Monday, October 5, 2009

Solo RoadTrip to Bhandardara

Text & Images By : Rachit

Hello Guyz... Am back with another small ride. It had been quite some days after my Leh Ride, I did Mumbai-Goa-Mumbai to ride to relieve myself. But again my inner rider soul was popping up so to satisfy it, I did a Small Solo ride to Bhandardara. A solo ride was pending from quite a while. Riding solo is a totally different pleasure of being close to nature. You are as free as a bird flying without any rules, without any worries. This ride was not at all decided. I had taken leaves to take a break from the hectic work schedule. It was Tuesday (04 Oct, 2009) night & I was still thinking about the ride next day. At 2AM in night I was searching for some nearby destinations around. Finaly narrowed down on Bhandardara.
I was expected to wake up by 5.30am & leave for ride early morning to enjoy the morning bliss. But my lazy soul only could wake up at 11AM.. Damn late now, isnt it..!! I was confused thinking if I should go for this ride or not & if I will be back home early. Finally the biking side of my soul won the argument & I decided to go for this ride. Got full geared up & left home by 12PM in afternoon.

While riding, didnt clicked much pix. Just few are here to witness my ride.

A tea break just before Kasara Ghat to start..



On the route


I went almost 30kms ahead of a turn which I was suppose to take & reached trimbakeshwar. From here I rode back to the turn I missed



The lovely Bhandardara, awaiting..!!


A truck tumbled... No I havent done it.. :)


Just couldnt stop taking halts..




Road cutting thru Village


And the villagers
 

Finally reached the Dam..
 

The lonely one...
 

Where would you see this in the city..!! Road, Mountains, Greenery.. Aha..!!
 

My steed on the level of Dam
 

Dam satisfying thirsts of Millions
 

the Typical village road
 

Is it touching the clouds..??
 

The curve.. What else would you want now


Food time..!! At a dhaba



Oh shit.. The rainy clouds are nearing.. lets run fast.. 
 

Reached home dry.. Yeahhhh..!!!
 

Kms Completed : 383 kms.
Route : Mumbai - Bhandardara Dam - Mumbai
Date : 05 Oct '09

If interested in watching more pix.. Check out my album here

Solo RoadTrip to Bhandardara...

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Bikes are Alive.. They are watching us..!!

 
Consolidating with the machine to feel it, thats so true.. U & I still remember the time, when our bikes conked off due to some pain, in middle of no-where & we spoke nervously virtually with the machine, pleaded it to get running & yeah it has done that, utilized the last breathe, came back to life for a while & has taken us to the source of help; till its breathe lasted..
This is a wonderful instance to realize it does "feel",..

Care for the machine & it will never let u down.. Speak with the machine, it will respond u back by an expression on the road.... They can feel us & we do feel them., Theres a connection a biker & a bike shares, which no-one can interpret.. Make this connection more strong.. The only difference between our expression & the machines, is the language, which is nothing but a distinct way to express having the same purpose...
I still remember the time, years back when i was a no-vice & got my beautiful companion with two wheels.. When I panicked on road, in middle of traffic where I stood as a prey, having difficult times to control it.. But my bike stood by my side without expressing a clue of irritation, telling me.. "Its fine, do it again". Always felt proud when I be with her.. Was in a real pain when I saw my bikes state after the crash, had sleepless night till I saw her in a proper shape.. We both looked each other in pain when we saw each other wounds.. Smiled at each other, when again started zooming & breathing on the highway..

Makes me wonder, why do I feel so much for her, why it pains when I see her having trouble, why do I always try to defend some limitation if she has than of the rivals.. Why.?
I know here on this part of the world which is xBHP, all of us do feel the same way.. No one can take any words against the machine we own, cause it has always stood by us. Seen with us, our life, bad & good times.. Saw me falling, the best time of my life I had with my better half, heard when we faught, stood in the sun in parking out of my office waiting for me for long hours..... Done so much for us, how we can call it a "Non-Living Bike". Its more than that.. a Living Machine which can breathe & react..

This is a mere example & evidence of we having a strong Bonding between Us & Our Machine. Hence from the above, one fact can be concluded is "Yes, they are watching us, they are feeling us.. They do LIVE, Love them & Get Loved" 

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Solo Ride to Mumbai - Malshej - Ozar

Solo Ride to Mumbai - Malshej - Ozar

Date : 7th Feb 2009
Bike : Red Karizma
Total KMs : 330km
Destination : Mumbai - Malshej - Ozar (ashtavinayak ganapati)
Riders : Solo
Average/Cruising Speed : 80kmph (on speedo)
Top Speed : 135kmph (on speedo)
Road : Good Roads (70%), Average / Bad (30%)
Time : 6.30am - 4pm (with lot of halts)

It has been quite a while I was thinking of doing some solo ride after keeping a frequent close watch on the Tourer section of xBHP.
Recently last sunday i had been on a solo ride to alibaug & hence was desperately seeking a good little more far away ride. Well, now choosing a destination was a big confusion. As I wanted to be back in a days time & before it gets dark. Got the biking directions from yahoo india maps,
shortlisted four places i.e. Malshej, Kashedi, Jawhar, Bhandardara. Took a printout of this routes & started thinking before going to bed.;) Thinking about it I started feeling very sleepy, still wasnt sure about the destination. Atleast I had made up my mind to go on a ride next morning (i.e. Saturday 7th Feb). Got up early morning ar 6am ( i know its not too early), while having my bath I decided a place :) "Malshej". Since I had recently gone for a Cleanup ride with xBHPians to malshej so was very somewhat aware of the route, roads & the beautiful twisties on the ghat. I thought of venturing bit ahead of it & lets see where the roads takes me or if theres any good place waiting for me. So had tea, as I thought breakfast will have on the way, Put on my jacket, took a bottle of water in my backpack, cleaned up my bike & here i left. Even my bike was bit thirsty, so was hunting for petrol pump. Left from Bhandup, took the straight road from thane majiwada through flyover to bhiwandi. The climate was fabalous. There was a small ghat, am not sure what is its name.

Little traffic but the climate was pleasing me. After a little ride I reached Kalyan from where I had to go to Murbad. I am too bad remembering the roads, never ever I do. I just waited on the road side just to tally the route with my route map, suddenly a couple came on a bike next to me & asked me for the way to panvel. Me giving them the paper of direction I was referring to, asked see if this can help you, they quietly left me. :D Btw, my office currently is at thane, if you take me through some other road, am sure I will get lost :D. Anyways after a lot of navigational
help from the locals I got a petrol pump somewhere after kalyan & filled up fuel into my bike. To mention here, I didnt had much cash with me, just 200bucks. Thanks to the credit card which helped me for the fuel. Driving for a while then I reached murbad, asked for the way to Malshej. After a descent drive of almost 100kms i reached some place where I could see some basic hotels. From here I could see the Malshej ghat & the mountains, where I
had to reach. Before that thought of having something, as was feeling damn hungry after a drive of 100kms. All I could find was a Batata vada & a socalled misal. More than choice, something eatable was important so quickly had it & headed towards the awaiting moutains.


Sat back on my bike & headed towards the inviting roads to the hills. Driving on the roads, me & my bike yelled a word "VOW"..!! Yeah, the roads where not only very good to drive on but also beautiful. Trees from both the side forming an entrance, sun trying to peirce from the branches, leaf falling & sprinkly on the roads..
Amazing.. Check the pix, all the snaps are clicked from my Nokia 6500s (3.2 MP, Carl Zeiss), Though not enriched resolution but good enough to feel the trip log.

Entire scene while driving was so wonderful, I started singing while driving.. Trees started laughing at me hence I stopped. :)..
Waited on many spots to capture the wonderful views, twisties, scenes. Am sure if had clicked snaps of every beautiful visuals my phone would have overflowed with its memory. The only disadvantage in a solo ride is, you dont get own snaps. But who cares,.!! Riding alone is a glorious feel in itself,just U & the nature.. Place is a nirvana.!!.


The ghat is so amazing, I had a close feel of it riding alone.. Leaning was never so much of fun, wonferful roads on the curves, what else do you need for cornering. Saw a small temple on the way of ghat which is a very attractive spot. The temple is within the rocks & I believe this particular place while rains, gets the most beautiful spot in the ghats.



Waited there, took an ashirwad from Bajrang Bali.. (Bolo.. Jai Hanuman!! :)) & left further. There was a sign board on the way "Caution? Falling Rock Do Not Stop", but here the "I" was missing from Caution, thought the rock had fallen really here which took away the "I" also.. lol..!!



Passed through a nice tiny tunnel, even the monkeys on the way wished me luck..;) Finally..!! reached the top of it with some nice pix in my pocket.
There was a beautiful lake, looking at it felt like rode above & reached the heaven. Couldnt resist myself stopping by the lake & sitting for the while listening to the wind & water current.


This is what India is man..!! So beautiful.!! Place is miles away from pollution, dirtiness.. Pure nature.. Nirvana.!!
Alright, so malshej ghat is done.. now what was in my mind.. but my bike wanted to just run & so did I, unknown of the next destination, riding on to some place which I dont know,. I started feeling what real biking is all about, its not about destination, its all about ride like somebody said. That was the ideal thought floating in my mind, my odometer was even excited to run so fast. After a ride of like 35-40kms I thought of waiting at some place & enquiring with villagers if theres some place to see ahead. On asking them, I got to know about a Holy Place called as "Ozar" situated just 15kms away. Knowing more about this temple, it is one of the ashtavinayaks ganapati (Vajreshwar). Without wasting any more time just headed towards the temple. The road was real bad for around 5-6kms, bumpy..


Wished if my bike could get converted to a dirt bike & I do motocross.. I was literally standing while riding through those wicked bumps. But it was really scenic, the farms, farmers, cows, sheep & also a scarecrow to shoo me away..!! :P
Reached the temple, was really beautiful.. There was the same lake perhaps connected to it. Though photography was not allowed but managed to click some snap of the lord Vajreshwar (Ganapati).

I hope you are praying right now.. Else please do it :)
Extremely cool place, sat for a while in the temple. Guess what, I called up my mom at home told
her where I am .. She started shouting at me, but when I told her I have come to this temple.. She was feeling very happy about me & bit stunned. I gave her the wonderful gift "Sound of the bell (ghanta) of temple through the cellphone..!!". Got very happy & even I felt I did something good. Visiting this sacred place I was blessed :). Took some prasad for the friends & family. Really was not in a mood of having food, but still managed to eat a Sada Dosa & I left back for home. It was almost 1.30pm, very hot when I started riding back. But the trees on the way helped me by their shade. Was feeling very sleepy & tired, dieng to take rest atleast for 15-20min.


But I thought let me complete the malshej ghat first & then will see. Again I drove for around 70kms & stopped in a nice peacefull shady place. Parked my bike bit on the offroad beneath a tree.



There was a farm all around, a cow was relaxing near to me, was small fountain coming out of the broken pipe & could hear the wind passing by. Kept my bike on the main stand, took off my jacket kept in on the handle & I lied down over my bike making the jacket as my cushion. Yeah, my bikes long enough I can sleep over it. It sounds funny, but I got the real moment which I was waiting for since a long time. All I could see up was the trees with their branches entangled & the blue sky.

Just mind blowing.. Feel it to know it..!! Lied down for almost 20min, felt fresh..


Got up, put on my jacket back & ready to ride hard now.. I drived non stop for over 100kms in 1.5 hrs & reached back home by 4.30pm.


This entire trip was so beautiful & enchanting, would love to go again & again. It has encouraged me to get more bolder on the weekends, pickup my bag, get on the bike & ride hard somewhere really far away from this busy world to a more realistic place.. Then only one can enjoy the ride & know what the biking is all about.
Ride Hard people..!! Am here to ride till my breathe allows me.. !!! Ride Hard or Stay Home..!
Happy & Safe Riding..!!

For more pix. Please visit my Picasa Album here.
Solo one day RoadTrip to Malshej - Ozar

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Performing Clutch wheelies


How to Perform Clutch Wheelies on a Motorcycle


from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Clutch wheelies are better than power/bounce wheelies because you can do them without accelerating (much); in tight areas, at very low speed, and they are much smoother than power wheelies both on the way up and down. You can also ride them out much longer and shift into higher gears.

Steps


  1. You don't need a very powerful bike. You can definitely clutch wheelie a 500 cc sport bike, it just takes higher revs.
    • Stock gearing is fine, however, with this setup it can't clutch up in 2nd. You'll need a 520 kit for that. (To clutch up in second with less bouncing, try going -1 on the front sprocket, and +2 on the rear.
    • If you buy these sprockets in 525 pitch, you will be able to change them and use the stock chain).
      • (Edit:The chain length will be correct, but you cannot use a 520 chain on 525 sprockets, or vice versa.)


  2. Sit comfortably, upright on the bike. You don't have to slide back for this trick. "It is possible to clutch up a wheelie at 70 mph in 3rd gear on a gsxr-600." This will take more practice, but it is very possible.
  3. Drive at a steady pace around 1500-2000rpm. (Should be about 10-20mph).
  4. When you are ready for liftoff, quickly open up the throttle and accelerate. This is VERY important because it compresses your rear suspension. It's very difficult to clutch a wheelie without compressing rear suspension first. You're not trying to build up speed! Starting at low RPMs is very important. If you start a clutch wheelie at 5000RPM, it will be very difficult and you'll red line long before you go vertical. Power comes from low RPM.
  5. Almost immediately after accelerating, pull clutch in enough to disengage and let the engine rev to about 6000RPM. You can do this slow at first, eventually it becomes an instantaneous motion.
  6. Quickly release the clutch at about 80%. This is the hardest part. You HAVE to release fast. You'll know you released too fast when your RPM drops down to 2000 - this means you released too fast. Practice, practice, practice. When you get it right it will feel like you have hydraulics on your front wheel and pop right up (much quicker and smoother than a power-bounce wheelie).
  7. Once you master this, your bike should be popping up a little bit. The next step is throttle control.
    • While releasing the clutch, add throttle. If you want to go big - vertical - and stay there - the big thing to learn is that you can not let go of the throttle OR the clutch. You will control height of the wheelie with your clutch at this point.

  8. So once again.. once comfortable with the clutch release motion, start giving it lots of throttle. You should be able to keep it up in 1st gear for a few seconds without any problems. The higher you go the longer you stay up.
  9. Once you get good, you won't have to rev before you clutch. Do them at the same time.


Tips


  • Your front wheel acts as a gyro to keep your bike straight. Don't hit the front brake! Keep it spinning!
  • If you feel the bike going a little too far back, try tapping the back brake a little instead of chopping the throttle, this will let you keep your rpms up so you don't slam the front end and blow a fork seal.
  • Releasing clutch too slow or not enough. You have to let it out in one quick motion, just a flick. Think of the clutch as your foot kicking the back tire. If you kick it your foot will bounce off...if you just push your foot into, even with a lot of force, it won't bounce back.
  • Practice giving it lots of throttle and more clutch. Just don't loop it!


Warnings


  • Using the clutch to wheelie will eventually destroy your clutch, chain, and sprockets, so make sure to check them for damage before and after each practice session.
  • Most insurance companies WILL NOT cover damage done while "riding unsafely", which does include stunting, so be prepared to pay for everything you break.
  • Wheelies are REALLY dangerous. Doing them on public roads is irresponsible and can easily cost you your license, or even your life. Proceed with care!
  • When practicing wheelies, assume whatever object is, or will be within 500 feet of your direction of travel, you WILL hit. Remember, you have no steering and no braking whatsoever when on one wheel. Even when your front wheel comes down, your shocks are compressed, therefore no brakes until they decompress.(Edit:The position of the suspension has no bearing on the operation of the brakes.) This could take 100 feet depending on speed! Make sure the path is clear at all times!!
  • It's best to learn wheelies on a small dirt bike. Street bikes are heavier and more powerful; they can hurt you more easily and are a lot more expensive to fix when you fall.
  • Riders of above-average skill frequently fall (crash) when stunt riding. You don't have to flip the bike to hurt yourself badly. Trust your instincts and don't let others pressure you into wheelies or other stunts.


Things You'll Need


  • Helmet, gloves, protective pants and jacket. You probably won't loop your bike but be ready for the worst. Frame sliders are also recommended.
  • A special "stunt cage" is available for many bikes. It's an external frame that protects the bike from hitting pavement.
  • A special bar can also be installed on the rear. Also known as a 12-bar. This prevents the bike from going beyond vertical.
  • Stunt riding should be practiced only on a closed course with proper preparation (gear, insurance, and someone to provide first aid and call paramedics if needed).


Related wikiHows




Sources and Citations





Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Perform Clutch Wheelies on a Motorcycle. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.