The motorcycle has been running pretty flawlessly. On the accessories front, I have installed an R&G swingarm protection slider.

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Running in Update - 900 Kms

With the December vacation period and general slowdown at work, I found time to catch up on my running in. I do not yet have the time to take a couple of days off for a ride, but that is in the pipeline. I have managed to do a few different half-day/couple-hour trips. I have nothing significant to report so far. The bike has been running pretty flawlessly so far. There is a bit of a hiccup between 3-4K rpm, but I know that there is a software update that I will get during the first service that will fix that issue.

On the accessories front, I have installed an R&G swingarm protection slider, the R&G front fork slider did not fit as Aprilia changed the size of the bolt sometime and there is a new model, but nobody in France has it. So I have ordered a Puig front fork slider now, which I will install once it arrives.

I have also received, my Hepco & Beck crash bars, but I ran into some trouble during the installation. One of the bolts that I needed to take out to change the position of the horn started to shear. I did not want to make it worse, so I will attempt to install that some other weekend.

There is an issue that I already saw during my test ride as well as a lot of wind buffeting catching my helmet and this is an issue once I get onto the faster highways (still limited to 130 Kmph), it gets worse if it is a windy day. For now, I have ordered a Puig windscreen extension that I can clip-on to the existing windscreen which should help reduce some of the wind buffeting. If it does not work, I will order a touring windscreen from Puig.

This has also been my first cold-weather riding experience (not counting my ride to Ladakh in 2009 as it wasn't consistently cold), the heated grips are certainly helping a bit. But I had to upgrade to intermediate winter gloves, I could not go to full winter gloves as then my heated grips would be rendered use-less more or less. The next thing on the bucket list is to get the barkbuster handguards that are larger than OEM so theoretically should offer more wind protection. With my current setup, if I spend more than an hour on the highway, and ambient temp is below 7°C I still end up with at least 2-3 fingers going completely numb. Also need to consider getting heated socks as my feet are super cold as well.

Current odometer stands 899 Kms, I will be booking my first service for end Jan/early Feb, after that I can open up the bike a bit more I hope.

Here are some pictures from different rides done through December, where I did some 750 kms of riding. It is big considering till December I had barely done 150 kms. Also if I think back in my Pulsar days back in 2007, by the end of month 3 I was already at around 4000 km.

Here are a few pictures from different locations in the Ile-de-france region, I am trying to find as many forest and hilly roads as possible, but that's quite limited around here.

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A rare first-generation Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI has been spotted in a poor state at a used car dealership in Pune.

A rare first-generation Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI has been spotted in a poor state at a used car dealership in Pune.

The SUV gets a 5.0-litre V10 diesel engine that makes 309 BHP and 750 Nm paired to a 6-speed automatic transmission. Internationally, the car failed to meet US emission regulations and the engine was eventually replaced by a V6 TDI engine.

As part of an advertising campaign, a V10 TDI Toureg was used to pull a Boeing 747. It holds the world record for the heaviest load towed by a passenger car.

Image Source: rip_car

According to a media report, Volkswagen is planning to launch three new SUVs in India around 2020-21. These include the T-Roc, Touareg and Tiguan Allspace. All three models are expected to be imported as completely built units (CBUs) under the rule which allows manufacturers to import 2,500 units annually without homologation.

The T-Roc is based on the MQB platform and is positioned below the Tiguan in Volkswagen's line up. The car could be offered with a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine that produces 148 BHP.

The Tiguan Allspace is a stretched version of the Tiguan. It is longer by 215 mm and has a wheelbase that is longer by 110 mm. It can seat up to 7 people. The SUV is likely to offered with same 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder diesel engine paired with a 7-speed DSG and all-wheel drive as the standard Tiguan.

The third-generation Touareg is based on Volkswagen's MLB Evo platform. In the international market, the Touareg is offered with 3.0-litre V6 diesel engines that produce 228 BHP / 500 Nm or 282 BHP / 600 Nm. A 3.0-litre V6 petrol with 335 BHP and 450 Nm of torque is also available. An 8-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive comes standard.

Source: Autocar India

Over 8 lakh units of the Volkswagen Touareg and Porsche Cayenne have been recalled on account of a foot pedal design issue.

4,09,477 Cayenne SUVs and 3,91,000 Touregs manufactured between 2011 to 2016 are a part of this recall exercise. According to Volkswagen, a clip could be loose on the bearing bracket for the pedals. Repeated use could dislodge the pedal and could affect the braking performance, resulting in a crash. No accidents due to this issue have been reported so far.

The issue was brought to light during an internal check. Owners of the vehicles will be contacted by the authorised dealers. The company claims that this problem can be fixed in less than half an hour.

Even though the Q7 belongs to the same family and shares parts with the other two SUVs, the Audi isn't affected by this potential problem.

Volkswagen has previewed the 2015 Touareg SUV a week before its official debut at the Beijing Motor Show.

The 2015 Touareg features a reworked exterior, interior and additions to the list of equipment.

The front of the car has been given a new grille and bumper with restyled fog lamp housings and bi-xenon headlamps. The rear of the car features a new bumper with integrated for lamps and reflectors. A set of new alloy wheels rounds up the changes to the exterior.

Coming to the interior, there are new colours for the leather, wood inserts and chrome accents, new buttons and controls with white illumination.

The equipment list includes coasting function, adaptive cruise control, post-collision braking system and navigation with Google Earth mapping service, Google Street View, and Online traffic information.
Engine choices for the 2015 Touareg will depend on the sales region.