[rhandle]

Also attached please find few pics of Gurkha and the roads. I would be showing you more pics as your questions progress!

















Now pictures might not do the justice here. But the ditches are at times more than a feet deep because of tractor or bullock cart having passed through it. The sand is all mucky and of river. Also look at the wideness of the road. You would have cattle or kids on the road.



Gurkha in my village, this place is almost 20 km interior than paved road. It's slush during rains. Notice the tires!!



Gurkha along with a Land Cruiser in Gangtok!



Litchi ~ Why I want to visit my village. Fresh litchi from tree where you dont have to count them or weigh them -- is just delecious!

[tanwaramit]

Nice pics, you have a LC too ? It looks like an embassy vehicle ! Details about it pls.

[rrnsss]

Hello Rhandle. Congratulations on your Gurkha. I loved all your pictures, Especially the one of the lychee tree. I wish I had the space to grow one.

I own a Judo 4x4 and have a bit of experience with the vehicle. As a matter of fact, your story of the Gurkha is similar to mine. My visits to their factory to get the vehicle, The love hate relationship I have with the vehicle. The hate when we see the fit and finish and the poor QA the company does, the love when you see the offroad capability and how Force service engineers help us Gurkha owners out.

Your diff locks look different. Mine came with hydraulic actuators. Your's seem to be cable operated. Your's is more robust, in my opinion. Are they easy to operate? Our diff lock actuators get stuck ( due to dirt / rust ) and can be a nightmare to pull up . So every time I go offroad, I have to do a Pre drive inspection of my levers, to make sure they are free. If not I have to crawl underneath and brush some kerosine on the hinge and lever. The same problem exists with an othe Judo owning friend I know from South Canara.


Anyway, if I can help you with anything let me know.


Ram

[Parm]

Rhandle why dont you remove the cow/bull bar from the Gurkha, i think thats an added weight you have and i have in some of the photos the cow/bull bar touching the ground!

will removing the bull bar make a difference?

is there a posibility of some one getting the same help from your father (the phone call to Force motors) as you got in case some one wants to buy a Gurkha?

[rhandle]

Originally Posted by tanwaramit

Nice pics, you have a LC too ? It looks like an embassy vehicle ! Details about it pls.

LC is not mine. It belonged to UN and had come to Gangtok from Bhutan.

Originally Posted by rrnsss

Hello Rhandle. Congratulations on your Gurkha. I loved all your pictures, Especially the one of the lychee tree. I wish I had the space to grow one.

I own a Judo 4x4 and have a bit of experience with the vehicle. As a matter of fact, your story of the Gurkha is similar to mine. My visits to their factory to get the vehicle, The love hate relationship I have with the vehicle. The hate when we see the fit and finish and the poor QA the company does, the love when you see the offroad capability and how Force service engineers help us Gurkha owners out.

Your diff locks look different. Mine came with hydraulic actuators. Your's seem to be cable operated. Your's is more robust, in my opinion. Are they easy to operate? Our diff lock actuators get stuck ( due to dirt / rust ) and can be a nightmare to pull up . So every time I go offroad, I have to do a Pre drive inspection of my levers, to make sure they are free. If not I have to crawl underneath and brush some kerosine on the hinge and lever. The same problem exists with an othe Judo owning friend I know from South Canara.


Anyway, if I can help you with anything let me know.


Ram

We had a talk long time before, almost 2-3 years ago when I called you up to talk about your Judo. Mine are also hydraulic, just the top of lever changed so as to make it more ergonomic.

Originally Posted by Parm

Rhandle why dont you remove the cow/bull bar from the Gurkha, i think thats an added weight you have and i have in some of the photos the cow/bull bar touching the ground!

will removing the bull bar make a difference?

is there a posibility of some one getting the same help from your father (the phone call to Force motors) as you got in case some one wants to buy a Gurkha?

Removing Bull bar wont make a huge difference. Also where would I put up the fog lamps. Bull bar also saves my vehicle and head lamps from rickshaw wallas and while taking tight turns.

My Dad has left the company but he is still friends with the guy and hopefully if the vehicle would be in stock you can get preference.

Q. We heard that you had lot of trouble with your tires?

A. Yes, while coming back we took East west corridor. The road is still being made. While on our trip from Gorakhpur to Lucknow, the tire got punctured twice. In fact soon I was running with two tires which had got cut and my tubeless tyre puncture repair kit was useless. Purchased local tubes. Now these local tubes started to get puncture every 30-50 kms. When I reached lucknow, I got OEM tube to put in 31x10.5x15. As soon as I drove out like 20 kms my tire again got punctured. I called up Mr. Gaurav of Yokohama who got me in touch with Romy of super tire in Kaisarbagh of lucknow.

I was not able to get 31x10.5x15 so I was advised 265x70x15 of Michelin LT ATX. I got two of them to be put in rear of my Gurkha. Reached Delhi without any issues.

Yesterday went to Saimag and bought Alloywheels 427 (Mag Wheels,Automotive Wheels,Aluminum Alloy Wheels,Car Chrome Wheels,Supplier) for INR 22500. Mr. Gautam was again helpful, but searching for the place was a nightmare.

Again spoke to Gaurav and then went to Grewal tires in Khan Market. Garry was as usual helpful. Took out those two tires of Michelin from Gurkha and bought 3 more of the same and put them in Safari along with the present 15" alloys of Gurkha.

The new 16" alloys were put in Gurkha and bought another set of YOKO 275x70x16 geolander AT-S.

Still the tyres are not set in and I need to chek if the size is right in long run, then only I would advice anyone to go for them. As I am one of the person doing it for the first time, it is all trial and error. I have the three 31x10.5x15 tyres with me just in case...

Here are the pics:


Alloy wheels which I purchased.



The difference between the two tyres. The 275x70x16 is the bigger one.



The rear wheels in Gurkha in this picture have the new alloy and tyre and the front wheel has the old alloy and tires.

Will put up the picture of Gurkha will all new set of rim and tires tomorrow.

Hope this time YOKO give good performance to me. The problem I have faced in YOKO is thin side walls which are prone to puncture. On road comfort, grip and self-cleaning are though awesome.

I still need to drive the safari to see how it feels after the tires change.

[Rotorhead]

Originally Posted by rhandle

LC is not mine. It ...after the tires change.

Your gurkha seems to have a bump at the right rear roof edge. How did that happen, did it happen during one of your off roading escapades ?

[tsk1979]

What was the cause of the puncture?. Nails etc., on road, or cut due to sharp stones.
If it was the latter, then I am shocked at the quality of Yokos!

[rhandle]

Originally Posted by Rotorhead

Your gurkha seems to have a bump at the right rear roof edge. How did that happen, did it happen during one of your off roading escapades ?

Yeah look closely you will actually find two!! happened in one of the OTR!

Originally Posted by tsk1979

What was the cause of the puncture?. Nails etc., on road, or cut due to sharp stones.
If it was the latter, then I am shocked at the quality of Yokos!

Yes the cut was because of stones. On East west corridor, there were lots of diversions as the road is still being constructed. There were no nails!

[rhandle]

Not heard anything from Force motors since my visit to Pune.

On road this car is mess. Again the nuts and bolts keep falling.

But this weekend I was in Corbett, and I pulled a Gypsy out which cooled my nerves a little!

[dhrishikesh]

@ rhandle,
Thanks for sharing those beautiful pics with us.
Is it still available for purchasing ??

[rhandle]

Originally Posted by dhrishikesh

@ rhandle,
Thanks for sharing those beautiful pics with us.
Is it still available for purchasing ??

You can still purchase it, but should I recommend it is my dilema

[rhandle]

YouTube Down For Maintenance

[rhandle]

Got the rear two single seats removed (they were like as in Safari) and got the rear bench pushed back. This has released lot of space and now you can stretch your entire legs. Other thing which now needs to be added is roof carrier and am planning a sun roof in near future above the rear seats, so that one can stand and look around while passing through Jungles!




This pic above would highlight my problem when driving on long distances. the door lock hits your knee and it is hard plastic. So when you are driving 1000 Kms a day you are down with severe knee pain which can last many days. I used to wrap my knee in soft cloth or crape bandage to drive long distances. This problem is only to people who are between 5' 8" to 6" tall.







Now does it not looks more comfortable

[mohan]

Ok, looks comfortable after the seats are pushed back.
Tell me about your drive experience with the newer Yokos..have they changed your drive quality?

[rhandle]

Oh yes seats are lot more comfortable and now am planning to change the channel of passenger seats so that it can move further back.

New Yokos are good. Initially I had issues most probably because the tyres were not set in. After 500 kms no issues. The other thing is as these tyres are slightly out when ever passing through mud or water makes the entire vehicle dirty.

They have excellent grip around corners or on fast speed, and very less noise. Though at this time I do feel 265 would have been better than 275 width.

In OTR they performed really well, considering I was driving them on full air pressure that is 30psi. While climbing up and even coming down a steep incline these tyres proved their mettle. and did clung to the ground. I should have reduced them to 20 or so. This was one of the reasons might be me getting stuck in slush when going through less momentum.



Earlier I had AT+, they had wider lugs so they used to be cleaned faster than this.

The only issue I have faced in YOKO is sidewall punctures. In fact my first set of tyres went bad cause of the number of times they punctured :(

This one too got a side wall puncture in the previous OTR.