Original Source: Continuous Riding for 2 Nights and 1 Day – Dhiraj Completes SaddleSore 1000 and BunBurner 1500 from BikeAdvice.in

Felt like a protagonist of an ongoing movie, traveling through different landscapes non stop for 2 nights and 1 day (Hyderabad-Bangalore-Kanyakumari-Bangalore-Hyderabad). The serene green lush of countryside, the stretches of Coconut trees, Misty Mountains along super smooth NH7 and a chain of gigantic Wind mills were treat to my eyes. Touched Southern most tip of India (Kanyakumari) and came back in 36 hrs!

Successfully completed couple of the World toughest endurance rides IBA Saddlesore 1000 (covered 1700+ kms in 24 hrs) and IBA BunBurner 1500 (covered 2400+ kms in 36 hours)

Here’s a photo log of my recent successful attempt of IBA Saddlesore 1000 and BunBurner 1500. Three months of planning and one failed attempt, were perfect ingredients for this successful recipe. The ride went as planned (more or less) with least hiccups. I would like to emphasize the importance of planning. There’s no substitute to proper planning. For everything else you can safely assume that things were not in your control.

Here is the list of stuff, which I did/carried for the ride.

• Sorted Safe route with abundant Petrol bunks with E Receipts,
• GPS , paper maps (just in case) and monster battery (5000 mAH) to keep me on track for entire route
• Planned the ride on full moon for clear visibility at night,
• Monitored the weather in the route to avoid unnecessary delay due to fog and rain,
• Spares (clutch lever, brake lever, gear lever, rear brake lever, acc. cable, clutch cable, bulbs), puncture repair kit, allen key set and tool kit,
• Engine oil, Chain lube , Coolant, funnel and tools to change engine oil,
• 2 litres of fuel, 2 litres of water, getorade and glucose, snickers, mars, dry fruits, Red bulls, Cup noodles
• First aid kit with medicines for all common issues,
• 2 copies of Bike papers, RC, PUC and Insurance,
• Torch,Extra Key kept safely,
• Radium stickers on bike, jacket and helmet to enhance visibility on highways at night,
• Face Wipes and lens cleaner for visor,
• Lenses (I wear spectacles. Just in case my specs get damaged),
• Proper servicing of bike (plus slime in tyres to avoid punctures),

I zeroed in all the pit stops (Petrol bunks, U turn point) in my GPS device before the ride and strictly followed it throughout the ride. Because of the extra luggage, I had a tank bag and a bag on pillion seat (served as good back support for the ride).

Failed Attempt

With all of the preparation, Me (Joeled R15) and my fellow rider Tanumoy (Stock R15), attempted this on 10th Nov, 2011. However, due to engine warning light popping up (coolant temp. sensor going kaput) after initial 600 Kms in 8 hrs, I had to pull over and end the ride. It was disheartening, considering I did my homework pretty well but still some problem popped up. It was disheartening for my xBhp friends as well,who came to wish me for the ride. Hyderabad’s Veteran Rider Captain M.A.Kaleem had supervised the ride and extremely talented rider Vinu Viswanathan (from Hyderabad) mentored me with simplest of the details. We were flagged off by APTDC Director. The failure was completely unexpected but again completely out of our controls. I started looking for next attempt.

Regards,
Dhiraj

P.S. Photos are available in high res here.

Original Source: Melroy Alphonso Featured in IronButt Magazine from BikeAdvice.in

Earlier we had featured Melroy Alphonso on your BikeAdvice for completing the SaddleSore 1600KM ride on his Yamaha FZ16. Melroy has now been featured in America’s IronButt magazine and in doing so he became the first Indian biker to be featured in their magazine.

SaddleSore 1000 in India

Motorcycling has always been a passion for me and I love to travel to far off distances and get away from the hustle of city traffic. I find riding through villages and the countryside to be therapeutic, relaxing and soothing. I feel it also helps me become one with nature. I used to ride only a few hundred kilometers but as time progressed, I graduated to riding longer distances that covered many different states in India.

While surfing the Internet one day, I came across the Iron Butt Association. I thought about how fun it would be to up the ante and attempt a SaddleSore 1000. At first it was only a dream, but overcoming the many difficulties made the challenge more appealing. On paper it seemed so easy, calculating what it would require to complete this challenge by maintaining an average speed of 66 km per hour. I thought riding a 153cc Yamaha FZ16 on Indian roads would be the toughest part to overcome.

This was my third SaddleSore attempt. My first unsuccessful attempt was to Karnantaka state (Belgaum) and back. My second unsuccessful attempt was to Madhya Pradesh (Indore) and back. Since I needed to ride 1610 km, I felt riding to Eklingji (Rajasthan) and back, a distance of 1650 km, seemed like a good route.

After making all the necessary arrangements, I topped up my fuel tank at 7:52 am on November 23rd, took a petrol receipt as proof for documentation, and my SaddleSore ride began.

I started by taking the Western Express Highway in Sion (Mumbai) that connects to the Golden Quadrilateral. This route took me across to Gujurat and Rajasthan. The journey on the Golden Quadrilateral is much better than riding on the national highways; it is a four-lane high- way, which makes it easier to overtake slower vehicles and allowed me to maintain a consistent average speed.

The Yamaha FZ16, known outside India as a Yamaha Byson, was fun and the extra wide 140mm tire provided fantastic grip and stability. The only stops I made were to refuel. I enterd Rajasthan and finally reached Eklingji at 7:26 pm. I was glad to have made it half – now I just had to made it back to Mumbai in one piece.

The roads in India can be dangerous at night, especially the bright lights from oncoming cars and trucks that can easily blind you. Insects were also a problem and I had to regularly clean my face shield as well as my headlights to maintain maximum visibility.

When I reached Surat (Gujurat) at 3:40am, I was very tired and did not know if I would make it back to Mumbai. My odometer showed. I had covered only 1363 kms. Continuing on, I eventually reached Mumbai and made it to the Western Express Highway as my 24-hour clock quickly ran out. After a frantic search, I found a petrol station only to discover that the credit card machine was broke. At 7:50 am on November 24th, I it! I had completed 1650 kms right in the nick of time – 23 hours and 56 minutes. Perseverance finally paid off for me.

Melroy Alphonso was the sixth rider to complete this grueling ride in India where, by western standards, traffic is so congested it’s often mind numbing. His ride on a 153cc single- cylinder Indian-made Yamaha got him appointed to the Not Right Riders list! - IronButt Magazine

- Melroy Alphonso

Original Source: Wah! Wah! JAWA – A Story of a True Bike Enthusiast by Abhilash Bharadwaj from BikeAdvice.in

Hi everyone, I am here not to bore you people with a review of one more bike. In this article, I want to write about a man who has so much passion for bikes that his house has turned into a museum.

He is a man with lot of passion to one of the greatest motorcycle brand of India which was started in Mysore. Yes, it is Jawa which later became Yezdi.

I recently came through a show on regional news channel about a man near Mysore (Which is birthplace of this machine JAWA) who has collected about 17 bikes all belonging to the same make. My love towards bikes and moreover to these bikes which created the benchmark in motorcycling history in India made me find out the person and see these legends myself.

I contacted the news channel people and got the contact information of this man. This man Mr. Boregowda basically having a background of agriculture had passion towards bikes from his youth which had made him collect these masterpieces.

The urge to visit this man made me contact him and finally after getting his appointment, I left my place (Bangalore) heading towards Mysore which is about 140kms just to see these motorcycles.

Finally on 20th of June I visited his place but unfortunately he was busy on some other work so could not meet him but his son Mr. Harsha showed his dad’s collection of motorcycles and also showed us the 18th bike in his collection which was a Yezdi Roadking which he purchased it a week before.

Brief History of JAWA

Frantisek Janecek began manufacturing Wanderer motorcycles in 1927. In 1929 he rebranded the machine with the name JAWA, derived from the first two letters of the words “Janacek” and “Wanderer”.

This company was shut in 1996 due to the emission norms which could not be met by their 2-Stroke engines and also competition from the Japanese brands which were smooth, fuel efficient 4- stroke engines.

During their period, Jawa faced competitions from Enfield and Rajdoot to a large extent and at one point of time when the ROADKING was released under the brand of Yezdi, overtook the sales figures of the Enfield motorcycles..!!!

JAWA in India

Catch phrase: “Forever bike forever value”

Ideal Jawa India Ltd was a motorcycle company based in Mysore was started in 1960 under the brand name JAWA.
It was later sold under the brand name of YEZDI from 1968.

Let me speak about the collection of motorcycles by this bike enthusiast and some information collected on these bikes.

Engine

The bike first released was under the brand name JAWA and some information which I collected from Mr. Harsha is that it was a 250cc single cylinder air cooled engine with a twin exhaust. From the picture, you can observe that the cylinder head of JAWA bike is circular and has a dome kind of finish at the top of the engine.

One aware of this detail can distinguish between a JAWA and a YEZDI by looking at their cylinder head. You can also observe from the picture the porcupine like cylinder head and square shaped casing for the cylinder was sold under the brand name YEZDI.

In 1970 a model called OILKING was released under the brand Yezdi which many people are unaware of (I myself was unaware of this model by the Yezdi until I visited this place). This model featured an oil pump to mix the 2T oil and later production of this model ceased. You can observe a prominent protrusion provided for the oil pump just below the engine near the gear.

Though this model was retired and oil pump was removed, a protrusion can be observed in the later model ROADKING.

Later in 1974, the most successful model of the Ideal Jawa ltd. “Roadking” was launched. It almost overtook every other models of that period like the Mighty Rajdoots and the muscular Bullets.

Frame & Looks

All the bikes built by Ideal Jawa had 16 inch wheels and the bikes sold under the brand JAWA had full covered mudguards and a single mould accommodating the headlight and speedometer similar to the Enfields.

The later Yezdis were built on a single frame like motocross and had the headlight- speedometer assembly separated and had looks of a café-racer rather than the classic retro looks of the earlier JAWA.

One can distinguish a JAWA from Yezdi from the oil tank below the engine, Jawa bikes have an oval shape oil tank and Yezdi has somewhat a square finish of the oil tank.

MONARCH: Later in 1996 Yezdi released a model based on its twin frame a Yezdi 350 with a dual cylinder and a 19 inch wheels, this was said to be one of the finest engines developed in India but they could sell only few units of this machine and later the company Ideal Jawa India ltd. was closed the same year.

Few models under Yezdi brand were

• Deluxe
• Roadking
• CL II
• Classic
• Monarch

One more interesting fact is that in 1996, they had developed a refined engine with aluminum casting but this engine was never put in to production.

Ideal Jawa had exported many of their models to over 60+ countries all over the world and it’s definitely a brand which Indians still remember and be proud of even after one-and-a-half decade after they have stopped the production.

This man Mr. Boregowda has maintained the bikes in good condition and still runs these bike sometime but due to lack of space in his home, it was all put together so pictures of all the bikes could not be taken.

My intention of this write-up was to share some information I collected about one of the Indian motorcycling brand which was popular over 60 countries during its period. My generation of bikers would be unaware of many of this information about an Indigenous legend in the motorcycling history.

I would like to thank Mr. Boregowda for giving me opportunity to visit him, his son Mr. Harsha for providing some details about these bikes especially the OILKING which many people are unaware of, and finally Deepak Raj for providing me the opportunity to write this article and all crew members of Bikeadvice.

Regards
Abhilash Bharadwaj

Original Source: Motorbike Mania – A Tale of a Biker & his CBR250R from BikeAdvice.in

The spirit of Christmas festooned the club even as dappled sunlight danced through the corridor window. On either side of the square table two smokers were debating the fate of the Nation as Hormaz Jalnawalla and I entered their hallowed space. Khushroo tapped his glass with the heavy ring on his finger and instantly Denny the barman appeared conjuring more liquid refreshment.

Gopi, his back to us and his ponytail tied neatly above the nape, was already on his second round and well into a discourse on governments within the different states of the Nation. He went on glibly to encompass the globe at large; chastising the Presidents of America, Libya and the Ghanaian Republic when Joe Antony burst on the scene:

“My nephew in Cochin called. He said, ‘Joe Chaach’ you must get the CBR 250R Honda motorbike. They had you in mind when they designed it!’”

Ponytail Gopi’s Oxford English and choice vocabulary came to an abrupt halt. My mobile was out in the instant, immediately dialling the dealer in Dindigul, from whom we had earlier purchased our Honda Unicorns.

“Joe and I would like to book two CBR 250 R’s with ABS,” I said, sending ripples through the miasma in Kodaikanal which, swelling exponentially, probably triggered off the nuclear plant disaster at Fukushima. In the event, Joe opted for a non-ABS bike as delivery of the ABS variant would take longer. I waited. Writing several letters to Honda, my observations on the matter might well have prompted them into releasing a bike at the earliest possible opportunity.

Within the month I was told to meet the Sornam Honda mechanic in Batlagundu, where he would hand over the fully registered and completely insured two wheeler. Needless to say I tempted Varadhu and Shiraz into the ride. Shortly after Varadhu’s 1000 c.c Honda and Shiraz’s ‘Fat Boy’ Harley Davidson stood at the porch of the Crystal Palace hotel, the mechanic arrived with my bike. He wanted my original passport along with four passport size photographs to boot.

To cut a long story short, I didn’t have them on me so, mounting the bike, the three of us (with the mechanic behind Shiraz on the Harley Davidson) roared down the forty kilometre strip to Dindigul. There we were fussed over by Varadhu’s agent and taken to Parson’s Court for lunch. I didn’t know such a place existed within the dreary city.

At about four in the afternoon Varadhu was getting jittery about riding in the dark – I would have been too, if I had been envisaging speeds in excess of one hundred and sixty kilometres an hour – so we pushed off, taking the longer but better riding route through Odanchattram and Palni. It was a terrific ride!

When I stopped at Varadhu’s house, which is next to mine in Kodaikanal, it was six forty-five and already dark. He had an ecstatic look about him and made just one comment before pouring out a drink: “That was one of the best rides I have been on. So glad we chose the Palni route back!”

The following Sunday was the flower-show, the boat race and, needless to say, road rage contest in this hill-station of ours. I decided to take Joe up on his offer to ride down to his farm in Palni. It was great even though the power did shut down at 11:00, leaving us in the dark for the night.

Naturally the fan didn’t work and at some point a rat found its way into the kitchen. Announcing its presence with a clatter of pots and pans and other such enterprising methods to wake us up, I had to rouse Joe from his slumber to catch the culprit. We were both wide awake by then and only managed to doze with dawn breaking after 5:00.

Joe commented wryly, “in Kodaikanal it’s the chant of the mosque but, down there, without power, it’s the drone of mosquitoes to greet you.”

Groggy, not thinking too clearly, we decided to liven things up by riding to Coimbatore, a hundred and thirty kilometres away, where we could get Joe’s bike serviced. Joe with his superior riding skills, was obviously going to be ahead of me so we planned to stop at the BP bunk in Udumalpet where I needed to tank up.

The next stop was to be Sulur, twenty kilometres short of Coimbatore, where we would decide whether to enter the City by way of Trichy road, or Avanashi, via. the airport. I got to the BP bunk and tanked up but there was no sign of Joe. Assuming that our man was enjoying the ride, I continued. Powering my way to Palladam, I was crossing the bus stand when I felt the phone vibrate. I couldn’t stop then so I rode to the end of town and returned Joe’s call. No answer! “I guess he’s now screaming down the road to Sulur,” I surmised and, with that, did exactly the same thing.

In Sulur I stopped and had a glass of tea, asking the lady if a similar machine had also stopped by earlier. A big crowd gathered to examine the bike and assured me that this was the first of its kind they had ever seen. Assuming that Joe must either be in Coimbatore or very close I called, and was pleasantly surprised when he answered immediately:

“Where are you?” he asked.

“Sulur” I said shamefacedly. It was all I could do to get speeds of up to 115, with crosswinds blowing every which way and my knapsack flopping around in diametrically opposite directions. “Where are you? Coimbatore Club or Cosmo?”

“I’m in Palni!”

“What!”

“I didn’t see you in Udumalpet so I started back… looking for you! Now I’m back at the farm.”

I had a long ride back, covering 236 Kms in less than four hours. It was just as well we didn’t go to Coimbatore because the workshop there said their men were away at some training centre, learning how to service the new Honda CBR 250R’s, and that we should only come next week. I didn’t feel so bad then, saying “All’s well that ends well.”

Another night in Palni – thank the lord the power stayed with us through the night – and Rajah from Kodaikanal came down to fix the pipe through which the rat was making its entrance. I rode back up the hill the next morning with eight hundred odd kilometres on the bike and nearly ready for her first service.

Last Saturday, at the Honda workshop in Dindigul (yes, I rode down all the way) the mechanic looked at me astonished. “You’ve done a thousand kilometres in one week!”

I grinned told him that it’s not how many Kilometres you ride, it’s how you ride. I didn’t tell him that it was both Varadhu and Joe who had instructed me not to hold the handlebars tight and to use knees and the heel-lock to guide the machine through hairpin bends and steer her through monsoon winds. This of-course set up the next question.

Studying me quizzically he promptly asked, “How are old are you?”

“Why, I’ll be sixty-six come November!”

- Minoo Avari

Original Source: Book Review: One Life To Ride – A Motorcycle Journey To The High Himalayas from BikeAdvice.in

There are so many ways to learn cultural practices and traditions of people from other places. For scholars, they opt to read sociological and anthropological textbooks or watch instructional materials and documentaries.

For people with the means to do so, they prefer to travel from one place to another in order to experience first- hand what the people of that place has to offer. But for ordinary people who cannot afford to travel or cannot grasp scholarly books, reading a motorcycle journey novel is just what the doctor ordered.

Among the many motorcycle journey novels already published, the book written by AjitHarisinghani, “One Life to Ride a Motorcycle Journey to the High Himalayas”, is something that is really appealing to the reading public. This is because the author of the novel takes the readers with him in his extraordinary journey along the countryside areas of India introducing them to unique Indian culture and religious beliefs.

A Window to a Diverse Culture

India’s rich tradition has been left unknown to strangers of the country. This is because foreigners have become interested only in visiting the world famous Taj Majal as well as the major urban areas of the country which include Mumbai and New Delhi. Through the novel, the readers will be given the chance to discover how diverse, broad and unique Indian culture is.

The novel would also give the readers the feel of how life is in remote areas in India. Above all, the novel would enable the readers to meet different people and communities with unique personalities and culture.

A Journey Towards One’s Spirituality

The author also emphasized in his novel that a journey to the Himalayas is also a journey towards one’s own spirituality. As the readers accompany the author in his journey, the readers are also taken on a journey towards strengthening their spirituality as human beings. Through the different situations and challenges that the author experiences along the way, the readers are given the chance to reflect on these situations and evaluate what they mean in their own lives.

Immersing One’s Self Through Reading

By using a motorcycle in his journey to the Himalayas, the author was able to immerse himself with the culture and tradition of the different places that he had been through. This gives the readers the feeling that they themselves have been immersed through various cultures and traditions as they explore and read through the pages and the chapters of the novel.

A Must-Read Novel

Indeed, “One Life to Ride a Motorcycle Journey to the High Himalayas”, is a novel that is worth reading. Since the novel was written in a straightforward manner and with the use of simple terminologies, readers would have no problem in understanding the flow of the story. This would enable the readers to just sit back, relax and enjoy reading it.

So for people who do not have the leisure of time and money to travel or who look forward to make such a journey, this novel is highly recommended.

Original Source: Honda One Make Race Experience by Rakesh from BikeAdvice.in

Motorcycles, speed, petrol, traffic signals, drifts, drags and what not! I have tried and tasted all these tantalizing stuff in my life except that one thing. The same thing which I have been watching for more than a decade. The same thing that excites me, that drives me crazy and that spoils my annual exams every single time!

Well, enough of boasting about the “same thing”. It is racing pure unadulterated racing. I have been following F1 since 1999. I have been visiting the Madras race track quite regularly since 1996. But one damn thing that never lets me live my dream, my deepest desire to race – the age.

Thanks to the strict regulations and a partially orthodox family, I never got an opportunity to race till I got my road driving license. But thats the end of the saturnine part. Precisely speaking, July 2010 was the month when I got my license. And almost instantaneously, I started the exhaustive search to race – to wring the throttle and to get the hell out of that puny engine.

Honda gave me a way out! A real life racing experience for a paltry fee. Its even cheaper than the cheapest Fastrack watch. (The fast of the fastrack ends with the name!) I had to wait for the semester to end because of my father’s fear for safety. With a completely messed up IE exam, the 5th semester ended. One of the worst sems I have ever had at IIT partly because of the infinite+1 things I did during that sem. Now, lets get back onto the track quite literally!

The day was December 3, 2010. The race was scheduled at 8AM. It was called the “Honda One Make” race. I was going to race the 110cc Honda Twister in the Novice category. I was skeptical about the fun part as the bike is a highly underpowered machine with a top speed of a meagre 96kmph. But the scenario was completely different once I took the bike from the pits. I was like a fire-fighter with an armor worth mentioning. It was a complete protective suit with all kinds of nice materials and the looks of a stunner.

With more than 10kgs added to my body, I was weighing close to the bike’s weight! And then the start. Since we were all novices, there is no “Lights off, vroom off the line” start and we had to start from the pits one after the other. Since I thought it will be a good idea to set the pace early, I rushed to the second spot at the pit entrance and got into the track in the second position.

And that was it! A new world. A world with no speed limits. A world with no fear. A world to live your dream. With my heart pumping harder than it ever pumped, I opened the throttle with the hurry of a 5 year old opening a chocolate cover. Though it was nothing more than a moderate acceleration, it was awesome.

A feeling of its own. Soon, I overtook the slow sober guy at the front. And the track was mine. With no hint of fear, I set times – fast lap times. If it was the long straights which I loved riding in my venerable Yezdi, it was the corners and the sweeping chicanes that impressed me a lot on the Twister.

Steering a 100kg beast around the corners at speeds close to 100 was no mean task. I tilted, slanted and did everything I can like a Rossi or a Stoner on their supremely powerful 800s. Though I couldn’t put my leg down to the tarmac, I did a good job by creating uniformly ugly scratches to both sides of the bike.

Afterall, we, Indians, always like to make full use of every penny we spend right? I had 20 minutes to prove my mettle and get into the top 15 out of the 60 who will qualify for the ultimate showdown on Sunday. Once the 20 min condition got into my mind, I pushed the vehicle so much, so hard that I ran out of the tarmac straight into the 5 feet high grass enough to cover the whole bike.

That was an another instance of my ruthless riding – You can never turn a Twister at 100kmph at that corner. I cursed myself but there was no time to throw maledictions at myself. I got back onto the track. But those valuable 2 minutes lost meant I’m now right in the middle of the traffic – In the midst of equally capable and equally fearless riders.

The calm, serene and clear atmosphere I had earlier was gone. I had to either tow behind a more experienced rider or see the craziest of the accidents with the riders running off the track quite consistently. I told myself, “Come on! You can’t expect a Rossi-Gibernau tussle in a Novice category race!”.

While all this was happening, I was overtaken by a tall lad who was text-book like in his riding manners pointing his legs and the bike in the right direction at every single corner. He was a class apart – a class of his own. He eventually went on to win the race and the final showdown too! But that inspired me to give it my all.

I tried getting my foot down. I could but not too low to touch the tarmac. My boots were brushing the ground, sparks were flying all around. But my knee was still quite far off from the ground. The rest of the 8 minutes, I was left with, was spent the same damn way – me trying to get that knee touch the ground at every single corner, every single second.

But I just couldn’t do it. Finally the race/test-trial ended. I told myself, “May be I should join a proper racing school or do some proper ground work on the techniques.” I consoled myself saying, “I am going to hit the gym, get my techniques right and come back strong, hard and ruthless as ever the next time.”

On the whole, it was an experience which cannot be expressed in words. Call it orgasmic or anything. It was simply unmatchable, unforgettable and once in a life-time. I will never forget that day, that twister which was screaming like a muted lion crying for some mercy all through those 20mins, that MMST race track and the most important of them all – My father.

While all this was happening, he was playing the role of a commentator speaking over the phone with my mom and my grandfather assuring them of my safety, informing about my position in every single lap. And those occasional cheers too! Without him, I would have been nuts.

I would have been a nerd with no knowledge about the most precious things in my life – the motorcycles. If he would have not taken me to watch those weekend races, I would have been like any other teenager with a careless life racing in the streets in some of those crappy conditions. After the race, he was overwhelmed with my efforts which was not an herculean task by any means.

I lost. I didn’t get through to the finals. But I was not feeling like a loser. I did something which my father always wanted to do. I did something which I consider to be the most pleasurable experience I have ever had. I raced. And for the topic, the last line. I raced and my father embraced me!

Regards,
Rakesh

Original Source: Bajaj Pulsar & My Passion for Biking from BikeAdvice.in

It is not uncommon for any guy in his teens to have a reasonable if not great passion towards bikes!! I am no exception, except that I started nurturing this thirst to be a ‘know-all’ when it came to bikes a bit later than most of my close friends.

But I can with great humility proclaim that I am now in a very good situation compared to where I started from, thanks to the wonderful double edged sword that is, the internet, and some wonderful websites such as this one, for instance. But I still have a long way to go!!

Now to my experiences with bikes in general and my opinion. Note: that when I mention MY opinion, it is my perspective. It can be poles apart from yours. So do entitle me to mine!!

Now let me try to answer the question that some people have always wondered. “What is there in a bike that is not there in a car. What more you have better safety with a car. So why do people want to spend so much on a two wheeler?”. The basic reason is that bikes have spectacular power to weight ratio.

Consider an average Indian performance bike. They do 0 to 60kmph in say about 5 seconds (That is a guess. I welcome someone to give a more specific value). Only the best of the cars can even come near. A bike has sufficient power and comparatively Very low weight. That is why a bike packs a punch so hard for any normal car to achieve. The adrenaline rush u get when u feel the bike tearing through space is addictive. I am an addict in this case

When I was in doing my senior secondary education (11th and 12th), biology was my prime interest. That is where the beauty of our brain came in to the picture in my life! Dunno why, after my 12th boards I got this huge interest to pursue Mechanical Engineering! Thank god I could make it into a premier institution in my city. It would be a lie if I told that I developed an interest in bikes all by myself.

This is the age that we guys consider having a bike as cool, and give importance to cool factor of the bike we own, pushing back all the tangible benefits of owning one. So slowly because of my friends I noticed myself being pulled into the world of biking, an exciting and adrenalin pumping world as it is! I started learning how to ride one, during the 1st year in college! Learnt with a Passion Plus. A very good bike, if you are looking at value for money; reasonable style; fill it, shut it, forget it kind of mileage; an ideal bike for the typical middle class Indian.

Then slowly with more and more practice I began to confidently try out my friends bikes, when ever they indulged to my whims, and started riding a Discover, 125cc, first model. This is the point where I have to thank my friends for allowing me to nurture as driver. But I did not find it difficult to ride in the city.

As I grew up there and ride an Activa (needless to talk about this legend, as it is now, among scooters) before I learnt to ride a geared bike! Now my friend had done certain modifications. He being one of the best riders amongst us, had the insight not to mess with any of the machinery! He had changed the handle bars to improve the seating posture to a more sporty one. And he had put on a pair of zappers! This was what gave me the taste of how a sporty bike felt.

At this point, you may argue that a Discover after all is not even a proper performance bike!! In my defence, The bike having only four gears had very good pick up, straight line stability, excellent braking (courtesy – the Zappers), and eaily shot up to speeds around 90 kmph even when riding with a pillion rider!.

From then on I was constantly feeling the urge to own a good bike! But my family, typical conservative again, refused to let me own anything that looked dangerous and unfortunately for them all bikes, except our nations heart beat Splendor, fell under that category.

During those days I was yearning to own a Yamaha RX 135. Even now, unfortunately, I am only hoping to own one. It is an undisputed fact that, with in the city, no other bike can match RX’s pick up!! And that divine beat!! You dont even need a horn. The traffic justs parts if you ride a RX.

Still things didn’t work out!! And one fine day, my cousin brother who heard about the news, made me an offer. He wanted me to take his bike. A Bajaj Pulsar, 2005 version. But still there was one small disappointment that it was a old one! Nevertheless I took it. I am very happy to have made that decision. I was getting a Pulsar! WOW!

Then I got my Pulsar one fine day. Once I got it, I realised that it wasnt that bad after all. It could easily do a 80kmph with a pillion rider. Without one it could do above 100kmph. The vehicle surprisingly had an awesome pick up!! But it has a few problems such as engine heats up quite easily, suspension is a bit inefficient.

All apart, I got to evolve myself into a mature rider. And I got to know a lot about making the most out of your bike, having confidence in your ride etc. One of the important aspect I realised was that we must know the full capacity of our ride to ride it well. It has kindled a larger apetite for better, higher capacity bikes. I am sure ill own a world-class performance

And finally I would like to add that, ‘No bike is a bad bike!’. Every bike caters certain specific needs of the rider. You have to get your expectations from a machine straight and zero in on the right one for you. If u do that, nothing else shares a more special bond with you than your bike! Cheers to all the avid bike fans!

Yours truly
Goutham

Original Source: Yezdi Roadking Ownership Review by Rakesh from BikeAdvice.in

I’m Rakesh doing my third year engineering in Chennai. “Old is Gold” – This proverb is the central concept in this ownership review about my 95′ Yezdi Roadking. I have divided this ownership review into two parts- the first part being the story of how i landed up at my Roadking and the second one being a small review of the sub-systems of the bike. Please note that the second part is a review of my 16 year old bike and hence it is not a comprehensive review of any Roadking. No two bikes of the same model will be the same after a decade of operation.

First, lets look at the history of Yezdi Roadking. Yezdi Roadking was manufactured by Ideal Jawa Ltd.,Mysore in the 80′s and the 90′s. It was based on CZ250, a motocross motorcycle sold by Jawa Motors, Czechoslovakia. Ideal Jawa Ltd. sold licensed Jawa and CZ type motorcycles from 1960 and later sold similar motorcycles under the brand name “Yezdi” when the validity of the license expired.

They had this famous tagline of “Forever Bike, Forever Value” for their Yezdi range of bikes. “Yezdi” was a term used by Czech assembly-line engineers which means “it runs”. The production of the Yezdi motorcycles was stopped in 1996 due to labor problems. The entry of highly fuel-efficient 100cc motorcycles into the market added salt to the wound and the company never resurfaced.

Now let me elaborate on how I landed up at Yezdi Roadking. I was about 9 years old when I had my first encounter with an automobile. It was my father’s 84′ Dolphin(aka Reliant Kitten, a 848cc mini car from the Sipani stable). About an year later, I, having grown in size to reach the ground, took my mother’s TVS 50 for a ride and crashed at the end of the road. It was the first time i drove a two-wheeler and it just felt impeccable. But thanks to the crash, my father made it strict that I will not be allowed to own/ride a bike until I turn 18 years old. But since he is also an auto-nut, he allowed me to ride his KB125 once in a while. And I had to be contempt with those 1km long weekend rides in the KB at speeds strictly less than 40kmph.

Time flew away and I grew 16 years old. And we moved to a new home in the heart of Chennai. In this new neighbourhood of mine, there was a Yezdi-enthu person who had 2 Yezdi Classics and a Roadking. That was the first time I came to know about the “Forever Bike”. The bikes were glorious and I was simply awestruck. I decided then that my first bike will be a Yezdi. My father’s claim of driving a Yezdi at 80kph in Mount Road when he was in his tenth grade cemented the decision. But I had to give importance to my studies for one more year as I was in my 12th grade and the board examinations were fast approaching. After that long one year, I cracked an entrance examination and got into a reputed engineering college in Chennai.

Now the hunt for the “Forever Bike” began. But sadly i was just 17 and my father did not want me to get a Yezdi atleast till I get a LLR(Learner’s license). After waiting for one more year, Indian Independence Day 2009 was celebrated all across India and I turned 18 too. After August 09, I got into some projects(which included building a life-size batmobile in 4 days which was successful) and could n’t afford any time for the hunt. And the winter holidays started in December. With one full month of holidays in hand and a 3 year old dream(by then), I started the hunt afresh. My father imposed certain conditions for buying a Yezdi:

1) Price < 15k for a RoadKing; < 10K for Classic and Deluxe. Jawa, Monarch, 350 are out of the equation, courtesy their rarity.
2) Should be a TN registered bike.
3) Papers must be clear.
4) Outlook not a big concern but the engine condition should be top class.

After registering all these constraints in my mind, I started surfing through the advertisements in the internet. I could immediately decipher that condition(1) is almost impossible. So I(with my father) consulted a popular mechanic. In this mechanic’s garage, we met a RK owner. This wealthy old guy was very proud of his RK and started warning me about owning a Yezdi. Though I was discouraged, I did not want to give up so easily. After the consultation, my father raised the price barrier to 20k for a RK and 15k for a Classic. The situation did not get any better as most of the “TN” Yezdi owners were quoting very high(ranging from 25k to 60k).

The frustration started creeping into my mind and then my first ride in a RK happened. We “test-drove” a 94′RK but this guy was quoting 28k. The bike had a good number of mechanical problems to be repaired. So we didn’t get the deal through. Then I came to know about Roaring Riders, a Chennai-based Jawa and Yezdi Motorcycles Club through the Hindu NXG. I contacted Sachi, one of the moderators of the club, who was kind enough to entertain my call and told me about a RK for sale near Ice House, Triplicane. But I ran into some medical illness and was hospitalised for 2 days. After recovering from my illness with very little enthusiasm left, I began the hunt again. A visit to Sekar’s (a Yezdi mechanic) workshop in Ice house followed. I met 3 more (Yezdi) owners there.

Again the warnings about maintenance and spare parts came. I gave my contact number to one of them and left the place after having a small chat with them. But none of them got back to me with any information. When I was about to forget my dream, a surprise came in the form of a RK parked in a showroom in Anna Nagar with a quote of 15k(negotiable too!). I was very excited and when I approached the showroom incharge, I got to know that the papers are not clear. After seeing one more RK in a poor shape and a very high price, the dream was over(Read on for the renaissance).

And I started searching for Shoguns and RXs. Again a twist… Accidentally, I found 2 Yezdis and a Jawa all parked together at a doctor’s clinic in Vadapalani. The doctor was very keen on not selling them but gave me some emcouraging words and advised me to go on for a RK(with CDI). The CDI(Capacitor Discharge Ignition) models had lesser maintenance problems than the earlier CB(Contact Breaker) point models.

The same day, a very well maintained and fully original Yezdi(not even repainted) was at sight in my neighbourhood. And a RK too followed suit at a nearby traffic juntion. These five bikes gave some fresh lease of life to my dream. I realised that it is my destiny to get a RK as my first bike. And it’s all happy moments from now on. In God’s grace, the information about my father’s colleague’s relative having a RK(with CDI) in Mettupalayam, Coimbatore came.

And that “relative” is working in Dubai and his RK was not used much. We spoke to him and convinced him to sell the bike to us. The bike satisfied all the above conditions beautifully. However the price was increased later thanks to our “popular mechanic” when he was contacted by the owner. But then it was still < 20k and papers were perfect with insurance valid till Aug 10. And the deal happened and my dream bike arrived in Chennai 2 days later.

The very first day, my father drove the bike from the parcel service’s depot to my college campus and left it in the parking lot for me to see as i was having classes in the morning. That day evening, I was over the moon and wanted to go on for a ride in my dream. But sadly it did not start thanks to the carburettor problem during transportation. After about 100 kicks and running around with the bike for over 2 kms, nothing much happened. So we called the same “popular mechanic” who was busy. He told us not to lose faith and it is something every new Yezdi owner has to go through.

The next day, a hundred more kicks and a km long run followed but to no avail. We lost hope and waited for the “popular mechanic” to send a saviour. Then the next day morning at around 7 AM, a mechanic came from our “popular mechanic’s garage”. He just opened and cleaned the carb and it was all fine. The bike was kicked to life and it roared like a Lion. I rode it at high speeds with the pleasant cool air blowing fast past my face. The dream finally saw the light of the day and I became a proud owner of a Yezdi Roadking!

With the hope that you weren’t exhausted with such a long read, I go onto the ownership review of the bike.

Roadking was a bike made with the idea of combining performance with reliability. It had some peculiar features like a semi-automatic clutch, twin exhausts, etc. Now let me brief you on the sub-systems of the bike. Please note that these are entirely my personal views about my 16 year old bike and not meant to hurt anyone. I was just 4 years old when the production of these motorcycles was stopped and hence I never had a chance to drive a Roadking in showroom condition.

Chassis

The bike has a single rectangular downtube frame. The chassis is quite rigid and even after 16 years, I could not find any rust in the frame. It does n’t flex easily when cornering hard thereby instilling a lot of confidence in the minds of the rider.

Engine

The bike is powered by a two-stroke single cylinder 250cc engine. It develops a healthy 16Bhp of power and about 24Nm of torque. The engine is air-cooled and breathes through a Jikov carburettor. It is a low-revving engine(max rpm is around 5K) and is directly bolted onto the chassis without any rubber bushes. Even after 16 years, the engine is quite solid and it has never been opened. The bike pulls like a truck from the low rpms thanks to the high torque. It gets too jarring at higher rpms and its better to operate it at less than 3K rpm.

Suspension

My bike came in with a lot of suspension problems. The cone-ball set at the front fork was damaged and hence there was a lot of play. Added to that, the oil seal was leaking rendering the suspension useless. The rear shocks are good but nowhere close to the gas-charged shocks of today. On the whole, the suspension is well below par for a bike this massive.

Ride and Handling

Since the engine is directly bolted onto the chassis without any dampening elements, the vibrations creep up with the rpm and it behaves like a “paint shaker” at speeds more than 80kmph in the fourth gear. About 10mins of continuous riding at speeds more than 70kmph leads to a lot of body fatigue and its best to keep the bike at 60-65kmph. It has incredible straight line stability and cornering is also good thanks to the low-set position of the seat. Though it has narrow 3.25inch tyres, the grip offered is excellent. Ofcourse, it cannot be compared with the Pulsars,the Apaches and the R15s but still it does handle well at high speeds. It was not very easy to cut-in through the heavy traffic initially but once I got familiar with the bike, I could drive it as good as a Pulsar in dense traffic if not like an Apache or a R15. Overall, it does have a good ride and handling but the vibrations are very tiring at times.

Electricals and Instrumentation

It was a bike of an era when everything from trafficators to rear-view mirrors are optional accessories. The bike has a two-pod instrument cluster with a speedometer and a slot for the ignition key. Except the headlight, tail light and the ignition system, there are not many electricals(infact nothing else) in this “mechanical” bike. My bike’s headlight has been functioning properly since the beginning but occassional hic-cups do occur in the rainy season.

Braking

The bike has drum brakes at the front and the rear. They are hardly effective when compared to the disc brakes of today. And its always advisable to do “engine braking” or “gear cut” to decelerate this 150kg heavy machine.

Looks & other Attractive Features

The bike is a trade-off between the classic Jawas and the modern-day sports bikes. The styling was great but neither too classical nor too contemporary. One of the best features in this bike is the semi-clutch mechanism. There is just a single lever for both the gear-shifter and the kick-starter. The lever is reversed to kick start the bike and it returns to its original position after starting. The lever has an intenal cam which engages/disengages the clutch when you shift the gear thereby precluding the need for a hand-clutch. The exhaust note is one of the spot-lights of this bike and it really makes even a lazy fellow go crazy. The note is more of a racy tone in Roadking when compared to the classic yezdis thanks to its higher revving engine.

Mileage

This bike is not known for its mileage. It is a bike best suited for pleasure biking rather than point-to-point biking. My bike returns a fuel economy of 25kmpl in the city conditions and about 35kmpl in the highways. If you are “mileage kitna hai?” minded person, its better you look nowhere close to a Yezdi.

Top Speed

I never wanted to push the bike to its limits. Once I got tempted to test the bike’s higher end ability and took it to the OMR(Old Mahabalipuram Road). I could do about 110kmph before the bike started losing its breath. The speedo is fairly consistent and therefore, I guess it can reach upto 115kmph at this present state of condition. It was advertised to have a top speed of 120kmph. The fact that the top speed has dipped just under 5% even after 16 years goes to say loads about the quality of the bike.

Overall

This bike was known for its reliability during its hey times. But today, it has become more of a style-statement to ride this beauty. It is one such bike which is liked by everyone from small children (they find the twin exhausts very cool) to the elderly people (who get the reminisces of this bike roaring through the roads during those good old days). Though its not a great bike under the present road conditions, it is one such bike which is built to last forever unlike the plastic-y bikes of today(no offence intended!). It is a bike for those who like to dare and be different. If you are looking for a second-hand bike with a strong performance and a price tag not burning a hole in your pocket, you can try Roadking. But its for serious bikers who have a strong passion for biking.

Personal Note

I am reiterating that Roadking is my first bike. I didn’t have much exposure to biking(practically) before this bike though i knew the theoretical aspects of driving a bike(including knee scraping, stunts, etc.). So I, as a biker, have completely evolved around this bike. From being an amateur finding it to hard to wade through the city traffic, I have now grown to race motorcycles. When you drive such a big bike in a not-so-good condition for a fairly long amount of time, driving any other bike(even the Royal Enfields) becomes a child’s play.

I am very happy with my RK from the time i got it. It is my closest friend ever. It does give me some troubles now and then, but if you get it all cleared and learn to respect the bike, it becomes more than a bike…It becomes a way of life. Yezdi is truly a “Forever Bike, Forever Value”

P.S: Whenever we read any article written by a very passionate biker, we find him/her call his/her bike as “he” or “she”. But my RK, with its rugged looks, is a masculine female! And hence, I have called the bike as “it” in this whole article.

- Rakesh

Original Source: Suzuki Fiero F2 and Ramesh’s Experience with Bikes from BikeAdvice.in

My name is Ramesh I am 38 years old and from Chennai. I have a deep interest and passion about bikes. I used to read every news and reviews about bikes published in magazines right from my childhood. When I was studying seventh standard I had a chance of riding my Father’s friend’s bike Enfield Silver Plus and had a nice experience of riding a geared two wheeler for the first time. Before that I had a chance of riding a moped called Suvega. It will be similar to a moped called Hero majestic.

For starting the engine the accelerator should be pressed on the reverse & the speed of the moped was really good when compared with other mopeds available during that period. I hope most of us don’t know about that brand before our Suzuki’s & kawasaki’s launched.. I bought my first two wheeler TVS Suzuki max 100R during 1999 & I rode it for nearly 5 years without any accident & major expenses. In Suzuki max 100 R the suspension is very hard when compared to other bikes. During 2004 I replaced the same with a one year old TVS Fiero F2 Bike which has clocked 10,000 Kms.

With the Fiero F2 I had a nice experience of having the extra comfort of additional engine cubic capacity when compared to my old bike. I had to replace my rear tyre with a TVS make Zapper tyre (Used in TVS Apache) for better road grip & comfort in my ride. I regularly commute to office by bike for nearly 35 kms in Chennai traffic. I care for my bike and take it for regular servicing @ dealer end. Once I had a peculiar problem of not starting due to ignition coil. Sometimes the bike will start and sometimes it won’t. Then I came to know that it was due to the coil.

We need to care for the bike like we care for our body. We should listen to every extra sound that is emanating from the engine or from the chassis of the bike. Regular replacement of engine oil at regular intervals will lead to better engine performance and mileage and better starting. Due to my good maintenance schedule, my bike gave a good mileage of 50 to 55 kmpl average. Also I used to enter the kilometer reading in the bill received from Dealer for better tracking. I used to maintain a separate file for filing the bike documents and bills for future reference.

I had taken by bike for a long travel of 200 kms at a single stretch with out any problem. I managed to make up a maximum speed of 105 Kms in my bike with less vibration. My bike’s vibration reduces when I accelerate above 60 kms speed. Atpresent my bike has clocked 58,000 Kms and still working fine. I am really happy about my bike’s performance. I use to clean my bike whenever I am taking it out for commuting. I enjoy my bike’s disc brake very much and the comfort it gives in sudden stopping. The spare parts of the bike should be replaced as per manufacturer’s recommendations as mentioned in the Owner’s manual.

- Ramesh

Original Source: Kawasaki Bajaj Caliber – My First Love from BikeAdvice.in

It’s a love story; it’s a story about a man who fell in love with his machine! My bike isn’t the best looking nor is it the fastest or quickest one out there but it certainly has conquered my heart. When I was in my 6th class my dad bought a Kawasaki Bajaj Caliber (the first model), a capable bike at that time, back then I considered buying Caliber as a, good decision since everyone was riding the HH Splendor and Caliber offered an unmatched exclusivity along with little extra power and an awesome exhaust note.

But since the launch of CBZ I was little unhappy as CBZ was the bike to own in the first part of 21st century. Since then lots of bikes have been launched in our great little country and till last year I somehow wanted to get rid of this old Caliber of ours.

Of the 10 years that the Caliber had been with us, last 5 years it had been under my care. And I must say that it didn’t gave any big worries to me, unlike other Caliber owners I was pretty happy with it, except for the fact that I wanted it to be a little more powerful. The 111.6cc mill develops around 7.6bhp at the rear end which is capable of taking the bike to a top speed of 85KmpH, pretty good for Indian roads (just being optimistic). As soon as my father bought the bike he fitted it with a side box, which destroyed the look of the bike even though it’s very handy while traveling.

Till last year I used to ask my friends to lend their bike to me for long rides, but I don’t know what happened so that pulsars and unicorns became so boring that, now even for extra long distance touring I prefer my good old trusty Caliber and even my friends have started to appreciate it. I think that I fell in love with the exhaust note of my Caliber, the exhaust note becomes prominent after 5000rpm and the sensation that the noise gives is simply worth the hassle of owning the bike.

The thing with the modern extra smooth, extra soft bikes that we generally see nowadays is that, everything falls into place and everything happens quite like u want them to. This make the whole riding experience very uninvolved, as we start to ride the machine unconsciously whereas the best thing about this old workhorse of mine is that one cannot expect anything to happen quite as he wanted to, the gears wont change as you intended them to, some times oil starts to pour from the cylinder head and soon after some time the engine revs to red line as if it had no problem. It’s been just a few months since I started to take the bike for long distance touring. And to my amazement it has performed amazingly well. Generally 150cc bikes accompany mine but everyone anonymously agrees that my rear seat is the most comfortable, even though the suspension is on the hard side. The handling of the bike is superb, despite of those poor quality tires; it inspires lots of confidence while braking as well as cornering. The bike feels stable even at speeds near 75-80kmph on rather bad roads, unlike other 100cc commuters which tend to generate lift and start vibrating like hell and it never felt hard to keep the pace in the long run with other bikes as it’s not practical to maintain three digit speeds on Indian roads. The comfortable seats mean that we can travel longer distance without those occasional stops.

For now the longest that we traveled was a 1000 Km round trip within 36 hours. That trip was really hard on us, not to mention the bikes; the trip was mainly confined to NH17 and the awesome destinations along its length. But the trip which actually took my bike to limits was the one to Wayanad, a beautiful district in Kerala where we found the best biking roads in India. Wayanad is essentially a hill station in the Western Ghats and my home is near the coastal region of Kerala so we had to climb the jaw drooping peaks of Western Ghats and that to in summer. The mountain roads were not exactly what we call forgiving even the Pulsar 180 was finding it difficult to climb and was crawling alongside the Caliber, but thanks to the shorter gear ratios of Honda Shine, it was performing quite well for a 125cc bike. The places where caliber took me were simply superb and even though we were expecting some big trouble from it, surprisingly it didn’t give us any sort of mess, not even a puncture! Moreover the places were simply “breathtakingly beautiful” and we really enjoyed the whole trip. Might be because of all this My Kawasaki Bajaj Caliber has become my First Love that will never go off my heart.

- Nidhin Chandran