[neil.jericho]

How do you cap a memorable 600 km ride that included an unexpected inclusion to the highest peak in Karnataka? Throw in some monumentally atrocious Bangalore weather to welcome us at the end of a tiring all day ride, that's how. And that's exactly what I didnt expect to happen but that's what transpired in the end. While we were planning the ride last week, our aim was return to Bangalore by 18:00 and to my mind the route of Bangalore - Preeti Canteen in Birur for breakfast - Chikmagalur - Bangalore seemed to be just the right distance. Plus this wasnt a route that I had explored earlier.


Our start was a little earlier than usual and most of us were at the rendezvous point around the planned start of 6 AM. This time our group consisted of one Ninja 650, two CBR 650s, one new Duke 250, one Ninja 250 (which looks as brand new as the Duke 250 to be honest), one RE Thunderbird which is soon to find a new owner and my RE Continental GT.

The sun makes it slow climb up

Since my bike had about a half tank of fuel left, we had planned to stop at the HP pump in Bellur Cross for me to tank up. After a quick round of coffee from CCD, we continued on towards Birur but we just had to stop on the way to enjoy the picturesque settings.

Hey, who brought the TVS XL?


Beautiful indeed

Birur turned out to be much further from Bangalore than my rumbling stomach would have liked it be and soon enough my hunger pangs meant that we I was eagerly looking at every oncoming signboard and praying that one of the names on it was that of our destination. After having travelled further than I ever have on any weekend ride for breakfast, we finally arrived at the popular Preeti Canteen and eagerly wolfed down the dosas.

Unassuming, isnt it?


The CBRs proving that they are versatile in more ways than one

Two riders from our group decided to return after breakfast while the rest of us rode on towards Chikmagalur with the warning that the first few kilometres consisted of roads that were not in great shape. Those words turned out to be true indeed but Ive seen roads in worse shape so I wouldn't really complain. Somewhere before Athigiri, I had a bit of a scare when a calf decided to bolt across the road right into my intended path and my clumsy rear braking (it really is tough to modulate the rear brake with my Sidi ST boots, even worse in emergency braking situations) meant that the rear tire gave me a huge wiggle that I was sure would have sent me flying into the country side on any other day. Lesson learnt, I thanked my stars and stuck to using 90% - 100% front braking for the rest of the ride.

Made even more beautiful by the cries of a peacock in the distance

Photos clicked, we decided to make our next stop in Chikmagalur where the others could tank up but 15 short minutes later we stopped once again to enjoy nature's beauty at it's very best. I'm sure you're sensing a pattern here!

While our resident Doc was talking to some farm labourers, we realized that we were pretty close to Mullayanagiri which as many of you know is the highest peak in Karnataka. Since we were in the vicinity, 4 of us decided to make it to the top and after paying the 10 rupee entry fee we proceeded towards what promised to be a location for spectacular views. The climb up was a little more dangerous than what I would have liked as the road was pretty narrow and several sections were covered in slush. To add to this, there was no safety barricade so a slip in concentration or traction had potentially dangerous implications. Near the top, we were told by cops that we would only be allowed further on foot which probably had something to do with the number of tourists who had come in from Bangalore.

The majestic view from the top

The problem with this unexpected addition to the trip was that we were far behind schedule and our next stop was only in Chikmagalur to tank up all our bikes and we then stopped for lunch at a dhaba. The food was surprisingly good given that dhabas aren't known for the Michelin 5 * preparations but then again we were all so hungry that we would have eaten food that was half as tasty as what we actually got.

Over the next hour and half though, the group maintained a good pace and didn't stop to take a break until I suggested that we take a breather and grab some coffee. By now my feet were starting to complain about the continuous vibrations though I was making all efforts to continuously shift my position on the bike and change the placement of my feet on the foot pegs. Boy, was I glad to get a chance to stretch my legs and get some blood circulation into by sore bottom.


Our next stop was only an hour later at the Polar Bear ice cream parlour adjacent to the Hotel Mayura (which is where we had gone for breakfast last Saturday) and by now we were close to sunset. After a refreshing break, we rode through a light drizzle and the rarely used additional lighting on the Continental GT proved to be a boon as they massively improved our view of the road and clearly marked us out as well while we slowly and steadily made our way to the outskirts of Bangalore. Lightning proved to be a constant companion but rain eluded us for quite some time but ultimately for not long enough.


While I was stuck in stationary traffic near Sankey Tank, the heavens opened up and it started pouring cats, dogs, squirrels, mice and just about everything else that had made their way onto Noah's ark. I could feel small twigs and branches beginning to fall on me and was glad to clear that stretch as the heavy showers continued to belt down without any abatement. Up ahead near Palace Grounds, multiple trees had fallen onto the roads making progress extremely tough. With treacherous conditions and very poor visibility, many cars pulled over while the braver ones trudged along in first gear speeds with their hazard lights flashing away to glory while giving me company. There was water accumulation just about everywhere and to make matters worse, the engine decided to play truant and was shutting off when the revs dropped. All this while I was soaked to the bone. Somehow I managed to reach home much later with the odometer for the day reading 603 kms which makes it probably the longest single day ride that I have done on the Continental GT.


Earlier this week, one of the radio jockeys mentioned that the conditions on Saturday were officially termed a squall and that 117 trees were uprooted along with traffic disruptions across most parts of the city. It certainly was the worst monsoon weather that I have had to ride through in my over 9 years in Bangalore. My gear took 2 days to dry out but the memories from the ride will linger for much longer.

[neil.jericho]

I finally managed to inch the Continental GT past the 17,000 km mark, phew! Overall it's been quite the adventure to say the least (this coming from a once non Royal Enfield guy) and here are a few pictures from the last 2 and a half years to celebrate the 17K milestone.

The thing I probably enjoy the most is when strangers come up and start talking to us about our bikes, where are from, how often we ride, the cost of our bikes and so on. Those conversations always end with a smile on all sides. A few weeks ago, a young guy had excitedly waved to us and gave us the thumbs up as his car overtook our group. It turned out that they stopped at the same breakfast place as us and after talking to us for some time the family asked us to take a photo with them and we were more than happy to oblige. Funny how motorcycles have that effect on people.


This polite kid was super happy to get his picture clicked with our bikes. It probably is my favourite photo of the Continental GT.

[neil.jericho]

Last week while returning from work after a heavy monsoon shower, I had to navigate some roads that were dug up and hence completely covered by slush. I also had to deal with impatient bumper to bumper traffic and the GT had a merry old time, occasionally slipping and sliding from one direction to the next with scant warning. Trust the city of Bangalore to provide free off-roading facilities to the tax paying public!


Unrelatedly, I'm keeping a close eye on the front Pirelli Sport Demon tire these days and while the grip isnt noticeably lacking, visually it looks as though it probably might only last for another couple of thousand kilometres. That should bring the life of this front tire to around 10,000 kms which is 40% more than what the original front tire managed to cover. I plan to then switch over to the Ceat front tire that has been lying around my home for some time.


Meanwhile the 18,000 km mark on the odo just cant seem to come soon enough as the bike could do with it's scheduled service which will definitely require the chain to be tightened. The bike has done 5000 + kms on the highly acclaimed fully synthetic Motul 300V but it doesnt have the smoothness that it did earlier. My experience with the Motul 5100 semi-synthetic oil was that 5000 kms was about as much as you could use it for on the Continental GT. I will stretch the Motul 300V to the 7000 kms mark and then take a call on whether to replace the oil or not.


This last weekend we did a short ride to Vijayapura for the best dosas in and around Bangalore. This time we were joined by a couple of new riders (to the group that is), one on a Suzuki Hayabusa and the other on a Street Triple. On the move there really are very few bikes with the presence of the Suzuki, simply mesmerising. Traffic in the morning was just terrible but it was all forgotten with the extremely wallet friendly and sumptuous dosas. The weather was just perfect as well. What a lovely Sunday morning.

The Busa simply dwarfs the other bikes

Mileage : I had tanked up a couple of times on the Chikmagalur ride which was a 600 km round trip. I had first filled up in Bellur Cross. Distance covered : 204.2 kms. Petrol consumed : 6.83 litres. Mileage : 29.90 kmpl with around 60% of that consisting of the city commute.


I then tanked up in Chikmagalur before we stopped for lunch. Distance covered : 227.7 kms. Petrol consumed : 5.64 litres. Mileage : 40.37 kmpl which is great for highway riding. After returning back to the city, I did a couple of office commutes before tanking up. Distance covered : 262.2 kms. Petrol consumed : 8.5 litres. Mileage : 30.85 kmpl which was undoubtedly aided by the highway run from Chikmagalur to Bangalore. Mileage since day 1 stands at 27.41 kmpl.

[R-Six]

Thanks for keeping the thread alive with regular status updates man! I guess this is the most active thread about the GT on the forum.

I picked up a pre-worshipped GT on the 27th of last month. Haven't managed to clock much miles on the odo yet. Planning to put up a thread once I clock some miles on the odo. Your thread was a great help to know even the little details to look for when I was scouting the market for a good one.

Ride safe!
R-six

[giri1.8]

One of my friend wishes to replace his Pulsar 135 with a pre-owned Continental GT, this thread might help him take the plunge.

Ride safe !

[B O V]

I must say Neil, even in the presence of all those biggies, the Conti does have its own charm.

Good to see you're still on the saddle. I nearly picked up a black GT few months ago. The familia kicked in and I have a Kwid now. Life eh.

[Porschefire]

Originally Posted by B O V

I must say Neil, even in the presence of all those biggies, the Conti does have its own charm.

On our way back to Bangalore from one of our overnighters, we happened to take a break in a Coffee Day en route. 15 minutes later, a mini bus carrying 10-15 foreigners arrived at the location and despite our group containing Ninja 250s, 650s, Dukes, R3, CBR250, all of them had eyes only for the lone yellow Continental GT!

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Meanwhile the 18,000 km mark on the odo just cant seem to come soon enough as the bike could do with it's scheduled service which will definitely require the chain to be tightened.

The bike seems to have developed a new idling related issue (completely out of the blue) with the idling in neutral bumping up to around the 1900 RPM mark and with the clutch pulled in, it drops to the 1450 RPM mark and keeps moving up to say 1750 RPMs every few seconds and then comes down back to 1450 RPMs. All this without me touching the accelerator! I shot this video with my phone being held in my right hand and with my left hand pulling in the clutch till I shift it into neutral.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8zv...ature=youtu.be

This certainly is most annoying, especially in the stop and go traffic that Bangalore's residents are blessed with and is also leading to a wastage of petrol. The bike hasnt yet hit the 18000 km mark but it is certainly making it known that the next service ought to be done sooner rather than later. Hopefully I can take some time out from work this week to get the service done.

Mileage : I had tanked up only once since my last update. Distance covered : 233.6 kms. Petrol consumed : 8.36 litres. Mileage : 27.94 kmpl. Mileage since day 1 stands at 27.42 kmpl.

Originally Posted by R-Six

Thanks for keeping the thread alive with regular status updates man! I guess this is the most active thread about the GT on the forum.

I picked up a pre-worshipped GT on the 27th of last month. Haven't managed to clock much miles on the odo yet. Planning to put up a thread once I clock some miles on the odo. Your thread was a great help to know even the little details to look for when I was scouting the market for a good one.

Ride safe!
R-six

Congratulations R-Six on your wonderful purchase, the Continental GT is one of the most underappreciated bikes in the Indian market. Unfortunately long term feedback on the bike is tough to find anywhere on the internet so I try to keep my thread active and in turn help other potential buyers make the right choice. Do share some photos and look forward to seeing your thread on the forum soon.

Originally Posted by giri1.8

One of my friend wishes to replace his Pulsar 135 with a pre-owned Continental GT, this thread might help him take the plunge.

Ride safe !

Thanks giri1.8, I am glad that my thread could be of help to your friend. Fingers crossed that another potential buyer makes the right decision.

Originally Posted by B O V

I must say Neil, even in the presence of all those biggies, the Conti does have its own charm.

Good to see you're still on the saddle. I nearly picked up a black GT few months ago. The familia kicked in and I have a Kwid now. Life eh.

B O V, nice to hear from you again. You're right about the presence bit. Even today I get people asking me about the bike and it certainly does grab a lot of attention. I have recently joined the Continental GT owners group on whatsapp and I found that Cochin has an enthusiastic group of Continental GT owners. Maybe fortune will deem that the twin cylinder GT is the bike you were eventually destined to own!

Originally Posted by Porschefire

On our way back to Bangalore from one of our overnighters, we happened to take a break in a Coffee Day en route. 15 minutes later, a mini bus carrying 10-15 foreigners arrived at the location and despite our group containing Ninja 250s, 650s, Dukes, R3, CBR250, all of them had eyes only for the lone yellow Continental GT!

Im sure the brand new showroom condition grabbed more than a few eyeballs as well!

[B O V]

Does your clutch need adjustment? Seems like the only reason. Any mod's etc planned? seems time

Yeah, I was incredibly close to getting a street twin aswell. About 7 months after the conti plan got shelved. The prices man. Killer.

Yep I'm looking forward to the 750 and not looking forward to being a guinea pig for RE. Lets see how it pans out.

[neil.jericho]

After having completed the 15K Km service at the Koramangala SVC and taken stock of their their scale and facilities, I decided to go back to the Royal Enfield company SVC opposite the BTM lake since there were quite a few things to be sorted out and I was more comfortable with the team there. I reached the SVC by around 9:15 and was the 36th customer for the day. Earlier you had to drop your bike behind the big building but now RE has rented out additional indoor space on the side of the building which can easily hold around 40 bikes . This makes dealing with the service advisors easier as compared to doing the same on the road side. There was a gentleman who was offering a bottle of water with a tissue paper to all the owners who had come to drop their bikes for service. Very nice!

Smart move by RE

The main things I had listed to the SA were
- Check the front fork oil as I felt there was a bit too much dive on hard braking
- Fix the extremely annoying idling issue
- Check both the front and rear brake pads
- Top up the 300V engine oil if required (I had carried it with me)
- Check the chain slack and adjust as required
- Replace the rear bulb as it wasnt lighting up when the headlights were turned on
- Wheel alignment
- Replace the missing screw on the silencer (that would eliminate the annoying clatter at low speeds)


The SA suggested replacement of a couple of gaskets to address the leaking oil problem. He also listed down chain lubrication on to the job card which I insisted should not be done and explained my previous experience with the Koramangala SVC. I was given a service time of 3 - 4 hours and decided to wait while the bike was being serviced and was in for a pleasant surprise as I found that they have converted the small showroom that was in the front, into a dedicated customer lounge. The showroom has now been moved to the first floor.


The customer lounge is air conditioned, has free wifi (stopped working around noon though), a television and a mix of seating for around 15 customers. I was able to get quite a bit of my office work done in comfort. The gentleman from earlier in the morning was frequently offering bottled water to everyone who was waiting in the customer lounge. This despite there being a water dispenser in the lounge but its the little things that matter.

A Shark does need its water....

However, I was not happy when the the SA told me that as per Royal Enfield's new policy, they cant top up engine oil that customers bring in (this is a reversal of their earlier policy). Baffling, especially when a bike is out of warranty! I was later informed by the SA that the front brake pads had fully worn out and I gave the thumbs up to replace them. The bike was ready by 13:20 and the total bill was quite reasonable overall. Both the CGST and SGST are at 14% each for the components and 9% each for the labour services. I asked about the Consumable1 listed and apparently this is for the waste cloth etc that get used for each service. Ironic that the labour code for it reads CON

On the ride back, the new front pads showed that they obviously needed some scrubbing in but otherwise everything felt just about right. The alignment seems to have improved things as well. Plus the bike looks as good as new after a proper wash.

Super clean engine, lets see how long it lasts!

I know people like to pile on Royal Enfield for its supposedly terrible service but as today's visit showed, RE is doing small but noticeable things to keep customers happy when they come to get their bikes serviced. One more thing that I observed is that many of the service advisors and mechanics that I have been seeing from my first visit to the company SVC are still there and that there are many new faces as well. Not only is the company investing in better infrastructure but they are focusing on competent staff as well. Plus the quality of work is top notch.


That brings me to my SA for the day - Sadiq, who did a really good job and Ill give him a 5 on 5 rating. He possessed good communication skills and seemed to be quite competent as well though this was the very first Continental GT that had been assigned to him. Overall, another extremely positive service experience and I will strongly recommend the company SVC to other Royal Enfield owners in the city.


Now if only RE would do the sensible thing and scrap their ridiculous policy so that owners can get the engine oil on their bikes replaced or topped up with a superior engine oil of their choice!

[neil.jericho]

We did a short breakfast ride to Shoolagiri over the last weekend and this was the first opportunity that I had to welcome the two new steeds to our group - one, a brand new white Dominar and the other, a pre-worshipped CBR250 that had barely been used over the last few years. Both are excellent choices for the type of riding that the respective owners engage in and further proof the discerning Indian motorcycle buyer has never had it better in terms of available options.

Traffic to Shoolagiri was limited in parts but terrible in others and half the group got caught behind some slow moving traffic after a while but then again, we also had our really late start to partially blame. After our customary two rounds of breakfast, we slowly (ummm speed not related to the increased weight after the heavy breakfast!) made our way back to the city and thankfully didnt have too much traffic to contend with.

Last Monday, I was all geared up and ready to head off to work when I found that the bike just refused to start. Kick starting proved to be ineffective and despite using the electric start, the bike would make all the right noises but refuse to come to life. I didnt want the battery to run out with my repeated start attempts and decided to use the car instead. The next morning I tried again and the bike started on the third or fourth attempt as though nothing had ever happened and I was able to easily commute to work. I then took a week long break and on my return a couple of days ago, I was a little apprehensive about the bike starting with all that had transpired. It started easily on the third attempt but despite using it to commute to work, yesterday morning again it started throwing up the same problems. Today morning it was even worse and it took me nearly 5 minutes to get the bike to start.


I also noticed on my commute last night and today morning that the bike would slightly hesitate and stutter during a throttle wide open scenario though it happened only once each way. I cant blame the fuel quality as Ive run nearly 250 kms on the same tank of petrol. The bike has also started occasionally going off while idling at traffic signals though it doesnt struggle with idle like it used to do a few weeks ago. Any thoughts from more seasoned veterans? Sigh! All part of the Royal Enfield experience ....


On a more positive note, the other day, I happened to be riding side by side with a new Apache 200 and I noticed that the speed displayed on its digital meter was surprisingly matching that on the analogue clock of the Continental GT. I need to figure out a more scientific approach to checking how correct the speedo on the GT is but I was quite pleasantly surprised.


Mileage : I had tanked up only once in the last month and a half before I did so again today. Distance covered : 198.7 kms. Petrol consumed : 9.53 litres. Mileage : 20.85 kmpl in city commuting conditions plus the annoying wavering idle that was a mileage eater. After that, I had done the Shoolagiri ride along with a few days of office commuting. Distance covered : 269.2 kms with the blinking for the fuel warning starting only after 260 kms were crossed. Petrol consumed : 10.45 litres. Mileage : 25.76 kmpl. Mileage since day 1 stands at 27.3 kmpl.

Originally Posted by B O V

Yeah, I was incredibly close to getting a street twin aswell. About 7 months after the conti plan got shelved. The prices man. Killer.

I was even closer than that to getting a bike from the relatively new motorcycle dealership right next to the Porsche showroom in Cochin. Fate and an inept sales head had other plans though. Ive made my peace with the road tax in Kerala, it helps that I dont compare against on road prices prices in other states

[TorqueyTechie]

Sorry for the OT but the yezdi is truly standing out among all the other modern machines! Man how I wish I had the money to buy one.

[neil.jericho]

Its been an unexpectedly mixed couple of weeks on the Continental GT ownership front. The bike's starting trouble initially made me think that the battery was on its way out the door but it was only 16 months since I replaced the OEM one with the SF Sonic battery. That and the odd stuttering in a throttle wide open situation however made me look towards other potential issues and it all came to a boil when the bike refused to start one night in office despite nearly 30 minutes of trying. After a lifetimes worth of choicest abuses, the next day I was able to fortunately get it started and managed to ride it back home. The choppy throttle was still very much a problem though and I checked with fellow owners on the Whataspp owners group and they suggested that the battery could be one problem.


This time I was able to find the battery's warranty card and after borrowing a 'size 10 tube' (whats the technical term for this?) from the battery shop, I managed to get the battery out after a bit of a struggle. Removing a battery certainly isnt as easy as it looks!

Looks like its had a tough life

I was told that the replacement battery would be given within a couple of days and to be fair, SF Sonic preemptively sent a replacement battery to the store though they needed to thoroughly check the old one first before approving the warranty claim. However they took much longer that what they committed to test the old battery and after several days of the bike being grounded, I finally had to push the SF Sonic technical team to agree to replace it. Not very confidence inspiring to say the least.


I also checked out the new Exide store near my place to compare prices between Exide's own battery for Royal Enfields and SF Sonic's battery (though both are manufactured by Exide themselves). The MRP for Exide's battery was around Rs 3600 while the MRP on the for the SF Sonic replacement one was Rs 2,951. I wonder if there is a difference between the two products which makes the Exide's a better buy? Or is it differential pricing only on account of branding?

Hopefully this lasts longer than its predecessors

The bike is finally back to starting at the first or second attempt with the electric start and hopefully future updates are back to being positive. The only thing that needs to be done soon is to get the chain adjusted to remove the slack. I had specifically asked them to do it at the service which was around a month ago (covered ~ 700 kms since then) but the RE service advisor said that it was fine when they checked. Coming up this weekend is a big group ride after what seems like forever so that's certainly something that I am looking forward to.

Originally Posted by TorqueyTechie

Sorry for the OT but the yezdi is truly standing out among all the other modern machines! Man how I wish I had the money to buy one.

The bike looked lovely indeed and it was nice to see the owner taking it out for a short weekend ride.

[B O V]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

I was even closer than that to getting a bike from the relatively new motorcycle dealership right next to the Porsche showroom in Cochin.

Hahah had seen the said motorcycle brands stall in lulu around the same time, they gave me a call after my enquiry, Pretty lethargic sales team in comparo with the Triumph guys who were absolutely insistent that I take a TD.

[neil.jericho]

With the bike being out of commission for the last two weeks, I decided to head out for a short solo ride since I had some time on my hands today. After a quick breakfast at Shoolagiri, I weighed the Yercaud option but since I had started quite late, I decided against it. I pulled up Anchetty on Google maps and decided to explore some inner roads to get there so that I could then do the reverse loop and reach Bangalore after going through Kanakpura.

I didnt strictly stick to the suggested route and was happy to slowly explore different roads depending on how scenic they were. And boy, was it a photographers dream! Most of the roads were in excellent condition as well with some surprising twists and turns thrown in for good measure. Eventually I scrapped the reverse loop plan and changed my destination Denkanikota. Since the bike was running out of fuel and I didnt completely trust the quality of what was being sold in the pumps I had seen on the way, I decided it was better to head back towards Hosur and then Bangalore. All in all, a nice way to spend a Saturday with the discovery of a place that I will have to explore in the near future. With a full tank of petrol that is!

Mileage : I tanked up today evening at the Essar bunk in Koramangala. Distance covered : 270.7 kms of which 88 kms involved city commuting. Petrol consumed : 9.9 litres. Mileage : 27.34 kmpl which is in line with the total mileage from day 1 which stands at 27.3 kmpl.

Originally Posted by B O V

Hahah had seen the said motorcycle brands stall in lulu around the same time, they gave me a call after my enquiry, Pretty lethargic sales team in comparo with the Triumph guys who were absolutely insistent that I take a TD.

Its been a mixed bag with these guys. They gave me several test rides and were very nice to me initially but when it came time to close the deal they backed away from they had earlier been willing to commit. I was really livid after that experience.


In Cochin, Triumph is by far the best in terms of customer experience. Unsurprisingly, Kawasaki is the worst by a considerable margin and isnt really showing any signs of improving even after the split from Bajaj.