[djpeesh]

After tailing a nano at a traffic light, I figured out what the Bonne sounds like. A nano.

In other news, I got some riding this weekend after a long long time. It felt brilliant and I couldn't stop riding.

[djpeesh]

Hit the 700 km mark with a ride to Charotti and back, bumping into the Mumbai Triumph Riders Association on the way. The Bonne rode superbly but I didn't have the guts to push it compared to the speeds that were going down on the superb tarmac. Overall amazing first Highway ride, for both the Bonne and me.

[mobike008]

Sid, whats happening with your Bonnie?

Did you buy it so you can travel by flight more?

Share some ride reports and some pics too....Cheers!!!

[djpeesh]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Sid, whats happening with your Bonnie?

Did you buy it so you can travel by flight more?

Share some ride reports and some pics too....Cheers!!!

So it seems sir. This week I find myself in the wonderful Republic of Indonesia. It's exactly what we hope India will one day be. Clean, un-potholed, roads, a semblance of discipline on the streets. And loads and loads of bikes.

Harley and the ninjas seem rule the superbike space here.

I get back on Sunday, after a quick trip to Bali but hope to ride on Sunday. It's been longer than a week since my last long ride, although I've been commuting with her over the last few weeks (when I'm in town).

It's seems like the Bonne puts people on airplanes. (In Mumbai, all the triumph riders seem to be pilots)

And Avi, to put things in perspective, I haven't driven my xuv more than 300 kilometers in two months. Sometimes the universe just drives you crazy.

[djpeesh]

Le Bonne gets her first service


On Eid day, I decided to wait for the mutton biryani and give Le Bonne a new drink of oil as well as some tlc.

I also installed the skid plate to negate the effects of the mountainous speed breakers near my house (and around Bombay that were built by monkeys with stones and tar)

The total expense was 12k including 500 for the installation of the skid plate and 6k for the plate itself.

Some pictures

[djpeesh]

It's been a slow ride to the 1000 km mark but finally I am almost there (after 2 months).



In the past two months, I've taken more plane rides (18) than I've taken in the past year. So forgive me for being absent on this ownership thread.

I've also recently acquired a cover for my bike after discovering that bird Crap isn't great for the paint




A quick question for gurus like @mobike008 and @r_nairtvm : Is there anyway to get some sort of paint protection on my Bonne? My tank has a few scratches from my ample belly making contact through the zipper of my jacket, and the black of the engine is looking a bit worn down.

The skid plate that's been taking a bashing on the great speedbreakers of Bombay.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by djpeesh

A quick question for gurus like @mobike008 and @r_nairtvm : Is there anyway to get some sort of paint protection on my Bonne? My tank has a few scratches from my ample belly making contact through the zipper of my jacket, and the black of the engine is looking a bit worn down.

Hey Sid, Iam no guru. Iam just another Bonnie owner like you, thats all

I would recommend you to get a nice 3M or teflon coat job done to regain the shine of the bike and repeat this process every 6 months

I paid 1K ( details are there on my thread) and its more than 6 months and my Bonnie hasn't lost much sheen

Will get this service repeated again in a few months !!!

[djpeesh]

Rode to out this morning and crossed the 1000 km mark.

Before:


After:


Loved the ride and felt more comfortable at higher speeds although there's still loads to go before I make use of all 68 horses.

Some pictures from our ride and a coffee run.

[djpeesh]

Forgot to add that I got a mileage of 26.5 kmpl (calculated tank full method)

[djpeesh]

Had the day off today so a friend who's been pestering me to test the new Royal Enfield Continental GT with him finally got me to agree to go to the Royal Enfield showroom in Bandra. We rode there, him on his Standard 500 and me on the Bonne.

At the showroom, the guys oozed so much attitude that it really put me off. We asked for a test ride of the conti and they said OK. We waited for 15 minutes but no one seemed to moving or interested in really giving us a test ride. Finally we gave up and walked out.

We decided to walk across to the Harley Davidson showroom in bandra and we saw the Street on display, along with an Iron.

We asked a sales rep what the ground clearance was on the Street and he said let me get back to you and didn't come back. The Royal Enfield showroom was crowded but the Harley showroom was empty. We waited. And waited. And waited. And then after 20 minutes we decided to walk out as the sales rep was busy looking at something on his phone and the other rep seemed to be engrossed in a very, very interesting conversation with his colleague and we decided not to disturb them.

We were pretty annoyed at this point, the intense heat not helping, so we decided to get some water and sit in the shade under a tree.

I then asked my friend if he wanted to go to the Triumph showroom. So off we went to Jogeshwari. We got to the showroom and as usual, the sales force was eager to sell. Coffee materialized along with some cold water.

A test ride for the Bonne was arranged in 5 minutes. My friend was handed the keys to the test ride Bonne and I decided to ride along with him on my bike.

The test ride Bonne had high flow silencers fitted and man they sounded blissful. I was so so so ready to get them installed on my nano sounding bike.

We got back to the showroom and I asked many questions about the pipes. So instead they handed me the keys, and my friend the keys to the Striple, and said go check it out.

Man, those pipes are insane. I was sold on them (only the vitamin m holding me back from getting them immediately). On the way back, I rode the Striple and wow. It's a fast bike but I just didn't feel comfortable, with the front end seeming very very light. My bulk on my hands also didn't help matters.

It was then that I remembered that the attitude was what played a large part in me not ordering the Iron (in addition to the money part of it). I don't know why the harley guys have such a load of attitude but it's not the way to gain customers. Anyway, in hindsight I'm glad I didn't get the iron as I'm loving the Bonne. New pipes on my wish list in case anyone wants to buy me some 😀

[djpeesh]

I thought I'd update this thread. Almost at the 2000 km mark and its been a brilliant journey. Feel much more confident riding now and my fear of cornering is gradually reducing.

This morning rode with another Triumph rider (on a Striple) to Igatpuri. It was brilliant riding weather and we started at 7 am from the Mulund toll Naka.




We reached igatpuri by about 830 pm, a total distance of 111.1 km from the petrol pump in BKC where I tanked up before heading off.

We had breakfast at Manas, where there were a group of Harley riders including a cream colored Iron. Not a fan of the color.



Isn't the Bonne the best looking of the bunch?
After breakfast, we set off for home and we were home by about 11 AM.

The odo at a random moment while stopped at a traffic light.


All in all, loving the Bonne. Cornering is much easier though the road has some pretty bad patches where the tram lining scared my pants off and had me riding at 40. Also, there were places on the road where the weight of the trucks had caused bits of the tarmac to sink in but you don't realize until your almost there and its scary when you lean into a corner and realize the road dips.

Also, had a close shave with a bunch of morons try to overtake in the corners with no place to go.

All said, it was a fantastic ride!!

[mobike008]

Sid, nice pictures and glad to know your enjoying your bike

You really need to rack up miles as progress is darn slow

Btw, are you a pasta lover? I always see you refer to Bonneville as Bonne? Being a hardcore foodie, it somehow reminds me of Penne (type of pasta)

In short form, its lovingly referred to as "Bonnie"

[djpeesh]

Here we go. A quick update.

The last couple of days, I've been trying to keep the xuv500 in running condition and driving to work (where parking the car is free but bikes cost 20 rupees an hour. Yes it's complicated). Decided to ride to work this morning.

She rode beautifully and sang all the way to work. On the way back though, we both got hot and bothered.

Rode in traffic and Le Bonne (yes Avi, I'm a foodie) got super duper hot. Also noticed some stalling in first gear in bumper to bumper traffic despite pulling in the clutch fully. I adjusted the idle after coming home to make her run a little richer (since she's killing it on the mileage scene anyway).

Overall, she and I were mighty drained by the time we got home. Oh well, back to the weekend routine.

[djpeesh]

Time for an Update:


Kilometers clocked: 2800 km

After a couple of rides gridlocked in traffic, I decided to ditch the bike for my commute on most days and walk. Seriously, its good for health and a 7 km walk from the office home helped throw in a workout as well.

Until, of course, I discovered tasty eating joints along the way and all health purposes on the walk went out of the window. Now I take a cab one way and hitch hike the other. Some days I ride to work and when I do, its the only bit of my day that I don't want to end. This is of course on the way to work, since I begin early.

On the way back, I want to chew my hand and cut off my own head since its hot and dusty and congested and SLOWWW.

This morning for instance, I left Bandra at 630 am and made my way to the Kalamboli McDonalds, had a coffee [ONLY COFFEE I PROMISE!] and then rode to my office in Lower Parel. So an hour long, 80 kilometer commute. But I loved every second of it and instead of riding to work, I contemplated calling in sick and riding on. The only issue was a backlog of work thanks to the sheer amount of time I waste on forums such as this and TRIUMPHRAT.



But I digress. The last 1000 kilometers came up in the last 3 weeks. So that includes one Charoti ride, one weekend getaway with the home minister in Nashik and one early morning Pune ride on another commute to work.

TRIP REPORT: MUMBAI-NASHIK-SULA-MUMBAI

The bike performed flawlessly, and much to my surprise, the handling with a pillion on the back was even better than riding solo. The bike gripped the road and pulled like a freight train. We did some awesome speed on the Igatpuri-Nashik stretch, although the road between Thane and Shahpur isn't very good. After Shahpur though, the tarmac is simply awesome.

After planning to leave home at 5 am, we woke up and left home at 8:10 am. So obviously by the time we made it to Thane and onto the highway, traffic was thick. Lots of morons on the road, crazy overtakers who cut you off when you're leaned into a turn, so kept the speed low between 60kmph and 80 kmph.



Somewhere along the way, I think it was after the Igatpuri ghat, the morons dropped off and the road opened up. Speeds went up as did the fun while the cool temperature helped keep things nice and easy.

We reached Nashik at about 10:30 am and went to the hotel to freshen up. Unfortunately the rooms weren't ready so we sat about in the gardens for a bit until about noon till the room was made up.



The temperature was cool and nice. Apparently it had rained the night before. The hotel we stayed at, The Gateway, had lovely gardens AND MOTORCYCLE PARKING.



After freshening up, we decide to ride to Sula for lunch. Big mistake, the roads are terrible, the traffic is terrible and the food is lousy and overpriced. Kurkure anyone? After roaming about at Sula and me not having anything to drink [since I was riding], we picked up a bottle of wine and decided to go to the lake we saw in the distance.







Did a bit of off-roading near the lake


Also helped another chap who went down on his Activa as he decided to race down to the lake. Picked up the bike, sat him down, called his pals to help him and then we decided to go back to the hotel before it got too dark.

We now had mud everywhere on the bike, and so tried taking out some from the front mudguard once we reached the main road. Headed back to the hotel, stopping enroute for some burn-ol as someone touched a pipe accidentally. Not me!

Had dinner at the hotel and enjoyed the now cold gardens and called it a night.

The next morning we ate loads of free breakfast until I could just about zip up my jacket and then we left the hotel at about 1 pm. Absolutely no traffic so riding was bliss. Just when we hit the highway, the low fuel light came on. Fueled up [got a mileage of about 25 kmpl on this trip] and hit the road. Despite riding nice and easy, by 3 pm we were home.

I picked up a new tank-bag: the Viaterra Fly Magnetic and even at very high speed, it was rock-solid and didn't move a milimeter. Very capacious and manage to cram in clothes, hair-straightner [don't ask why], cosmetics and i didn't have to carry anything on my back.




MORE TRIP REPORTS SOON.

[djpeesh]

So 3000 km came and went. At 3300 now. Every single km has been Bliss. It's like I don't want to ever get off.