[anjan_c2007]

Vernon Franklin, was born on 23-10-1950. He will be touching SIXTY EIGHT in less than two weeks from now ! An Austrailain citizen now, with his heart in Nagpur and Goa, where his roots lie, he is an avid biker and motorist. Cars and bikes have been his forte since he was a toddler, as his dad owned the well known 3 V Motors, Mount Road, Nagpur, a motor garage. He owns a 1962 Ambassador (with family since 1969), a low bonnet Willys jeep and a 1931 Ford Model A, that are kept at Nagpur. Among bikes, he owns a late 1960's RE Bullet, that has been with the Franklins since new. He also owns old and new bikes, cars/ jeeps ( a Harley Davidson bike, a Willys low bonnet, a Merc, a BMW, A Toyota SUV) in Australia. Earlier this year, during the winter of 2018, he bought a new, black RE Bullet Classic, that he drove a lot in Central India, perhaps to get his hands set on this new machine for a future , gruelling run to the "TOP OF THE WORLD."

Adventure is in his genes and he came to Nagpur, India, from Australia during early September 2018. He first thought of taking his nearly 50 year old RE Bullet for the Leh-Ladakh solo drive, but dropped the idea as he said any breakdown may lead to untrained hands doing jobs on the machine only to maybe, spoil it. He then decided to drive his new Bullet. It was fitted with fabricated accessories for load carrrying during the ensuing trip and the works were completed in Nagpur, a few days before his departure. And we will all be surprised to read that he covered 600 kms a day and drove all night continuously, on some sectors. He is all praise for his new RE Bullet, which he says did exceedingly well all through, though he got tosssed twice in the hilly sector. In his words "Except for a leaking front left shock absorber, I did not have any mechanical problems."

The solo trip commenced on 19/09/2018 from 7.30 am in the morning. He returned on 29/09/2018 night, back to Nagpur.

The following texts are as received from him datewise, chronicling his trip.

[19/09, 10:39 AM] Vernon Franklin India: Arrived at Lakhnadaon, (M.P.).

[19/09, 7:59 PM] Vernon Franklin India: I reached Jhansi about an hour ago.

[20/09/2018]. Went to Church in the morning and leaving just now.

[21/09, 1:58 AM] Vernon Franklin India: Stopped in Delhi for Oil and Filter Change. Decided to continue on and stopped at a Village 30 KM before Ambala. Covered 600 KMs today too. The roads in UP and Delhi were bad, but in Haryana the roads were good.

[21/09, 8:35 AM] Vernon Franklin India: Just reached Amritsar.

(In J and K he faced connectivity problems as many pre-paid SIM's do not work. The contact with him was kept alive through a common friend who updated about his well-being.)

[28/09 ] Arrived New Delhi this morning on the way back to Nagpur. Left Srinagar yesterday morning at 9 am. Drove right through the night.

[28/09 ] All good Anjan.

[29/09] Rode Non-Stop from Srinagar to Jhansi covering almost 1400 Kms in 36 Hours. Stopped for Fuel Snacks and Oil Change in New Delhi. Resting in Jhansi today and leaving for Nagpur tomorrow morning. Should cover the remaining 600 KMs by the evening. The Road from Jammu to Leh was tough as the road was blocked for repairs and traffic was bumper to bumper. Had to weave in and out of traffic with the Bike to come out of the same and with the steep gradient it was not easy.

[02/10]
A Short Summary of the Trip.

Departed Nagpur on Wed.19th.Sept. at 7.30 from Nagpur. Reached Jhansi at 3.30 pm covering 600 KM in eight hours.

Departed Jhansi on Thursday 20th.Sept. at 10 am and reached Srinagar on Friday

21st.Sept at 10 pm. Stopped at Delhi for an Oil Change and continued Riding on right through the night. I am a Night Owl and love to drive at night provided the roads are good. Covered the distance of nearly 1400 KM in 36 Hours Non-Stop Riding.

Sat.22nd.Sept. decided to stay for the day which probably saved me big problems. For whatever reasons I decided to stay another day on Sun.23rd. Sep.
On buying the Times of India, I read of the massive Snowfall on the way to Leh on Saturday. Furthermore there was very heavy Snowfall of about thirty inches and Flash Floods near Manali in Himachal Pradesh. The Authorities closed that Road and is yet unopened. The Army cleared the Srinagar-Leh Rd and it was opened to traffic on Mon.

Departed Srinagar on Tue.25th. at 10am on the most dangerous part of the road which I recorded on my Helmet Video. Covered the 436 KMs from Srinagar to Leh in twelve hours and reached Leh at 10 pm.

Wed.26th.Sept. Checked with Authorities about the Road Back via Shimla-Manali. Was informed that the road was closed till further notice. Left Leh at 10 am and Reached Srinagar at 10 pm. 430 KMs in twelve Hours and Checked Back into the Houseboat at Dal Lake.

Thu.27th.Sept. Departed Srinagar at 10 am via Jammu-Pathankot-Jalandhar-Rohtak and stopped at Delhi for an Oil Filter and Air Cleaner Element Change and continued onto Jhansi. Reached Jhansi the next day Fri.28th.Sept. at 10 pm, covering once again 1400 KMs in 36 Hours Non-Stop Riding. Stayed the night at Jhansi.

Departed Jhansi on Sat.29th.Sept.at 10 am. Decided to return to Nagpur via Jabalpur. Was a big mistake as the roads from Sagar to Jabalpur and Lakhnadaon were in a horrid condition with road widening works on. Reached Nagpur at 10 pm. Covered the almost 700 KM in twelve hours.

Except for a leaking front left shock absorber I did not have any mechanical problems.

Went for two tosses. One whilst trying to move in between the traffic bottleneck beyond Anantnag in Kashmir and the second toss in front of the Hotel Gate in Leh. Got people to lift the Bike and carried on.

Most probably the next Ride is going to be to Kanyakumari from Nagpur on my Favourite Car my 1962 Ambassador MHN 1215, which I have owned from 1969...49 Years. Have always been very athletic and young in body and mind despite the age Hahahahaha. I'm supposed to Fly Back to Melbourne on the 16th.Sept. but will most probably stay-on and get my Ambassador roadworthy again to travel Inter-state.

09/10 Haha I'm going to be 68 this month. Met a bunch of young Bikees on the Delhi-Haryana Border. One young Fella asked me how old I was. I told him to guess and he mentioned 48. I told him that he guessed it twenty years short. They guys looked at me in awe and couldn't believe that at this age I was doing the Ride to Leh alone.

They told me to have Dinner with them and sleep at their place in Rohtak. I told them that I would be Riding the whole night through and wouldn't be halting till I reached Srinagar. Haha you should have seen the look in their faces.

One of them was Pali Singh who is supposed to be the Fastest on the Leh Circuit. Our Satnam Singh Sidhu from Nagpur too felt astonished. I was instrumental in his doing the Ride from Bombay to Nagpur on a brand new Suzuki Shogun, beating the Gitanjali Express Train years ago (late 1980’s).

The trip in pictures. The first picture was sent on 19/09/2108 morning, when he reached Lakhnadaon (M.P.)

[AppachuKK]

Dr. AC,
Mr. Vernon is one guy who has inspired all of us. His last visit he drove down south in his Jeep too. The energy levels are too high. Hats off!

[Roy.S]

What a legend! And look at that luggage carrier. You could probably put a backup bike on it. Is there a youtube link where he has uploaded videos?

[anjan_c2007]

Originally Posted by AppachuKK

Dr. AC,
Mr. Vernon is one guy who has inspired all of us. His last visit he drove down south in his Jeep too. The energy levels is to high. Hats off

Thanks Appachu, very glad to see you here.

Originally Posted by Roy.S

What a legend! And look at that luggage carrier. You could probably put a backup bike on it. Is there a Youtube link where he has uploaded videos?

No, unfortunately not yet. Would have been really good for us all to see and get inspired !

[anjan_c2007]

The twin auxiliary lights fitted to the RE Bullet Classic, which greatly helped my friend do his night rides on the routes.


Off


On

It would have scared away some truck drivers too !

[GTO]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

Vernon Franklin, was born on 23-10-1950. He will be touching SIXTY EIGHT in less than two weeks from now !

Hat's off to his spirit, enthusiasm & good health! At 41, I wouldn't even think of doing Leh-Ladakh in my Jeep and here's an old man who rides there on his bike. A true dude .

Sure doesn't look 68 either.

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by GTO

Hat's off to his spirit, enthusiasm & good health! At 41, I wouldn't even think of doing Leh-Ladakh in my Jeep and here's an old man who rides there on his bike. A true dude .

Sure doesn't look 68 either.

+1 to that. GTO we are not an old man at 68. As you know some of us are pushing in that region! Being an old man always starts from the year after the next year. Full marks to Vernon.

[anjan_c2007]

Mr Vernon Franklin, aged 68, an Australian citizen with his roots in Nagpur and Goa, on his Royal Enfiled Bullet Classic had embarked on a Nagpur to Kanyakumari and back solo ride on 05.06.2019 starting at 7.15 am from home. He took up all challenges posed by the inclement weather and faced these bravely. The Nagpur and Central India tempretures were hovering around 44-47 degrees Celsius then. During the day, near Adilabad, he had a near miss and had communicated with me about the near- fatal experience. An APSRTC bus moving steadily on the left lane at a good speed, without signal took a sudden "U" turn near a road divider cut. Vernon was doing his normal 100 kmph, when he applied brakes and saved himself. He gave a mouthful to the bus driver. These are highway experiences that many of us face usually, while on long drives. After having his supper near Adilabad and an hour of rest, he drove on and touched Hyderabad on 05.06.2019 night and was welcomed by his friends and automobile buffs Mr Sandesh and Mr Keshav Rao at an unearthenly hour.

In fact, he had successfully done the Nagpur-Ladakh-Leh-Nagpur on this bike during Sept- Oct 2018.

Vernon is an avid biker and motorist. Cars and bikes have been his forte since he was a toddler, as his dad owned the well known 3 V Motors, Mount Road, Nagpur, a motor garage. He decided to drive his new Royal Enfield Bullet, fitted with fabricated accessories for load carrying and LED lamps, during the ensuing trip.

Covering 600 kms a day, he drove all night continuously on some sectors during his earlier trips. In fact, he prefers night driving and covers most of the miles during night. He has in fact already done the Nagpur to Leh - Ladakh and back during Sept - Oct 2018.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motor...ld-bullet.html

Vernon departed for Bangalore on 06.06.2019 morning and halted at Kurnool for lunch. He was hosted by his young friend Mr Roopesh Verma also an automobile buff. There were surprises now enroute. Some misunderstood road signs played the kill joy. These road signs on our pompously laid out four lanes and six lanes are very rarely explicit and user friendly . I wonder as to how they in the developed countries have so well meaning highway signboards, that are rarely misunderstood. A bypass road around a town beyond Kurnool misled him towards Cuddapah and he drove on. Detouring a hundred or more kms, he made queries but it was too late. But determined as he was, he took the right road and drove towards Bangalore, reaching in the dead of the night on 06.06.2019. After a good rest, he decided to take the day off (07.06.2019) and his automobile buff friends, old and young including Messrs Milind Angle, Manjunath Janakiraman, D.R. Shivram (Himalayan Rally fame), Kedar Nath, Arun Vasudevan, Anil Ravindran, Srinand Piedpet, Goutham Harkulke, Rajiv decided to treat him for dinner and felicitate him. It was a grand affair and they all had lots to chat about !

Again, the next morning viz. 08.06.2019, the biker left for Kanyakumari. The roads were good. He went through the Salem route halting for lunch, but moving on and on. Touching Kanyakumari at night he was received by his young friend Mr Hari Harish, a Royal Enfield and Ambassador buff. They exchanged some pleasantries but the meet was short. It had started to rain that evening.

The weather prediction showed rains and storms. To beat the advance of the SW monsoon, Vernon decided to start his journey back immediately towards Nagpur. It was a continuous drive all through the night. He drove on and on touching Bangalore and then moving towards Hyderabad. He was again received by automobile buffs Mr Sandesh and Mr Keshav Rao at Hyderabad and made a short halt. It was an almost continuous drive that brought him to Adilabad late in the afternoon, where he rested for just 2-3 hours. And then came the final lap from Adilabad to Nagpur. Starting from Adilabad and covering a distance while on the highway (NH 44) there was a diversion again in Telangana State without proper signboards. As he puts it "when I almost ran into a pile of earth at a Road Diversion in the middle of nowhere at night after Adilabad when returning to Nagpur."

And on 10/06/2019 by 10.00 pm Vernon was back home after his six day trip ( 5.06 to 10.06) covering some 4000 kms . Other than an oil leak from the front shock absorber due to a defective oil seal, he has no complains from his equally muscular bike that endured the entire run doing 100 - 120 kmph on many sectors.

(pictures and texts by the rider to follow in my next post )

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

Vernon was doing his normal 100 kmph

This statement got me jittery until I looked up his other thread you'd shared earlier to confirm that he was riding a UCE indeed.


Since you'd mentioned the man's age I presumed he would be riding a CI and the thought of someone riding interstate on a CI at 100kmph just jolted me out of bed.


Kudos to Mr. Vernon Franklin for following his heart, his feat is an inspiration.

[anjan_c2007]

On departure day 5/06/2019 alongside the famous Zero Milestone at Nagpur



The RE Bullet Classic speedometer on departure day









A wildlife sanctuary entrance in Adilabad dist. (Telangana) on the NH 44



Touched Hyderabad on 5/06/2019 night. All automobile buffs meet (L-R) Mr Keshav Rao, Mr Vernon and Mr Sandesh.













Hyderabad - Bangalore highway clicks, including a selfie by the biker. A roadside hotel has mounted a half chopped off Fiat Elegant as its display car.







At Kurnool, a stopover to have lunch with friend Mr Roopesh Verma, an automobile buff.









Driving further beyond Kurnool towards Bangalore, some clicks by the biker. The signboard "Kondapuram 2 km" was clicked after he detoured mistakenly on a wrong road towards Cuddapah, from a town's bypass road. As he put it :-

"How I reached Cudappah ? The mistake I made was I did not check the maps and turned towards Anantpur instead of continuing towards Bangalore from Cuddapah. It was one big long cut. Somewhere I missed the Bangalore Road by mistake. To make matters worse, they have constructed high and not very wide speed breakers at every village and at night you go Bumpy-Daisy over these. "

With Mr Milind Angle





With Mr D.R. Shivram (extreme right) the Himalayan Car Rally man- a rallyist for all seasons till now. Mr Shivram had very recently done a road trip with a Toyota Land Cruiser to SE Asia, covering Myanamar and other SE Asian countries. Mr D.R. Shivram had specially come down from his hometown Mysore to Bangalore to meet Vernon over dinner. To Mr Vernon's right is Mr Milind Angle of Panaji and to his left is Mr Manjunath Janakiraman.



Mr Kedar Swamy in the foreground



With Mr Arun Vasudevan of Bangalore.

All above photos clicked at Bangalore during a dinner and a gala get-together with his automobile buff friends.







The drive towards Kanyakumari on 08.06.2019

[anjan_c2007]

After touching Kanyakumari, he met Mr Hari Harish who also owns a RE Bullet and an Ambassador Grand. The SFS clicks were made for nostalgic reasons as Vernon had studied and passed out his matriculation from St Francis De'Sales Higher Secondary School, Nagpur (now Junior College) and here at Kanyakumari , he sights a similarly named institution.







The SFS nostalgia



With Mr Hari Harish at Kanyakumari



The final speedo reading, though clicked five days later on 15.06.2019, after his arrival at Nagpur. He had arrived on 10.06.2019 night at around 10.00 pm.

Some messages sent by him during the trip:-

I Started my Ride to Kanyakumari from Nagpur on 5.6.19 at 7 am and reached Kanyakumari on 8.6.19 at 6.30 pm. On learning from Friends at Kanyakumari the Monsoons had already hit Kerala, I High-Tailed it the same night back to Nagpur via Salem - Bangalore - Kurnool and Hyderabad and reached Nagpur at 10 pm on 10.6.19. Completed the distance of nearly 4000 KMs in Six days on my Royal Enfield Classic 350 Bike. Was warmly welcomed by Automobile Groups at Paradise in Hyderabad, Vrindavan at Kurnool, Koshy's at Bangalore and by Harish at Kanyakumari. The Temp was 47 Deg when I departed and still 46 Deg when I returned. Guys from the Auto Groups were very appreciative of the fact that I attempted the Ride at the age of 68.

Last year in Sept 2019, I completed the Nagpur to Leh in Ladakh Ride of 6000 KMs on the same Bike. On my almost 10,000 KM Ride, my Bike had just a leaking Front Shock Absorber Oil Seal Leakage. Believe it or not, I had no Aches and Pains except for an Aching Right Hand and Wrist caused mainly due to Holding the Accelerator down at Full Throttle to do a Maximum Speed of 120 Kmph. My 43 Hour Continuous Ride from Bangalore to Kanyakumari and back to Hyderabad has got Eyes-Popping. Moreover because the Temp was 47 Deg when I departed and still 46 Deg when I returned.

My sincere Thanks go out to Anjan Chatterjee who is the Secretary of the Cent India Vintage Auto Association and Friends and Colleagues who were following me continuously to Inquire about my welfare. I have received a lot of messages from Youngsters that I was a great Inspiration to them and from Seniors that Age is just a Number.

DARE TO. BE. WISE MY FRIENDS

(In fact Dare to be wise is the SFS School, Nagpur school anthem)

Oops I missed the fun. Thanks everybody for your appreciation of my Nagpur-Leh Kashmir-Nagpur-Kanyakumari-Nagpur Ride of over 10,000 KM Ride. The 2100 KM Ride from Bangalore-Kanyakumari and returning the same night to Hyderabad via Bangalore in 43 Hours continuous Riding was the Icing on the Cake. I honestly did not think about setting any Records as I Drive Long-Distance in my Car's in Melbourne too. To keep the 46 Deg. heat at Bay I was on Liquid Diet. Now-Now don't get it wrong as I am a Tea-Totaler. I consumed 2.2 Lts of Fruit Juices and Three Litres of Water. It had its thrills too with kids trying to keep pace with me at 120 KMph who panicked and backed-off. Had to bring all my Riding Skills to the fore to stop the Bike within twenty feet when Cruising at 100 KMph to avoid accidents. Once to brake and stop dead when a AP ST Bus did a U Turn without any Indication or slowing down and the other when I almost ran into a Pile of earth at a Road Diversion in the middle of nowhere at night after Adilabad when returning to Nagpur. Cheers and Thanks once again.

Whatsapp message to his school classmates in a group:-

The trip to Kanyakumari was something I had to do. This trip has become Folklore for most of the Auto and Bikee Groups in India for two things. One I am 68 Years Old and secondly after leaving Bangalore I Rode to Kanyakumari and after hearing from my friends about the Monsoon Rains in Kerala, I immediately started back on the return trip. I Rode the Bike the whole night and whole of next day through Salem- Bangalore - Kurnool and only stopped on the outskirts of Hyderabad at 12.30 am and checked into a hotel. Like my North trip when I started at Jhansi and Stopped in Srinagar I was Riding the Bike continuously for 36 Hours ,so also I left Bangalore at 6.30 am and stopped only at Hyderabad at 1.30 am. That's again 36 Hours. Fortunately the Group's were following me right through and know that I was on the Bike for 37 Hours. Leave alone the long hours it was the tremendous heat on the road that got everybody taking their Hats-Off to me. Your 1966 Batchmate is an All India Star and I don't think anyone could match my record ever again. Fortunately, I stopped in Hyderabad on the Request from the Hyderabad Group else I was planning on Riding right through the night and reach Nagpur to avoid the intense heat in the day.

There was fun on the way too. I overtook a Group of Four Bikers on the 500 Bullet. They all took turns to try to beat me at 120 KMph. Watching that I was stuck like glue to the road without any fancy riding they all have up. One young Smarty tried Racing me. He overtook me at 120 KMph but the moment I saw his Brake Light come on, when trying to overtake two trucks, I knew he was an Inexperienced Rider. I overtook him and that was the last I saw of him. Another chap also tried his luck but must have got the shits on seeing I was Cruising at 120 KMph. I have received umpteen Messages from Friends of Different Groups. The younger set informed me that I was an Inspiration to them and the Older Set informed me that Age is just a Number. I also received a Message from ex- SFSian Anand Jaiswal, President of the Vidarbha Cricket Association Congratulating me on my Ride.

[funkykar]

Thats an awesome feat! Again, proves age is just a number. Where there is a will, there is a way.

The bullet looks stunning.