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Originally Posted by mobike008 Thanks Rahul. Yeah, this ride will be one of the longest after many many years. Have been doing only short rides of a total of 300kms-350kms till date |
With the Triumph Bonneville, it will be an amazing ride! All the best!!
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Originally Posted by mobike008 Can you give more details about your ride to Bangalore. When did you start and how many breaks you took and did you face any issues while riding etc?? |
Avinash, here are details of my journey that I did on 15th March 2014 from Hyderabad to Bangalore. It took me 12 hours to reach Bangalore city limits. Another 2 hours were spent in finding accommodation. So I was on the bike for 14 hours!
Time Distance Details
07:00 0.00 Start from Hyderabad.
08:45 90.00 Breakfast at Hotel Yagnesh Viraat, Jadcherla.
11:30 230.00 Short break.
12:30 285.00 Lunch at A1 Plaza before Gooty followed by a 30 minute rest.
15:00 350.00 Refueling stop.
16:00 424.00 Tea break at a dhaba before Penukonda.
18:20 540.00 Final short break before entering Bangalore city limts.
19:00 580.00 Reached Bangalore city limits.
21:00 610.00 Checked into a hotel.
19:00 to 21:00 hours were spent in searching for a hotel at places like Hebbal and RT Nagar. Finally ended up finding a hotel in the heart of the city in an area called Majestic. Hotel booking was not done in advance as my decision whether to make the trip or not was not finalized till the last moment.
What went well:- The bike’s engine never felt strained at all. There were no signs of overheating despite the heat and speeds of 70-85 kmph being maintained most of the time. The engine was capable of doing more but I did not push it further since it was my first long trip on 2 wheels.
- Excellent roads conditions!! No need to pay toll when you are on 2 wheels!!
- As the election dates were announced, I thought that there will be strict checking. Although there are check posts, I was not stopped for checking. They were mostly checking 4 wheelers.
- Since it was a proper day journey, there was very less traffic of buses and trucks. It felt good to see that the trucks that I came across were being driven safely and the drivers were giving proper signals / warnings whenever I showed up in their rear view mirror.
Challenges:- Being a bike designed for city use, the Bajaj Discover’s seat is narrow and is not at all suitable for long rides. Before the journey, I was mentally prepared for challenges like shoulder and back pains. But I did not face these at all. The biggest challenge was the pain in butt! Especially towards the end of the journey i.e. after 400 kms or so, it was very uncomfortable. But since the last 2 hours were spent in search for accommodation, I was always stopping and getting off the bike multiple times. Hence when I finally settled down at the hotel, it was not a problem.
- The next challenge I faced while riding was cross winds. Although the bike weighs a decent 133 kgs, it used to wobble whenever there were sudden cross winds. I had to reduce the speed from 80-85 kmph to 60-65 kmph during periods of cross winds.
- The other challenge, well not a challenge but a disadvantage of this bike is the gearbox. Since my bike is a 2007 model, it has a 4 speed gear box. So the fuel economy figures went for a toss. In city I get a mileage of 48-50 kmpl. The mileage for the Hyderabad to Bangalore and back trip was 43-44 kmpl. Still I consider them decent figures since factors like the summer heat, wind resistance, cross winds, etc come into play at higher speeds.
When you do the trip on your Bonnie, I feel that the above challenges will not be there. (Except that you will need to do more refueling stops!) The seat will be far more comfortable, the bike will be very stable at high speeds and lesser number of breaks will be needed. The refueling stop itself will be a decent time for a break I guess!
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Originally Posted by mobike008 Finally, May i ask you if there was any compulsion to ride the Discover 135 all the way from Bangalore to Hyd considering its not a powerful bike which means long durations in saddle? |
Why did I do the trip on the Bajaj Discover 135? Because that is the only bike that I have! Although it is used regularly in the city and at times for short rides of 50-60 kms on the outskirts of the city, I always wanted to take it out on the highway for a long trip of 500+ kms. Just wanted to check how the bike would perform and more importantly whether I would be able to do the trip or not. Although underpowered for highways, the engine easily maintains decent speeds without showing any signs of overheating / stress. Need to check if the seat can be modified to make it comfortable for long distance riding.
And why did I go to Bangalore? Check out the these pages:
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/post-...e-fcb-189.html (Fiat 1100 Club - Bangalore [FCB])
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/post-...e-fcb-190.html (Fiat 1100 Club - Bangalore [FCB])
Regards and Keep Revving,
Rahul Waghmare.
PS: I am currently writing a travelogue about this trip. Will create a thread sometime this weekend.