[Red Liner]

I had just picked up my new KTM 390 Adventure, and I was playing the fool with my riding group about whether I had picked up the bike or not. I wanted to surprise the boys on an overnight offroad trip - Sakleshpur it was!

We were up very early in the morning - I think we left at about 4.30 AM as we wanted to beat the heat and get to the destination to explore a few trails. We were only going for the weekend, so it was a pretty tight trail shift!

Breaking the Fast!

Things got a bit wooky from here. One of the bikes had a rear brake overheating problem. The pads seem to be stuck on the rotor. We unjammed them, but the problem kept representing itself. The dude was a bit worried, and we finally hit a TVS service center in Hassan, because well the BMW's are made by TVS anyway!

I think whatever unjamming we did by the road seemed to have worked the sticky pistons, because the boys at TVS said everything is normal saar and had us go on our merry way. We had already lost half the day to this, but we're in this together for rain or shine.

We quickly rode out and passed the stunning Gorur Hemavathi Reservoir! We found an unmanned trail going right to the reservoir, and we couldn't say no!

Note to self: Great camping spot provided we get an "ok" from the farming community next door.

We had to ride a nice long hard trail of 12+ kms...



...to get to the resort.











Now it was time to hit the trails!

[Red Liner]

Trail 1
Steep, rocky, stepped terrain.

First we had a loose leafy section where all our bikes squirmed everywhere.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZDMw3DG4AU&t=2s

Then we were onto the challenge of the weekend.







Nasirkaka, fellow BHPian was up first.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqkZcfIEOq4&t=1s

We had to manhandle his bike up. Light is so right!

Next was me. Had to push my KTM up as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXF4FgIBM84

Once I got past the ruts, it was take off time!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwpEjc3LuHY

Next it was the turn of this BMW G310 GS.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWH1FYkJ_PY&t=3s

The resort manager was accompanying us, as we had to find our way to an undisclosed waterfall close by.

He was with a friend on a TVS Apache

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjWK-OzzmxQ&t=1s

With this we had cleared this little toughie and were on our way to clearer waters. Our cardinal mistake was adrenaline kicked in and we jumped at the trail without walking it.

[Red Liner]

The waterfall was absolutely worth it!











After a thoroughly refreshing session in the chilled waters, it was time to head back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPZNkdYDNVI

Back at the resort, we had a relaxed evening by the bon fire, totally unaware of the Coronavirus shit that was gonna hit the fan.

The next morning was a lazy one.

Picnicking over, it was time to head back to Bangalore via a few more trails.

[Red Liner]

This was our trail out of the resort.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zuvlIjos5U&t=4s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYZozUyWbLE

Once we exited this trail, we were out looking for the next one.



Here, we were accosted by the locals, one of whom warned us not to venture up the trail to the Village temple. They were doing their annual festival, and outsiders were NOT welcome.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cufVEnIvLk&t=2s

So instead we just parked up here to enjoy the cool breeze and the lush environs.









But since we could not head up that sexy track, we had to go with Plan B.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVN_Ba0c2VA&t=2s

Then it was time to head home, because how much more can you pack into 48 hours!



~Le Fin~

All the awesome snaps were courtesy nasirkaka.

[Sheel]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[ashwinprakas]

Kudos to having fun, hard to find good company when riding such terrain.

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Things got a bit wooky from here. One of the bikes had a rear brake overheating problem. The pads seem to be stuck on the rotor. We unjammed them, but the problem kept representing itself.

Did the rider drag the rear brake while going downhill?

Did the brakes release bite when you opened the bleeder?

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

Kudos to having fun, hard to find good company when riding such terrain.



Did the rider drag the rear brake while going downhill?

Did the brakes release bite when you opened the bleeder?

Thanks man.

Hard to comment or fault the rider. There definitely was some "more" friction than normal on the rear wheel when moved by hand. We did not bleed the unit on the road. We just opened it up and flexed the possibly "sticky" pistons back into the caliper and retracted it, along with lubing the caliper pin. This seemed to have worked, as there were no more such issues throughout the trip and back. He had just pressure washed the bike a day before the trip, and I think moisture did its part with no lube on the calliper pin.

He will need to have his rear caliper serviced.

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

He will need to have his rear caliper serviced.

Indeed, better safe than sorry.

Do advice to go for a complete rebuild, if it helps the GS310's rear brake caliper looks almost identical to the caliper on the P220 and both are made by Bybre.

The rebuild kit for the Pulsar costs about 200-ish, and includes the Piston and other consumables as well.



Part Number: DK151088/89

Cheers,
A.P.

[Red Liner]

Someone who has bought a BMW paying 4.5 big ones is not gonna go the Bajaj way He will take the bike to the BMW service center since the bike comes with unlimited km warranty.

[VijayAnand1]

A couple of lads and motorcycles and an off beat track, the fun and thrill is unlimited. Talking of which the brakes. Firstly, his issue can be caused by rider unknowingly resting the foot on the lever, this is exacerbated by riding boots. As by default, people who use riding boots know, the foot takes a certain position for it get at ease with pegs. Adjusting the brake pedal freeplay helps very much in making sure, we get the right position along with not resting on the pedal.

Secondly, considering his pads were jammed. It's advised to overhaul the caliper, double bleed the system leaving no traces of air in line, check the pistons faces for scoring, and getting that lever freeplay adjusted, he should be all set.

Yup BMW means less for more, TVS means more for less, the choice is the genleman's

Cheers!
VJ

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by VijayAnand1

A couple of lads and motorcycles and an off beat track, the fun and thrill is unlimited. Talking of which the brakes. Firstly, his issue can be caused by rider unknowingly resting the foot on the lever, this is exacerbated by riding boots. As by default, people who use riding boots know, the foot takes a certain position for it get at ease with pegs. Adjusting the brake pedal freeplay helps very much in making sure, we get the right position along with not resting on the pedal.

Secondly, considering his pads were jammed. It's advised to overhaul the caliper, double bleed the system leaving no traces of air in line, check the pistons faces for scoring, and getting that lever freeplay adjusted, he should be all set.

Yup BMW means less for more, TVS means more for less, the choice is the genleman's

Cheers!
VJ

Hey buddy,

Coming to the first point, that was our Watson moment as well, but the guy riding the bike has done about 10k kms with the same boots on the same bike.

I reckon it was a sticky calliper pin exacerbated by the wash the previous day.

I do feel that what the BMW offers on the GS is a different segment of riding altogether from what TVS offers on any bike they sell. It’s a bit like comparing a sedan and an SUV. Doesn’t work, they have different objectives.

That said, the GS is built like a tank, I know bhpians who have ridden the snot out of the bike and there is nary a squeak. Their chain kit on a friends bike has now done 30k kms and still seems good to go. It comes with a Z ring from the factory apparently. So I do feel that there are many nuances underneath the skin that most owners will get to know of only a year or two into the ownership. Some of these things are unfortunately not PR worthy enough and get lost in the whole price/value game.

Always good to have your take on things.

[Samba]

Lovely report.
Powerful bikes, 5 good friends, awesome highways, an adventure trail, a weekend, what else does one need to have fun! These are like dream stuffs.
The group pics says it all!
After reading this am missing my Bangalore day's, when I frequently used to go for weekend rides.
Rated 5*

This was me at Sakleshpur in 2007. We were returning from a ride to Mangalore and Udupi from Bangalore.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by Samba

Lovely report.
Powerful bikes, 5 good friends, awesome highways, an adventure trail, a weekend, what else does one need to have fun! These are like dream stuffs.
The group pics says it all!
After reading this am missing my Bangalore day's, when I frequently used to go for weekend rides.
Rated 5*

This was me at Sakleshpur in 2007. We were returning from a ride to Mangalore and Udupi from Bangalore.

I don't know about the whole powerful bikes thing

But after having owned much more powerful bikes, the biggest con was always the associated weight and cost of fixing things if we did anything stupid as illustrated in the videos above.

Most people look down on these bikes and call them a downgrade from the 650/litre class bikes. But i would think its more like a "take the tool you need for the job".

These light weight adventure bikes are exactly that. Lightweight, cheaper to run and maintain, great suspension to get through myriad roads or no roads, and a pretty good tank range because of the economy figures.

Enough of this lecture. Why have you stopped riding bikes since then?

[twinoctober]

Great review Over all we did well. frankly I did not expect to see myself on the thread.

[Samba]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

These light weight adventure bikes are exactly that. Lightweight, cheaper to run and maintain, great suspension to get through myriad roads or no roads, and a pretty good tank range because of the economy figures.

I always love light weight bikes with good power to weight ratio. Those are easy to maneuver and fun to ride. Had loads of fun with my friends Yamaha RXZ in my early college life!
People love to take Enfield's to places like Ladakh, but my preference will be bikes like a Duke 390, or even my Fz25! No offence to Enfield lovers, it's just me who is not comfortable to handle the extra weight in-case the bike gets stuck or I have to push it in case of a puncture!

Couple of years back, I rented an Iron883 in Goa. On the open highways, riding it was pure bliss, but once I entered the small streets and crowded market places it was not so comfortable.

So choosing a bike accodring to one's need is the most sensible thing to do.
In the current time, the best choice for me would have been a small gear-less scooter as I hardly ride now a days. My Fz25 covered 4,300 km in last two years. But am keeping this bike just for the love of riding.

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Why have you stopped riding bikes since then?

Not entirely stopped. I ride very less now a days. I do go for few Sunday fun rides, but I make sure it's less than 200 km.
Due to shoulder and upper back pain, doctors advised me not to ride two wheeler's!
Now on top of that, my father is a doctor too. He knows my love for bikes, so he gave me the permission to ride, provided I strictly follow his instructions on riding occasionally! Else my Fz25 will be replaced by a Burgman, which he is eyeing for a long time!