[mobike008]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

So Mr. Avinash (Mobike008) was nowhere around to welcome us as promised, but we got great company for an hour or so till he arrived (fresh from exploring a nearby trail). Sahil, Ashish, Ishaan and Arpan were great guys to chat around with - with topics ranging all the way from Avi's bikes to Youtube vlogging. Finally, we got fedup of waiting for Avi to turn up and decided to teach him a lesson by hogging his portion of the food as well - only to realize that it wouldn't really bother him since the spread was pure veg at the farmstay.

But the food was delicious indeed and felt like homemade stuff, and I really enjoyed it. Post lunch, we had a round of discussions for another one hour before finally deciding to take some group photo sessions and saying byes.

Nice write up of your ride to meet us in Kodachadri Sujai! It was wonderful that you rode for nearly 22 hours just to meet us for a couple of hours and have lunch with us. Really enjoyed our fun 2-hour conversation with a drone making bee sounds (which scared Redliner) in the background

Much appreciated

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Insurance was about to expire, reminding me the bike is going to complete one year under my ownership. Time sure flies!

Previous coverage given by the dealership was with Liberty Videocon. They did not offer zero depreciation for the second year, and hence renewed with Oriental insurance company which qouted the lowest premium for the highest IDV value.

Amount came to around 10.5k for an IDV value of 5.74L.

Originally Posted by mobike008

It was wonderful that you rode for nearly 22 hours just to meet us for a couple of hours and have lunch with us. Really enjoyed our fun 2-hour conversation with a drone making bee sounds (which scared Redliner) in the background

Much appreciated

Same here Avi. Totally enjoyed the conversations and thanks for the lunch. Overall a much better event than what was initially planned.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

I've been lucky to enjoy one year of ownership of the Versys 650 and here are the sweet memories of my 'Black Panther' -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMpUnmNizgA

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Happy New Year 2018!

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Odo reading at the end of the ride stands at 9608kms and this is probably the last ride of the season due to some financial reasons. Signing off till the next update a month or two down the line!

As mentioned in my previous post, the bike remained under the covers for the next two weekends, and I was out of station for a week afterwards. However, decided to meet up with a couple of friends on the 31st and take the covers off for a short breakfast ride. Why a short ride? Because I drove the car for 800 kms and 14 hours the previous day - and just didn't have the energy to do anything longer!

The plan was to have breakfast on the Airport road, but seeing the beautiful weather conditions in the morning - we decided to do a short photoshoot as well! Although we had to take pictures with the cellphone as none of us carried the camera gear on that day!

Who all are us? BHP'ians 'rbp' on his Ninja 650 and 'KarthikK' in his 320D.

The beautiful sunrise we witnessed on the way. The fog was just surreal, but could only capture a portion of it due to camera limitations.


View from the other side where the sun rays were yet to eat through the fog cover. Needless to mention - it was a very cold morning and I was shivering on the bike.


Decided to postpone the breakfast for sometime to use the early morning light for a small photoshoot. Plan was to head out to a known photoshoot location (where I had earlier done a small photoshoot for the Abarth thread), but later noticed an interesting mud road leading away from the main highway. After exploring it once on the Versys, came upon this good location for the shoot which was not too far off from the highway, and was easy for the 320D as well.

Couple of friends asked me which location these pictures were taken, and were surprised when I told them its from Bangalore Airport road.






All three vehicles together! Not a bad way to end 2017, even though it was a short ride of just around 70 kms. Oh ya, did I mention we had buffet breakfast too?



On the 1st of Jan 2018, decided to thank all three vehicles in my garage with a proper bath. Versys got its chain cleaned and lubed, along with a quick hand wash as well -



And here's the odo start for 2018.


Hopefully, 2018 will be an even better year. Once again, Happy New Year to all. Ride safe.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Have always been fascinated with this place ever since I noticed the travelogues about it on team bhp. A church that would get submerged whenever the waters of the dam engulfed the surroundings - the whole abandoned feel of the place all had a special charm. Finally could visit this place!

Odo reading to start the day -


Forced stop due to the cold. Was literally shivering on the bike.


Versys posing in front of the church.


Was a very sunny and hot day even though we were at the place by 8AM. Camera totally overcooked this image of the Ninja


Different angles of the church -





Bikes with the church. Pic Courtesy - BHPian rbp.



Final odo reading for the day -



Which meant - 10k milestone has finally been crossed.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Team Bhp Bangalore Meet and breakfast ride last weekend -

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Bike has done close to 11k kms and although it's not yet ready for service in terms of kilometres done - had already exceeded six months. Took service appointment to keep the warranty intact for now.

The overall attitude at the service center seems to have improved a lot post my last visit. Though I'm not sure how capable they are technically (to handle bigger issues), regular service is a pleasant experience now.

Costs involved -

Meanwhile, there is a Versys train getting ready to hit the roads soon. Heads are going to turn, jaws are going to drop.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Another interesting weekend, thanks to the Black Panther. Few of us Bangalore Team Bhp'ians decided to hit the road early morning on Saturday.

Members -
1. Anil - IronH4wk - Ninja 650.
2. Raghu - rbp - Ninja 650.
3. Santosh - Black12rr - Duke 390.
4. Rajesh - ebmrajesh - Ninja 1000.
5. Sujai - CrAzY dRiVeR - Versys 650.

Breakfast point - Kanakapura.

Had a nice ride till the breakfast point with the whole gang, whereas Rajesh and myself decided to complete the whole circuit - Kanakapura - Anchetty - Denkanikotta - Hosur - Bangalore which is commonly known as the biker's circuit in Team Bhp.

At the meeting place. The H4wk getting ready to roll in style. (Pic Courtesy - Santosh)


And so we roll! (Pic Courtesty - IronH4wk)


Enjoying the beautiful sunrise. (Pic Courtesty - IronH4wk)


rbp trying out Black12rr's Duke 390. (Pic Courtesty - IronH4wk)


Santosh checking out '80 watts of fun' on the Ninja 650. (Pic Courtesty - IronH4wk)


Smiling faces after breakfast. Santosh is the man behind the camera. (Pic Courtesy - Santosh)


Myself and Rajesh proceed with the full circuit while the others headed back to Bangalore. And immediately greeted with corners!


And long straights without traffic.


Rajesh stretching the legs of his brand new Ninja 1000.


The loop had its fair share of surprises as well. For example, this corner looked like a simple right hander -


But ended up a long winding U-turn which was hotter than expected.


Brilliant VFM machine. Couldn't get enough of that inline4 note.


Lost and checking for directions - Part 1.


Lost and checking for directions - Part 2.


Back on the highway.


Rajesh checking if we should take the elevated tollway or not. I tell him its probably not worth the irritation of having to fiddle around with the gloves and money at the toll.


And immediately we repent that decision 2 minutes later.


Rajesh getting fried in traffic.


How's the engine heat Rajesh? Ninja 1000 was taking it cool though.


Hey, look. Some random guy waving at me.


Oh wait. WB number plate and Shoei helmet. Could be BHP'ian 'dreamseller'. And yes - turned out to be him.


When you get so frustrated with traffic, that Versys mode is switched off, and Splendor beast mode is switched on.


Finally some open road!


Last but not the least, the smiles seen ever so often when riding bikes like the Versys.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Tyre Change -

Has to be done within the next couple of weeks. Deciding a choice between the options below -

1. Pirelli Angel GT ~ 20k a pair.



2. Metzeller Roadtec 01 ~ 20k a pair.



3. Pirelli MT60 RS ~ 19k a pair.



In this order of priority. My focus remains on highway handling and durability over offroading and hence the reason why MT60RS fares last among these.

Brake Pads Change -

Front brake pads seem to have another 2k kms of life left and thinking of getting EBC brake pads this time around instead of stock ones. Hopefully no warranty issues with these.

[R-Six]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Deciding a choice between the options

I think you should go ahead with Metz Roadtec 01 as it would be more tourer friendly. If I’m not mistaken, the Perellis would be more suited for those who want to hit the track quite often.

Ride Safe,
R-Six

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by R-Six

I think you should go ahead with Metz Roadtec 01 as it would be more tourer friendly. If I’m not mistaken, the Perellis would be more suited for those who want to hit the track quite often.

Ride Safe,
R-Six

Hey R-Six,

Angel GT is one of the best touring tyre around. It has a hard center compound which gets soft towards the edges, thereby giving better touring life and good cornering grip. A close friend has it on the Ninja 650 and it has returned him a safe 15k kms.

Roadtec 01 is similar and was launched directly against the Angel GT which is now quite an old tested product. I'll get one of the above mostly, based on availability.

Michelin PR4 is THE best for touring as per most reviews, but unfortunately the rear tyre size is not available in our market.

[R-Six]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Angel GT is one of the best touring tyre around

Thanks for the clarification. Always thought Perellis to be more sports and track friendly.

Ninja 650 and it has returned him a safe 15k kms.

Wow! That is quite a good number right there.

I'll get one of the above mostly, based on availability.

unfortunately the rear tyre size is not available in our market.

Yea, that is what I read online as well.

[rbp]

Originally Posted by R-Six

Thanks for the clarification. Always thought Perellis to be more sports and track friendly.

Pirelli Diablo Rosso is the track variant from Pirelli. The Angel GT [Grand Turismo] is their touring tyre.

[ethanhunt123]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Hey R-Six,

Angel GT is one of the best touring tyre around. It has a hard center compound which gets soft towards the edges, thereby giving better touring life and good cornering grip. A close friend has it on the Ninja 650 and it has returned him a safe 15k kms.

Roadtec 01 is similar and was launched directly against the Angel GT which is now quite an old tested product. I'll get one of the above mostly, based on availability.

Michelin PR4 is THE best for touring as per most reviews, but unfortunately the rear tyre size is not available in our market.

Michelin should be launching PR5 soon in India - you might want to wait for it if you can.

Otherwise both Angel GT & Roadtec 01 are kick ass choices.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by ethanhunt123

Michelin should be launching PR5 soon in India - you might want to wait for it if you can.

Otherwise both Angel GT & Roadtec 01 are kick ass choices.

Current tyres will maximum serve me another 2k kms (which is already pushing it a fair bit), and that would be completed in another two weeks if all goes well. Hence can't wait for PR5.

Also - With the PR5 - Michelin could do a PR4 again and not launch it in 160 rear tyre size. Will surely consider it next time around if it arrives on our shores by then.