The Official Bangalore Offline Meet (G2G) Thread

[Divya Sharan]

re: The Official Bangalore Offline Meet (G2G) Thread

Epic is the feeling of satisfaction on winning a challenge against onself rest all is secondary.

Congrats again, hope we get to ride together soon

Waah.. Kya bola hai...
Kya baat.. Kya baat... Kya baat!!!

[bbhagawati]

re: The Official Bangalore Offline Meet (G2G) Thread

thanks bhai...pic editing credit goes to @snehithpereira. The roads were indeed mindblowing at times, especially some forest roads. We indeed enjoyed our ride to the core . Travelogue likhna abhi shuru nahi kiye hai..will be starting soon on that.

bhai very nice pics, waiting fr the travelogue nd more pics

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Yesterday I went on my first bike trip, also the first solo one.
Drove to Lepakshi, AP.
Total Dist :250 Km
Top Speed : 109 Km/h

congrats mate on ur first ride, do upload some pics as well

[nooblet]

re: The Official Bangalore Offline Meet (G2G) Thread

bhai very nice pics, waiting fr the travelogue nd more pics

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congrats mate on ur first ride, do upload some pics as well

Hey @bbhagawati , thanks man, but I really couldn't take too many photos.
here are a couple of them I took. Will upload some pics I took from my phone, later today. Hope you like them.
These were shot on the way to Lepakshi, once you get off NH7

[Praful]

re: The Official Bangalore Offline Meet (G2G) Thread

I was away from the forum for a few weeks .. and what just EXPLODED on this thread? Completely lost track of this place..

Good to see folks coming back posting pics and doing rides too. Keep it up

I just rode down to Bumbai last week via the Coastal route, was good to back to riding and also good to see that my 100K bike still can cover distances

[gyan_recl350]

re: The Official Bangalore Offline Meet (G2G) Thread

I was away from the forum for a few weeks .. and what just EXPLODED on this thread? Completely lost track of this place..

Good to see folks coming back posting pics and doing rides too. Keep it up

I just rode down to Bumbai last week via the Coastal route, was good to back to riding and also good to see that my 100K bike still can cover distances

So the travelogue is on the way . And that is really an experienced bike.. 100K, some number for sure.

[Praful]

re: The Official Bangalore Offline Meet (G2G) Thread

So the travelogue is on the way

Nah! Nothing to write about just a 'commute' ride with just two 12 Hour riding days covering 1250kms.

The return ride would be ultra boring via the GQ :/

[nooblet]

re: The Official Bangalore Offline Meet (G2G) Thread

Guys,
Sharing my experience/learnings from my first trip.
A quick and short TL.

First of all I enjoyed the trip. I told my parents I am going to Nandi Hills but once I reached Chikkabalapur, I knew that I could go further and just kept on going. I have already been to Lepakshi, AP , so I was aware of that route. Once I entered AP, i was confident I could go further.
Took the exit after the check post, had a smoke and a tea, was feeling proud of what I just did .
The bike gets a lot of attention, like what is it, they say chick magnet, but then this is just opposite, not sure if the ladies like this bike, but Kids, and men just like to keep looking at the bike. Whenever a kid looks at this bike goes by, the look on the kids face never gets old.
Reached lepakshi, took a couple of snaps , just reached the temple, took a snap of the bke in front of the temple and the Nandi statue, and decided to just move on. I know that on the way to Hindupur there's a place where the landscape changes into grasslands, have been here in my car, i wanted to see that place again ride in that place, so I decided to move on and reach that place.
As I was driving, it hit me that this was supposed to be a Test ride, not a full fledged trip, no one was with me, my parents thought I was at Nandi Hills my wife didn't know where I was, as she had gone to her mom's place for the festival.
So i decided to be a little sane and took a U-turn and decided to come back.

On my way back it started drizzling, so I took a stop over at 2 places, as I dint want to take any risk.

I reached Hebbal at around 2:45, started the journey in the morning at 9:45. So approx 5 hrs trip Quite happy with the trip.

From Hebbal I went to my cousins house, and then rode to my in-laws house, met wife, went to a night show with wife, sis-in-law and her husband....quiet a busy day u see

Anyways coming to my learnings.

1.) The bike is an absolute hoot to ride in the city and the state highways or our old highways or dual carriageways, whatever u call them.
2.) On the National Highways, the bike is still a lot of fun to ride. But once past 80 or 90, you start feeling that the wind is acting against you. Soon I realized that I was acting as a sail, and I bent over and very soon I hit 100.
I felt the safe speed was around 85 to 90 KM/h. If you feel you have done faster than this, please share your tips.
3.) It always reminds you that the bike is light because, you can feel the wind trying to push the bike sideways. Any tips for this. At one time, I felt a gush of wind just tried to push me to another lane....this was not scary, but it could have been potentially dangerous if there were vehicles coming in from the other lane. This being a 4 lane highway, it was not a problem. But this wind trying to push you can be scary as you tend to lose control. Need to be careful at those time.

4.) I was carrying a Kata camera bag, with some heavy equipment, which I never used , this started straining my soldier. Need to find some work around for this problem. Please share your tips.

5.) Please suggest some good saddlebags, not sure if saddle bags are a good idea for a Duke 200, but any tips will definitely help, as I plan to go for long rides on the bike.

6.) One mistake I made was I bought a Vega helmet recently which looks like an off-roaders helmet. I was expecting the design would give good wind resistance. But it aint giving any, also, I realized that when ever I turn my head to left or right to check for traffic, and when I try to turn back , the front portion of the helmet which looks like a hat's protrusion gets resisted, and makes turning my head to face straight a problem. Also a couple of time, a couple of insects got into the helmet, which scared the $hit out of me, i assumed it was a honey bee, and if it had bit me I would have been in a world of pain.
Please share tips for a good helmet guys.

7.) I am looking for tips from you guys, on how can I carry more stuff on my bike. I need something that I can put my Jacket also into it, if not at-least some basics like shorts and other stuff, which I would require when I go for a ride.

Please share your tips guys.

Below are some pics I took from my phone. These are all my record shots, which I hope to treasure

A record shot in front of the Nandi Statue in Lepakshi, AP



In front of the temple , another record shot


This was shot when I stopped over at a Bus Stop, when it started raining.

[Divya Sharan]

re: The Official Bangalore Offline Meet (G2G) Thread

Guys,
Sharing my experience/learnings from my first trip.

1. Use dirt sack saddle bags. Custom made for Duke.
2. Use Via Terra tank bags for DSLR and stuff.
3. 80-90 kmph is pretty much the comfortable range for me too.
4. Get yourself an LS2/TIH/SOL/HJC helmet depending upon your budget. (options listed start for 2.6k and go to 8k)

[harish.krovvidi]

re: The Official Bangalore Offline Meet (G2G) Thread

[MENTION=65606]nooblet[/MENTION]

I wish I had photography skills like yours man .... I some how manage to screw even the simplest of pics using the easiest hardware.


--
Riding is all I know, my pictures prove it.

[snehithpereira]

re: The Official Bangalore Offline Meet (G2G) Thread

[MENTION=65606]nooblet[/MENTION] nice detailed log love the third pic

Crusing speeds are all about you and your bike, I myself find 85-90 comfortable unless on a longer trip...then I don't mind pushing up to 115 depending upon the road/traffic conditions.

Never knew that crosswinds were a problem for the duke, guess it must have been even worse with the Kata on ur back.

I use the kata 3n1 when on my birding rides, it can get tiresome however I have not yet found a better luggage equipment to carry my stuff when I need my complete gear. I have however few times tried using my lowepro outback 300 higher around the waist and harnessing the tripod to the saree guards, this did work great but then couldn't cross above 70 without worrying about my gear.

Like [MENTION=41586]Divya Sharan[/MENTION] suggested, I too plan to get the Viaterra fly for carrying only my camera with an additional lens maybe, during normal rides. Checkout this link, has video with the Fly on a Duke 200 http://www.viaterra.in/Products/VIAT...d-3001297.aspx

Again like Divya suggested, have a look at Dirtsack tailbags/saddlebags, they are made for the duke and look great too, just saw them on duke during our ride back yesterday and it looked fab

Also you could try the Viaterra Claw as a tailbag/saddlebag, has 55l of luggage room I use one for all my short/long trips and I am extremely satisfied with it. You can borrow mine for a short ride if you want a hands on experience with this

About the helmet, again have a look at the range divya suggested but make it a point to replace that vega motocross style helmet ASAP, if you need something better in the similar style have a look at SOL SS1 (comes in matching color for the duke )

[harish.krovvidi]

re: The Official Bangalore Offline Meet (G2G) Thread

[MENTION=37862]snehithpereira[/MENTION]
Can I try out the claw, I am still split between the claw or the saddle bags. I want to start preparing form now itself for the Ladakh in a busa am planning for july14.




--
Riding is all I know, my pictures prove it.

[snehithpereira]

re: The Official Bangalore Offline Meet (G2G) Thread

[MENTION=37862]snehithpereira[/MENTION]
Can I try out the claw, I am still split between the claw or the saddle bags. I want to start preparing form now itself for the Ladakh in a busa am planning for july14.

--
Riding is all I know, my pictures prove it.

No issues... just pm me the when and where to meet part

[Traveller01]

re: The Official Bangalore Offline Meet (G2G) Thread

I want to start preparing form now itself for the Ladakh in a busa am planning for july14.


.

Ladakh on a busa!! Great going, all the best.
I am using the Claw for about a year (not on a busa ) but in the hot sun & heavy rain & I am extremely satisfied with it. The claw has a very balanced behavior on normal cruising speeds & can carry a lot. Do start a thread on this it would be interesting to see the world's fastest production bike getting leh'd 😊

[chaosaddict]

re: The Official Bangalore Offline Meet (G2G) Thread

@nooblet - Bro, get rid of that helmet ASAP!
Although the D200 can do higher speeds, it being a naked bike, the crosswinds are unavoidable and thus 85-90-95 are comfortable cruising speed unless you are in a hurry. Check out the D200 thread for a 'jugaad' tried by @Sanchit Arora with a "Fazer' visor - http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/motorcyc...tml#post981073 . Also, check the GBD section for another visor work by @splus - http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/general-...-ktm-duke.html

Check out Rynox and Dirtsack for saddlebag options as Divya mentioned. If a tailbag can do the work, ViaTerra Claw is a perfect fit for the D200.

@harish.krovvidi - way to go, bro - Leh on the BUSA! I am definitely looking forward to it. BTW, will you be back from PARIS by 10th of this month?? A ride coming up and we all want you to join.

[nooblet]

re: The Official Bangalore Offline Meet (G2G) Thread

@nooblet nice detailed log love the third pic

Crusing speeds are all about you and your bike, I myself find 85-90 comfortable unless on a longer trip...then I don't mind pushing up to 115 depending upon the road/traffic conditions.

Never knew that crosswinds were a problem for the duke, guess it must have been even worse with the Kata on ur back.

I use the kata 3n1 when on my birding rides, it can get tiresome however I have not yet found a better luggage equipment to carry my stuff when I need my complete gear. I have however few times tried using my lowepro outback 300 higher around the waist and harnessing the tripod to the saree guards, this did work great but then couldn't cross above 70 without worrying about my gear.

Like @Divya Sharan suggested, I too plan to get the Viaterra fly for carrying only my camera with an additional lens maybe, during normal rides. Checkout this link, has video with the Fly on a Duke 200 Motorcycle Touring, ViaTerra Fly - Camera / DSLR Tankbag

Again like Divya suggested, have a look at Dirtsack tailbags/saddlebags, they are made for the duke and look great too, just saw them on duke during our ride back yesterday and it looked fab

Also you could try the Viaterra Claw as a tailbag/saddlebag, has 55l of luggage room I use one for all my short/long trips and I am extremely satisfied with it. You can borrow mine for a short ride if you want a hands on experience with this

About the helmet, again have a look at the range divya suggested but make it a point to replace that vega motocross style helmet ASAP, if you need something better in the similar style have a look at SOL SS1 (comes in matching color for the duke )

Thanks [MENTION=37862]snehithpereira[/MENTION]
I had a look at the Viaterra Fly tank bag, but it looks too small. Will check again.
Also the saddle bag's you mentioned, wouldnt the Claw be too big for the Duke 200.
My only option seems like the Dirtsack tailbags or try and design one myself.