Revvin It Up!!

It’s been more than 2 weeks since I have had the new Pulsar 180 DTSi V1 with me, my Chotu as I have been calling it. I have been pretty careful with riding him firstly because I am still new to the Pulsar style of riding and secondly because the damn digital speedo keeps malfunctioning so damn often that it gets on my nerves. One loose connection shows 0 kmph even when I ideally am cruising at 80 while sometimes I have seen numbers even while waiting at traffic signals. Funny technology Bajaj has....or maybe the homologation has caused the dilemma.

I decided to accompany Captain Chitins for a short distance this morning and ride with him to check how fast exactly my new acquisition can go. As usual I missed him at the rendezvous point and he rode way ahead while I kept waiting. He called up sometime later and now I had the opportunity to actually chase him down. Imagine gunning for a Pulsar 220 DTSFi on a Pulsar 180 DTSi V1. So here was my mission I had to catch him as fast as possible and then get back home as I had the damn office to attend to the same day. It was already 8ish and I rode fast to reach NH4. Once on NH4 it was all left to my twisting of the throttle and overtaking the slow moving trucks on the highway. The bike does good acceleration from 0 to about 60. Further up 60 to 80 takes a little more time but the bike still lurches ahead like a beast unleashed. Beyond 80- is slightly problematic, it could be because of the upright seating position (I don’t crouch), or maybe actually acclelration drops much below expectation levels. Anyways now that I had opened up the Bike’s throttle it was touching 3 digit speeds in no time. Traffic and a slightly inclined road did not allow me to actually accelerate beyond what I had already reached.

I caught up with Captain in no time and rode with him till Somatane on the Pune-Mumbai highway from where I wished him luck and turned around. Skipper was also going great guns now that he had completed more than 600 klicks on his 220 and was taking on short bursts of 5000 rpm on the engine. I am dead sure he must have reached speeds nearing 70 KMPH on the new bike. He was taking the Bike to Mumbai as it would be inexpensive for him to move around as well as perhaps give him some degree of freedom of mobility.

After taking a U turn at Somatane I raced back to the Dehu road junction and let the loose on the Highway. This time I watched the rev meter as the revs climbed from 7K to 8 K and at around 8500 RPM I was already crossing 109 KMPH on the digital speedo. This is where I guess I ran out of road, and ran out of courage too and slowed down. I have been able to touch more outrageous speeds on other bikes that I have had but this time I guess I decided to take it slow. I guess it was the drizzle that was the culprit. The bike however has awesome road holding capability. I credit it to the massive TVS jumbo 120/80 with its arrowhead tread. I have never felt the same confidence on any other bike when it comes to rear traction.

On reaching home I parked my Chotu along with the other beau’s I had and went shutter happy clicking the family photographs. The bike after having revved hard, perhaps reaching redline for a fraction of a second and doing good 3 digit speeds, qualifies for a medal of honour and a significant place in the Clan.

Watch Pics here

Independence Day Ride !!

Independence Day Ride
15th August 2007

Today we celebrate our independence day!! The independence which we credit to the efforts of our Leaders and Warriors who helped us get this freedom and after 1947 have continuously strived hard to maintain it. One of the most contributing members of this continuous fight to maintain freedom and prosperity are our soldiers. The men and women of the armed forces who have withstood harsh conditions and protected the country from evil eyes! This 15^th August I along with a few Biker friends celebrated the occasion by riding out to the National Defense Academy, Khadagwasla. We left around 4ish in the afternoon from Baner and rode all the way via Chandni Chowk and NDA road to the Pashan Gate of the Academy. After doing the necessary formalities at the gate we found out that despite it being a national holiday it was still a working day for the cadets and hence we may not be able to actually get to move around freely.

A couple of rules were clearly laid for us before we started off. Captain would be leading the entire group on his P220, followed by Self on the P180Dittsy, then Nalin on the CBZ, Suyash on his Avvy, Priyank on his Libero, and 2 more guys in their Zen! We started off in a nice formation from the Gate and rode down towards the Airfield. This airfield used to have a dirt airstrip sometime back but with the introduction of powered flight training at NDA, they constructed a Tarmac airstrip and jazzed it up. There was a Mystere Aircraft on display there. A quick “U” turn got us back on to the Main road and gunning towards Gol market. Since it was a working day we additionally got instructions to watch out for cadets on the road who had the ‘Right Of Way’ on this particular day and we would either have to slow down till they gave us the space to move ahead. We did run into a group of cadets running on the road and it did feel rather awkward to actually not blow horn but wait patiently for the pedestrian to move out of the way. Captain has immense discipline in these things as he frantically waved us down every time he saw something on the road which was essential to notice and act accordingly.

A small detour took as via the Salaria square and Sudan Block on to the Parade ground and down towards Peacock bay. It was here that we also saw some monkeys darting across the road and a signboard warning motorists of being aware of wildlife crossing the road. I could assume jackals, foxes, and other animals also skittering across the road in night. After crossing peacock bay we came out of the Khadagwasla gate and rode towards the Kudje village. The road was wet with constant drizzling and Captain was at his street biking best negotiating curves and hairpins with ease. We had lost the other riders someplace in the distance as just three of us rode in close formation. This was perhaps the 2^nd time we had to slow down to accommodate the slowpokes!! We turned around as soon as we realized we had come too far and then headed back towards NDA. After entering again we rode straight to the junction where we have the Commandant’s office and from there got off the main road on to a smaller tar strip. This incidentally was the outer perimeter road which went all the way round NDA on the outermost edge of the North-East boundary. This road was a narrow patch of tarmac with vast grasslands on both sides. As we rode further we came across the polo ground, football ground and fathomed the sheer vastness of the campus. It was here that we also came across two cadets running around the outer perimeter. Physical training is one aspect at NDA which is given immense importance and is used to inculcate discipline in the cadets. Even while punishing cadets for any misbehavior, the punishment is often just extended physical training – More running, more push-ups etc. From what I have heard most cadets do not consider going around the outer perimeter a very pleasant experience. It looked like Captain too had not been around the entire perimeter even during his two stints of 3 years each at the NDA, as a cadet and as the Squadron Commander. We also ran into some patches where an overflowing stream had caused some water logging and we waded through with our bikes and also did some semi-off-roading where slush and gravel were predominant on the road. Overall this ride was a very smooth and enjoyable patch as we were perhaps the only people on the road and were riding absolutely neck to neck at a comfortable speed of 40 – 50 KMPH. We came out at the Army Training Team area and reached the main gate once again. From here we turned back into Gol Market and finally stopped for a break.

The MiG 25 R mounted next to the Gol market caught my attention and while the rest of the gang went into one café for snacks and refreshments Nalin and I went up to the mighty bird and went trigger happy (read: Shutter Happy) on the fastest FIGHTER aircraft in the world. The MiG 25 is perhaps the only aircraft which is capable of short bursts from its cannon even while flying at speeds of Mach 2 and above. In other aircraft the speed of the projectile or rounds/bullets is slower than that of the aircraft hence they cannot actually FIGHT at that high speeds. There was a lot of interesting information about the MiG 25 and I had also heard a lot about how this aircraft found its way into NDA.

Read the MiG 25 Story here

Post the chai n snacks we again rode off towards the parade ground where we took a break and took some more photos. It was here at the FINAL STEP quarterdeck (Naval terminology), that I remembered some of my hay days at the Naval Academy. The Parade ground is impressive. So are the surroundings. The Parade ground has on display Tanks, Guns, a Sea Hawk, a MiG 21 FL, a model of INS Delhi, the Type 15 Destroyer we have. We rode off from the Parade ground and rode back to the Pashan gate, stopping en-route to click some more snaps. After moving out of NDA we came back to Captain’s place and then after bidding the customary good-byes rode towards our destinations. Nalin accompanied me home and we ended the fantastic evening by savoring some laddoos and watching a documentary on the Indian Air Force and nurturing the Patriotic spirit awakened in us after the visit to NDA.

An amazing experience it was visiting the academy where the brave officers of our nation are trained and sculpted, where men are crafted out of young boys, the alma mater of courage and discipline. I always have held the defense forces and academies in high respect despite not having a very pleasant experience myself. But then nothing makes my heart thump louder than the sight of our weaponry, our men in uniform and the spirit of patriotism.

JAI HIND!!

Catch Photos of the Ride here:

Chotu Meets Big Brother !!

What Happens when a Younger Brother Meets the Elder (Read: Bigger) Sibling for a brotherly get together early one fine morning?

Its a Rocking Event !! And it Happened today morning !

5:30 A.M. Thursday Morning August 9th, 2007 - I get a call from Captain Nandu Chitnis. - "Its a clear sky ! Perfect day for riding." It was decided that we would be taking Captain's Pulsar 220 out again for a short spin around town as it had just come back from its first service after completing 600 odd kms. Plus Captain was to leave for the sea in a day's time and then we wouldn't have had an opportunity to ride together. Incidentally i was awake as i was mentally preparing myself for this ride. Captain asked me to get Chotu my latest weapon of nomadic invasion - The Pulsar 180 DTSi V 1, and i quickly moved and arrived at his house. The moment he came down as if by sheer stroke of bad luck it started raining. We wondered what the rain gods had against us that made him release the showers the moment we decided to step out.

Anyways, the ride was pre-planned and so we took off. After confirming how the gears on the 180 worked Captain took charge of Chotu and i got astride the 220. Captain has an amazingly disciplined sense of riding, showing the indicators even when there is only one turn on the road. We rode through some bylanes on to Pashan road where Captain gunned the throttle of my 180 and zoomed ahead. Ask me how much i resisted the temptation to take the 220 beyond 4K RPM. The max i could touch through was about 52 - 55 kmph on the 220 maintaining a steady 4K RPM. The throttle response of the 220 is absolutely amazing. There is absolutely no lag between twist of the wrist and the sudden lurch ahead.

The bike doesn't knock even in 4th gear at engine speeds as low as 2200 and speedo shoing some 16-18 kmph. I have found the Pulsars pretty prone to knocking and the gearbox being irritatingly notchy, this one was one helluva different exception. I could say the gear shift mechanism is feather touch. One flick of the toe and i find myself in a different bandwidth. Even climbing inclines in 5th gear was a breeze.

Once we crossed Chandni chowk we continued on the slightly desolate NDA road all the way till the NDA main gate. Here we sat at the visitors room contemplating if it would be feasible to ride inside NDA till peacock Bay and then back out. As long as we sat inside the weather was sparkingly clear and as soon as we came out in the open to ride, it started pouring again like crazy. Finally understanding that Gods actually wanted us to return from there we decided to turn back. Captain very politely asked his bike back, and i gave him the keys to the 220. He definitely did mention though that of all the Bajaj Bikes that have been built the 180 is perhaps the best engineered. I guess i am just lucky to have this Smart Chotu under me as of now !

We rode back same way and around Pashan i took leave of Captain as he stopped for some household chores. I promised him i would definitely be writing my experiences on the 220 and putting it on to friends today. Summing it up in following points.

1. First Impressions - This was the 2nd time i had seen the bike in daylight. The colour simply rocks. My Chotu and this 220 share the same instrument console.
2. Seating position very sporty. Feel like Rossi already. Also feels quite comfortable for crusing not much stress on wrists and shoulders. Knees also help in planting oneself on the Bike and hugging the sides.
3. Turning radius although feels little big for a pulsar. My Yezdi is worse and perhaps has a turning radius marginally larger than the Maruti Zen. LOL !!
4. Fairing Plastic feels a little flimsy. Doesn't have the rock solid feel of the ZMA fairing though.
5. Gearbox - SIMPLY SUPERB. gear changes are like Mouse Clicks !!
6. Throttle Response - Drag racing at its best. 20 Horses unleashed at ONCE !!
7. Handling - Turning and stability - Much better than any other "Plastic" bike i have ever ridden. Although I have felt equally stable only on my Yezdi's and Bullet.

Looks like there is going to be some time before anyone betters this PERFORMER !!

Way to Go - Skipper. Way to go - Sliver Hawk !!

Pics of the Bikes

Till then Keep Riding !!

Bye Bye Glady - Welcome Chotu !!

They say - Kabhi Alvida na Kehna!!!!

But i did exactly that this weekend..and trust me it wasn't a pleasant experience !!

It is often painful to say a Goodbye to anyone, especially if it’s someone or something very special and I have had to say exactly that this weekend. After a long and really refreshing ride Sunday morning I had to fulfill an obligation of returning the Yamaha Gladiator 125 DLX I had been riding for the past one year to someone. Yes it had a special place in my life and my heart as I had prepared a complete full fledged excel sheet with a lot of calculations built in to arrive at the selection of this motorcycle. Right form selecting the Cubic Capacity to the number of gears, Gearbox quality, Brand value, mileage to on road price also. I needed something which Rossi had ridden, Was an International brand, Had 5 Gears, Electric Start, Disc Brakes, Could generate more than 10 BHO and still return around 50 KMPL as mileage, besides being a good looking bike with stunning graphics. So I arrived at this one. The Gladiator!!!

I had named this bike "Silver Daze", and yes it was a BOY. SILVER because of its colour and DAZE because of its dazzling performance. It is still the best in its class I guess. During some of my recent Pune-Mumbai-Pune runs I managed to reach Mumbai in Under 2 Hours on this bike averaging a speed of 72kmph and chasing a Storm hence I renamed it "Storm Chaser". It did chase Thunderstorms and what not while gobbling up the tarmac. Only major expense was - I had to replace its clutch plates once after 10K kms owing to the maddening traffic in Mumbai City.

This bike was supposed to be a gift for my birthday but as things have turned out, I guess when people part ways even gifts have to be returned. So I had to return this Bike. I have completed around 12K kms on this bike and it was time for it to move on now. Now I had to look for a replacement for the Silver Daze. Luckily a fellow Nomad was popping off his bike and all I had to do was grab that up. Financials would be discussed later and the bike could be mine instantly.

So I embarked on the legendary ride back to Mumbai on the 5^th of August 2007 starting off at 5 in the evening just after the AMAZING friendship day ride with Nandu, Venkat n Suyash in the morninig, and despite getting reports of BAD rains in Mumbai but still going ahead with the plan. I rode through maddening rains, blinding thundershowers to reach Mumbai around 8ish and managed to finally hand over the Bike, Keys and Papers to the rightful owner. One last look at the Bike parked in the compound, wiped off one lonesome tear next to my eyelash and walked out to catch a rickshaw. Used this lousy mode of public transport an artifact created by some Looney creature playing with engines and wheels, I reached Reddy’s garage where my next steed was being done up.

My Next weapon of choice was a Bajaj Pulsar 180 DTSi V1. What do I call this bike? “CHOTU” for the time being – One because it’s the youngest and Two because that’s what I call the previous ride Arpan. This was the silver beast Arpan had been riding till he picked up the bigger 220 for himself. The bike was all done up, polished and shinning and looking its best ever. I had ridden a Pulsar a few weeks back and here it was again that I was doing the same thing. I took a few pointers form Arpan and then set off from Goregaon in Mumbai on the bike at around 10:40 P.M. This was obviously late for a Mumbai – Pune ride that too in monsoons.

I took a break at Vikhroli, the place where I used to live for nearly 2 years in Mumbai. Lovely place !!!!. Mumbai roads have been devastated in the rains. Even the new ones which were built a few months back have all been washed away and flooded. It’s a complete pain riding in Mumbai. I am so damn thankful I left this goddamn city. After tanking up with a masala chai at CCD Vikhroli, one of my favorite joints I rode off towards Pune. Traffic and bad roads made me reach Vashi around 12ish and there Rains suddenly increased to form a thick curtain of water forcing me off the damn road. With the spray of water coming from each truck wheel it was getting more and more difficult to keep the visor open and look at the road.

The ride was marred with frequent stretches where the rains would become so unbearable that I would reduce my speed to less than 30 kmph to keep myself going and squinting my eyes to see through the raindrops the road ahead. Finally as soon as I reached Khopoli the rains stopped and I started climbing the ghats with panache. As I climbed up I noticed the powerful lights on the bike made judging the curves better even in the pitch dark night and gobbling each curve with speed. This was the fastest ghat climb I have ever done on the Khopoli ghats ever in my life. Man what an achievement. As I neared Lonavala the cold started getting to me. I could feel a shiver travel down my spine as my rain soaked jeans and jacket were keeping me snugly CHILLED out!!

I took a break at the Lonavala Bus stand to stretch my legs and grab a cuppa tea. It was 1:35 and I was just a little distance from Pune. The bike was still doing good and the rains had slowed down quite a lot. A short break later I again moved and started off towards Pune. Riding madly through crosswinds which blew me off the road many a times around Kamshet area I managed to reach the outskirts of Pune soon. It was here that I was doing a good 100 kmph while maintaining 8K RPM when a HUGE 18 wheeler Truck over took me and blinded me with its spray. MAN this was the MAN. Yes Tempo, now FORCE is testing the new generation MAN trucks from Germany which they are launching in India. This was one huge machine. I trailed it all the way on NH 4 till I turned off the highway towards my home. I rode into my building parking lot and parked the Pulsar right at the same place where the Gladiator used to be parked. I glanced at the time. It was 3:00 A.M. WHATTA RIDE IT WAS!!!! I came home, changed, showered and huddled inside my quilt and dozed off almost instantly. Woke up way too late the next day but then MONDAY morning blues and Office Woes dragged me out and sent me packing to office on my new bad boy – The pulsar !! I have never been a great Bajaj fan but looks like there is a high conversion possibility.

Pics of the Outgoing Gladiator

Pics of the New Bike!

Until next time Keep riding !!

Friendship Day Ride !!

Biker Brothers - Friends Forever !!

Friendship Day it was, and what better day to celebrate this event with some of my bestest friends. Brothers form my Biking family. Captain Chitins had planned a smallish ride to show Venkat Shyam, our friend from Auto Service Bangalore, the places around Pune as well as give him the chance of riding Captain’s latest acquisition – The Pulsar 220 DTSFi. We were supposed to reach a place called Chandani Chowk on the outskirts of Pune at around 8:30ish but then something held us back and we managed to get there only by 9. Nalin was the first one to drop out owing to a flat tyre. Praveeen Shirali had work on his hand and on a Sunday was zooming off to office.

So off we rode from CC, Suyash n Skipper on their Avengers (Both Red) me on my 1976 Yezdi model B and Venkat on Captain’s 220. Captain’s wife and friends followed us in the Cage – ala – the Santro. Somehow Rain Gods were oh so merciless on us that it kept pouring continuously all the way as we rode up from Paud towards Mutha Ghats and then further on to the base village near Lavassa Dam. The first break we took was at the Lavassa Dam where we saw one fantastic view of the Dam sluice gates open and water gushing down like crazy. Then started the climb with Captain leading the way and we negotiating the "twisties" with ease. The second stop was on the top of the Lavassa Dam where we rode on the Dam top and enjoyed the strong gusts of wind and the choppy waters that flowed underneath.

A few pics later we were off again towards the top. The visibility dropped drastically as we climbed and the clouds descended. Shivers ran up my spine as temperatures dropped and the rainwater started seeping inside my jacket. We crossed the main gate of Lavassa city and kept riding till we reached the end of the road inside a village. Further we trekked down a muddy and slushy path to have a glimpse of the amazing valley beneath. The whole environment was getting more and more mistier and we were charging through it like Raiders of the Storm. A brief halt and some clicks later we turned back towards Lavassa City.

On coming back to Lavassa main gate we saw a whole lot of other Biker’s there. These were mainly guys from various Biking and Stunting groups from Pune namely RSA, AIR X-BHP etc!!. We stopped and what followed was a very very warm exchange of words. We also met up with Bhuvan who is an avid biker himself and had just acquired a swanking new Black Pulsar 220 and had already broken in the bike by scraping the rear mudguard doing sky-scraping wheelies. We took a few snaps here and then decided it was time for us to move back. The rain had drenched me and my poor hapless pillion so badly that I decided to ask her to hitch a ride back in the cage. No point exposing her to the elements especially with no weather protection whatsoever. She quietly sulked, biking enthusiast that she is, and got off and sat in the car. But then she practically leaned out of the window trying to capture the ride downhill through some really amazing pictures. We took the curves with even more panache as the rains had gone down by some amount but were replaced by solid cross winds. The bikes literally flew with every gust of strong cross-wind and before we could decide how to over-steer or under-steer to tackle things beyond our control the bikes would have moved ahead on their own. Somehow we reached the bottom of the hills and stopped next to the overflowing dam once again. Captain was over-jubilant with this ride and the pictures definitely do show the same effect in his charming smile and enthusiastic gestures. KICKASS ride this was !! One HELLUVA Kick-Ass Ride !!

The ride back from Lavassa was rather boring as the rains were still there but then by now the journey back was getting more and more boring. I incidentally crossed the 1,23,000 km mark on my heavy metal bike. She was doing awesome all through the ride but then the only issue was the horn and lights..Poor and probably as bright as candles. What more can u expect from a 31 year old alternator…

The last stop was at Buninda’s Dhaba where we filled our tummies, then tanked up at a petrol pump nearby and zoomed off into the horizon. We reached home around 3ish and then relaxed for a little while. There was one more adventure awaiting us in just an hour’s time.

Wait and watch for the next entry to read the next adventure !!!

Pictures of the Friendship Day Ride !!