[bluevolt]

And just forgot to add - Today is my Karizma's 8th Birthday. How time flies!

I feel so bad to see my riding going so low since 2015, hardly ran it 2000 Kms in 2 years.

Want to get an RC390 by next year but with my kind of low riding, I am not sure if I will do justice to a new bike and the capital required to acquire it!

[bluevolt]

Got fresh rubber for my Karizma.

Front - 80/100/18 Michellin Secura - Rs. 1750
Rear - 110/90/18 Michellin Sirac - Rs. 2350

Also got new engine oil - Motul 3000 4T Plus 20W40.

I always used 10w30 Hero Honda mineral oil but this time changed both the grade and brand.

Current Odo Reading is 20,090 Kms.

I have couple of long road trips in my mind for this year. Let's see how things goes and if these trips actually materialize! I hope they do!

[bluevolt]

So I did first long ride on my Karizma. My bike visited mountains for the first time. It was an amazing, to be remembered for lifetime experience.

We chose Kasauli Hills as our destination. Kasauli is around 350 KMs away from my place. Two of my friends joined me in this trip with their Bajaj Avenger 150 and Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350 respectively.

We started around 7 am in the morning from Delhi (Karnal Bypass) after assembling there at 6.30 am, after that we had some tea and started further riding.

Our first stop was 70 milestone Dhaba for the breakfast. We were riding slowly in the morning with maximum speed of 80 KMPH only. After the breakfast, we continued our riding and took couple of short brakes for photography and refreshment. Our next brake was at Ambala cant. We couldn't find any tea shop over there so continued riding and finally took another brake at a dhaba on Ambala-Chandigarh expressway.

We entered Chandigarh at 12.00 PM, checked in our hotel at Sector 22- Hotel Sunbeam Premium and took some rest. After lunch, we started exploring Chandigarh. While I have been to Chandigarh many number of times, one of my friend had never visited Chandigarh, so we had to stay for the night at Chandigarh and start for Kasauli next morning.

After paying visit to Rock garden, Sukhna lake and Mata Mansa Devi temple, we headed back to our hotel, parked our bikes there and took a stroll in Sector-17 market later in the evening. The night life of Chandigarh is simply amazing. The sound & light show in the market is the main attraction.

After having dinner and enjoying late night stroll outside the hotel street's we headed back to sleep around 1 am. Next morning, we waked up at 7.30 am, had our breakfast around 8.30 and started for Kasauli ride at 9 am after checking out of the Hotel. The road for Kasauli is good till Dharampur chowk. After that when you take left to Kasauli, the roads are in very bad condition. The Shimla expressway is also under construction in various patches.
We reached Kasauli around 11 am, spent some time roaming around upper/lower mall road, riding to sun set point, having chai & maggi in the market.

We started back for Delhi at 1pm, reached Zirakpur via Panchkula bypassing Chandigarh around 3pm. After lunch at Zirakpur, we continued riding towards Delhi at 3.30 pm. Since we were bit tired, we chose to take frequent brakes rather than riding in a hurry. We crossed Delhi border around 8PM in the night and finally I reached my Rohini home at 8.45 PM.

It was my first experience of riding in the mountains, tackling the tough tarmac, riding on single lane twisty highways among the hills was one heck of an experience. The michellin tyres really held a great grip on those rough hilly roads. Karizma's engine remained refined all the time with enough power to take on the highways. There was a small oil marks around the clutch pivot where it is connected to the engine. Possibly some seal might need replacement that I will cross check with another workshop. All in all it was superb riding experience to the nearby hills.

[bluevolt]

Here are some pics of the ride.

[bluevolt]

[bluevolt]

[bluevolt]

And one final pic from the ride.

The Mountains Awaits... The Sun Lights the Path...
The Valleys Are Quite & the Time Stands Still At This Hour...

#ItIsNotTheMountainWeConquerButOurselves

[scorpian]

Adding on to this thread.

Used Motul C1 and C2 for the first time in 12 years on my bike, prior to this was always using thickest oil for lubricating the chain.

Trust me motul works its charm,sprayed the lube and left it for an hour, post that the chain was super silent.

Would strongly recommend it.Also had no oil mess that normally occurs.For those using oil i would suggest buying the small can and trying it out like i did.

[rakesh_r]

Brought back some of the memories of my old ZMA, thanks for sharing. Regrading the engine oil part, I somehow felt Hondas never liked Motul for some reason. The best I have come across for the ZMA would be the Shell Advance 10w40 full synthetic.

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by rakesh_r

Brought back some of the memories of my old ZMA, thanks for sharing. Regrading the engine oil part, I somehow felt Hondas never liked Motul for some reason. The best I have come across for the ZMA would be the Shell Advance 10w40 full synthetic.

I second that, Motul's for some reason run rough, this is especially noted when it comes to Honda's, hence Shell would anyday be a better choice. I usually change my oil around the 2~2.5k mark irrespective of make/price.

[bluevolt]

Originally Posted by scorpian

Adding on to this thread.

Used Motul C1 and C2 for the first time in 12 years on my bike, prior to this was always using thickest oil for lubricating the chain.

Trust me motul works its charm,sprayed the lube and left it for an hour, post that the chain was super silent.

Would strongly recommend it.Also had no oil mess that normally occurs.For those using oil i would suggest buying the small can and trying it out like i did.

Originally Posted by rakesh_r

Brought back some of the memories of my old ZMA, thanks for sharing. Regrading the engine oil part, I somehow felt Hondas never liked Motul for some reason. The best I have come across for the ZMA would be the Shell Advance 10w40 full synthetic.

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

I second that, Motul's for some reason run rough, this is especially noted when it comes to Honda's, hence Shell would anyday be a better choice. I usually change my oil around the 2~2.5k mark irrespective of make/price.

Since last 700 KMs of riding, i didn't experience any roughness after switching to Motul.

Will try Shell next time.

[bluevolt]

So after 4 years and 8 months, my bike's Exide MF battery conked off. I sparingly use my bike these days with last long ride undertaken in April 2017.

I switched on the ignition but the console was blank - no lights. No response from self starter. Kick started the bike after some 8-10 attempts and rode around the city for 5-6 kms but the battery could not gain any charge.

Considering my low running and existing battery's longevity in such condition, Exide battery gave a respectable life.

Will get a new battery of same brand in coming days before planning a long ride.

My Karizma will turn 9 years old in Feb 2018! With my low running, I don't feel motivated enough to get a new bike anytime soon.

[Manoj2268]

Mine will turn 13 in 2018. Dhanno's duties are now limited to gym, sec 18 metro station and chotta Motta grocery runs. Runs like a charm though.

Oil changes every 60 days.

One issue though. Every now and then, the starter keeps cranking even after the keys are removed from the ignition barrel. What could be the issue?

I am afraid that going to Metro motors will set me back by a new lockset, rectifier and probably a new harness too.

[bluevolt]

Originally Posted by Manoj2268

One issue though. Every now and then, the starter keeps cranking even after the keys are removed from the ignition barrel. What could be the issue?

I am afraid that going to Metro motors will set me back by a new lockset, rectifier and probably a new harness too.

Instead of going to Metro Motors, I suggest you to going to below address -

Azad Motors, in Pitampura bike/car market (near hotel city park/narsingh seva sadan) is a good shop and the mechanic there is also knowledgeable with reasonable pricing.

[speedmon]

My Karizma , 2010 end purchased. still going strong , just back from a refresing polish.