anyway, I left Muzaffarpur this morning. The city and highway was covered in dense fog/smog, and I landed up travelling the wrong way on a one way street. Got to experience Bihari cops, and that was an interesting way to start the day.
I left the hotel at about 8.30-9, and rode between 50-60 kmph, as visibility was less than a 100 feet. The fog lifted a little after 12, after which I sped up.
The road till Araria is excellent, and there was no traffic on it at all. The scenery improves the further east you travel.
There's a turning off the Bihar highway at Araria that takes you to Siliguri. The road isn't in great shape, but the scenery is so much better. I didn't enjoy riding through U.P. and Bihar, because everyone and everything looked so downtrodden and grey. Once I began riding on the narrow 2 lane highway, everything looked better, more alive, with more colours. Even the sun came up. People drove less aggressively. I began enjoying myself again.
The road isn't very smooth, and it has a bit more traffic than the Bihar highways, but you can still make good time.
I approached Siliguri from the National Highway, and that was a mistake, as it's under construction. I reached Siliguri around 4pm, and it seemed like all it's roads are under construction. I didn't enter the city as I knew it would be a nightmare to leave it again.
Instead I drove towards Guwahati, but it got dark, and even though the road from Jalpaiguri looked safe, as it had quite a bit of traffic, I decided to stay at Jalpaiguri and enjoy the scenery tomorrow. It seems to be a nice town.

The road to Guwahati seems to be a narrow 2 lane highway, or at least the part heading out from Jalpaiguri is.

The road from Siliguri to Jalpaiguiri is really bad near Siliguri, and gets progressively better as you move away. There are some bad potholes in the middle of really smooth roads that you have to look out for.

I'll try and post an update tomorrow about the road conditions up ahead. I expect them to be good, as that's what a couple of local people have told me. But there does seem to be a lot of truck traffic on it, which'll probably mean that it'll be a slow, trying ride. But the views should be good.

Oh, and I've crossed 2600kms on the trip-meter. I'm trying to ride between 80-95 kmph, and my Gixxer is giving me an average of between 33-36kmpl.

Re: Pune to Nagaland (Dimapur) - help needed.

Reached Guwahati.

The roads in both Assam, and West Bengal are in very bad shape. I took the road towards Cooch Behar. In West Bengal, it's a narrow 2 lane highway, with bumpy pot-holed roads, wooden kaacha -ish bridges (which were interesting), and vibrant villages that slow you down. I'd love to spend more time in this part of West Bengal. It looks very cultured. But driving through it is a pain. It took me 3 hours to cover 80 kms. Traffic jams can get very bad here.


Assam is a bit better. The highway is a 4 lane proper highway. Unfortunately there's a lot of road work going on. And the diversions are a rocky mess. Plus there's the danger of traffic coming on the wrong side of the road at full speed. There's almost no stretch of the road on which you can relax and ride. The sudden disappearance of the road, incoming traffic, and cows require your full attention.

I think the bumpy roads loosened my bikes idle rpm screw, either that or the accelerator cable needs some adjustment/lubrication. My bikes idle isn't steady since this afternoon. It keeps reducing till the engine switches off.
But if I'm going fast then the moment I press the clutch, the rpm's shoot up by 2-3000, and then reduce a few seconds later. I tried adjusting the idle, but didn't help the situation much.
Anyway, I should reach Dimapur tomorrow, and my wifes town the day after. Since I don't really have much to do at her place, I'll try servicing the bike myself. I watched part of my bike's last servicing at the authorised service center, and found it lacking in almost all respects.

Re: Pune to Nagaland (Dimapur) - help needed.

Reached Dimapur yesterday. I didn't take the Kaziranga route, the other route throught the karbi Along region is really good for the first 200 kms - decent roads, no traffic, great scenery. The last 60kms are terrible though. They pass through a forest, and are so broken that it took me more than 2 and a half hours to negotiate. Still, passing through the forest was good.

Left my bike at Dimapur and continued on from there to Mokukchung by car, as it was late. But the roads in Nagaland are terrible, and I think I'll leave the bike in Dimapur, and not enter inner Nagaland with it.