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Old 28th March 2017, 08:31   #1
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2 Kawasaki Versys 650 & a Z800 ride from Hyderabad to Goa!

Introduction of 3 Team-BHP'ians from Hyderabad who ride machines that are powerful and silken smooth engines from the same popular manufacturer whose name starts with "K" and reminds us of only one color-GREEN

Mobike008-Goa Veteran and unpaid guide for this trip

2 Kawasaki Versys 650 & a Z800 ride from Hyderabad to Goa!-snapseed-1.jpg

Onaversys-Taking this trip to understand why Goa is such a sought after place

2 Kawasaki Versys 650 & a Z800 ride from Hyderabad to Goa!-img_20170311_184307.jpg

IDPSharma-Maiden Voyage-A man whose eyes watered just at the thought of visiting Goa on his beloved machine...LOL!

2 Kawasaki Versys 650 & a Z800 ride from Hyderabad to Goa!-img_9171.jpg

Disclaimer : This review was jointly compiled by Mobike008 & Onaversys

Last edited by GTO : 5th April 2017 at 09:45.
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Old 28th March 2017, 12:50   #2
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re: 2 Kawasaki Versys 650 & a Z800 ride from Hyderabad to Goa!

Onward Journey-March 10th, 2017

“And now gentlemen, all for one, one for all - that is our motto, is it not?”

Now if you’ve guessed where this quote is from, you pretty much know how many of us decided to go on this adventure. Three. We, Avi, DP, and Karthik (not as rhyming as Athos, Porthos and Aramis), decided that it was time to go on a long adventure because we were bored of our weekend breakfast rides. We were also bored of returning home the same day we left it. That’s called venturing out and not going on an adventure.

They say, adventures are about the journey more than the destination. But, if the destination can be as inviting as Goa, then doesn’t it make the adventure a little more exciting? Yeah, we could have taken a flight, a train, or an overnight bus. We wouldn’t settle for it...

“Besides we are men, and after all it is our business to risk our lives.”

And so, we decided to ride to Goa (Z800, Versys 650 & another Versys 650). I’ve always believed that 400km is the safest distance to target in a day. Anything more, it needs assurance that road quality is great or have done the same route before with same mode of transport to inspire that wee bit of additional confidence (e.g: Hyderabad-Bangalore, Hyderabad to Nagpur etc.) But, if it’s a 700+kms ride on State Highways to be covered in a single day it's bound to make the most of us extremely uncomfortable. The only reason why I (Karthik) even agreed to do it was to see if I can actually pull it off. The other two however were very nonchalant about it. What audacity!

Meet-up at 5:00am on the outskirts of Hyderabad

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Gulbarga at 8:00am, 220kms away

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Kalburgi (Gulbarga) Vidhan Soudha

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Dark Knight resting somewhere on the high-way

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“Time, dear friend, time brings round opportunity; opportunity is the martingale of man. The more we have ventured the more we gain, when we know how to wait.”

Goa has always been in our minds. As highlighted in the starting post-For Avi, it’s a bi-annual ritual. For DP, it’s his maiden voyage. For me, it’s seeking answers for why this place is so sought after (none of my earlier visits had justified it). We had to wait for the perfect long weekend and hope that our busy schedules would permit it. The first occasion it happened, we were on our way to Goa at 5:00am on a Friday morning. We had waited enough - almost a year after our purchase of our beautiful 2-wheeled machines. It was about time…

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Route: Hyderabad > Parigi > Sedam > Kalaburagi > Jevargi > Bijapur > Bagalkot > Belagavi > Amboli > Panjim
Road quality: Phenomenal roads until you hit Kalaburagi (Gulbarga). Then there are roads under construction followed by bad roads followed by roads that have backbreakers in the name of speed breakers. The Amboli ghat roads weren’t the greatest but made up big time with its scenic view and phenomenal sunset view it has.
Time taken: 14.5 hours. 5:00am-7:30pm (including stop time)
Pitstops: 10 (including nature’s call, tea, food, photography & fatigue breaks)
Best section: Hyderabad to Kalaburagi
Worst section: Belagavi to Bagalkot for it’s shitty speed breakers that look like raised footpaths cutting across the roads.

Record of Onward Journey

Headed out at 5:00am and made quick progress until Kalburgi (Gulbarga) which we reached by 7:30am and settled down for a lovely breakfast of Idli, Dosa and Pineapple Kesari

Crisp and delicious dosa

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Pineapple Kesari was yummy

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After that 45 minutes break, we continued our journey and it was actually quite pleasant until noon and we would stop every 1 hour to 1.5 hour as our throats would get parched and would cry out for water. If that was not the reason to stop, it would be our machines giving us signals to fuel it up again. After all, we both need our source of liquids to keep us going on this trip !!!

After noon, it started hitting us that journey we took up in March was not the best possible climate. But, it was much better than what we had mentally prepared ourselves. Having done a crazy peak summer ride to Mahabaleshwar riding through hot and parched routes of Maharashtra this route and season seemed much better in comparison

We reached Amboli around 4:00pm and this is where we spent maximum time (1+ hour) clicking some pictures of the trifecta and also enjoyed some chilled lemon soda and vada pav

All these pictures are taken at the popular Amboli Ghats near the famous Vada-Pav stall where i always make it a point to stop and gobble down a couple of those yummy VP's

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Attachment 1623770

We finally reached our hotel around 7:30pm in the evening and checked into a large AC room that was cooled up rather quickly and gave us a much relief. After a quick shower, we headed out for the evening around 9:00pm and it was what normally bachelor folks do in Goa until wee hours of the morning

Silversands Hideaway, Candolim, Goa

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Whew...That accounts for "Day 1" of our trip......

Last edited by mobike008 : 4th April 2017 at 12:35.
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Old 28th March 2017, 13:38   #3
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re: 2 Kawasaki Versys 650 & a Z800 ride from Hyderabad to Goa!

After that night of seeing Goa on how it's supposed to be seen we came back and hit the bed. Believe you me, all of us went out like the light (literally!) and got up after 7 hours of deep sleep. V boys were refreshed and raring to go while the Z boy was still reeling from some pain to the back-side due to the uncomfortable seats of Z800 (kudos to him for taking this grueling trip on such a bike)

We had coffee then some nice breakfast at the hotel and left the hotel around 11:00am and decided to hit old Goa first

As everyone would do, we too topped up the tank at Panjim Petrol Bunk and headed straight to Basilica of Bom Jesus. This place brings a lot of peace to me and somehow I feel it's an integral part of Goa (other side of Goa, i.e)

Then we decided to ride towards South Goa (Colva Beach, Benualim Beach etc) and we decided to take the interior routes of Goa and much to our wonder, the roads were beautiful. Small and not even 2 lane with lush greenery on both sides and passing through quaint and colorful goan houses we reached Colva around 1:30pm

We straight away occupied a couple of sun-beds and this is where we lazed for a few hours sipping on lemonade and eating Masala Papad (which was flying away due to the gushy windy conditions) and listening to all kinds of music on my OONTZ ANGLE from Cambridge Soundworks that thumped out nice bass vocals and good mid and low sounds

It was simply bliss! Just laying there like some well-fed crocodiles and doing nothing but, listening to music and sound of waves coming from the sea. Besides, the weather even at this time of year in Goa was surprisingly very pleasant and not at all warm

We then headed to Benaulim Beach from there and spent roughly 30 mins before decided to ride to Vasco-Da-Gama which is the popular port city of Goa and is typically the most neglected part of Goa

It was a great ride to Vasco through the Dabolim Airport and we went up to the harbor area and spent good part of late evening there checking out the harbour and clicking some nice pictures

It then became dark so we left Vasco towards Panjim so IDP can buy a gel seat for his return ride as he was going through some pain and believed he needed some padding for his return ride. We found a shop in Panjim and he bought it for some 2K and then we rode back to North Goa around 9:00pm and spent a great evening at one of my favorite places in Goa---> FAT FISH

View from our sun-bed in Colva Beach

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This picture was clicked at Vasco Shipping Harbor, Vasco

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Somewhere in Interior Goa

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North Goa

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Yet another beautiful sunset in Goa

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V-Twins

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Benaulim Beach, South Goa

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Vasco Harbour, Vasco

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Gobi Manchurian Continental Style. It was so good we ordered the same dish 3 times

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Crispy Veg Pakoras

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Us at Colva Beach

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This was the most relaxing 2 hour nap after a long time

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Beached Whale pose

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Kawasaki Poseurs

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Pano shots

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Beautiful sunset

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Onaversys trying to capture that unique moment

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Last edited by mobike008 : 4th April 2017 at 12:09.
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Old 28th March 2017, 13:38   #4
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re: 2 Kawasaki Versys 650 & a Z800 ride from Hyderabad to Goa!

This post and previous post briefly highlights the places we visited. The glorious Saturday and a leisure Sunday were the only 2 full days that were available with us to explore Goa. Unlike regular tourists, who are mandated to lay down on the beach with seafood and tropical beverages and act like they are cousins of a bunch of contented beach whales :P but, since we rode to Goa, we played it different this time around

Today (Sunday) was going to be exciting and unlike a regular sunday. Previous day we covered Old Goa, South Goa and even the Vasco Harbor, it was time to check-out what North Goa has to offer

We got up early had a quick breakfast and decided to ride to the northern most tip of Goa (Tiracol Beach and Fort) and ride our way down covering all beaches. But, then down the line we realized it's not an easy task to visit each and every beach of North-Goa as all beaches are so pretty that we had to be dragged away reluctantly from each one of them

We ended up visiting just a few important ones like

1. Tiracol Beach
2. Arambol Beach
3. Vagator Beach
4. Anjuna Beach


One of the best places we enjoyed was right outside Tiracol Beach while riding by, we spotted a small shack with table chairs overlooking the sea and we instantly stopped there as the scene seemed spectacular. Idyllic and peaceful. Giving us company were a group of Russian tourists listening to some psychedelic music and we just chilled there for a couple of hours and enjoyed fresh lime soda and Gobi Manchurian European Style (LOL, Yes it was made for a European palate) and I hate to say this, it was brilliant (Chinese guy in me is squirming inside and hating me for liking a European styled gopi manchureaaan...LOL!) it was brilliant and we kept repeating that order so many times the waiter thought we were high on something

Our beach hopping finally ended at Vagator where we spent the evening at "Thalassa" where we enjoyed a lovely live performance they put up during the season for 15 minutes each day at 7:00pm. Btw, if you have not been there then take it from me, it's a must visit place in Goa for an amazing view of sunsets and this Greek style restaurant is famous for their continental food (prohibitively expensive though)

That rocking evening marked the end of our lovely trip to Goa and it was time to plan our departure tomorrow morning back to Hyderabad

Versys twins posing in front of our hotel

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Riding out for the day to check out Goa

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Basilica of Bom Jesus, Old Goa

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Colva Church, South Goa

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Somewhere in interiors found a nice stretch with lots of coconut trees on both sides

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Beautiful Goa
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Bridge close to Tiracol Beach, North Goa

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Tiracol Beach, North Goa (This is the last beach in Goa, above this is Maharashtra Border)

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We found this lovely quaint spot right outside Tiracol Beach (500 meters on main road) where we parked ourselves for a leisure lunch

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We enjoyed sitting there and watching this fisherman catch fish with that huge net

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Goa Sunset

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One of my favorite restaurant in Goa---> Fat Fish

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Kawa's posing out the church near the Candolim/Calangute cut-off point

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Vasco Harbor Sunset

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Click to view this panoramic picture of Tiracol Beach, Goa

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Attached Thumbnails
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2 Kawasaki Versys 650 & a Z800 ride from Hyderabad to Goa!-img_20170312_141232.jpg  


Last edited by mobike008 : 4th April 2017 at 12:08.
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Old 28th March 2017, 13:40   #5
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Return Journey--March 13th, 2017

Route: Panjim > Chorla > Belgavi > Bagalkot > Hungund > Lingsugur > Raichur > Devarkadra > Jadcherla > Hyderabad
Road quality: Apart from the horrible speed breakers between Belgavi & Bagalkot and the disastrous (under construction) road between Raichur & Mahbubnagar, the decision to take this road was the best decision ever.
Time taken: 14.5 hours (including stop time)
Pitstops: 13 (including nature’s call, tea, food, photography/videography & fatigue breaks)
Best section: Insanely fast & newly laid roads between Bagalkot to Raichur.
Worst section: Raichur to Devarkadra (we did it after sunset which added to the misery)

Considering that next day (March 13th) was HOLI and we would be on road the whole day riding back home and also the 14-15 hour ride in this hot sun initially seemed a bit daunting. It was seriously planned that we will get up early and leave the hotel by 5:00am but, we were so bushed from our active Goa exploration that we got up at 7:00am instead and departed from the hotel only at 8:00 am

We had already decided that we will take a different route while going back (Route outlined above) and what an amazing decision it was; except for the nightmarish speed-breakers for one particular section!

Chorla ghat was simply brilliant and road surface can be easily compared to the butter that we apply on our wheat breads daily for breakfast. We stopped several times to take pictures on this route as there were many such places worth stopping to enjoy scenery.

We made quick progress and stopped in Belgaum for breakfast at a famous "Thatte Idly" restaurant. Thatte in Kannada means "Plate"

When we reached Belgaum, something hit us hard. Yeah, the aura and air in Belgaum had festivity in the air which hit was pretty hard. There were several rally procession of huge amounts of people on their 2-wheeler running amok in the city. They were cheering, booing and screaming with joy and seem to come out of every nook and corner. I didn't know Belgaum took their Holi so seriously. Seemed like the city had come to a complete standstill and everyone was just playing "Holi"

Thatte Idli

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Onion Uthappam

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We finished our breakfast and then proceeded fast towards Bagalkote where situation was nothing different. People were on road playing Holi and threw large amount of powder on us and we had become the "orange brigade" from all that pink/orange powder they threw on us

Rest of the journey was uneventful and we made good progress towards Raichur from where Onaversys who knows "Google" from the inside spotted a new route that will avoid us getting into Mahboobnagar town and took a diversion from Deverkonda to hit the Bangalore Highway around 8:30pm where we stopped for a final drink of water. Here we exchanged goodbye's and kept a brisk pace for the rest of the 100kms to home on this beautiful 4-lane highway

I finally reached home around 10:00pm after a great 4-day ride to Goa and would like to thank Onaversys and IDPsharma for their fantastic company and this trip only cemented a point that we three gel together nicely and will be doing similar long rides in future. This trip memories will remain etched into our minds for a long time to come

Beautiful Chorla Ghats on our way back; This stretch was like butter smooth

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We stopped at this point to enjoy the beautiful scenery that nature had to offer

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Onaversys in a pensive mood

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Mobike008 searching the meaning of life in those valleys below

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IDP giving a MotoGP Podium pose

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Last edited by bblost : 4th April 2017 at 15:01.
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Old 4th April 2017, 09:03   #6
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Here is a brief video shot and edited by IDPSharma who is trying his hand at video editing for the first time

This video captures highlights of this trip and for a first-time, I think he did a reasonably good job at the video. Don't you think?

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Old 4th April 2017, 12:46   #7
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Note from Mod : Well, this is my 2nd travelogue in a month which is a record of sorts. I'm moving this motorcycle travelogue from Assembly Line to Travelogues section

It was a super fun trip and hope you enjoy reading the account as well as the pictures of this trip

Cheers
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Old 4th April 2017, 14:13   #8
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re: 2 Kawasaki Versys 650 & a Z800 ride from Hyderabad to Goa!

Just one word. Awesome. Hats off to you guys for riding close to 14 hours in a day and doing it again after two days. I couldn't take more than 4 hours in my NS200. Again, the machines are in a completely different league altogether.

March is supposed to be end of season in Goa as that is when the summer starts. But, i found the climate to be lot better in march when i visited last year.

Surprisingly, the beaches weren't hot and one could spend a lot of time in those shacks. Vagator beach is my favorite for its views and for its pristine water. How comfortable is the "Z" when compared to "V" on bad roads and while going over speed breakers?
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Old 4th April 2017, 16:00   #9
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Re: 2 Kawasaki Versys 650 & a Z800 ride from Hyderabad to Goa!

Nice ride and pics.

Will also request some info on the aux lights on both the V's. Specifically which bike has spot aux lights, giving longer distance visibility...

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Old 4th April 2017, 20:48   #10
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Re: 2 Kawasaki Versys 650 & a Z800 ride from Hyderabad to Goa!

Ah Fat Fish. Spectacular place!
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Old 5th April 2017, 09:08   #11
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Re: 2 Kawasaki Versys 650 & a Z800 ride from Hyderabad to Goa!

Quote:
Originally Posted by scarecrow View Post
Will also request some info on the aux lights on both the V's. Specifically which bike has spot aux lights, giving longer distance visibility...
My Aux lights are some basic Chinese ones that costed me INR 1500/- and Onaversys lights are OEM Kawasaki and costed him INR 40,000/-

If you look at the real world performance, my lights are much more powerful and has a better throw and spot for increased visibility and this is also confirmed by Onaversys. However, he likes the overall built quality and how they perfectly fitted on to his Versys

My Chinese ones were so amazing that was able to do some high speeds at night with them as it inspired the confidence

Also, I helped ship at least a dozen of same lights to other V riders from all over India and they all are happy with it's performance

Quote:
Originally Posted by ReluctantRebel View Post
Just one word. Awesome. Hats off to you guys for riding close to 14 hours in a day and doing it again after two days. I couldn't take more than 4 hours in my NS200. Again, the machines are in a completely different league altogether.
Yes, riding for 14-15 hours in a day certainly is a bit grueling but, at the end of the trip it is also most satisfying

We on the Versys were not a bit tired and enjoyed the bad roads equally and just a good night sleep was enough for us to recharge our battery which was not the case for the Z owner


Quote:
Originally Posted by ReluctantRebel View Post
Surprisingly, the beaches weren't hot and one could spend a lot of time in those shacks. Vagator beach is my favorite for its views and for its pristine water. How comfortable is the "Z" when compared to "V" on bad roads and while going over speed breakers?
Agree with you, March was suprisingly pleasant and there was actually a cool breeze near the beach in the peak afternoon.

V performed flawlessly and it was a comfortable ride for us while the IDPSharma on the Z800 had a tough time. His backside was paining really bad and we had to stop for him several times because of that problem

Infact, he was not ready to ride back on the stock seat so he purchased a gel seat for himself in Panjim for the return journey but, I was told that also didn't help him much

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Originally Posted by naveenroy View Post
Ah Fat Fish. Spectacular place!
Oh yeah! You can say that again. I normally visit Goa twice a year and always have at least one meal at 'Fat Fish". You can order anything at this place and they will never go wrong
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Old 5th April 2017, 09:22   #12
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Re: 2 Kawasaki Versys 650 & a Z800 ride from Hyderabad to Goa!

@Avi, Wonderful effort and very nice write up. Thanks to you and Onaversys (Karthik) for putting this effort and my apologies for not being able to contribute much to this travelogue .

@ReluctantRebel - Ah, I can see that Avi already answered you, but you can read my point of view as well.

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Just one word. Awesome. Hats off to you guys for riding close to 14 hours in a day and doing it again after two days. I couldn't take more than 4 hours in my NS200. Again, the machines are in a completely different league altogether.
Thanks and yes we did enjoy the ride thoroughly, although the journey was not that easy but our passion for riding kept us going.

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How comfortable is the "Z" when compared to "V" on bad roads and while going over speed breakers?
Ofcourse there is no comparison when it comes to comfort between Versys (a tourer) and Z800 (a street fighter), but Z is not that bad for touring either. 'V' can glide over rough roads and comfortable for long rides and needs less stops comparatively, where as 'Z' needs modifications to meet touring requirements. Z800 is much pleasurable and a breeze to ride on national highways. There are three pain points in 'Z' if we are planning for long rides 1) Forward leaning posture 2) Hard Seat 3) Wind Blast, but all of which can be addressed with aftermarket fittings. I raised my handlebars, fitted a universal windscreen and yet to modify seat with some gel pads/cushion, suspension can be tuned to softer side depending on our choice.

Last edited by idpsharma : 5th April 2017 at 09:23.
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Old 5th April 2017, 10:28   #13
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Re: 2 Kawasaki Versys 650 & a Z800 ride from Hyderabad to Goa!

Wow, that looks like it was an excellent adventure. Thanks for sharing and including so many lovely photos as well. Makes me want to pack up and head to Goa!

It looks like the Versys bikes were in their element, what is the mileage that you get on such road trips? Also is it just me or wasnt there that confusing and hilarious bit in one of the initial posts about too much of same manufacturer riding going on these days (eg Triumph owners riding only with Triumph owners and similarly for HD) and then it segued into 3 Kawasaki bikes heading to Goa?

Last edited by neil.jericho : 5th April 2017 at 10:31.
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Old 5th April 2017, 11:36   #14
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Re: 2 Kawasaki Versys 650 & a Z800 ride from Hyderabad to Goa!

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Originally Posted by idpsharma View Post
Ofcourse there is no comparison when it comes to comfort between Versys (a tourer) and Z800 (a street fighter), but Z is not that bad for touring either. 'V' can glide over rough roads and comfortable for long rides and needs less stops comparatively, where as 'Z' needs modifications to meet touring requirements. Z800 is much pleasurable and a breeze to ride on national highways. There are three pain points in 'Z' if we are planning for long rides 1) Forward leaning posture 2) Hard Seat 3) Wind Blast, but all of which can be addressed with aftermarket fittings. I raised my handlebars, fitted a universal windscreen and yet to modify seat with some gel pads/cushion, suspension can be tuned to softer side depending on our choice.
Even then your grit and determination was commendable. You were matching us mile to mile, foot-peg standing to foot-peg standing and even were not too far behind during rough roads despite the challenges you were facing due to the hard seat

I think you rightly put it, machine is just an equipment but, the passion and will do something is solely within ourselves

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Originally Posted by neil.jericho View Post
It looks like the Versys bikes were in their element, what is the mileage that you get on such road trips? Also is it just me or wasnt there that confusing and hilarious bit in one of the initial posts about too much of same manufacturer riding going on these days (eg Triumph owners riding only with Triumph owners and similarly for HD) and then it segued into 3 Kawasaki bikes heading to Goa?
Apologies for starting the travelogue on a negative connotation and requested GTO to edit that portion out

I highlighted that point (maybe wrong situation do it) because I also used to own a Triumph and note that they are increasingly avoiding other manufacturers to be part of their rides and have large group rides only with their brand. Not that it really matters but, just a point to note...

Whereas, our group consists of Triumph's, Duke's and Kawasakis and for this trip a friend who rides a Tiger was supposed to join but, his handle bar replacement was underway or we would have a Tiger amidst us too

Anyways, the point I was trying to make is riding with friends is such a pleasure and what they ride is simply immaterial
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Old 5th April 2017, 12:08   #15
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Re: 2 Kawasaki Versys 650 & a Z800 ride from Hyderabad to Goa!

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Originally Posted by idpsharma View Post
@ReluctantRebel - Ah, I can see that Avi already answered you, but you can read my point of view as well.
=====
I raised my handlebars, fitted a universal windscreen and yet to modify seat with some gel pads/cushion, suspension can be tuned to softer side depending on our choice.
thanks for the answer. nothing like a first hand experience. Of course, passion for something makes humans overcome anything that looks impossible. Hats off to you for not backing off and making the best of whatever you had at disposal.

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Originally Posted by mobike008 View Post

I highlighted that point (maybe wrong situation do it) because I also used to own a Triumph and note that they are increasingly avoiding other manufacturers to be part of their rides and have large group rides only with their brand. Not that it really matters but, just a point to note...
=======
Anyways, the point I was trying to make is riding with friends is such a pleasure and what they ride is simply immaterial
Exactly. Its about riding and not about anything else. I am not sure whether its the right thing to do but i kind of prefer riding alone or at max with 2-3 people. Anything more, it becomes harder to keep everyone happy.
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