[CuriousMagpie]

Hi everyone! I'm glad to be a part of this community, which I should've done long ago. I'm thankful to the moderators for approving my request.

I've always admired Team-BHP for the expert discussions and advice provided by the members. Some of the decisions by me and my friends to buy some of the vehicles can be directly attributed to the discussions on the forums. I'm aware of Team-BHP since more than a decade, but never bothered to create an account since I didn't expect my request to get approved - I found this to be a common theme which was why I requested membership.

I'm a software engineer and my title in our company is Principal Engineer. I've always liked to travel since childhood because our parents ensured to go on a long trip every year! I'm thankful to them for that.

I've traveled to a lot of places in India, and it would probably be quite bold to say that I've been to more than half of all the major tourist attractions in India. I've had blog for a long time, with some of the travelogues as blog posts. A lot of my trips were inspired by posts in Team-BHP forums, for which I'm truly grateful. This is my blog: http://anandmiitm.blogspot.in

Coming to my experience with vehicles, I've owned some or the other vehicle since childhood starting with cycles, then gear-less bikes, scooters, small hatchbacks, etc. The full list is below:
School: BSA Trailblazer (cycle), Bajaj Cub
College: LML Trendy, Bajaj Chetak
Graduation: Hero Nitrogen (cycle), TVS Scooty Pept, Maruti 800
Job: Ford Figo Titanium (2012-2021), Bajaj Pulsar 135 LS (2010-now), Tata Harrier XZA+ (2021-now)

The Pulsar is getting old and I've been wanting to upgrade to a higher segment since a few years. I had gone for a test ride of RE Classic 350 a couple of months back, but felt the bike to be too heavy as I'm so used to the light-weight Pulsar. I continued my search, and chanced upon HD x440 and Triumph Speed 400. Since the booking amount for both are refundable, I booked the red colored ones of both! Thanks to some of the inputs from members of this forum and also several YouTube videos. I'm looking forward to TR of TS400 for now, and most likely I'll go ahead and buy it. If it's possible to transfer the HD x440 booking and if anyone wants it, then I'll be glad to hand over. Also, I'll soon be in the market to sell the Pulsar, so I have my fingers crossed to get a good deal since it's a single ownership and single driver until now.

As you might be able to guess, I'm in my late thirties, so I've more than 20 years of driving experience with a cumulative total of more than 3,00,000 km on the odometer. I had traveled to California in 2007 for more than a month, so I had rented a Ford Fusion and driven for as long as I was there. I found it a bit tough for a few weeks to adapt after coming back to India.

Now, about cars and my travels, couple of my longest trips were:
1. Hyderabad-Kinnaur-Spiti-Ladakh-Amritsar-Hyderabad, details here:
a) https://anandmiitm.blogspot.com/2019...ti-ladakh.html
b) https://anandmiitm.blogspot.com/2019...-etc-trip.html
2. Hyderabad-Varanasi-Sikkim-Moreh(Manipur)-Bodhgaya-Hyderabad, details here:
a) https://anandmiitm.blogspot.com/2022...ndia-trip.html
b) https://anandmiitm.blogspot.com/2022...p-details.html

We went for the first trip mentioned above in a Ford Figo and were thoroughly frustrated. What I learnt in that trip was that we can travel to Ladakh in pretty much any vehicle as long as we can drive well. We had seen much larger and powerful vehicles struggling at times, perhaps due to overconfidence and trying to take unnecessary shortcuts. I realized after that trip that we only live once, and we should enjoy our journey to places that we like. I didn't want to go so slow like that again, so after much thought and research I almost decided to buy Hyundai Venue since it seemed like a good match for what I wanted (on paper). However, after visiting some showrooms and doing some test rides, I updated my choice from Venue to Creta, then wondered about Mahindra XUV500, Tata Nexon, and finally zeroed in on Tata Harrier. I wanted to actually buy a Fortuner, but the budget was getting too high. So, I'm now a proud owner of Harrier, and I believe it's been a great decision despite the huge uncertainty of how much I'll actually be able to drive, given I bought it during the second wave of Covid.

The second trip has been great since that was in Harrier. My usual statement these days is that "if a truck can go, then irrespective of how bad the road is, we'll easily make it", and Harrier has never failed me. It's such confidence inspiring and impressive. Although it has some flaws, I know what they are and can be excused for what it offers.

We've been blessed with a little one recently this year, so I'll be on a break from such long journeys for a while. However, we do have a bucket list of long-distance journeys, such as Bhutan, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, etc. One of my friends is planning to do a road trip to Europe, so perhaps I might do that someday in the future.

Looking forward to staying curious, continuously learn, and being part of this community!

[Aditya]

Hi,

Welcome to Team-BHP. Good to have you onboard.

Originally Posted by CuriousMagpie

Some of the decisions by me and my friends to buy some of the vehicles can be directly attributed to the discussions on the forums. I'm aware of Team-BHP since more than a decade, but never bothered to create an account since I didn't expect my request to get approved - I found this to be a common theme which was why I requested membership.

Good to know that despite not having a membership, Team-BHP has played a part in your discussions with friends.

I've always liked to travel since childhood because our parents ensured to go on a long trip every year! I'm thankful to them for that.

Very nice to hear that. No therapy like travelling. Nothing else can rejuvenate one's mind like the freshness new sights and places he sees while travelling.

I've traveled to a lot of places in India, and it would probably be quite bold to say that I've been to more than half of all the major tourist attractions in India. I've had blog for a long time, with some of the travelogues as blog posts. A lot of my trips were inspired by posts in Team-BHP forums, for which I'm truly grateful.

Hope you see the rest of the country. I have, over the years, driven to pretty much every state and UT in India. It's only the island UTs - Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadeep that have remained elusive. Team-BHP has some really great contributors. Their travelogues and suggestions in the route queries section are very helpful in planning trips.

School: BSA Trailblazer (cycle), Bajaj Cub
College: LML Trendy, Bajaj Chetak
Graduation: Hero Nitrogen (cycle), TVS Scooty Pept, Maruti 800
Job: Ford Figo Titanium (2012-2021), Bajaj Pulsar 135 LS (2010-now), Tata Harrier XZA+ (2021-now)

Quite a list I used to love the Maruti 800 for bringing a much needed change in the Indian automobile industry and the Figo Diesel for its low end torque and fantastic handling.

I continued my search, and chanced upon HD x440 and Triumph Speed 400. Since the booking amount for both are refundable, I booked the red colored ones of both! Thanks to some of the inputs from members of this forum and also several YouTube videos. I'm looking forward to TR of TS400 for now, and most likely I'll go ahead and buy it. If it's possible to transfer the HD x440 booking and if anyone wants it, then I'll be glad to hand over.

Both are good bikes. Of course, the Triumph appears to be a better product and I expect it to fly off the shelves. However, I am sure that the Harley will not be a dud. It will create a niche for itself.

As you might be able to guess, I'm in my late thirties, so I've more than 20 years of driving experience with a cumulative total of more than 3,00,000 km on the odometer. I had traveled to California in 2007 for more than a month, so I had rented a Ford Fusion and driven for as long as I was there. I found it a bit tough for a few weeks to adapt after coming back to India.

With all that experience I am sure you'll be able to contribute to the discussions on our forum.

We've been blessed with a little one recently this year, so I'll be on a break from such long journeys for a while. However, we do have a bucket list of long-distance journeys, such as Bhutan, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, etc. One of my friends is planning to do a road trip to Europe, so perhaps I might do that someday in the future.

Hope you get to travel to all these places in the coming years.

Looking forward to staying curious, continuously learn, and being part of this community!

Looking forward to contributions from you.

See you on the forum.

[CuriousMagpie]

Originally Posted by Aditya

Welcome to Team-BHP. Good to have you onboard.

Thank you!

Good to know that despite not having a membership, Team-BHP has played a part in your discussions with friends.

Absolutely.

Very nice to hear that. No therapy like travelling. Nothing else can rejuvenate one's mind like the freshness new sights and places he sees while travelling.

Very true, but I understood that having great fellow travelers is quite important too. I had written about it in one of my blog post: https://anandmiitm.blogspot.com/2022...njoy-trip.html

Hope you see the rest of the country. I have, over the years, driven to pretty much every state and UT in India. It's only the island UTs - Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadeep that have remained elusive. Team-BHP has some really great contributors. Their travelogues and suggestions in the route queries section are very helpful in planning trips.

TBH, I've been to nearly 30 states and UTs already. Just that I don't consider setting foot in some place to cross it off the shortlist. Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadeep have been on my list for more than a decade already. Perhaps I can finally go there now since I doubt I'd be able to drive long distances in the near future with a little one on board.

Quite a list I used to love the Maruti 800 for bringing a much needed change in the Indian automobile industry and the Figo Diesel for its low end torque and fantastic handling.

Agreed about Maruti 800. I admire the Figo, except for its ground clearance.

Both are good bikes. Of course, the Triumph appears to be a better product and I expect it to fly off the shelves. However, I am sure that the Harley will not be a dud. It will create a niche for itself.

Yes, both cater to different needs, and both seem to be in high demand based on the booking numbers so far.

With all that experience I am sure you'll be able to contribute to the discussions on our forum.

Given my personal situation now, I thought of passively being active with my interests via contributions in the forums. Let's see how that goes

Hope you get to travel to all these places in the coming years.

That's the goal, thank you!