Originally Posted by mobike008 (Post 4387155) I'm curious to know where he stands right now. He is a silent performer

Originally Posted by Sheel (Post 4429092) Why is the thread silent?

Like I mentioned in the earlier post - this ride happened on a weekday and was not quite planned. Took a day off work as I was informed of this plan by a close friend and BHP'ian who wanted to take his Thar out for the drive. Keeping his identity secret for now as he is yet to announce this purchase on Team Bhp. :D

The plan was to meetup at 4:30 AM near to NICE road exit on Tumkur road and then proceed together. Waiting for the Thar to arrive -


Did not take any pics till the breakfast point, which was KAMAT Upachar, Hassan. Needed a cup of strong coffee in the system before I could get active as well. KAMAT turned out to be a decent option for a breakfast stop, with hot, fresh food - but could have done with cleaner restrooms! Hot Idli to start the day -


And Poori, which I did not order as I prefer eating less oily food during bike rides. Or so I thought!


But ended up ordering this! Jackfruit Holige - Was delicious.


Back on the road, off the four lane highway. This two lane stretch towards Belur and Hassan is really beautiful with fresh tarmac -


Kids going to school interested in the bike - A nice sight as always -


Most of the small lakes that were dry during my previous rides on this route, were full of water this time around. Very promising sight indeed.


As exciting as the sight of fresh tarmac leading to the horizon -


Catching the attention of kids again, during a small break somewhere post Belur -


Thar going off the road easily to avoid a herd of cows strolling on the road -


Rain picked up soon and it was pouring. Both the vehicles couldn't be more at home!


The next hour was pure bliss. Awesome weather, beautiful scenery and faultless roads -


The road was broken at some places due to the rains, but the scenery more than made up for it -


Lush green all around -


Taking the next coffee break at Ibbani Cafe, Mudigere. Versys all wet and muddy. And we were only 1/4th of the way done -


Thar doesn't look bothered. Even looked clean from a distance, even after all the rain -


Nice place for a small break -


Akki Roti was especially nice -


Neer dose -


Crazy combination for the chill weather. Ice cream. lol:

Starting the rain soaked ride from Ibbani cafe. Seeing this pic later - I realized the seating position in the Versys is very much comparable to the Thar, may be even a bit higher too, considering the pic is taken from below my chin -



Heavy rain. Just what the doctor had prescribed for the season cheer -



Feels like twilight, but the time is actually around noon! lol:



Good amount of waterlogging on the roads -



Thar with its brand new tyres was least affected with such water logged roads. On the other hand, I was taking it slow since I'm still on stock tyres - which are on the verge of giving up their grip -



Soon the rain decreased, but I was already soaking wet anyways. The normal Decathlon water-resistant jacket and Wildcraft waterproof pants did their job perfectly, but the gloves and shoes were not waterproof!



Soon we were greeted with fog, and a lot of it -



Small break for stretching the legs and taking a couple of pics -









Thats how I looked at this rain socked midway point - :D


Carrying on further towards Kudremukh, we noticed this beautiful spot near to the roadside which looked really nice in pictures. The place is just towards the left side of the Thar as seen in this picture -



Beautiful little clearing, with a natural stream out of the rainwater. Could see a small waterfall well above the cliff as well -



Versys poses for the camera -



Thar does an even better job at it -



A closer look (as much as the mobile camera would permit) at the waterfall on top -



Side angle of the Versys is the most photogenic IMO -



Photoshoot done, we continued further up towards Kudremukh.



Only to be stopped at this checkpost about 10kms before it. Seems the rains from the previous day had played havoc with their communication channel on the other end - and hence the officers were only planning to issue two hour passes for going and returning back to the station. Felt like a tricky situation given the weather, and we turned back, hoping to return another day -

To be continued...

Returning from Kudremukh check post. Streams flowing in full glory. Wanted to stop and take some more pictures, but did not have the mood to stop again.



Couple more pics from the action cam -





Late lunch at Ashirwad Comforts, Kalasa. Decent option in that region - however, please note that the restaurant serves north Indian food - and doesn't have any of the local dishes.



Beautiful green meadows post Kalasa. Wish I could spend more time here as well -



Came across this foggy section were we stopped for the last photo-session of the day. The fog was a lot more intense earlier than it appeared in the pictures. We didn't stop at that point due to safety concerns, and stopped a little ahead were visibility for vehicles was not a concern -







662 kms for the day. Reached home by 11:30 PM, with a 4:30 AM start early in the morning.



Overall odo mileage -



FE of a diesel hatchback - lol:

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR (Post 4430696) A goodie just arrived from Amazon India -

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR (Post 4430861) Photologue - Kudremukh ride - Part 1. [center] Like I mentioned in the earlier post - this ride happened on a weekday and was not quite planned. Took a day off work as I was informed of this plan by a close friend and BHP'ian who wanted to take his Thar out for the drive. Keeping his identity secret for now as he is yet to announce this purchase on Team Bhp. :D

Originally Posted by IronH4WK (Post 4432521) I know that fella-and-a-half!

Originally Posted by IronH4WK (Post 4432521) Looks like you were riding drenched for the better part of the ride. How did those Dunlops hold up in the rain?

1. The test drive machine had done about 1500 kms and I found that the gear shifts were a bit notchy. Is this normal or was this unit abused? Does it improve over a period of time? 2. This bike already seems to have had a fall and the headlight fender had bad scratch marks. I noticed that there was no crash guard installed on the same. Per a few ownership threads, there are quite a few types of crash guards available. Which one would best protect in case of a fall? 3. I think atul.ktm had an issue with the radiator. Do we need the radiator grill? 4. There are a few fork sliders which are recommended in the threads. Which one should I get if at all? 5. I somehow don't like yellow headlight bulbs anymore. Can we change them to white? If yes, what is recommended?

Cleaning in progress post the removal of the rear wheel -


Rear wheel removed -


Front wheel removed -


Closer look at the rear pattern -


Closer look at the front pattern -


Ready to roll -




Maintenance expenses so far -

Many groups riding out of Bangalore on this Sunday morning. Saw an Avengers group, a KTM group, couple of Royal Enfield groups and the usual suspects - HOG group.


But soon the roads opened up and the weather got beautiful as well -


My partner in crime for the weekend. Ebmrajesh with his Ninja 1000 -


I just love the Compass, but couldn't help the feeling that the Versys is more 'SUV' out of the two. :D


Rains! Batlax tyres on the Ninja seem to be excellent at picking up water from the road. It seems to have a spray trail even when the roads appear seeminly dry!


Drenched Rajesh! We missed the service road for the breakfast stop and were discussing whether to ride back or not -


The breakfast stop at Kamat Upahar, Sira -


Batlax made sure Rajesh is equally wet from both sides.


HOG group arrived when we finished breakfast and were heading out of the restaurant. Their destination is the same as well, so we were hoping to stay ahead of them to avoid the crowd. Here is Rajesh requesting them to leave space for us to drag our bikes out, before they block us in -


Finally he is out of the parking mess -


Beautiful two lane roads post Hiriyur -










The approach road towards Vani Vilas Sagar dam -


Thats the dam in all its glory. Rajesh wants to go on top -


We didnt park the bikes at the entrance due to the possibility of ending up selfie attractions. Took this small approach road to see where it leads, and it does go up to the top of the dam.


Beautiful scenery and roads all the way up -

Continued...

Vani Vilas Sagar Dam in all its glory -



The view up here was worth it!



The valley side was even more beautiful, specially in this weather -



Rajesh -



And me with the awkward camera pose. :D



It started to rain heavily in about 30 mins and so we slowly headed back down -



HOG just reached -



I spot this senior gentleman in the group and inform him not to park there, but to head further up on the by-lane. You can see why, in these pictures. Too many people here, and the bikes can't be left safe there -



However, the lead biker was someone else and he decided he has had enough with the crowd and leaves. The entire group came and went within a minute or two. Oh well! Their miss!



We take the beautiful SH24 further inwards, to reach a spot near the waterfront -


Beautiful roads -



As good as it gets -



Oops! This road should have taken us to a beautiful place (Had already visited once), but the road is blocked due to some ceremony happening at the temple -



No option but to explore where this small lane leads to -



Very promising indeed -



And the roads end -



Checking with Rajesh if he is game to proceed further. He doesn't mind, at all -



Nice little bad-road ride (Never said offroad, lol!)!



Doesn't lead to the waterfront and we are blocked at a gate. Had to turn back -



Not so powerful in reverse. :D

Continued...

Time to head back home -



Beautiful two lane roads once again till Hiriyur -



And just as good weather too -



We enjoy an absolute free run on these roads -



Till we got stopped in heavy traffic -



Back on the four lane highways post Hiriyur -



With a nice rain for company -



Coffee break at the CCD, Sira -



Both the bikes taking a small breather while we drink cold coffee -



Back on the roads. Rajesh on the Versys!



Which means I have some catchup to do on the N1000! :D



Blast of a ride back home. What a brilliant engine this bike has! clap: