[Snehal Sekhar]

This being the Baron’s second birthday, I and 2 other Bhpians, goandude and si1verone, went on an overnighter to Gandikota this Saturday.

The original plan was to go to Belum caves and then to Gandikota from there. We eventually had to leave out Belum caves from the itinerary considering the weather.

The three of us met up at Esteem Mall and the ride began at 7AM. We reached Gandikota Haritha Resort at 1 PM where si1verone had made prior reservations. After a homely lunch at the resort and some rest, off we went to check out the gorge and fort. The entire landscape reminded us of some western movie.

The route we took

Bangalore - Devanahalli - Bagepali - Gorantla - Kadiri - Pulivendla - Gandikota.

Sunday morning we departed from the resort at 7 AM and were back in Bangalore at 1PM. I got an average fuel economy of 27-28 kmpl on this ride.

Road condition - the entire route had well tarmacked roads, especially in AP where the some stretches seem freshly laid. Just need to be careful of the innumerable road humps though.

Haritha Resort – Like an oasis in the middle of the desert. Good food but limited options, clean rooms and courteous staff.

Ideal time to visit – Oct – Dec or the monsoons. Avoid going there is summer.

Food options along the way – Until Lepakshi junction there are several eateries on the way, past that the options get scarce. The next place where you would be able to find good food would be at Kadiri. So you would need to plan your trip accordingly.

All in all a weekend well spent and a new place visited.

[Snehal Sekhar]

I'm planning on doing another peak summer solo coastal ride, but this time I want to cover the south east coast. The route I'm planning on taking is Bangalore - Pondicherry - Cuddalore - Kairakal - Vellankani - Adirampattinam - Manamelkudi - Thondi - Rameshwaram - Vembar - Thoothukudi - Tiruchendur - Kundankulam - Kanyakumari - Bangalore. I'm planning on riding through the coast from Pondicherry to Kanyakumari.

This is the route as per Google Maps:


How are the roads on this route? The plan as of now is 4 days with stop overs at Pondicherry, Rameshwaram and Kanyakumari.

[Snehal Sekhar]

With yesterday’s ride to Ooty and after 2 years and a month of ownership of the Baron, I crossed the 16K mark on my odo.

I’ve been wanting to do the Ooty ride for close to a month and for several reasons I had to keep postponing it. Finally I decided to do it this Sunday after I got confirmation from unk9ja that he would join me too.

We had an early start and both of us met at the Nice-Mysore road junction at 4:30 AM. This early in the morning, especially on a Sunday, you would expect the roads to be pretty empty, but no. Mysore road had continuous flow of traffic even that early in the morning.

The route for our onward journey was Bangalore – Mysore – Nanjangud – Bandipur – Masinagudi – Ooty. Bandipur had its fair share of Peacocks, Peahens, Deers, Wild Pigs, Langur and Macaques to show us. The Masinagudi – Ooty stretch had minimal traffic and we were able to reach Ooty by 9:00 AM. Our original plan was to have woodfire pizzas for breakfast at the Nahar Sidewalk Café in Ooty, but as luck would have it they open only at 10:30 AM. We had to make do with breakfast at the restaurant in the hotel. After breakfast, we started our return ride to Bangalore. For our return route I had originally decided to come back via Coonoor – Mettupalayam – Annur – Avinashi – Bhavani – Salem, but just after Mettupalayam we took a wrong turn and took the Sathyamangalam – Gobichettipalayam road instead. No complaints about that though since the roads, even though two lane, had sparse traffic and were well tarmacked.

The Ooty – Coonoor – Mettupalayam road was teaming with traffic and it seemed like it took us an eternity to get down. We stopped just past Salem for a much needed break and late lunch, at a non-descript place, at 2:45 PM. Lunch done, we rode on until we reached Krishnagiri for a coffee break and then on it was a non stop ride to Bangalore and home. Reached home at 6:00 PM with aching and numb fingers and a sore behind.

The both of us didn’t take any pictures this time since we were busy enjoying the ride. It was a Sunday well spent doing the thing I most love doing and having excellent company to ride with you, was like the icing on the cake.

Total distance covered – 680 kms. Total riding time – 11 hrs 35 mins.

[Snehal Sekhar]

This Sunday, a couple of buddies from this forum and I did a short ride to Yelagiri. Started at 6:30 AM from e-city and reached back home by 1:00 PM. Didn't do any sightseeing there this time, since I've been to this place several times in the past. Total distance from e-city and back - 280 Kms.

A few pics that I took enroute

[Snehal Sekhar]

The hot summer ride to Rameswaram and Madurai

After last year’s summer ride to Gokarna, Murudeshwar and Mangalore, I thought I wouldn’t do anymore peak summer overnight rides. The heat becomes too unbearable after a time and you’d like to kick yourself in the butt and question your sanity on undertaking a ride like this.

But, some things really have no explanation. Come May, and I was itching to do another one of those overnight rides. Insane, most would call it especially with my poor choice of destinations.

My first choice was to go to Hampi. For some reason, Hampi dropped out of my plans. Then I decided to do a long one day ride to Kolli Hills and back. My aversion to twisties and not being an overnighter put hold to this place as well. That’s when the family decided to drive down to Madurai and Rameswaram for a short holiday. I agreed to come if they let me ride and for my luck, they did.

The plan was that I’d leave a day in advance, stay in Rameswaram for the night and then next morning I’d ride down to Madurai and catch up with them there. All things in place and the hotel booked for, I decided to start Friday early morning at around 4:00 AM.

I had taken two days leave from work, thinking I could get enough rest on Thursday and I wouldn’t have to ride right after work. Leaves were approved, but on Wednesday I was asked to come at least for half a day to work on Thursday with a promise that I could leave at 9PM. Since this was unavoidable, I had to agree. On Thursday, I rode to work (didn’t take the company cab, since I had to leave early) and completed what I had to do by 8:30 PM, but the rain gods decided to cast its spell on Bangalore. It started raining at around 8PM and there was a continuous drizzle well past 12:00 midnight. I cursed my luck. This would mean that I wouldn’t be able get adequate rest before the ride. The drizzle abated at around 12:30 AM and that’s when I left work and headed back home. Reached home at 1:00 AM after stopping to fuel up the Baron at the BTM, Udupi Garden, petrol bunk. I should have gone back home and slept, but the excitement of the ride didn’t help me catch a wink. So tossed and turned on the bed and then at 3:30 AM decided to get up. Woke up, freshened up and after a small pooja (which I always do before I go on a ride), I left home at 4:30 AM.

Stop at Krishnagiri



The first stop was just after the Krishnagiri toll, where I stopped to have a coffee from a road side vendor. I found it very queer that the tea vendor was commenting on my jeans. He asked me to wear tight jeans as it would suit me. Coffee done with, started off again on a non-stop ride until Salem.

I stopped to fuel up at Salem next where the attendant at the petrol bunk tried to play a fast one on me. I asked him to fill the tank and he filled petrol only for Rs.150 saying that’s what he heard me say. Then he filled up again without resetting the meter. All went well, until the attendant took my card to swipe. He said that he had filled fuel for a total of Rs.680.00. Rs.150.00 the first time and then again for Rs.530.00 the second time. I had to correct him there and said he only filled for Rs.530.00 since he didn’t reset the meter. He confirmed with his colleague if that was the case and he agreed to what I said. Paid my bill thinking of the con games these guys play.
The Baron’s tank all fuelled up, rode on again to towards Madurai. A little before Dindigul, I stopped for my second coffee break.



Second break somewhere between Salem and Madurai


There were a lot of interceptors and police checking on this highway and I was flagged down by a cop a few kilometers from where I had stopped for my coffee break. I stopped and this is how the conversation went:
Cop – How much is this vehicle
Me – 5.25 lakh on road
Cop – Oh! Ok, do you have all your vehicle papers?
Me – Yes
Cop – Go meet the inspector
Now, I started to get worried. Who knows what crazy reason they would come up to fine me.
Went up to the inspector and said hello to him.
Inspector- I have got a lot of complaints about biker gangs going very fast on this highway. What speed does your vehicle go?
Me – Only 80 kmph, Sir.
Inspector- Good. Be careful and go safe. Do you have all your vehicle papers?
Me – Yes. Do you want to see them?
Inspector – No. Carry on. Go safe.

That was it. All my fears were unwarranted for. A nice cop who didn’t harass me and who let me go with good wishes and a smile.
With a smile on my face and much relief, I started again.

Just short of Madurai, I stopped again to fuel up. From there I should have taken the Madurai bypass road, but missed that and ended up riding through the city in peak hour traffic and the slow moving traffic made the heat unbearable. I had to stop to ask for directions to go to Rameswaram but still managed to lose my way in the city. Finally, pulled out my phone and searched for directions on Google maps. Attached the phone to the RAM mount and Google maps guided me on the correct route.

It was already 11:30 AM by now and I hadn’t had a bite to eat. Hunger pangs and fatigue started setting in. Once out of the city and on the Rameswaram road, I found a nice little eatery called “Thinnai”. Stopped here for breakfast. They serve healthy whole grain vegetarian food here, like multigrain dosas and parottas. Ordered for a whole wheat kotthu parotta (shredded parotta with vegetables) and three glasses of fresh lime juice. The cold lime juice was what really got me going. I couldn’t get enough of it.

Thinnai Restaurant


Kotthu Parotta


After filling up my belly with all that lime juice and breakfast, I started off on to the worst part of my ride. Two lane roads, heavy traffic and roads being widened to four lanes were what greeted me from here on until Rameswaram. Progress was slow and the peak heat of the afternoon were draining my energy fast. To top it up, my butt was aching. 50 kms into the ride, I seriously thought I should call it quits and stay for the night at the next available hotel. Pushed myself to go a little further.

After a point I couldn’t take it anymore. I searched for a place to stop and found a shaded place near a house. Stopped there and got off the bike and sat right under the shade of the tree. A few minutes later, an old lady from the house walks out with a jug of water.
Lady – here, have some water to drink.
Me – Thank you.
Lady – Where are you going?
Me – Rameswaram. But it’s so hot and the heat is making it very hard for me to ride.
Lady – Why don’t you come inside the house and sit under the fan. You can leave after 3 PM. By then it would be much more pleasant to ride.
Me – Thank you very much! But I have to go.
Saying that, I got up and thanked her again and started off on the last part of the journey. It’s people like these that show what humanity is all about. If I were in her place, I’m sure I wouldn’t have offered some random traveller a place in my home to rest for some time. Forget place to rest, I wouldn’t even offer a glass of water to drink unless they asked.

Relaxed after that short rest and happy with the conversation with the old lady, I started off again. As I reached closer to Rameswaram, the sea breeze brought in some relief. The only thing that I had to be weary on this stretch were the goats that suddenly run across the road. After many butt breaks, I finally reached the Pamban Road Bridge. From here to Rameswaram it’s around 20 kms and I couldn’t wait to head to the hotel and rest. Didn’t spend much time on the bridge apart from the customary photo.

Pamban Road Bridge


Reached Rameswaram and filled fuel at the first visible petrol bunk and asked them for directions to the hotel where I had a reservation.

The place I stayed, Vinayaga Hotel, is right opposite the railway station and they had ample parking place. Private parking was the prerequisite I was looking for when I make the booking. Reached there, parked the bike, paid some money to the security to look after the bike, did the check in, had a shower, ordered a light snack in the room, ate the snack and hit the sack. This was at 4:30 PM. I woke up only at 9:00PM. Got up at ordered dinner in the room, had dinner and went back to sleep again. I was so exhausted.

My next day’s plan was to go to Dhanushkodi at 5:30 AM and then check out of the hotel by 7:30-8 AM so I could reach Madurai before the sun and the heat got to me. Set the alarm for 5:00 AM and hit the snooze button when it rang. Woke up only at 6:30 AM and then was contemplating if it was worth riding now to Dhanushkodi. I was more inclined to checking out then and then heading straight to Madurai. My heart said go to Dhanushkodi since this opportunity would not come again. My brain said, get out of this place and reach Madurai before you get to suffer like how you did yesterday.

My heart and my brain were having a furious debate and eventually my heart won. These are not opportunities that come many times and who knows if I would ever ride to this place again. That being said, I went up to the gentleman manning the reception and asked him if they allow vehicles all the way up to Dhanushkodi. He replied that two wheelers are allowed, but private cars owners will have to park their cars a few kilometers away and then hire a local jeep to take them there. That was good news to my ears.

Off I went to Dhanushkodi on the Baron. The roads were recently done up and with the morning sea breeze, it was a pleasure to ride to. I reached until the point where all the tourist jeeps were parked and then turned back. The massive crowd of tourists there and all those tourist vehicles blocking most of the way were a big put off. Came back, but not with regret. I was happy I at least came this far.

A few pics on my way to Dhanushkodi


On the way to the hotel, decided to stop at a road side shack selling hot cylon parottas and omelets. Even after eating 5 parottas and a double egg omelet, the bill came up to only Rs.75.00. A buffet breakfast was available at the hotel, but who wanted a veg breakfast when this kind of yummy food was available.

Checked out of the hotel at 9:30 AM and off I rode to Madurai. It was an uneventful ride back to Madurai. At Madurai, I stayed at the Gateway Hotel, Pasumalai. My family was joining me here, and they were still on their way. Checked in at 2:00 PM and had a quick shower and after a scrumptious lunch at their restaurant, I slept until my ringing phone woke me up at 5PM. It was a call to inform me that my folks had arrived.

All plans to go sightseeing in Madurai were put to sleep with the rains that they brought along with them. With nothing much to do, we spent the remainder of the day in the hotel. The next morning, we went around the property to see the numerous peacocks and peahens. These birds nest on this hill and early mornings, they come near the cottages where guests can feed them. After my daughter had her fill of spending time with the peacocks and feeding them, we gorged on some wonderful breakfast and left the hotel at 10:30 AM.

A few pics from the Hotel

Birds eye view of Madurai city


The resident peacocks and peahens


Off they drove in the car and I was following them on my Baron. Just as I exited the hotel, I fueled up at the petrol bunk. The return journey home was a pain in the butt, literally. I needed several stops to ease my behind.

Several stops and several curses later, I reached Salem where I had to fuel up the Baron. Fueled up the Baron and my belly at Salem and from there it was a nonstop ride all the way home. I couldn’t wait to reach home and call it a day. Reached home at 7:00 PM after stopping one last time to fill up the tank at Electronic city.

I ended the ride promising myself that I wouldn’t ride in this peak summer weather again, but who knows what’s in store next year. If I know myself well enough, I’m sure to do this again next year and promise not to do it again after that.

Total Distance Travelled: 1242 kms
Total Fuel Filled: 53.2 ltrs
Best Average – 27 kmpl (between Salem and Madurai)
Worst Average – 22 kmpl (between Madurai and Rameswaram)
Cost of room – Vinayaga Hotel – Rameswaram – Rs.1,155.00 (after MMT discounts)
Cost of room – Gateway Hotel, Pasumalai- Madurai – Rs.7,196.00 (inclusive b/f)

Until later, ride safe!

[Sting]

When the world is complaining about the Steet 750, you have been persistently pulling of such extraordinary rides. My hats off to you for doing this, more so in this heat. The conviction rides like these require cannot be captured in a post. I wish I had your humility in describing my rides!

The instance of being offered water and a home to rest is exactly what had happened to me and my wife in Maharashtra when we stopped at the side of the road one afternoon. And it wasn't a one off.

Ride safe, and keep us motivated with such ride stories, you are a star!

Cheers,
Sting

[Snehal Sekhar]

Originally Posted by Sting

When the world is complaining about the Steet 750, you have been persistently pulling of such extraordinary rides. My hats off to you for doing this, more so in this heat. The conviction rides like these require cannot be captured in a post. I wish I had your humility in describing my rides!Cheers,
Sting

Thanks for those kind words mate!

The Panchapalli Dam Ride

Yesterday, I and two other Bhpians went on a short ride. The destination was Panchapalli Dam in Dharmapuri district. The route all the way from Denkanikottai to the dam and from there to Rayakottai is scenic and lush with greenery.

We started from Electronic city at around 7 AM and I reached back home at 10:30 AM.

This is the route we took to reach this place: https://www.google.co.in/maps/dir/El...d12.478895!3e0

A few pics that I took:




















The Baron is slowly inching up the 18K mark on the odo and is due for service next week. Will post the details once the service is done.

[kumarvarun172]

Snehal sir, Respect and more respect. I have religiously read the entire thread, first another congratulations from my side on your ride, your vast experience which you have penned down have become my go to source nowadays. Further the advices poured in by fellow bhpian just enriches the overall experience.

I am just leaving now to take the delivery of my matt black street 750. Will have to look for a nice name to call it.

I have learnt a lot from you and hope to learn more.

My current location is New Delhi and apart from @Sting I haven't seen anyone from this part of the country in the thread.

@Sting sir I would require your help and expertise in guiding me I am a complete novice.

Regards
Varun

[Snehal Sekhar]

Originally Posted by kumarvarun172

Snehal sir, Respect and more respect. I have religiously read the entire thread, first another congratulations from my side on your ride, your vast experience which you have penned down have become my go to source nowadays.Regards Varun

Thank you Varun for those kind words! Please, no Sir business here. We are all equals on this forum and calling me "Sir" makes me feel old.

Congratulations on your new purchase. So which model of the Street 750 have you bought. The new Street Rod version or the 2017 model Street 750? Also, what have you christened it? It would be great if you could start your own ownership thread for the Street 750. It's a beautiful bike and will serve you long. Just ride within your capabilities and know how to treat your bike and that's all it takes for a beautiful ownership and a long lasting relationship. The bike can go on and on with just regular servicing and oil changes and doesn't demand for anything more.

The Baron's 5th service

The Baron had gone in for its 5th service last Saturday. No issues were reported. The ODO reading at the time of service was 17800 kms. Left the Baron at Tusker Harley, Indiranagar, on the 1st and they completed the service on 3rd. The engine oil was changed and they did a coolant top up. Paid Rs.8,000.00 in all. This time Tusker didn’t give me a bill though as they still had not recalibrated their systems to the new GST rates. They’d email me the bill by this Saturday is what they said. Anyway, the Baron has held on well. It’s been more than 2 years of ownership and I haven’t had any repairs. Apart from the scheduled Oil Change and coolant top up, the Baron hasn’t had any other demands. Hope I just didn’t jinx it by penning this down.

Will post a detailed breakup of the service cost once Tusker emails me the bill this weekend.

[Snehal Sekhar]

Originally Posted by Snehal Sekhar

Will post a detailed breakup of the service cost once Tusker emails me the bill this weekend.

Got the invoice from Tusker after 20 days and here is the brake up:

Engine Oil – Rs.2610.30
O-Ring – Rs.32.81
15,000 mile service cost – Rs.3,000.00
Consumable charges – Rs.500
SGST 14% - Rs. 370.03
CGST 14% - Rs.370.03
LB-SGST – Rs. 315.00
LB-CGST – Rs.315.00
Total 7513.00

Now I'll have to collect the Rs.500 excess that I paid them.

[Snehal Sekhar]

A much needed addition to my existing riding gear was a riding pant. These past two years, I was using knee guards from Cramster. Though they lasted well for more than a year, the elastic straps were losing their elasticity and the guards kept slipping down every time I rode. I was looking at a replacement and Mototech’s knee guard seemed a good choice. When I began comparing prices between riding pants and the knee guard, I felt the riding pants offered more value for money on a slightly increased budget. I always had my doubts on buying riding pants because of my weight and height. I felt that even though the pants would fit my waist, the knee armour would not sit right at the knee and would be somewhere at shin level. The only reason I purchased it was because Spartan has an exchange policy. With that in mind, I settled for the Spartan SCIMITAR Mars Riding Pants which was retailing at Rs. 5,499.00. Along with that I also purchased a pair or riding gloves from Spartan. Currently I am using the TBG full gauntlet leather gloves and they are excellent value for money gloves. No complaints about the build quality and feel of the TBG gloves even after using them for more than 2 years. I’m sure they would have lasted another 2-3 years except for the faded colour and the rodent bitten palm area on my left glove. It was time to discard them now. Got the ASPIDA Centaur Semi Gauntlet Leather Gloves for Rs.3,400.00.


The delivery was fast and I got the items within 3 days of ordering them online from the Spartan Pro Gear website. The pants fit perfectly and came with a detachable rain liner. The knee guards sat perfectly on the knee area when I tried them on and sat on the Baron. The pants had foam padding on the hip area and zippered vents at the knee that can be kept open when riding in hot weather. All in all, a well worth purchase.




The gloves seemed to be a problem though. I thought I ordered for an XL size, but the gloves that were sent were a Small Size. That’s when I checked the confirmation mail that Spartan sent and even on that the size mentioned is Small. Not sure how I missed this when they sent the mail. I contacted Spartans support team and they asked me to send back the gloves to them. I returned the gloves to Spartans and am now waiting for the correct size to be sent. . The finish seemed nice with knuckle protection and additional padding on the scaphoid area and though I still like my TBG gloves better, I am sure these will not disappoint.






I also purchased a pair of rain boot covers. This I got from the RE Online Store. I tried putting them on and it was the hardest thing that had done in a long time. It took me close to 15 minutes just putting on the rain covers on my boots and if I ever had to put them on during a ride, I would rather let my shoes and feet get wet than putting on these covers. This seemed like a herculean task. I first have to take out my boots, pull on the covers over that and then zip up the covers which are at the back and then cover the zip with the Velcro flap. By the time I do all this, my shoes and feet would get wet anyways. I either must be doing it wrong or I need a lot of practice to get this up faster.






I don’t seem to ride as much as I used to earlier, I am at that stage when I question my sanity and expenses when I plan a ride. Is it worth it? Do I really enjoy it? Am I wasting money? Am I doing this for the love of riding or just because I have a bike and I have to ride? Funny questions like these have been arising in my head over the past few months. To test waters, I planned on a solo overnighter to Hampi last Saturday. Booked my room at Mayura Bhuvaneshwari in Hampi as well. Started the ride, went until Tumkur, stopped from breakfast and returned home. I was just not enjoying it and it felt like a chore. A feeling of dejection was all I had. Praying that this phase passes away soon I get over these thoughts and start enjoying my rides again.

[Haroon]

Congrats on the riding gear esp, the pants. Personally I would any day prefer riding pants to those over jeans protectors. Good riding pants have abrasion resistance and hence with most reasonable slides, it should protect your skin getting burnt on tarmac from the friction. Whereas, the protectors only do half the job esp with an impact from a fall, if they move aside or come lose, the jeans will rip apart in no time and riders are pretty much without any protection. There are plenty of ventilated pants for our heat conditions and is always a better option to wear proper riding pants and riding boots.

Snehal, as for your riding crises in the mind, dont worry, its not abnormal. Sometimes such things do come to the mind. Sometimes its about the sanity of doing some crazy thing at a particular age, or suddenly an overwhelming feeling of being insecure on the road, what if.....etc etc Normally, its a temporary phase coz remember riding/touring on a bike is always something out of the 'regular comfort zone' of most people. I have seen a lot of my Harley riding friends (of course no blame on Harley for this), they buy the bike get into the group and then they are riding day & night when ever there is an opportunity doing up to 4-5 group rides every week, accumulating a lot of kms. Attending Biker BBQs, Biker festivals, biker dinners etc etc and after about 1-2 years it all fades and they just stop riding completely. Similarly, some times you get so used to your bike, the ride becomes boring!

We all know from your wonderful ride stories and pics on this thread you love your bike and enjoy the ride, so try doing a few things differently and maybe you can regain that punch again. Example, Rent a different bike on a weekend and do a small ride to some new place. Or if time/budget permits try to do a nice week-long ride on a rented bike in Sri Lanka or Thailand or European Alps etc or watch YouTube videos of people riding on different parts of our wonderful planet and that could all re-kindly your senses Basically, be passionate about riding rather than the bike or the destination or other considerations and you could get back to enjoying the ride again. Dont be surprised, may be even an upgrade to a very different motorcycle may suddenly make things brighter for you. Its all in the mind!

Indeed, I am not forcing you but just telling you that you are not the first or last rider to go thru such an emotional phase.
So good wishes. Ride hard & ride safe

[Trojan]

Originally Posted by Snehal Sekhar

I also purchased a pair of rain boot covers. This I got from the RE Online Store. I tried putting them on and it was the hardest thing that had done in a long time. It took me close to 15 minutes just putting on the rain covers on my boots and if I ever had to put them on during a ride, I would rather let my shoes and feet get wet than putting on these covers. This seemed like a herculean task.

I first have to take out my boots,
pull on the covers over that and
then zip up the covers which are at the back and
then cover the zip with the Velcro flap.

By the time I do all this, my shoes and feet would get wet anyways. I either must be doing it wrong or I need a lot of practice to get this up faster.

Hi Snehal,

Nice and informative thread!!

Even I use the RE boot covers and I have in fact worn it on the highways as well. It takes me around 5 minutes (considering I have to remove it from the bag).
You don't need to remove your boots to wear them, the zipper on the back when opened completely should/would allow you to slip your feet inside and then you can zip it up and velcro it from behind!

I wear the boots over my shoes and even over my jeans like a big Sock, while the waterproof pant falls over it from the outside

Cheers!
Trojan

[dkaile]

Yeah, these RE rain covers are pretty useless. I could hardly use them on my Leh trip and my waterproof Quechua boots served me well.

[Snehal Sekhar]

Originally Posted by Haroon

Snehal, as for your riding crises in the mind, dont worry, its not abnormal. Sometimes such things do come to the mind. Sometimes its about the sanity of doing some crazy thing at a particular age, or suddenly an overwhelming feeling of being insecure on the road, what if.....etc etc

Thank you Haroon for making this feeling seem normal and no longer a "one offish" thing that happened only to me. I was terribly upset when I felt that way and thought that may be I'm not someone who loves riding.

Anyway, I guess the culprit to this entire feeling is the new bike I purchased a month ago. I got myself a commuter, a Suzuki Gixxer 155, and after riding that I now feel the Baron lacks on several fronts. Never felt that in these 2 years of riding the Baron becuse it was a long time since I had ridden any other bike (apart from an Activa) prior to that. After I got the Gixxer, the flickability of the bike, the surefootedness of the tyres, the way the bike performed on bad roads, water logged roads, riding in rains, riding over pot holes and speed breakers was just amazing. It took everything in it's stride gracefully and it was a revelation of how much I was missing on the Baron. That's when it really struck me that the Baron was really lacking on so many counts and the Baron now seemed boring. I would still prefer the Baron when going on long rides but it doesn't seem fun any longer. May be, as you said, it's time I gave it thought on getting another bike. Anyway, the way things are it'll be a long time before I can think of buying a new bike, but for sure that's a thought I am considering when the time is right.

Originally Posted by Trojan

You don't need to remove your boots to wear them, the zipper on the back when opened completely should/would allow you to slip your feet inside and then you can zip it up and velcro it from behind

Thanks Trojan! May be it's the weight around me that makes it putting the shoe covers on so difficult. What boots do you wear? I wear these Military boots and the size 9 doesn't seem to get into the rain covers as easily as I'd like them to. I have to remove the boots and then struggle to get them in the covers. The covers I got were a size 'L' and that was the largest size RE had. Anyway, still keeping them. If ever it rains before I start my ride, then I can put on the covers at home and ride. Otherwise, putting them on during a ride doesn't seem possible for me at least.

Originally Posted by dkaile

Yeah, these RE rain covers are pretty useless. I could hardly use them on my Leh trip and my waterproof Quechua boots served me well.

Agree a hundred percent. Should think of getting myself one of these. Not that I do much riding in the rain, but it's better having one handy for you'd never know when you may need them.