[Oreen]

Yeah, that's what the ORR Bajaj Service guys told me, so I didn't place an order for it. Anyway if I change to a backrack and side bars, I wouldn't need the grab rails, so doesn't make sense paying so much for something I will never use. But then, selling the right one is an idea now :-P

[goandude]

Originally Posted by killjoy

Also, last time I checked the left hand side grab rail was 800. Its now 3200?

What?? Are you sure? 4x increase

[naveenroy]

Hey Oreen!!!

Congratulations! Didn't realise it was you who bought it. Aaasome. Caman the enjaiment!

Would love to check out the bike sometime. Sunday rides are happening.

[anilp]

Congrats, man. This is one great upgrade for a bulleteer. How's the pillion seat comfort on this one? Edit: Oops I missed that part which was already covered. To rephrase it, do share the pillion's feedback post a long ride.

[Urban_Nomad]

Originally Posted by Oreen

I went for the ER6n.

Congratulations! Love her in black

That's quite a bummer because the bike looks ugly with only one grab rail.

Simple - remove the other one too

Honestly, the only purpose IMO these grab rails serve is to tie down luggage. If you have a pillion, she would be better off holding you around your chest. More romantic, safer. Unless you think you'll be ferrying around dudes ......

Suspension and ground clearance

I had a question on the overall suspension dynamics. I remember reading somewhere that the stock front suspension is super stiff and hardly has any travel (like 90 mm or something). The rear is the exact opposite and actually too soft

Could you confirm (via the manual?). Is this truly the case? Also, what has been your experience going over bumpy tarmac (not necessarily potholded, but a road with undulations / ever changing camber etc)?

Again, all the best and wish you many miles of trouble free ownership with your Kwacker!!

[akshayhonda]

Congratulations on getting this beauty mate

Do keep posting about your experiences up here. My eye is on this machine up next. Hopefully by this year end should own one.

[Oreen]

Originally Posted by Urban_Nomad

I had a question on the overall suspension dynamics. I remember reading somewhere that the stock front suspension is super stiff and hardly has any travel (like 90 mm or something). The rear is the exact opposite and actually too soft

Could you confirm (via the manual?). Is this truly the case? Also, what has been your experience going over bumpy tarmac (not necessarily potholded, but a road with undulations / ever changing camber etc)?

Hi, am sorry to reply so late. The suspension so far didn't seem bad (the rear is super soft, yes) even on bad roads, and there are quite a few inside Bangalore you gotta accept. The front is stiff but so far that has worked well for me. Too much play might also mean it will nosedive during hard braking.

However, you got to accept that it is easier to do potholed roads on a bullet with 19" wheels, because we can stand up and ride. The front suspension cannot be adjusted, as I found out today, but am getting the rear stiffened to the maximum. With my 45 kg son the bike has been touching the badly made Bangalore road bumps unless I slow down over them.

I have done 800 kms so far and am gradually getting used to the bike.

Here are some pics from a recent breakfast ride on a foggy day.

And am sorry, I don't have a manual yet.

[Oreen]

2-months, 2 falls, 2300 km report

Hi guys, sorry to be away for so long. Although I couldn't find time to go on a ride over the last couple of months, I was using this bike to commute to work almost everyday, and clocked about 1000 kms in two months. Last weekend I planned to do a solo ride to Goa, asked my better half for her permission and before she could understand my question (busy with son's exams), took off on Saturday, March 14, at 4 a.m.

Bangalore to Goa is 600 kms, and I planned to do the Hubli-Dharwad-Londa-Ponda route.

Starting at 4.00 meant it was really dark.
I had the high beam on, and it illuminated the road for a pretty long distance. I had already got a clear visor for my helmet a week back, so visibility was not an issue at all. I saw a bunch of KTM and bullet guys meeting just at the NICE-Tumkur Road junction, but I had no time to say hello to anybody. Just one night, and I could not have wasted any time.

I picked up decent speeds despite the darkness, and thanks to a Safari Storme which was doing a steady 120 kph on the fast lane and illuminating pretty much all of the highway, I had no issues steadily keeping up with it. After the first toll gate it was a KA-31 Innova which helped me with its headlights.

By the time I reached Chitradurga, it was 6.30. Stopped to click some pics, but the windmills were not visible yet.

Stopped at Kamat around 7.30 for a quick idli breakfast. The sun was up by now and I could do steady speeds of 130 kph. My aim was to reach Goa by 11.00, but I realized it would be foolish to push it.






By now I had to tank up once more, and reached Hubli-Dharwad around 10.00 am.

The road after Dharwad has four railway crossings, and about 50 kms of the ghats are really bad.




I enjoyed leaning on the twisties, but maybe because of wrong posture, my knees and wrists started straining. It could have been because of the bag on the pillion seat too, can't tell what.






The journey was uneventful and I reached Colva, Goa at 11:52 via Londa/Ponda. Had a leisurely lunch there, went to Sernabatim to check out Furtado's, and then thought lemme try Palolim.

Man, am I glad I went to Palolim! It is such a beautiful beach with a curve and islands all around. Stayed at Cafe Del Mar, which is supposed to be a really cool place, and liked it quite a bunch. Rented a wooden cottage and lounged around on the beach all day/night. The food at Cafe Del Mar is very good and surprisingly affordable, as I figured later that night while clearing the bill.





On Sunday I started around 1145 and came back via the Karwar-Ankola-Yallapur-Hubli route, which is beautifully laid.

The road between Ankola and Hubli (136 kms), is perfect, with gentle twisties and minimal traffic. I started getting severe butt pain on Sunday, and had to stop at least every 30 mins to 1 hour to stretch and take rest.




After Hubli, the remaining 400 kms were done in no time, except for the frequent butt breaks. I don't know what's wrong, if it is the seat or my riding posture, but it was terrible, especially near the tailbone. I tried sitting upright and did all sorts of stretching on the road, much to the delight of all the passersby, but the pain would come back in 40 mins to 1 hour. Nothing that a couple of disprins didn't fix at night, but during the ride I was constantly wishing for a tourer/thumper with a better seat.

So, total distance covered was 1239 km. It took me about 7.5 hours to cover 600 kms with breaks/lunch/tea. The average fuel consumption was about 22 kpl, highest speed touched was 174 kph, and am happy with the bike overall.



Meanwhile, here in Bangalore I've had two falls at zero speed because am short and can't handle the weight. Both times I was stupidly wearing sneakers, which lent me no grip at all. So, for anybody reading this, even for short rides to the grocery store, don't feel ashamed to wear boots and a riding jacket.

[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by Oreen

2-months, 2 falls, 2300 km report

Awesome ride and well written!

What did you feel about the wind blast with the windscreen? Was it worth it?

..I don't know what's wrong, if it is the seat or my riding posture, but it was terrible, especially near the tailbone. I tried sitting upright and did all sorts of stretching on the road, much to the delight of all the passersby, but the pain would come back in 40 mins to 1 hour.

Couldn't help noticing that tailbag. Was it constantly sliding forward and/or resting on your lower back causing the pain?

I constantly move around on my bike's seat (read: wooden bench!) when the butt pain gets severe. I will sometimes sit close to the tank sometimes in the middle sometimes way back and sometimes even on the rear seat's hump taking turns! It helps easing the pressure on a single point.

[scarecrow]

@Oreen - nice bike and ride.

Stayed at Cafe-del-mar once myself and its an awesome location, though i found paloleim to be slightly expensive in general.

Now regarding the bike, what is the fuel capacity? Even i am in the same boat as you and a few others and want a comfortable touring bike, with a decent range. As of now waiting for the Honda 500 / 600 and Bajaj 400 CS before deciding

Regards
Ronald

[naveenroy]

Originally Posted by Oreen

2-months, 2 falls, 2300 km report

Hi guys, sorry to be away for so long. Although I couldn't find time to go on a ride over the last couple of months, I was using this bike to commute to work almost everyday, and clocked about 1000 kms in two months. Last weekend I planned to do a solo ride to Goa, asked my better half for her permission and before she could understand my question (busy with son's exams), took off on Saturday, March 14, at 4 a.m.

Bangalore to Goa is 600 kms, and I planned to do the Hubli-Dharwad-Londa-Ponda route.

Nice Ride Report. Good to see that you had a nice ride to and back. And thanks for discussing some of the points of the bike. Yes, it is an itch to upgrade

We'll see if we can catch up on a ride sometime.

[Oreen]

The fuel consumption with my kinda riding was 22 kpl (mostly kept it above 120-130 kmph and did short bursts to 150 kmph and above). So, the fuel came down to 2 bars after 200 kms and above. So, it is about 9 liters to reach 200 kms.

[shan_ned]

Nothing abnormal about the butt pain. Most of the riders experience it within an hour of continuous ride. Try padded cycling shorts. Double benefit especially during summer.

[Oreen]

Originally Posted by man_of_steel

Awesome ride and well written!

What did you feel about the wind blast with the windscreen? Was it worth it?

Hey, the windscreen is actually pretty good. The windblast starts at 130 and above. My helmet has to be changed asap because although it feels snug, it needs to be even tighter. I can hear the eerie whoooouiieeeeeee whistling of the wind coming in, which can be quite scary while riding on absolutely empty roads, if you believe in spirits.

Also, the ECO mode switches off after you cross 130 kph, so I guess keeping it between 120-130 kph all day should return better fuel economy too.

To learn how to corner at high speeds, I watched a youtube video. It has very simple rules:
1. lean your head outside the mirror
2. let your butt and knee hang out
3. look at where the road it turning, never look straight

I followed these rules and could manage to corner pretty well. My right turns were weak, so I practiced on the twisties by hanging the head out and looking at where the road is turning. It really helped.

Riding alone is fun. You get to stop wherever you want, you can go for as long as you want to, and also observe a lot of things. I saw Siddis (an aboriginal African tribe who came to India long back and settled in North Karnataka) in Yallapur, which was fascinating. Suddenly you see some African people speaking Hindi and Kannada. The women are in sarees, wearing bindis! I stood and spoke to them for a while. Asked them if they know about their history and where they come from. They know that they are Bantus and they don't want to go back. Should have spent more time to find out whom they voted for, but didn't have that much time.

Near Yallapur, in the hot afternoon, there are dry leaves falling from the trees, huge ones, so sometimes they come and hit you like kites.

And on the Hubli - Chitradurga route, there were two tankers blocking the entire road, one trying to overtake the other, but almost going at the same speed. I came close and noticed, one was LPG and the other was milk. Felt as if they wouldn't give way until all the milk is boiled. Like this, there are a lot of opportunities to stand and take pictures.

Next on my list are:

1. a carrier/rack
2. aftermarket exhaust to improve ground clearance
3. better helmet
4. riding pants from Triumph (the knee guards don't inspire so much confidence)
5. gopro

Will keep posting more stories as they unfold. Right now have to get my broken footpeg fixed.

[Khodays]

Mate, get a Airhawk, best investment ever for long rides........