[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by katoom

Stunning pictures! I heard a lot about MP but never was able to cover this stretch. Now, looking at your pics, I would really want to do it sometime soon

About the fool part, make it +1!

BTW, what tires are those on the front? Didn't think of the Pirelli SR?

Yes, MP is great - do visit ONLY in December. Too hot otherwise.

Both tyres are Timsun Dual Purpose Xply H rated tyres specifically mounted for this trip and are not coming off.

The radial tyres are too soft for our mixed usage...you want something tough on the sidewall to carry load and take hits at speed. As well as withstand punctures on mixed terrain. Ply tubeless are the best IMO.

Wait, am I preaching to the choir?

[Red Liner]

Nasirkaka & I did one of our Sunday morning jaunts to Murugan Idli and wiped ourselves out on the amazing Podi Idli's there. Christ, my mouth is watering already.

On the way back, thanks to atul.ktm here we ended up heading to Shoolagiri dam and did some little trail riding besides more chatting.

I must say that the GS310 absolutely holds its own purely on road presence next to something like the Versys. Pictures prove it big time.

Nasirkaka also had an obviously easier time on these light trails than I did.

[katoom]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Yes, MP is great - do visit ONLY in December. Too hot otherwise.

Both tyres are Timsun Dual Purpose Xply H rated tyres specifically mounted for this trip and are not coming off.

The radial tyres are too soft for our mixed usage...you want something tough on the sidewall to carry load and take hits at speed. As well as withstand punctures on mixed terrain. Ply tubeless are the best IMO.

Wait, am I preaching to the choir?

Agreed. My 390 has done absolutely torturous stretches (can't really be called roads!) in AP and Sikkim on radials and it was fine.
But then it's almost 70kg lighter, so what you say makes sense.

I will need few pointers from you and Crazy driver once I upgrade

P.S. I missed to mention that your log has been thoroughly joyful to read and meticulous with details.

[Red Liner]

Happy New year one and all.

[sukiwa]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Happy New year one and all.

Timsun made it to this list however article mentions Timsun are meant for small capacity motorcycles. Did your Versys underwent a change of heart?
Don't read too much into article, heading says 'Top 5' but lists 7 tyres .

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by sukiwa

Timsun made it to this list however article mentions Timsun are meant for small capacity motorcycles. Did your Versys underwent a change of heart?
Don't read too much into article, heading says 'Top 5' but lists 7 tyres .

Haha. Why would I go to moneycontrol.com to read up about motorcycle tyres is beyond me.

The issue in the motorcycle accessories business everything is sold on hearsay...which is usually heresy. Most of the Whatsapp groups run like this, with little to no real knowledge being passed on...just gossip on what some people feel is better.

- This particular tyre model is H rated (210 KMPH).

- It is an X Ply tyre (a bias ply with strong side walls). All heidenau touring tyres are bias ply tyres. Not many people know this.

- Bias ply tyres are better suited for touring because the tougher sidewalls flex less, can carry more load, and are less prone to punctures. All touring BMW's run the Heidenau as a tyre of choice carrying huge loads across Mongolia or Russia.

- That said, they cannot be run too fast, and are not rated to go fast either like the Radials, cornering is not their strong point since the side walls are tall, and they mostly arrive in tubed form (though the expensive ones now come as tubeless).

My use case is touring on rough to very rough terrain, and hence got the Timsun after reading up on the above. Very pleased, after having put 10k kms on them already in 3 months (MP, Hampi, Goa, etc).

I was happy to sacrifice some amount of cornering speed in lieu of the above. Still couldn't help cleaning the chicken strip

[Red Liner]

A mate of mine from Mumbai who rides a Versys 650 as well, pinged me and asked if we wanted to meet up in Hampi between Christmas and New Years? I said sure, and off we went!

I took the Hiriyur-Chellekere-Rampura-Toranagallu route as always and was not disappointed at all! This time, since I was staying on the other side of Hampi (across the river next to Sanapur Lake), the route was slightly different on the backroads and very refreshing. Onto the pictures now!

I stumbled on a small little lake enroute which had a tiny offroad section to get to it and took a few photos as well...which is very unlike me!











Unfortunately, I lost my left riding glove here. Just fell off and never came back like most of my lady pillions



This was along the TB dam bridge.

[Red Liner]

I stayed at Sanapur lake and had a great little dip in the reservoir the evening I reached with a couple of other blokes I met at the hostel. Later that night we headed out for dinner on our little hired scooters and a bit of star gazing. Too many girly things, we didn't see each other ever after lol.

The next day met with my dost and spent the day rolling around Hampi. Another dip was called for, the water was fantastic and we were the only people there. Wonderful!

[Red Liner]

Hauled our bikes and behinds to...Goa! Yeah impromptu plan made much sweeter with my buddy mentioning he has his own crib at Nuvem. Fantastic.

All we got to do in Goa was to eat fish, down a few stiffs, and off to bed we were. The next day saw a very late start, and me winding down via Karwar-Sirsi-Shimoga.

Just before Karwar I figured maybe make a new year's pitstop at Gokarna? No stay's available, so no dice. The stretch of road around Yana was completely dismantled, almost looked right out of one of the mad max movies. Sorry, just didn't stop to take pictures. Should have. Rolled on, and somewhere near Yana, spotted a pristine river to take a dip in. Off with the riding gear and in went happy me.

Totally refreshed, and kept riding through the single carriageway all the way to Preethi Canteen in Birur. Made a short pitstop here for some lip smacking dosa and awesome curd vada. Brilliant. The next couple of hours after 6 pm was spent despatching a never ending single lane road all the way to Kunigal. After that, it was a slow pottering 80-90 kmph all the way home. Not bad to dispatch 600+ kms over about 11 hours with lots of breaks and fun time. #melike

[ku69rd]

Lovely, you are leading the Thugsta life. Good stuff, nice to see you enjoy your ride.
No wonder she has done 40K

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by ku69rd

Lovely, you are leading the Thugsta life. Good stuff, nice to see you enjoy your ride.
No wonder she has done 40K

Its 49.xxk now. Haha. I have no idea where those kilometers went. #iswear

[ku69rd]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Its 49.xxk now. Haha. I have no idea where those kilometers went. #iswear

Keep it... Hit the Lakh mark am sure nobody will have done that stuff. Keep the rubber side down mate

[Red Liner]

A quick weekend ride to Valparai and back brought up the 50k mark. Onward via karur-dharapuram; return via nelliampathy-palakkad-coimbatore.

Time for a much needed scheduled service.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by ku69rd

Keep it... Hit the Lakh mark am sure nobody will have done that stuff. Keep the rubber side down mate

Two folks have crossed 60k, and one legend has already crossed 75k on the versys

I will amble along slowly

[ku69rd]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Two folks have crossed 60k, and one legend has already crossed 75k on the versys

I will amble along slowly

Wow seriously? Thats a lot of mile munching. How are the bikes holding up?
Any funny Engine noises or tappets making their own orchestra?

Knowing the Jap reliability, these machines should be good for atleast 100K before anything happens