[aviorp]

Few more pics from various one day rides :

Shivanasamudram



Horsely Hills



Ooty





After a long time, got a chance to do a 4 day ride.

B'lore -> M'lore -> Kannur -> Athirappali -> Valparai -> B'lore

Mangalore, Pabbas Ice Cream Parlour



Honestly, nobody was in a mood to ride after eating this



Muzhappilangad beach





Just us



Kerala delight



Athirappally falls



Beautiful island on the Annamalai Tiger Reserve stretch



Valparai

[D'Artagnan]

Originally Posted by aviorp

Few more pics.....

Hi aviorp, I'm in the market for a second hand Ninja 300 (2013) that's run 14k kms. I would like some buying advice from you as to what should I look out for in the vehicle. Any nooks and cracks that would show abuse of the vehicle, the accelerator free play etc. Please let me know when you have time, it would be great if we can PM each other or have a call from one biker to another

[aviorp]

Originally Posted by D'Artagnan

I'm in the market for a second hand Ninja 300 (2013) that's run 14k kms..

1. Call the Insurance company and find out if there were any claims made.
2. Find out the life of the tyres, especially the rear
3. Check the chain and sprocket (ride it for a couple of kms and see if you get any noise)
4. Check the radiator for any bent fins (few bent fins are normal but not to the extent of any damage)
5. On the exhaust tip, see if there is any rust formation. It was a known issue and the ASS will spray some paint to fix it. Not a cause of worry, but you should know this.
6. Apart from that, just check the electricals - horn, lights, indicators etc

Good luck

[aviorp]

A ride to rejuvenate after a long day's work, to wake up at 3AM for a coffee in Maddur, a 1000Km ride in a day, sometimes a weekend ride, with or without pillion, with or without saddle bag or worse, I have tortured her in our city's traffic . She has managed to crank & revv at all times.

20 months have gone by with her and she has been a blessing in disguise and has bought truck loads of joys, friends, smiles, pics & some beautiful memories.

And, I, in return, took her blessing for the new phase of my life : June 12th (yup, I don't want to forget, so writing it )

The rides had dried up in the last 6 months, but, I'm fortunate enough that my partner allows me to ride solo as well as doesn't mind joining me for few rides. She is nearing the 25K mark and will post the pics of some of the rides done so far, shortly.

[aviorp]

From Jan this year till June, managed to do just 3 rides. A solo ride to Pondy, one to Goa and another to Gokarna.

Pondy :

B'lore -> Krishangiri -> Vellore -> Arcot -> Cheyyar -> Vandavasi -> Tindivanam -> Pondy and returned via ECR -> Kanchi -> B'lore : Close to 900Kms.

Just after Arcot, enroute Cheyyar



Got a GPS mount, however the GPS was not effective as the direct sunlight kills the display. The phone works perfectly.



Goa :

B'lore -> Belgaum -> Jamboti -> Sanquelim -> Mapusa -> Anjuna and returned via Mollem : Just over 1300 Kms.

Belgaum



Enroute Chorla



Near Chapora



This was my first ride with a pillion and the new saddle bags. Dint have any issues enroute, however on the way back, somewhere near Davangere, found the left saddle bag had touched the tyre and had cut open the lower part of the bag. Had to adjust it a little and reached safely without further damage.

Additionally, the bags touched and pushed both the rear indicators quite heavily as well. Left me thinking then on how to overcome this.

In the mean time, replaced the rear tyre with the Michelin pilot street radial. The rear tyre lasted just over 22k kms.

Old vs New



Cost : 5600/-

Gokarna

B'lore -> Hubli -> Yellapur -> Ankola -> Gokarna and returned via Honnavar -> Shimoga : Just over 1100 Kms





This was the first ride, I have experienced some extreme weather. I haven't ridden much in the rain, except for one heavy down pour near Kodachadri last year. That changed between the Yellapur and Gokarna stretch, leaving us soaked completely.

We were lucky that our clothes and riding gear dried the next morning. However, this left me wondering on how to protect ourself.

After sorting out some stuff and then the wedding, finally managed time to get the service done.

24k Kms Service

Engine Oil & Oil Filter : 2700
Brake pads : 1700

Life of the rear break pads, just over 24k kms



So, when the plan came up for a ride to Kerala in July, the first thing I did was to pick up a good rain coat and one size larger, to make it a snug fit over the riding gear.

I tried finding something that could cover the boots too, but dint find any (Decathlon had some shrine protectors, but that was not good enough). So, managed with some plastic covers

Don't have too many pics.



Over a lazy weekend, decided to fix the saddle bag problem. Initially, thought of fixing a couple of curtain brackets to each bag and use a road underneath to separate them. With this idea, took the bag to a repair shop to get the bag stitched. Saw few broken suitcases and then an idea struck to remove those handles and fix a bracket. The guy at the shop couldn't understand why, but gave the instructions and left on what needs to be done. Then, took the bike along to give the dimensions. This is the end result.











Heading on a ride next month, will have to see how it holds up.

[RiderZone]

Originally Posted by aviorp

Over a lazy weekend, decided to fix the saddle bag problem. Initially, thought of fixing a couple of curtain brackets to each bag and use a road underneath to separate them. With this idea, took the bag to a repair shop to get the bag stitched. Saw few broken suitcases and then an idea struck to remove those handles and fix a bracket. The guy at the shop couldn't understand why, but gave the instructions and left on what needs to be done. Then, took the bike along to give the dimensions. This is the end result.

Interesting setup! The 2 rods underneath the tail that you've used to separate the bags, are they fixed to the bike using some bolts or something? Easily removable? The Rapide is designed to be a universal fit, but clearly the Ninja 300 was too much for it to handle

[ku69rd]

Avinash,
Nice desi contraption and it should work fine as long as the both the bags are counter balanced with equal weights. Nice to see the white fairy doing its job well for you.

Looking forward for the next ride.

Cheers.

[aviorp]

Originally Posted by RiderZone

The 2 rods underneath the tail that you've used to separate the bags, are they fixed to the bike using some bolts or something?

Nope, it connects either side of the bags and that's precisely why I wanted something like this. Dint want to permanently fix something to the bike.

Easily removable?

Unfortunately not. It takes some effort to mount the bags. The rods need to be placed between the bags first and only then can I strap them together on the top.

[aviorp]

A 1200Km ride to Pondy

I have done multiple solo rides but just one long ride to Goa with a pillion. I was waiting for an opportunity to do atleast 1000Kms in a day with pillion and when my uncle, who lives in Pondy invited us, I dint miss out and did this over the last weekend.

(I dint click too many pics, as it takes a lot of time getting on n off the bike with the pillion. Sharing just the videos)

Convincing the lady was not a big problem but at home it took some effort. The plan though was to do the ECR stretch (Ramanathapuram -> Velankanni -> Chidambaram -> Pondy), but had to change course due to some pathetic roads.

We left B'lore at 3AM and stopped at K'giri for a cup of tea. Here's a short video clip after the toll.

https://youtu.be/46ujUr_37p0

After which, stopped to refuel near Karur and then in Madurai (Hari's restaurant) for breakfast. Reached Tirunelveli around 11 and picked up loads of Halwa. Took me a while to re-arrange the stuff and headed towards Muppandal.

This place is considered to be the second largest windmill setup in the world, next to Texas. It was an amazing sight.

https://youtu.be/F5EkenMGEY4

And, she loved it too

In all it was close to 9.5 hours and 650+kms, including the Halwa shopping in T'veli. Fortunately, the lady was not tired either and we decided to head to Pondy. However, the plan changed in less than an hour. From Anjugramam, the road leading to Tiruchendur was very patchy and uneven. Took us close to 2 hours to cover this stretch and also the stretch from T'dur to Thoothukudi was in bad shape. In all, took us close to 3.5 hours to cover 120 odd kms.

Decided to halt for the night in T'kudi and found a room in GRT, close to the Madurai Highway. The Electrol came in extremely handy and saved us from dehydrating as the heat was unbearable and combined with the bad roads, bought our energy levels to zero in less than a couple of hours. Will share some more videos shortly.

[ku69rd]

Fantastic, somebody is on a roll with his lady or ladies eh?

Avinash,
Indeed heartening to see you ride the Ninja for such long distances. Have you contemplated looking for a bigger/better/comfortable tourer?
How did the luggage hold up? Did you have any challenge still?

We should meet at your house one of these weekends if you are still not happy with the saddle bag set up.

[aviorp]

Originally Posted by ku69rd

Fantastic, somebody is on a roll with his lady or ladies eh?

Fortunately, no tantrums from both yet, Mahesh

Indeed heartening to see you ride the Ninja for such long distances.

Well, a lot has to do with the trust I have gained over this machine, in the last 20 months. Initially started with 200 odd kms and pushed it to 1400+ kms in a day + a lot of touring.

So, this time tested with 20+Kgs of luggage and a pillion. She dint let me down but, it needs some tweaks.

Have you contemplated looking for a bigger/better/comfortable tourer?

I would love to, but here is why I'll not, atleast for the next 5 years.

- I have had occasions where the mechanics treat these bikes like any other bike. To be precise, trying to move the bike by holding the rear seat or trying to tighten the chain by leaning the bike on the side stand. This happened not once, but thrice and right in front of me. I can't imagine what kind of treatment the bike would get, if the owner is not present.

- Stocking of spare parts : There was no Engine oil in stock, when I went in for service the last time. Had to procure it from a shop.

- No proper touring equipments. I can't believe there are no proper saddle bags for the Ninja.

As much as I have faith & trust on my beloved machine, I dont have either of these with the service centers. We see these bikes as part of our life, but for them its just another bike.

How did the luggage hold up? Did you have any challenge still?

I purposely carried a Laptop this time and both the bags were filled to the brim with 6Kgs of Halwa.

This is what happened.

https://youtu.be/LHFgPeWFQnM

Enroute K'mari, there was no problem. Once both the bags were completely filled, I had to keep adjusting the straps and the rods underneath from preventing the bag from touching the silencer. On the 3rd day, one of the rods got bent and snapped the casing. So, this setup dint hold up much.

We should meet at your house one of these weekends if you are still not happy with the saddle bag set up.

Please let me know when you're free, will be glad to meet and yes, we need to do something about these bags.

[sagarpadaki]

Slightly OT, which helmet cam do you use? Can you please share a pic or two on how it is mounted to the helmet?

I have a SJ1000 cam and i am not finding anyway to fit it to helmet

[aviorp]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Which helmet cam do you use?

This is a Chinese version of the SJCAM (Wifi SJ4000 - found it on ebay for 6K)

Can you please share a pic or two on how it is mounted to the helmet?

This is best I could find now. Let me know if this helps. If not, will share some better pics tomorrow.

[ani_meher]

Originally Posted by aviorp

- No proper touring equipments. I can't believe there are no proper saddle bags for the Ninja.

... Once both the bags were completely filled, I had to keep adjusting the straps and the rods underneath from preventing the bag from touching the silencer. On the 3rd day, one of the rods got bent and snapped the casing. So, this setup dint hold up much.

The viaterra bags you are using are currently the best ones that fit Ninja. You will need this mod to make sure they never touch the silencer.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...nja-300-a.html

What are the rods you talked about that got bent? Also, how much is the mud spray increased since you have removed the rear mud guard?

EDIT: I saw you have already posted on that modification thread. Did you do that mod and that rod got bent, or is it something different?

[aviorp]

Originally Posted by ani_meher

The viaterra bags you are using are currently the best ones that fit Ninja. You will need this mod to make sure they never touch the silencer

With all due respect, you have done a clever mod but why should you come up with a mod like that in the first place if we had the right equipments?

I'm complaining about the lack of having quality equipments like Givi or Blazesport.

What are the rods you talked about that got bent?

I did some jugaad to separate the bags from underneath by placing two rods and one of them got bent due to the heavy weight I was carrying. The pics are a couple of posts above.

Also, how much is the mud spray increased since you have removed the rear mud guard?

I haven't removed the rear mud guard