[Sudipto-S-Team]

Friends
My friend plans to take a long ride with a Bajaj Pulsar 220 cc bike. How many KMs a day is feasible for someone who is not looking to break speed limits and will ride moderately every day during the day only (about 8-10 hours) with normal breaks for breakfast, lunch and refuelling etc.
Opinion from senior bikers will be really appreciated.

[2500cc]

IMO, anything between 400-500Kms should be very good on a bike.

Remember: Riding/Driving is not about how much distance you cover, its all about how well you enjoy the journey. SO dont rush, enjoy your ride/drive and have a blast.

[dhanushs]

As for the bike, if its in a good condition, then 8-10 hours should not be a problem at all. I remember OD Magazine crew riding a Karizma (carb) for 24 hours non-stop in its top speed.

As for driver fatigue, I cant comment more, as I haven't done such a ling trip on a bike. However, I have done 250 kms, and it seemed to be pretty fine for me. My advise would be to split up the each day into parts that he intends to cover comfortably. Also, pre-plan stops, hotels and brakes. If so, I guess 300+ kms can easily (without fatigue) be covered in a day.

[spadix]

Originally Posted by Sudipto-S-Team

Friends
My friend plans to take a long ride with a Bajaj Pulsar 220 cc bike. How many KMs a day is feasible for someone who is not looking to break speed limits and will ride moderately every day during the day only (about 8-10 hours) with normal breaks for breakfast, lunch and refuelling etc.
Opinion from senior bikers will be really appreciated.

While I'm not a senior biker I've done a few 250+ km rides (one-way) in a day on my Pulsar 180 (pre-DTSi).

I fit your friend's requirements (no trying to break land speed records etc.) and I'm pretty heavy for my height.

Here are some of the longer one-day rides I managed without killing myself due to fatigue etc. -

Blr - Hyd in Feb. '09 - 600 kms in 12 hrs incl. breaks on what was a pretty hot day

Blr - Kundapura via Chikmagalur and Agumbe in Jan. '06 - ~450 kms in 16 hrs incl. sight-seeing and breaks
Kundapura - Blr via Udupi, Mangalore and Shiradi ghat the very next day - ~400-430 kms in 13-odd hrs including breaks and twilight stoppage

On a P220 it should be far easier.

Regards,
spadix

[bblost]

An average speed of 50 kmph is easily sustainable on most Indian roads over a 10 hour period.

[rm_arjuna]

IMO 500-600kms over 13-15 hrs with lots of breaks is easy at moderate speed . i have done hyd-chennai on my RE TBTS. I reached chennai in about 14 hrs.

[VW2010]

Guess 600 a day would be very comfortable. But i feel 700 a day just feels fantastic. With a group 700 would be very difficult. With just another rider 700 a day is like Nirvana.

[ku69rd]

Sudipto,
Rather than notching up numbers for pure academic interest, would suggest your friend to plan the trip carefully where there is no over-kill. Lot of factors act up when you plan for these long rides. Physical Fitness, Condition of roads do matter a lot along with actual time slots. (Ex: We all know early morning starts are good compared to a start by 9)
For academic purposes: have been to Mangalore and back with a distance of around 700 Kms covered on my RD. It was a stretch towards the end. Comfortably have covered distances of 450-500 kms on a single day with a break once in 2 hours.

[Sudipto-S-Team]

Thanks for all the feedback. Actually the question came up because right now my friend's trip is in the planning stage and he wants to understand how many days he should plan for.
He isn't too experienced with long rides. I guess the general consensus here is around 500 km per day which is a decent estimate to work with.
Thanks guys.

[mayankjha1806]

It also depends on roads and traffic, if the roads are good and traffic in order then 500 Kms per day should be achievable. Always remember the back starts hurting (and may hurt in days to come) if you stretch it higher like you can do it on Cars.

Which highway is he doing to drive on, BLR - HYD i wouldn't recommend. Looks like this route has a lot of heavy vehicle traffic.

[Sudipto-S-Team]

The plan is for north India and a bit of Rajasthan if it is feasible. Not south India. I live in Calcutta, you see, and all my friends are from here :-)

[BIG SARAN]

Well it depends on the rider and the ride.
I rode from Rohtang Pass to Ghaziabad (U.P) in 22 hrs taking 4 stops of approximately 5 mins each to fill my tank and stretch my limbs. And no I was not sore from all that riding.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Sudipto-S-Team

He isn't too experienced with long rides.

I realised one thing when riding the Ninja 650R recently; you require 100% concentration levels at all times when riding on the highway. For instance, if you miss a speedbreaker in a car, well, you'll probably damage your car in the worst case scenario. On a bike at speed, the end result can be catastrophic. Similarly, you gotta watch out for other traffic more than in a car (as bikers have lesser visibility), rocks left carelessly on highways, pedestrians et al.

I would highly recommend your friend to plan VERY conservatively. Whenever he is tired, just take a break or a nap. One cannot afford to push the envelope on our suicidal Indian highways.

Also, as much as possible, ask him to plan his ride around broad daylight. When the sun disappears, so should he into his hotel room.

[Sudipto-S-Team]

@ GTO - agree with you 100 per cent that bikers need to concentrate fully on the road. Possibly that's what makes it all the more tiring, not to speak of the wind that hits you on the face all the time.
@ Big Saran - Thanks. My friend is not looking at smashing the longest riding record. He is too advanced in age to chase those dreams. He is 45+ you see :-)

[padikpanther]

Adding my 2 cents – start early 6/6.30 would be ideal (with some breakfast), take a short break every 100kms or 1 hr (depends on the rider, machine, terrain, climate etc) till an extended lunch break (if required), stop by 6/6.30 pm, dine & hit the sack early (the ideal time varies from person to person) and wake up absolutely fresh.