[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[abtyagi]

Excellent ride report. Having ridden the route and incidentally staying at most of the places you have stayed brought back a lot of memories. Thanks for sharing.

[jackofsome]

For the first time saw someone doing a long trip wearing a shirt. nevertheless, looks like you guys had a gala time. Keep up with the long rides. Fantastically comfy machines as well.

[Shobhitsaxena]

Originally Posted by AKSO

I quietly mentioned to him, that Gurpratap and I have ridden together for 95000 km since 2014. Silence!

Dream to grow as a biker like you sirs! Loved reading your travelogue and style in its written. At one point, I was hoping there will be a part about how the machines served, but then realised while reading that the purpose they serve is travel. Will definitely read your previous posts and follow. Keep inspiring!

[harjeev]

Loved the thread with loads of pics and narrations. Thanks for sharing.

Originally Posted by AKSO

One of the riders, an aggressive sort of chap, ranted on about how he was going to sell his bike (Ninja 1000) and move to a ADV bike (read, BMW GS), then went on about how we should sign up with the motorcycle guided tour and get some experience blah, blah, blah. I quietly mentioned to him, that Gurpratap and I have ridden together for 95000 km since 2014. Silence!

Hahaha
This must have been hilarious. Wish you could've clicked a picture of his face at that moment.

[AKSO]

Originally Posted by abtyagi

Excellent ride report. Having ridden the route and incidentally staying at most of the places you have stayed brought back a lot of memories. Thanks for sharing.

Glad you enjoyed reading about the ride and I am glad the memories brought a smile to your face.

Originally Posted by jackofsome

For the first time saw someone doing a long trip wearing a shirt. nevertheless, looks like you guys had a gala time. Keep up with the long rides. Fantastically comfy machines as well.

The shirt is something I have never really thought about, but come to think of it, it is always a part of my riding gear. Think the "Distinguished Gentleman" ride or something like that

Originally Posted by Shobhitsaxena

Dream to grow as a biker like you sirs! Loved reading your travelogue and style in its written. At one point, I was hoping there will be a part about how the machines served, but then realised while reading that the purpose they serve is travel. Will definitely read your previous posts and follow. Keep inspiring!

Thanks for your comments and appreciation. Both bikes are mile munchers, with the Ninja 1000 classified as a Sports Tourer and the Ducati Multistrada as ADV and in this particular bike's case the S stands for Sport. There are tons of reviews online highlighting the pros and cons of each bike and all I can summarize is that both bikes are comfortable, fast and purposeful to long distance inter-state touring.

Originally Posted by harjeev

Loved the thread with loads of pics and narrations. Thanks for sharing.

Most welcome and my pleasure.

Hahaha
This must have been hilarious. Wish you could've clicked a picture of his face at that moment.

Sometimes, it takes all sorts to make the world go round.

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by AKSO

Day 5: Kodai to Mannavanur Lake - 70 km Round Trip
…

Later, whilst having dinner, we met with some bikers who had moved into the hotel and were on a guided tour from Mumbai (many of the bikes had been shipped to Bangalore ) . One of the riders, an aggressive sort of chap, ranted on about how he was going to sell his bike (Ninja 1000) and move to a ADV bike (read, BMW GS), then went on about how we should sign up with the motorcycle guided tour and get some experience blah, blah, blah. I quietly mentioned to him, that Gurpratap and I have ridden together for 95000 km since 2014. Silence!

LOL. I can only imagine the reaction when you mentioned the miles you’ve both clocked. Fantastic travelogue Akso. Riding in the South (KA and TN) has been on the bucket list for a while but I just haven’t been able to muster the time away from work for it.

It sounds like you bumped into the Goodwindmotors (GMT) group on their South ride, which was around the same dates. Is that right? The organisers are a great bunch of guys and I’d love to join their South tour some day - they make for great company.

TBH, if I had to do a south tour in the foreseeable future, I would also consider trucking the bike to Bangalore for no other reason but that its really tough to aggregate time away from the office - and the 3 - 4 days saved riding to Bangalore also makes a difference in collapsing the trip between two weekends, end to end.

[AKSO]

Originally Posted by Axe77

LOL. I can only imagine the reaction when you mentioned the miles you’ve both clocked. Fantastic travelogue Akso. Riding in the South (KA and TN) has been on the bucket list for a while but I just haven’t been able to muster the time away from work for it.

It sounds like you bumped into the Goodwindmotors (GMT) group on their South ride, which was around the same dates. Is that right? The organisers are a great bunch of guys and I’d love to join their South tour some day - they make for great company.

TBH, if I had to do a south tour in the foreseeable, I would also consider trucking the bike to Bangalore for no other reason but that its really tough to aggregate time away from the office - and the 3 - 4 days saved riding to Bangalore also makes a difference in collapsing the trip between two weekends, end to end.

The South bug has bitten me. Gurpratap and I, ever since 2016, have made our annual pilgrimage to the South. In fact, it so happened that I made two trips in January 2023, the first one from Kannur (KL) to Pune (MH) and the second which has been detailed in this log. Most of these trips are 9 days long as it makes use of a weekend-to-weekend corridor and with our rides beginning & ending Pune. The time constraint is always there, and which is what holds us back from doing the far North and East for which we will need at least a fortnight to complete. But your post leaves much food for thought.

Looks like it was the GMT Tours we must have bumped into at Kodai. I hope the remainder of their ride went off well.