[prasanna_indaje]

It was last week of March 2021.
While kids were scheduled to go to native village to spend holidays with my parents, myself and wife had to drop them and come back to Bangalore due to her 'essential services' category of work. My days were busy 'working from home', but there was enough time to think about a short trip to some nearby place. The fact that we have not been on a real road trip since a year and half too added fuel to the thought process. It took no time to decide that we will put a weekend in April for good use !

Now, considering the situation all of us are in, a trip at this point in time was bound to inherit some requirements - not a crowded place, hygienic, no public transport, no food outside, mask-up everywhere and sanitizer in abundance!.

After a bit of negotiation 'no food outside' was converted to 'safe food outside'

Where to go ? - Answer was easy - A place in Karnataka, within 300 KMs from Bangalore. After some discussions and deliberation, it was tentatively decided that Mysore will be the first stop and a place within 100 kms for next day. Booked a fully refundable hotel near Infosys campus and kept rest of the plan open.

How to go ? - We wanted to go by bike. End of discussion.
But, there was a problem - We had NO bike with us, except a 'work in progress' Yezdi Roadking.

There were only a couple of transport options in front of us :

1. Travel by car : This option was immediately put on backburner because it did not align well with what we wanted to do.
2. Buy a bike for this trip (and use it for similar purpose in future): Idea was good. But getting a new bike in short time period was a difficult and also meant that I had to accelerate my search in used bike market (which I was doing casually from past 6 months). We wanted a bike that is more powerful and comfortable than RE Thunderbird 500 once we owned and suitable for 2-up touring with luggage. The natural choice meeting these criteria was a good used classic from Triumph. We decided to comb used bike market and see if there were any bikes that suited our requirements.

Started search from Team-BHP classifieds and a known contact and shortlisted couple of Street Twins and a T120. All selected bikes were single-owner, 2015-2016 model and had less than 5K on the odo. Did all online and telephonic research activities and finally zeroed out on a Street Twin from our classifieds and a T120 from my contact. Called up both owners and fixed appointment for inspection.

But, luck had different idea for me and I was indeed lucky !

Before explaining what happened, let me narrate a story: A gentleman (BHPian) decided to sell a bigger bike up north, and a BHPian (and a moderator) down south wanted to buy that. As part of this purchase process, the moderator wanted to sell one of his moderately big bikes to accommodate bigger bike in his garage. Moderator put an advertisement in TeamBHP classifieds and the advt. was highlighted by another moderator in "Used Big Bikes" thread. Now, this post catches fancy of another BHPian, who coincidentally at the same time, was drooling over used street twins and T120s. With short wallet v/s desire dilemma, the 'used-bike-searching' BHPian started WhatsApp conversation with the Moderator and fixed a day to meet (and the WhatsApp chat continued after that too with more details, maintenance cost, service records and so on). In the meantime, the used-bike-searching BHPian called Suzuki showroom and fixed V-Strom 650 TD appointment on the afternoon of moderator-meeting-day.

Meeting with Moderator was scheduled on a Saturday morning (and schedule also had Suzuki TD in the afternoon and T120 inspection next day). Meeting was over as soon as it started. The moderator took off the bike cover a.k.a bedsheet to reveal superbly maintained bike and the 'used-bike-searching' BHPian was floored at the first sight. A quick inspection and a round in the basement parking, followed by some discussion on price, these two souls shook hands in agreement and went for a longish test ride nearby. Though moderator offered even longer ride, newbie-to-big-bike BHPian was satisfied and returned. Needless to say, all other bike related appointments were cancelled.

Over course of next few days amount got transferred between accounts, signed documents were exchanged, documents submitted at RTO and the bike changed hands.

Now, this is how I got lucky : The Moderator = Jaggu. 'used-bike-searching' BHPian = Myself. Bike = Tiger 800 XRx.
Long story short, I got a superbly maintained Tiger home !

The Bike

Now that we have a bike, we started planning for second day of stay. JLR King's Court was less than an hour away from Mysore and had vacancy. Booked non-refundable basic stay package and our trip was on.

What do we need ? - With a few days to trip, we were missing few important things. I did not have any safety gear except a pair of Rynox gloves. We did not have panniers or top box to carry luggage. Wife had moderate safety kit (LS2 Helmet, Cramster riding jacket, Cramster knee guards and a pair of ankle length shoes) but riding gloves were missing.
We decided to prioritize safety and I headed to Orion Motors for buying what was needed. I bought an AGV K1 helmet and an Alpinestar Mesh Jacket from Orion. Also bought Rynox riding pants for myself and a pair of Via Terra gloves for wife after a couple of days from MotoArmor in Whitefield. Ordered Royal Enfield ankle length shoes online for myself. Once safety requirements were addressed, though in a basic way, we focused on luggage.
We did not have more than a small duffel bag worth of luggage. And we happened to have an Amazon Basics canvas duffel bag. Bought a pair of bungee cords and decided to tie the bag on the rack behind pillion rider.

Finally, the day arrived.
Day 1: Got up at 5 AM, got enclosed in layer(s) of safety (that we had), went to basement, tied the bag and cranked the bike. Only worry I had now was whether I would be able to handle this bike with a pillion and some luggage especially in Mysore road with my total riding experience of 15KMs (on this bike). I found my answer in a couple of kilometers down the road and confidence started to build up slowly.

Bag Placement

We kept a steady pace and navigated through early morning Bangalore traffic and stopped at Shivalli Restaurant (decision was influenced by one of Kripal Ammanna's episodes) for Masale Dose and Coffee. Place was not crowded, was hygienic and food was good. Continued our journey and took a couple of tender coconut breaks.

We reached our hotel in Mysore by 11 AM and the front desk allowed early check-in. Hotel (Country Inn, near Infosys Campus, Mysore) had basement parking and bike was parked there safely.

After some much needed rest, we took a cab to Das Prakash Paradise for lunch and visited Mysore Palace after that. Palace was almost empty and we spent our time generously. Returned to hotel by cab late evening. Initial thought was to take rest for remaining part of the day. But, food at Das Prakash was very good and we decided to visit the place again for dinner. Rode the Tiger for dinner. Both ride and the South Indian dinner were excellent.

Das Prakash Paradise - An old vegetarian restaurant in Mysore























An Empty Palace

Day 2 : Woke up early and went for a scroll to a temple nearby.

Temple next to hotel

Though Country Inn had free breakfast, we wanted to taste food at Hotel Siddharth. Hired an auto rickshaw for few hours. Deal was to take us for breakfast, wait there, then take us to Chamundi Hills, wait there till we complete darshana and drop us back to hotel. Breakfast of Kharabhath, Dose and Coffee helped to lift our already high spirits further. Beautiful auto-rickshaw ride to Chamundi Hills, free flowing darshana at temple and rickshaw ride back to hotel were flawless and increased our happiness quotient.

Packed our stuff, checked out and got the bike from basement. There were a few questions from people around on why this middle aged couple are in Mysore on this big bike. Answered all the questions and started to JLR near Nagarahole.

Filled fuel at an IOC bunk en-route and had lunch at Hotel Annapoorna, located in Hunsur bypass. Rode on good single lane roads and some village roads to reach JLR and checked in.

JLR Kings Court is a nice property and we got a big cottage at our disposal. Cottage had a well-furnished huge living room and a large bedroom. There was also a kitchenette in living room. Settled in our cottage for some time and took a scroll in the mango orchard around. Felt that the lawns could have managed better, but nothing alarmingly bad. Staff were nice and helpful. A leisurely cup of tea and French fries coupled with good time spent in one of the hammocks around gave enough relaxation. Manager at JLR arranged safari to Nagarahole National park the next morning and requested us to be present in the "Gol Ghar" by 5.45 AM. Closed the day with good fixed menu dinner.

Leaving Mysore


Gol Ghar at JLR








At JLR


Living Room


Bed Room

Day 3 : Reported to 'Gol Ghar' at stipulated time for safari. Vehicle was a modified Mahindra Pick-up. We were accompanied by a driver/guide, Manager from JLR and 4 other guests. We started from JLR at 6 AM and returned at ~10 AM. We saw deers, wild boars, giant squirrel, bison and couple of elephants. No tiger or leopard were sighted. We checked out post good breakfast and started our return journey.

Safari Jeep




Wildlife


A school inside reserve forest.

We did not want to ride on Mysore road again and opted to travel via Melukote. We took Yelwala - Srirangapatna road and took deviation towards Melukote after Srirangapatna town. We were accompanied by nicely asphalted and marked undivided road till Bellur Cross. Skipped Puliyogare and Sakkare Pongal at Subbanna Mess, Melukote with a heavy heart and stopped at Hotel Mayura (Bellur Cross) for lunch and rode to Bangalore post lunch. Had to take couple of water breaks due to mid-day sun at his best.
Got struck in huge traffic jam near Manyata due to ongoing white topping work. While being struck, I realized why there are a lot of discussions on how these big bike heat up. Bike was running hot and fan was continuously on. Everything was back to normal once we got out of that traffic jam. Reached home at around 5 PM and thus, concluded our first big-bike trip with a wide grin.

Additional details :

• Total KMs covered : ~500 KMs
• Trip Duration : 2 Nights / 3 Days
• Route : Bangalore - Mandya - Mysore - Hunsur - JLR Kings Court - Yelwala - Srirangapatna - Melukote - Bellur Cross - Nelamangala - Bangalore

Newly bought gear (URL for reference):

• AGV K1 : https://www.agv.com/us/en/k1-top-ece...ce-k-1#start=1
• Alpinestar Mesh Jacket : https://planetdsg.com/product/alpine...r-jacket-black
• RE Boots : https://store.royalenfield.com/commando-boots-olive
• ViaTerra Gloves : https://viaterragear.com/shop/brands...riding-gloves/
• Rynox Riding Pants : https://www.amazon.in/dp/B07Q36JVJ3/...HKA2JFV1GV0G63

Wishlist for next trip

• Panniers
• Better gloves for me
• Some basic, but good pair of riding boots for both of us

[Aditya]

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

[drift87]

That was a quick, unwearying purchase process. Wishing you lots of unforgettable memories and happy miles!!

[PrideRed]

Congratulations and wishing you happy mile munching. Tiger looks as if it just came out of showroom. Das Prakash in Mysore somehow hits the right strings for people from South Canara .

[SenPai_GTi]

Congrats on your purchase!! That white beauty looks truly magnificent. Even I was a bit skeptical about adventure tourer's since they generally look like big and heavy machines. Glad that your first trip went confidently. Hope to see more travelogues from you and your bike!!

[mh09ad5578]

Superb thread and a lovely travelog! Wish I could buy Superbikes like you man- on the fly , lucky to have spouse open to such experiences. Kudos and wishes to million more such experiences, enjoy your ride

[prasanna_indaje]

Originally Posted by drift87

That was a quick, unwearying purchase process. Wishing you lots of unforgettable memories and happy miles!!

Thanks.
Purchase was impulsive, but was planning for a bike since long time.

Originally Posted by PrideRed

Congratulations and wishing you happy mile munching. Tiger looks as if it just came out of showroom. Das Prakash in Mysore somehow hits the right strings for people from South Canara .

Thanks. The Tiger is immaculately maintained. My only worry is how to continue the legacy !

Yes. Das Prakash is one of the places to go for us in Mysore. Would have loved the older one, but heard it was closed for renovation.

Originally Posted by SenPai_GTi

Congrats on your purchase!! That white beauty looks truly magnificent. Even I was a bit skeptical about adventure tourer's since they generally look like big and heavy machines. Glad that your first trip went confidently. Hope to see more travelogues from you and your bike!!

Thanks. ADVs are comfortable after getting used to.
Hoping to travel some places once we are out of the trap all of us are in.

Superb thread and a lovely travelog! Wish I could buy Superbikes like you man- on the fly , lucky to have spouse open to such experiences. Kudos and wishes to million more such experiences, enjoy your ride

Thanks.
Purchase process was 100% from heart. Though this was an impulsive decision with a lot of feel good factor, finances say other way round .

[Akshay6988]

Originally Posted by prasanna_indaje

Day 2 : Woke up early and went for a scroll to a temple nearby.

Attachment 2155428
Temple next to hotel

Aha this picture brought back memories of my Infosys training days, thank you sir ! Mysore city has a special place in my heart. Love it's cleanliness and general calm and laid back life style. You could have gone to the KRS backwaters in the evening, it's merely 10 -15 kms from the hotel you stayed in. It's very good place just to relax by the riverside and the Sri Venugopal Swamy Temple is amazing. Attaching few pics from my Mysore days
Chamundi Hills

Do plan another ride to the hills in monsoon, it is beautiful at that time.
KRS backwaters and the Venugopal Swamy temple


Oh, and congratulations on the Tiger, she's beautiful Wishing you many happy miles of riding on her

[prasanna_indaje]

Originally Posted by Akshay6988

Do plan another ride to the hills in monsoon, it is beautiful at that time.
KRS backwaters and the Venugopal Swamy temple

Oh, and congratulations on the Tiger, she's beautiful Wishing you many happy miles of riding on her

Thanks.
Wow ! Amazing photographs. Missed Venugopala Swamy temple. Will travel again (and cover missed Melukote Puliyogare too)

[pixantz]

Very nice sweet and short travelogue. I could feel positive vibes and almost felt like being there myself! Congrats on the Tiger. Actually the way I see it, the trip being all good in itself, but buying from a fellow bhpian and that too a moderator helped you have a more wholesome, worry free, peaceful first road trip without having to worry about reliability of the newly purchased used machine. That's a big plus in my books.
This sprung up a question in my mind; do we have a thread for buying bikes just from bhpian moderators? Does anyone have an idea? I think it would be the best used purchase experience for bhpian all around. The normal classifieds is something else, right?

[prasanna_indaje]

Originally Posted by pixantz

Very nice sweet and short travelogue. I could feel positive vibes and almost felt like being there myself! Congrats on the Tiger. Actually the way I see it, the trip being all good in itself, but buying from a fellow bhpian and that too a moderator helped you have a more wholesome, worry free, peaceful first road trip without having to worry about reliability of the newly purchased used machine. That's a big plus in my books.
This sprung up a question in my mind; do we have a thread for buying bikes just from bhpian moderators? Does anyone have an idea? I think it would be the best used purchase experience for bhpian all around. The normal classifieds is something else, right?

Thanks.
Buying a well maintained bike from a Moderator inherited lot of benefits.

I am not aware of any threads dedicated for moderators to sell their bikes. Classifieds is the place to check.

Please keep an eye on the following URL too : https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/super...ale-india.html

[Harshal.Bhosale]

Originally Posted by prasanna_indaje

Now, this is how I got lucky : The Moderator = Jaggu. 'used-bike-searching' BHPian = Myself. Bike = Tiger 800 XRx.
Long story short, I got a superbly maintained Tiger home !

Congratulations on your purchase! This is a bike I have yearned to own for too long, and currently I find myself in a comfortable position financially that I am seriously considering buying a used one in the US.

Could you share your thoughts on shorter riders riding this bike? I'm 5'6" but have considerable off-road riding experience with my RE Thunderbird 500, including (and it sounds weird that I did this on a TB500) stand-up-on-footpegs riding through trails.

The ideal bike for me (build-wise) is actually the RE Himalayan, but I don't think the Himalayan's 125 kph top speed will allow me to enjoy it much on US highways (where 70-80 mph, or 115-130 kph, is the standard cruising speed for almost all vehicles on the road, and as a biker you must always be prepared to get out of harms way with a flick of the wrist - so the bike must have a reasonable performance buffer even at that cruising speed).

[prasanna_indaje]

Originally Posted by Harshal.Bhosale

Congratulations on your purchase! This is a bike I have yearned to own for too long, and currently I find myself in a comfortable position financially that I am seriously considering buying a used one in the US.

Could you share your thoughts on shorter riders riding this bike? I'm 5'6" but have considerable off-road riding experience with my RE Thunderbird 500, including (and it sounds weird that I did this on a TB500) stand-up-on-footpegs riding through trails.

Thanks.

I am 5.11 and able to flat foot on both sides comfortably, with seat at low height position.
I read somewhere that there is a seat option with lower height. This seat coupled and a riding boot with thick sole should let you handle this bike comfortably.

Happy hunting !

[prasanna_indaje]

Tiger took me to Bangalore and back. Took Shiradi onwards and Charmadi during return.

[prasanna_indaje]

Tiger (and a Himalayan) did a round trip to Harangi dam and Bisle ghat.

Good single lane roads, Sampaje Ghat, Bisle Ghat and drizzle for company !


Tiger at Harangi.


Harangi Dam




Patla Betta


Bisle


Bisle