Monday, August 27, 2007

one week in Pune and around

The odometer showed something 1400kms odd.I hoped to cover next 600 kms in my Pune trip before the 2nd servicing was due.And that I did,at the end of the my pune trip odometer is showing 2400kms! 380 Out of those 1000 kms I clocked in one day,that too on hilly roads of Pune-Konkan(diwe-aagar to be exact) on Saturday 25th august.Just a day before I had got my bike serviced from ProBiking,FC road.
There were no serious problems as such save faulty gauge which wasn't repaired in 1st service due to non availability of fuel sensors.
If you are curious about what happened to long awaited fuel-gauge issue's result,there's bad news.Those sensors are still not available meaning that I have to wait even more before they replace it.



But otherwise the everything was pleasant.They delivered my bike in 1.5hours flat.I waited there itself and watched my bike getting serviced.
So nothing special about 2
nd service.What happened after it,is exciting.The bike became even more smooth and its acceleration noticeably improved.Besides the gear shifts which were a bit too clunky to my choice,smoothened out.
(
*Special note - people who drain the oil (which ProBiking people fill in) and put in their choiced oil like Motul/valvoline or any other brand here's a good news for you.The ProBiking now houses Motul 3000t oil as standard.So each bike they now fill up with Motul with no extra cost.This oil is supposed to be long lasting and give more performance,although I could not verify it)



Now coming back to my
konkan tour.There were only two of us besides of course my P200.
We started our journey in morning itself at 8am.The destination we chose(
diwe-aagar) is 150kms from pune.
Right from start we witnessed some scenic views and clouds were floating literally on the roads.
Every kilometer of that whole stretch runs through mountains.A perfect road for any tourer.There aren't many fuel stations though so be wary of the fact and fill up your tank
up to the brim.
Once we reached
diwe-aagar we did normal rituals.Like finding a good inn to have lunch.
You have to tell them in advance to cook the food.These are not regular run of the mill hotels.Instead these inns are family owned eateries.You get finest of fish
recipies here.
As for the sea and beach front, I can't really comment.All the beaches in
Konkan are so good that favouring one of them will be an insult to others.So I will just say this is one of my favorites.
But alas,due to rainy season the sea is too risky and water is muddy.Local people advised not to go in the water.As you may have guessed these people know probably a hundred times better than us.So we did not dare to cross check their claim,and remained on sand itself while watching the roaring sea.
However,Instead of writing everything,I will let the pictures do the talking.

This is somewhere en route to konkan

The famous tamhini ghaat.

The road to clouds.
Mulshi lake.

Diwe-aagar beach,bewitchingly empty.There were only 3 of us.Me,chetan and the 200.
The sea was dangerous to say the least.Parked my P200 well off the water.


Clicking a self portrait is tough job.


Clicking in macro mode is even more tough!The fish that we didn't catch!
(
The furious sea had pushed hundreds of fishes onto the beach most of them died since the sea never reached them again)
The morning was sunny and no rains while we reached there.Bike remained clean even after 150
kms of journey.
That provided for nice photos.




Riding on sand is fun.Check out that grin on my face!
Even a slightest push on brake pedal leaves a huge scar on sand.Fabulous.But strictly no to Front disc.You will be knee deep in the sand even before you realise.


Now the question arises,whether P200 is a good touring machine?
Just to say it is one terrific tourer will be an understatement.It is so good that never once did I feel something missing.Not even once.
Handling and suspension is near perfect for typical Indian roads(even with pillion).
Disc brake worked like magic even though most of the time it was soaked in water most of the time.
The whole journey it took into its stride as if it were regular city roads.The occasional potholes,pools of water,loose gravel,mud,sand not withstanding.P200 rode through all this like anything.
Not only this, I really opened the throttle open whenever I got the chance.And after all this torment she returned 42
kmpl.Now seriously what more can you ask for?
I know a serious tourer will hardly care for fuel efficiency,once he is astride his beloved machine.But still it amazed me.
The only gripes I felt were slightly hard seat and those grab-rails.After riding continuously for 4 hours my bum started aching and I needed to stop and descend from the bike.Besides,Those grab-rails can be best termed as fashion accessory.All show and no go.Clutching them for support is useless.You just can't hold onto them.But these are really insignificant glitches and almost non existent.P200's other virtues more than make up for it.

The question is answered then.P200 is one of those rare breeds which can handle almost anything you throw at, with ease.She is a top notch motorcycle and I will bet my last penny on it.


This is what 200 leaves behind...


1 comment:

  1. Hey, nice blog dude...
    Do have a look at mine too :)

    -http://pulsar220club.blogspot.com/
    -Aditya Bhelke

    ReplyDelete