The Official Mumbai Offline Meet(G2G) Thread

[razorBlades]

Except that perhaps this is not being done on a majority of rides at all cause the rides are circumventing every xbhp group riding protocol there is to circumvent so they can do can FFE comparisons and bring along pillions without full gear which is exactly what Satyen is trying to address by saying let us not isolate them and let them come into the mainstream rides so that WE can take responsibility for ensuring that the protocols are met in a non-confrontational way (I have learnt perhaps the hard way that confrontation actually reduces understanding of key issues at hand). Mandates only kill the dialog.

Well I would say its better not to bend the basic group riding rules otherwise its going to be a messy ride AFAIK. I do agree with the ninjutsu's (satyen ) idea. We have to encourage others to ride with us and advice them to follow the group riding rules, suggest them the importance of riding gears and ofcourse not in hitler style.

I myself when started riding had a helmet which came with the bike (the cheap kimi pacer) and a wind cheater with a glove which I can tear it with one hand and I have grown to learn the importance of the gears and became a fan of them.

[Karthik Mathur (Orange)]

Wouldn't it be better to do the teaching part of safe biking on a casual meet rather than a proper ride?

[satyenpoojary]

Would you come for it?
We do not and cannot have the in city weekly meets like pune does
And even if it were the case, motorcycling is more practical than theory.
And more ever not many want to attend a preachy seminar.. Case in point:
There is a seminar happening on how to have safe casual sex, would you want to attend?

Nav:
Agreed whole heartedly, but that's probably best explained in practise right.

[nav75]

Yes, a practice is MUST but that can be done after some theory (need not be in person, can be done on forum too).

[antz.bin]

Wouldn't it be better to do the teaching part of safe biking on a casual meet rather than a proper ride?

+1 !! These people can borrow gear from the experienced ones in the said meet.

@Razor even I have given the briefing innumerable times. But some rules are not something you can follow from 1st ride itself (like watching your mirrors if everyone behind you is still there). It happens ALL THE TIME, even with regulars!!

@G66G @Amby last year, I was leading the pack of 66 back from Amby side towards Lonavala. Rockerz had a fall at #50ish when he rode down the valley, narrowly missed going into the valley (by 2-3 feet). Neither the guy behind him nor the one ahead of him noticed this( since it happened at a corner). Finally, the guys #63, 64 and 65 (last 3 people) saw him getting up. But still #62 didn't stop. Had there been only 62 guys, we wouldn't even have known before reaching RKs that one of us is missing. Most of these people were regulars, even they make mistakes when riding with new people even though they might be regulars from another chapter.

All this while, I wasn't even riding at 25-30 downhill. Still the "Fastest" guy couldn't catch up. Neither did the group stop before reaching RK.

[Karthik Mathur (Orange)]

I don't mean a lecture sort of thing.

If a plan to meet of Mumbai members is made just for the sake of meeting, then this can be taken up casually.

My whole point is a ride shouldn't end up a tradegy especially when it could be averted by use of gear.

What is the fun if a newbie comes, gets hurt and never comes again coz of that one incident?

[darkknight]

Point noted & taken.
personally of the countless rides we have done as a group I don't remember anyone turned down from a ride( has happened 2-3 times) for want of "extra gear " - happens in pune I know but truth is not here in Mumbai .
so the " purported "thought of not allowed is what drives the new guys away.
I am in sync with Satyen to introduce on an experiment basis but the fact remains that one of incidents will continue to happen & there's little that can be done.
& anyways very few people here or in pune xbhp are gearless now so pages & pages of discussion concentrated amongst few members - warranted?

[nav75]

All this while, I wasn't even riding at 25-30 downhill. Still the "Fastest" guy couldn't catch up. Neither did the group stop before reaching RK.

In ghats/twisties, a large group should be broken into smaller ones.
If that was done, the smaller group from which the guy fell would have noticed it and the group after slowing down for some time would have stopped.

Btw, which turn in Amby valley was this where, unless the group was scattered out, the guy #50 went done and #51 (who should have been following him) didn't see it. Also did you mentioned the group speed was 30km/hr and still this accident happen?

[antz.bin]

Btw, which turn in Amby valley was this where, unless the group was scattered out, the guy #50 went done and #51 (who should have been following him) didn't see it. Also did you mentioned the group speed was 30km/hr and still this accident happen?

How would I know this? I was riding at lead. We need Rockerz to answer this. Anyways even #49 didn't so what was your point again?

[nav75]

How would I know this? I was riding at lead. We need Rockerz to answer this.

If you were the lead and riding at 25-30, how can the guys behind you ride faster? Hence, the riding speed of group will be 30 at max.
Also, as I said, in group riding. We normally don't ride in such big numbers together. We break into smaller ones. Also while it will be ok to follow the guy ahead closely in straights, in twisties, we should not follow too closely.

Edit: #49 didn't notice as probably the group was so big that the moment #51 replaced #50 in his RVM, he carried on to ride, without noticing that #50 has gone missing. Had it was a "smaller" group (as I mentioned - forming smaller group when riding in twisties), it would have been noticed.

[antz.bin]

If you were the lead and riding at 25-30, how can the guys behind you ride faster? Hence, the riding speed of group will be 30 at max.
Also, as I said, in group riding. We normally don't ride in such big numbers together. We break into smaller ones. Also while it will be ok to follow the guy ahead closely in straights, in twisties, we should not follow too closely.

Where did I mention that somebody behind me was faster than me? The topic of discussion was that people fail to check mirrors for their co-riders regularly. Some (with non modified mirrors P220s) basically cannot. How did scattered formation come into this? Anyways, unless Rockerz was riding all alone in the middle of a 66 member group, he would have been somewhere inside a scattered group(first / middle / last). Still nobody noticed.

Edit: What about Mr.#51 turned new #50?

[alankarmisra]

LOL! Where the hell is discussion going now?! Its funny to think we were discussing getting the noobs to understand our 'protocol' and then have this discussion which in essence is saying 'Wait... what was our protocol again?'. Ahahahahahahahahaaha!

@DK: Warranted. I need to increase my post count to appear more verile to women who silently stalk for the alpha males on our forums (of course I'm dreaming). But to be honest, I think an occassional revisit to the basics is probably a good idea, maybe a pre-written post that is revived from time to time so new people understand why we cry so much about group riding policies. Btw this wasn't just about gears - it had more to do with group riding protocols, ethics and being sensitive to riders in distress. We have an inherent culture that tends to be forgotten either because people don't know about it / never heard of it or because its been circumvented for whatever reasons. Satyen is trying to do two things (I assume)

1) Revive a discussion on the importance of a group riding culture (of watching each others back ALWAYS) so that those who've just been inducted into xbhp know of it
2) Reduce the entry barriers that cause people to circumvent the guidelines so that less people are inclined to create sub-groups and sub-standard riding cultures and more people have a better chance of walking away from potential dangers by learning from our experience.

PS: Yes a lot of us do have gears now, however what is SORELY lacking is an appreciation for group riding protocols and a sense of co-dependence. Instead its me vs him, my FFE is better than your FFE, I did 155+ on a downhill, I corner better than you, my Ninja 650 is better than your puny R-15 (including snooty posts on Facebook) etc. I'm very against this - especially the Ninja 650 related posts. I propose we ban the Ninja 650s from xbhp all together.

[nav75]

Where did I mention that somebody behind me was faster than me? The topic of discussion was that people fail to check mirrors for their co-riders regularly. Some (with non modified mirrors P220s) basically cannot. How did scattered formation come into this? Anyways, unless Rockerz was riding all alone in the middle of a 66 member group, he would have been somewhere inside a scattered group(first / middle / last). Still nobody noticed.

Let me repeat:
"More than discussing about riding gear(to make it compulsory or not), I'll say discussion should be on - how we make riders ride in a safe manner so that the need to put riding gear through test doesn't come."

[antz.bin]

Let me repeat:
"More than discussing about riding gear(to make it compulsory or not), I'll say discussion should be on - how we make riders ride in a safe manner so that the need to put riding gear through test doesn't come."

+1!! But how would you discuss this with somebody with a post count of 3, who happens to know that Sagar, Ritwik, Roger and Ten Hut head to lavasa every Saturday because he saw them going from his bedroom window one saturday and shows up at CC to join them without adequate gear. Will a 3 minute pre-ride briefing be enough? Any one : Any bike means he is entitled to respectfully join the group. But is he? The point of riding gear was not that we can circumvent the protocols. The point was they will save us if we make a mistake.

Enough said. I am leaving this topic now.

[nav75]

+1!! But how would you discuss this with somebody with a post count of 3, who happens to know that Sagar, Ritwik, Roger and Ten Hut head to lavasa every Saturday because he saw them going from his bedroom window one saturday and shows up at CC to join them without adequate gear. Will a 3 minute pre-ride briefing be enough? Any one : Any bike means he is entitled to respectfully join the group. But is he? The point of riding gear was not that we can circumvent the protocols. The point was they will save us if we make a mistake.

Everyone had a post count of 3 at some time, while others had much more than him.

Because you are riding like an idiot and crashes, even the best of riding gear won't give you a guarantee to save you, more specially on public roads.

If its a group ride then everyone got to ride at a speed comfortable with everyone. If one wants to ride at his own pace(that might not to possible for someone/others to maintain), either he should leave the group or ride alone.