Whoa fellas. This is not the same review that has been posted on what to carry and what not to. This is infact a little different. This makes for how to ride safe and come back safe from a long journey. This intends on leaving the bike smooth and subtle even after one week’s long ride while also preventing you from being down and out.
1. Plan: A proper plan that is more realistic should be put up and revised on a two-days-once basis. Make sure you are tuned into the local news as to the condition(weather, roads, political disarray etc.) of the places you propose to travel. Don’t execute your plan unless you know the whole area thoroughly. Take help of localites if you are a stranger in that area. If u feel u need to bypass a particular place, do it with information procured from reliable/trusted sources. Don’t think u can change route on your way. The route could be dangerous.
2. Getting Ready: Get your bike serviced and run around 200-300 Kms before starting off on the ride. This will help you fine tune/ tweak some settings on your bike. If you are visiting the coastal or Ghat(mountainous) areas, then make sure your tires have sufficient tread in them and your bike handles well. Dont take a bike which dances upon kissing water. You may end up licking the water yourself. Get the cables thoroughly checked. Check on how to replace bulbs and learn them. Take important but adequate spares. Prepare a checklist of all the items needed for the trip. Make copy of it and give to all members to be in the trip.
3. Riding Gear: It is wise to dress up depending on the season. From March to September, a light resin material track pant will do well. A jacket which is both water proof and light should be excellent. Gloves should be weather proof. Boots could be sports ones which are both water proof and not too tight. Dont wear heavy dresses. Give place for air circulation inside the dress. If not, you may suffocate if riding under intense sun. In heavy rains, you may develop a bad cold with more water getting seeped up in more clothes. Also, wetness increases weight. For post rainy season till March, A free but thick jeans, nice heavy leather boots and thin wind-cheater should do. But it is preferrable to have the waterproof one still. Also, use the weather proof gloves itself.
4. Timing: Start off anything like 5-6 AM. IF you are late, you are sure to be held up in heavy traffic until you reach the highway. Anything early would mean you’ll have to navigate among truckers.(Difficult task provided this scenario: A truck at 41 Kmph tries to overtake a truck at 40 Kmph). Next, avoid pit stops unnecessarily. Slow and steady or fast and steady, at the end of the day, you will end up stopping every 45 minutes. So, initially, make it a habit to ride for 70-90 minutes constantly before pitting for around 15 minutes. Switch riders and pillion(if possible) every break so no one gets exhausted soon. Have in mind that you can travel a maximum of 1.1 Km every minute on an average(66 Kmph). The speedometer will not give you your story.’Riding at 100 Kmph Constant’ would mean you reached the top end for about 3-4 minutes. Then again you are encountered by some obstacle. Anything more is a bonus.
5. Smooth Riding: Every time you start off, dont rev the engines. Switch to the top gear utilising only the torque.(i.e., dont run like 1st Gear: 30 K, 2nd Gear: 50 K, 3rd . 5th Gear 120 Kmph!). Dont race around as this can use up precious fuel and also, heat up engines unusually quickly. Ride normally, smoothly. When once you are in top gear, try to keep off the clutch and also, avoid chopping the gears as much as possible. Your ride will be smooth, engine will be stress free and mileage will also be excellent. One more thing, the tires will not get loaded so much under normal accelaration, thereby increasing tire life.
6. Precautionary riding: Whenever you notice a bus trying to overtake some other big vehicle opposite to you, never try to dare him. He won’t even care about mowing you down. Be ready to take off-road and come back on as quickly as possible. Flashing head-lights will have the least effect on most of them. Only in very rare situations you may get some response to that. While cornering in Ghats, take a very tight line. Choose something near the inner most curb of the road, ’coz this part is generally not exposed to oil dripping from moving trucks. Also, avoid braking while turning(in rainy conditions especially). But again, exercise the best discretion to choose which part of the road is better and what technique will suit the corner best. Remember, you are not insured and there is no ambulance following you. So avoid racing.(Yes, special racing insurance has to be availed before entering racing).
7. Night Riding:Avoid night driving as most likely your bike’s lights will be inefficient against other mammoth vehicles’ lights. In foggy conditions, a pair of well focussed fog lamps coule be of help. But not to a huge extent. You can ride safely at least in 2nd or 3rd gears rather than struggling in 1st gear. As much as possible, plan to reach your daily destination by dusk. Nights could also mean venturing out into the wild(Animals/Tribals/Robbers).
8. Miscellaneous: Try to top up the tank well before you hit the reserve mode. Not doing this could be really dangerous if you enter a massive forest section which is generally isolated for long distances(40+ Kms minimum). Forest sections require gentle riding to give the best. Keep the bike chugging along in 3rd or 4th gear only. Mostly 5th gear is useless. 1st and 2nd may prove a bit too much. Also, due to the cool air and high humidity, air density will be more than normal, meaning the engine’s power, torque and mileage will go up. Hence, ride calmly, casually and enjoy the serenity of Mother Nature while you ride through these and you will enjoy the ride. Keep a wide eye for unusual appearances. Stones placed in the middle of the road, unusual road blocks in apparently isolated areas could mean dacoits trouble. Try to make a safe run. This needs a lot of concentration in this situation.
More over, enjoy the ride. Carry sufficient cash and medical supplies. And do please let me know if I missed anything in the comments section. Also, please rate the review.