A whirlwind tour of South India - 2 Thunderbirds, 7 days, Approx 2800 Kms

kaustubh_vaze · 15th April 2009, 19:35

Me and my friend Rohit planned and executed this run in 7 days on 2 Thunderbirds (single rider, no pillion). We did Pune-Kanyakumari-Bangalore in 7 days. My last destination was Bangalore and Rohit completed the Bangalore-Pune leg (approx 881 Kms) in 1 day, 15 hours flat. It was one heck of an experience. Our initial planning started by referring to this thread http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ht=kanyakumari. I thank Kiran Vaidya for the detailed document that he uploaded. I dont know if he ever did the trip but the plan was good and we did it.

I have updated my blog with day wise travel details and some snaps. I will be posting links to the each post in my blog below.
There's no point typing it all over again. Plus uploading snaps takes a lot of time on the slow dial-up that I have. Its a long (and maybe tiring) read guys, so buckle up for this one.

The idea - Kaustubh's blog: Bike trip Pune - Kanyakumari

The preparations - Kaustubh's blog: A whirlwind tour of South India - Preparations

Day 1 - Kaustubh's blog: A whirlwind tour of South India - Day 1

Day 2 - Kaustubh's blog: A whirlwind tour of South India : Day 2

Day 3 - Kaustubh's blog: A whirlwind tour of South India - Day 3

Day 4 - Kaustubh's blog: A whirlwind tour of South India - Day 4

Day 5 - Kaustubh's blog: A whirlwind tour of South India - Day 5

Day 6 - Kaustubh's blog: A whirlwind tour of South India - Day 6

Day 7 - Kaustubh's blog: A whirlwind tour of South India - Day 7: The last day of the road - trip for me

For viewing all the snaps, click this - Picasa Web Albums - Smita - Kanyakumari r...

Some snaps have come up real nice and are accidental.

Disclaimer: All views on my post are thoughts that went through my head and I have tried to put them down in the same way.

Regards,
Kaustubh.

phamilyman · 16th April 2009, 02:05

Awesomes. One of these days I need to stop calculating of possible boss after-effects and just ride.

And yes, though I've been to those places - I need to go there myself. And on a bike.

Nitin · 16th April 2009, 02:08

Excellent job, Kaustubh. Nice pics too.
Gosh..sounds like one helluva trip. Always wanted to do something like this, never really happened!

DHABHAR.BEHRAM · 16th April 2009, 09:28

Dear Kaustubh / Rohit - "khubach chhan punyache poranno" - fantastic trip you guys had. I drove down from Kottayam to Mumbai via Mangalore Ankola Hubli and Pune in December 2007 in my left hand drive Premier Padmini. Please read the "My left hand drive fiat" thread in the Vintage & Classic Cars of India Post 1950 section. I have also done Mumbai Mangalore Calicut Coimbatore Kodaikanal in my Premier Padmini. Your story was so good, it was like I was there. I totally agree with you on Kerala bus drivers, they are the messengers of death. Drive safe guys.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

kaustubh_vaze · 16th April 2009, 10:35

Thank you everyone. Not many find the time to go through such a lengthy descriptive travellogue.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Dear Kaustubh / Rohit - "khubach chhan punyache poranno" - fantastic trip you guys had. .................. I totally agree with you on Kerala bus drivers, they are the messengers of death. Drive safe guys.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

Thanks Behram,
I am happy that you liked the travellogue. I am not that good a writer but since I wanted to jot down each and every event, maybe it turned out well.

Regards,
Kaustubh

kaustubh_vaze · 16th April 2009, 12:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

I drove down from Kottayam to Mumbai via Mangalore Ankola Hubli and Pune in December 2007 in my left hand drive Premier Padmini. Please read the "My left hand drive fiat" thread in the Vintage & Classic Cars of India Post 1950 section. I have also done Mumbai Mangalore Calicut Coimbatore Kodaikanal in my Premier Padmini. Your story was so good, it was like I was there.

Behram Sir,
Slightly OT:
Who on TBHP doesn't know about you and your Fiats? I have read almost everything you have posted here. The Himalayan experience, the Fiat tuning tips et al. If you remember, I had also contacted you for my own Padmini.
I am also planning to participate in the Raid most probably in a souped up Padmini (Fiat). That is, provided I have the money to do it.

Regards,
Kaustubh

unni.ak · 16th April 2009, 14:53

Read through your blogs. Too good Kaustubh. Wishing you many more miles of happy and safe riding.

DHABHAR.BEHRAM · 16th April 2009, 15:53

Dear Kaustubh - please PM me your mobile number. I will catch up with you when I am in Pune next time and look at your Padmini car. By the way, I am thinking, why I should not take the left hand drive all the way to Kottayam and back once again.

By the way, I love the Bullet but I have a mental block against it's back kick. Does your Bullet have an electric start? I think it would have as it is one of the new ones.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

kaustubh_vaze · 16th April 2009, 18:49

Hi Behram,
Thanks for your help.
Unfortunately the Padmini belonged to my father and he sold it as he refuses to drive any vehicle in Pune traffic. Its just too bad with age catching up. I decided I will buy another one in another 6 months and soup it up (engine transplant etc.)
I drive a Palio 1.6 and also keeping a friend's Palio 1.2 NV because he is out of India.
Regarding the back kick - I have a RE Thunderbird which without electric start and I do not have any back kick problems with it. I think RE have even done away with the "Engine Decomp" switch in the latest editions (though my bike has it) since they did fixed the problem in the engine and the problem has gone away for good. I dont know exactly from when.
I hope this helps in removing the mental block and you buy one for yourself. I cannot ride any other bike after riding the Thunderbird.
Thanks again. I will surely need your help when I lay my hands on a S1.
BTW, when are you planning to drive down to Kottayam? Do let me know and I may be one of the passengers if time permits.
Regards,
Kaustubh

kaustubh_vaze · 16th April 2009, 18:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by unni.ak

Read through your blogs. Too good Kaustubh. Wishing you many more miles of happy and safe riding.

Thanks a lot for the wishes Unni.

asethi · 17th April 2009, 00:37

Awesome dude! I really enjoyed reading your travellogue, and watching the pictures! :-)

udaygk77 · 20th April 2009, 20:26

Simply Amazing travel that you made, from the sahayadris to cape cameron & to Garden city, i'm sure you had a ride of your life time.

All the best for your Ladhak & Kargil trip.

15th April 2009, 19:35	#1
kaustubh_vaze BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Pune Posts: 224 Thanked: 53 Times View My Garage	A whirlwind tour of South India - 2 Thunderbirds, 7 days, Approx 2800 Kms Me and my friend Rohit planned and executed this run in 7 days on 2 Thunderbirds (single rider, no pillion). We did Pune-Kanyakumari-Bangalore in 7 days. My last destination was Bangalore and Rohit completed the Bangalore-Pune leg (approx 881 Kms) in 1 day, 15 hours flat. It was one heck of an experience. Our initial planning started by referring to this thread http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ht=kanyakumari. I thank Kiran Vaidya for the detailed document that he uploaded. I dont know if he ever did the trip but the plan was good and we did it. I have updated my blog with day wise travel details and some snaps. I will be posting links to the each post in my blog below. There's no point typing it all over again. Plus uploading snaps takes a lot of time on the slow dial-up that I have. Its a long (and maybe tiring) read guys, so buckle up for this one. The idea - Kaustubh's blog: Bike trip Pune - Kanyakumari The preparations - Kaustubh's blog: A whirlwind tour of South India - Preparations Day 1 - Kaustubh's blog: A whirlwind tour of South India - Day 1 Day 2 - Kaustubh's blog: A whirlwind tour of South India : Day 2 Day 3 - Kaustubh's blog: A whirlwind tour of South India - Day 3 Day 4 - Kaustubh's blog: A whirlwind tour of South India - Day 4 Day 5 - Kaustubh's blog: A whirlwind tour of South India - Day 5 Day 6 - Kaustubh's blog: A whirlwind tour of South India - Day 6 Day 7 - Kaustubh's blog: A whirlwind tour of South India - Day 7: The last day of the road - trip for me For viewing all the snaps, click this - Picasa Web Albums - Smita - Kanyakumari r... Some snaps have come up real nice and are accidental. Disclaimer: All views on my post are thoughts that went through my head and I have tried to put them down in the same way. Regards, Kaustubh.
	(1) Thanks

16th April 2009, 02:05	#2
phamilyman Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 5,968 Thanked: 4,642 Times	Awesomes. One of these days I need to stop calculating of possible boss after-effects and just ride. And yes, though I've been to those places - I need to go there myself. And on a bike.
	() Thanks

16th April 2009, 02:08	#3
Nitin Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 3,294 Thanked: 20 Times View My Garage	Excellent job, Kaustubh. Nice pics too. Gosh..sounds like one helluva trip. Always wanted to do something like this, never really happened!
	() Thanks

16th April 2009, 09:28	#4
DHABHAR.BEHRAM Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: MUMBAI Posts: 3,060 Thanked: 5,353 Times	Dear Kaustubh / Rohit - "khubach chhan punyache poranno" - fantastic trip you guys had. I drove down from Kottayam to Mumbai via Mangalore Ankola Hubli and Pune in December 2007 in my left hand drive Premier Padmini. Please read the "My left hand drive fiat" thread in the Vintage & Classic Cars of India Post 1950 section. I have also done Mumbai Mangalore Calicut Coimbatore Kodaikanal in my Premier Padmini. Your story was so good, it was like I was there. I totally agree with you on Kerala bus drivers, they are the messengers of death. Drive safe guys. Best regards, Behram Dhabhar
	() Thanks

16th April 2009, 14:53	#7
unni.ak BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 777 Thanked: 84 Times View My Garage	Read through your blogs. Too good Kaustubh. Wishing you many more miles of happy and safe riding.
	() Thanks

16th April 2009, 15:53	#8
DHABHAR.BEHRAM Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: MUMBAI Posts: 3,060 Thanked: 5,353 Times	Dear Kaustubh - please PM me your mobile number. I will catch up with you when I am in Pune next time and look at your Padmini car. By the way, I am thinking, why I should not take the left hand drive all the way to Kottayam and back once again. By the way, I love the Bullet but I have a mental block against it's back kick. Does your Bullet have an electric start? I think it would have as it is one of the new ones. Best regards, Behram Dhabhar
	() Thanks

16th April 2009, 18:49	#9
kaustubh_vaze BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Pune Posts: 224 Thanked: 53 Times View My Garage	Hi Behram, Thanks for your help. Unfortunately the Padmini belonged to my father and he sold it as he refuses to drive any vehicle in Pune traffic. Its just too bad with age catching up. I decided I will buy another one in another 6 months and soup it up (engine transplant etc.) I drive a Palio 1.6 and also keeping a friend's Palio 1.2 NV because he is out of India. Regarding the back kick - I have a RE Thunderbird which without electric start and I do not have any back kick problems with it. I think RE have even done away with the "Engine Decomp" switch in the latest editions (though my bike has it) since they did fixed the problem in the engine and the problem has gone away for good. I dont know exactly from when. I hope this helps in removing the mental block and you buy one for yourself. I cannot ride any other bike after riding the Thunderbird. Thanks again. I will surely need your help when I lay my hands on a S1. BTW, when are you planning to drive down to Kottayam? Do let me know and I may be one of the passengers if time permits. Regards, Kaustubh Last edited by kaustubh_vaze : 16th April 2009 at 18:52. Reason: Forgot to complete the last sentence.
	() Thanks

17th April 2009, 00:37	#11
asethi BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 449 Thanked: 219 Times View My Garage	Awesome dude! I really enjoyed reading your travellogue, and watching the pictures! :-)
	() Thanks

20th April 2009, 20:26	#12
udaygk77 BHPian Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: pune Posts: 57 Thanked: 28 Times	Simply Amazing travel that you made, from the sahayadris to cape cameron & to Garden city, i'm sure you had a ride of your life time. All the best for your Ladhak & Kargil trip.
	() Thanks