[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Photolog - Kundapura Ride

- Day 1/3

Thanks to KarthikK once again for all the planning needed to put this ride together. Since he brought the Ninja 1000 this time - I'm expecting him to put up a more detailed TLog in his usual eloquent fashion. Hence I'll restrict myself to my usual photolog format.

This was a 3-day ride with the first day spent riding to Kundapura, the second day spent relaxing and eating and the third day to return. In attendance were BHPians rbp on his 2nd generation KTM Duke 390, neil.jericho on his 3rd generation KTM Duke 390, shaikhmimran on his Suzuki VStrom 650, yours truly on the Triumph Tiger Sport 660, our friend Mahesh on his Kawasaki Ninja 1000, ebmrajesh on his Kawasaki Ninja 1000 and finally the master planner KarthikK on his Kawasaki Ninja 1000.

First breakfast point at Hotel Indraprastha, Channarayapatna. We just tried this option as compared to the more popular spots that we keep visiting- average experience, wouldn't recommend.



Quick photo-stop, somewhere before Sakleshpura. shaikhmimran and neil.jericho late as usual to start the days ride and hence not in these initial pics:



Another quick photo-stop after Sakleshpura towards Kottigehara:



Short break at Ibbani Cafe - with the other two catching up as well. Pic courtesy: Neil



KarthikK as usual has mapped XP95 bunks along the route and planned stops accordingly:



Both the Dukes together. Which generation do you prefer?



We had a slow progress through Charmady, with many a road construction work in progress. While the VStrom and the Tiger Sport had it easy and the Dukes managed to escaped unharmed as well - the Ninja triplets had to take it easy and only Karthik didn't seem to be fazed by all this. We stopped soon after Charmady at Belthangady to cool down:





Lunch stop at Thimmappa Fish Hotel, Udupi. Very hyped and crowded place, food served hot and fresh - but felt average and overhyped.





Finally at the homestay and parked:





The choice of stay this time was Beach Castle Homestay, more Udupi than Kundapura. Beautiful property by the beach, but expensive and rather poorly maintained. Was nice for a group stay like ours - wouldn't recommend for families.



Small garden & lawn with a gate opening up directly to the beach:



Rooms are spacious and air-conditioned. Maintainence and cleanliness felt average.



We freshened up quickly and went to the beach. The best part of the stay was the direct access to this clean and solitary beach:



St Mary's island in the background:



A beautiful sunset that was worth the ride:





Back at the house, we decide to let the bikes rest and call for a cab for Kundapura:



The plan for the night - a good dinner at Shetty's Lunch Home, Kundapura.





After a sumptuous seafood dinner, it was now time for icecreams before heading back to call it a night:

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Photolog - Kundapura Ride

- Day 2/3

This was going to be a rest day. And what better way to start a relaxing day than to take a stroll along a clean and calm beach:



Meanwhile, KarthikK started getting the vehicles ready for a photoshoot. The Ninja 1000 goes first:







Next up was my turn:





The duo together:



Soon the others started joining in as well:



The full group assembled:



Out comes the drone as well, thanks to KarthikK:



An aerial view of the action. Look closely and you can see the bikes in the center gate:



What a beautiful clean beach, loved the desintation for this reason mainly:



With the photoshoot done, we decide to head out to Udupi for lunch. Dollops, Manipal was the place chosen:



Followed by Ice creams at Hangyo! I had a four scoop Sundae, soon after having a Vanilla Coke Float at Dollops! So five scoops in all and I was thanking my stars we had hired an Innova instead of riding:



Back at the homestay and out to the nearby beach for the evening stroll:









Malpe shore was even more beautiful than outside our homestay:



Spot the bikes:



Bikes parked:



Time to watch the sunset, while Karthik takes care of the drone shots:



The DJI in action:



Some more beautiful sunset shots to call it a day:

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Photolog - Kundapura Ride

- Day 3/3

Since the Charmadi route had troubled the Ninja boys, return was decided through Agumbe. Unfortunately the road conditions still didn't offer much respite. Quick stop to cool down at Agumbe:





Short photo stop somewhere post Thirthahalli:







Return was uneventful from here on. We only had a quick lunch stop at New Shetty Lunch Home post Chitradurga before parting seperate ways.



Meanwhile- ebmrajesh swapped the Ninja for the comfort of the Tiger Sport, suited him pretty good IMHO



And that meant yours truly had a good run on the Ninja 1000 as well. I have started to feel comfortable on the lean forward stance more than earlier, but could barely even tickle that might 140hp motor on our roads:



This ride also marked the last long ride for rbp's KTM Duke 390, which is getting replaced by a machine carrying the mighty ZX badge, next month. That said, it may not be the last time it makes a presence on this thread afterall.

More on both the bikes in the coming weeks:

[x017in]

Hi,

Which route would you suggest to kundapura? From Agumbe, what route did you take?
Also how bad was the charmady road?

[Vikki@Hyderabad]

Originally Posted by x017in

Hi,

Which route would you suggest to kundapura? From Agumbe, what route did you take?
Also how bad was the charmady road?

The Thirthahalli - Masthikatte - Hulikal - Kundapura route should be good enough compared to all the regular options of Shiradi, Charmadi and Agumbe. You can take multiple routes to Thirthahalli.

The Shiradi, Charmadi and Agumbe ghats are fine. The roads you'll encounter once you're down the ghats are being widened/repaired.

The route the OP and the group took should be Agumbe - Thirthahalli - Shivamogga - Chitradurga - Sira - Tumakuru - Bengaluru. You could also take the Thirthahalli - Hariharapura/Koppa - Mudigere - Sakleshpura/Beluru route.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by x017in

Hi,

Which route would you suggest to kundapura? From Agumbe, what route did you take?
Also how bad was the charmady road?

Has been well summarized by Vikki above! Condition was bad where the widening work was in progress- ranging from potholes to mud/slush roads, but overall it wasn't a big deal - atleast for the guys who were not on the sport bikes.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

The Tiger Sport is seeing less action this holiday season because i thought of enrolling for more learning instead- landing up for the School of Dirt Full Experience Program at Vattavada, Munnar, Kerala.

This was done on their rental XPulse 200, reason as evident in the pictures documented here:

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motor...ec-2024-a.html (Photolog - The School of Dirt Full Experience Program | Vattavada, Munnar, Kerala | Dec 2024)

That said, with return-to-office mandate of 5 days/week confirmed for the new year - a lot more usage is up for the cards, along with the need for a more economical (but fun) motorcycle to do those commutes as well.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

This ride also marked the last long ride for rbp's KTM Duke 390, which is getting replaced by a machine carrying the mighty ZX badge, next month. That said, it may not be the last time it makes a presence on this thread afterall.

More on both the bikes in the coming weeks:

The Kawasaki ZX-4RR welcome ride:

BHPian rbp brought home the sweet and stunning Kawasaki ZX-4RR last weekend, upgrading from his KTM Duke 390.

We were super-excited for this delivery for a number of reasons - 1. rbp returning back to >A2 bikes after a long gap, him being one of the first big-bike (Ninja 650) owners in our group a decade ago and 2. The ZX-4RR is turning out to be a future classic worldwide, the way it has been received and appreciated and 3. The fact that this is going to be a rare bike in the Indian market, and this one will be owned by someone who knows exactly what he is getting into and is going to utilize it well.





With the PPF and other essential accessories completed over the week, this weekend was dedicated as the 4RR welcome ride. Destination was kept close by, Aaradhya Grand on Kolar Road for Mulbagal Dosa.

Ride itself was pretty uneventful, hence just the photoshoot pictures:

Ain't she pretty!



With the ZX company:



And the Ninja company:



The whole group - graded from the uncompromising supersport, to the sport tourers to the uncompromising adventure bike







The individual shots, starting with THE evergreen Versys 650:



The Transalp 750:



And finally, KarthikK's mighty ZX-10R:



Parting shot:

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

This ride also marked the last long ride for rbp's KTM Duke 390, which is getting replaced by a machine carrying the mighty ZX badge, next month. That said, it may not be the last time it makes a presence on this thread afterall.

Brought the Duke 390 home today to join the garage with the Tiger Sport 660 as a daily weapon plus learning tool.

I know the bike since the delivery day, have done a ~1000kms overnighter ride back in 2022 and recently rode it in Kundapura to refresh my memory.

The 5-day RTO in office policy gave me a good reason to pick it up.



Back in 2022 when I took the bike for a long ride, during those days in between the Versys sale and the Tiger Sport purchase.



Fatter, older and hopefully wiser - With the new-in-the-garage Duke 390 today:

[LordSharan]

How is the riding posture on Kawasaki ZX 4RR? How would it compare to riding posture on Duke390 or Pulsar 220F? Could you post a comparative pic if you have one?

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by LordSharan

How is the riding posture on Kawasaki ZX 4RR? How would it compare to riding posture on Duke390 or Pulsar 220F? Could you post a comparative pic if you have one?

Riding posture is perhaps as easy as a supersport can get - but make no mistake - it is nowhere near as upright as a Duke 390 or Pulsar 220.

Intact, i feel it is somewhere in between the Aprilia RS457 and the ZX6R, closer to the former while feeling roomier on the seat and pegs than the RS457.

Dont have comparative pics, but this comparison from Revzilla should give a fair idea -

[100Kmphormore]

Brought the Duke 390 home today to join the garage with the Tiger Sport 660 as a daily weapon plus learning tool.

Congratulations and welcome to the 390 owners club! Immaculately kept! Does it have a PPF done on it?

Economical - a bit doubtful, as my daily runs in city have never given me more than 20 kmpl, perhaps the Hoskote highway may give you upto 25 kmpl. Learners tool - most definitely, for sure. I might have scratched 30 out of the 44 horses, including the highway runs I have had in 5570 km until now. It begs you to bend into corners, twist the throttle and have a gala time enjoying seeing you scared after that!

[Shonith]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Brought the Duke 390 home today to join the garage with the Tiger Sport 660 as a daily weapon plus learning tool.

Did you consider buying the gen1? I feel if you are planning to get a used duke, gen1 is a better option because it has better initial than the gen2 upto the 6k mark. I for one have tried finding a good example for 2 years now but end up finding abused examples.