There are some people who live their life calculated, slow, boring. Then there are others who take every risk they can and fly away on the highway of life. The second kind never live longer, but they sure do die richer in experience. I am trying my best to be the second kind, and not die prematurely.
When I went to Ladakh in August 2013, I drove about 500kms in a single day, Leh to Srinagar. The road was barely there, especially near Sonamarg, covered in knee-deep slush. Zojila pass wasn’t much help either, greeting us with ice-cold rain and proper off-roading. But I did it in about 10 hours and now live to tell the tale, repeatedly.
So naturally, something crazier had to be done. I always wanted to drive quadruple digit distance in a single day, but when does one get such an opportunity? Surviving in the throes of IT in Mumbai, I got a chance to live this dream last week. Mumbai to Bangalore is a perfect 1000kms. The road is also one of the best in India, being a part of the Golden Quadrilateral. All I needed was a whole lotta ass.
I checked my ass in the mirror and found it sufficient for the distance. So it was decided, we shall ride!
Preparations didn’t take much, I am pretty used to packing in an hour and living out of the bag for 2 weeks or more. All the gear was set, so was the luggage. My KTM Duke 390 had just got her first service, so she was ready for some serious speed action. To the roads!
I started at 4:20 AM on 28th December 2013 with the cross-hair set on Bangalore. My Viaterra Claw at the rear, Viaterra Fly up front and Viaterra Marine on my back were the luggage I was carrying. Riding gear included KTM Racetech gloves, Vega helmet, DSG Triton jacket and Spartan Odysseus riding pants.
The initial hour was spent dodging the city of Navi Mumbai and the construction works therein. There was little traffic, thankfully, so I was able to drive around 70kmph without impaling myself on some freak steel girder lurking around in the dark. With the super hard suspension of the Duke and the super big potholes on the way, my luggage was all over the place, just like me.
As soon as I hit the open road, speeds started to build up. The road from Mumbai to Lonavala is pretty good, apart from weirdly placed and completely unmarked speed breakers, that are capable of breaking your bike in half, if they feel so. I would have enjoyed the scenic ghats on the way to Lonavala, but it was so freaking cold! Thankfully, the bike heats up quite a bit, great success for cold conditions!
Dehu road, which lets you bypass the Pune city, arrived quick. Once you reach this point, speeds above 100kmph are easy. The road is flat and straight, except for some places where construction is going on, since forever. About 20kms into this road I encountered something I hadn’t anticipated, thick fog! Speeds dropped down considerably, but I kept pushing on.
About 70kms off Satara, I took my first break. As I got off the bike, I saw a Duke 200 flying towards Satara, is someone is as crazy as I am? It was also the time to appreciate one of the best things about early morning rides, sunrise. I admired the yellow ball climbing up over flat fields and trees, before I had to climb up on the saddle again and ride like there was no tomorrow.
Duke 390 is a lovely little machine, but it has one major flaw, the fuel tank. At just 11 liters, it is just pathetic. I firmly believe the engineers at KTM purposely put that in as a joke. Add to that the sub 30kmpl mileage, and you get barely 250kms on a single tank of gas. So naturally, I stopped quite a lot for fuel. At the Katraj ghats, I again saw the Duke 200 parked on the side and gave him a thumbs up.
Once you cross Satara, the road just becomes like a dream, smooth, silky and orgasmic. All the way to Bangalore the road remains this way, perfect and unblemished. I was doing an average of 140kmph, occasionally going over 160, and once touched 166.
I was carrying some biscuits, 2 bananas and 2 oranges for food, but all of them ended up pulverized due to the initial jolting action in Navi Mumbai. I was starving and none of the places were open yet! I survived sipping the water from my Marine and soon found an open restaurant, near Belgaum. Here I made the good decision of removing the Viaterra Marine from my back and putting it into the saddle bag, my back owes me one. Stuffed my face like a latino porn star and then went onwards with the ride.
Riding 1000kms in a day can be extremely boring, even if you love riding. To beat the melancholy, I do some pretty weird things. Singing to myself, talking to myself, swearing inaudibly at everyone who passes by. But then I found something better, a Duke 200. It was being ridden by a dude in full riding gears, including boots and luggage system on his back. He drove like he was in the US, giving indicators on every lane change. He was the same rider I had met twice!
So I started following this guy like a maniac. He was doing 110 average, so following him was a piece of cake for me. Thankfully, he didn’t think of me as some crazy dude, and kept on riding. But as expected, my fuel ran out again and I asked him to stop at a fuel station. The guy works in IT, just like me. His name is Sujoy and he was riding from Pune to Belgaum. I loved his gear, Alpinestars jacket and boots in white color complimented his bike very well. We talked for a while, and people ogled at our bikes like they were of alien origin.
Started the ride again and I enjoyed this part thoroughly. It’s funny how good you feel when you are not alone, even if it is for just a few minutes. Soon his exit arrived and we parted ways. The good thing was that I could now go berserk and cross 150kmph whenever I felt like. Miles were being munched with great dexterity.
Sujoy on his Duke.
When your average speed borders 140kmph, for hours, it is very frustrating to see the distance reduce so slowly. Bangalore 530kms said one sign, Bangalore 527kms said the other, Bangalore 520kms and so on. I was so pissed I crouched like a ninja and rode the shit out of the bike, and never looked at a sign board again.
As lunch time arrived, I had entered Karnataka. There seemed to be no good places to eat on the left side, so I had to cross the divider and go over to a place on the right. As expected, people swarmed on my bike like bees on a flower. How much? Mileage? Top speed? The questions never stopped. I tried my best to be polite, lubed the chain, ate some shitty idli with dirty hands and rode on.
There were times when I was riding at 150kmph and my eyes were closed. I know this doesn’t seem very responsible, but I was bored and tired. Plus the I could see for the next 5kms and it was one long, empty piece of asphalt. My butt was comparatively good, considering how hard the seat of Duke is.
I was so bored that I took another stop just for the heck of it. Bangalore was still 250kms away. I ordered some roti and paneer, while kids climbed onto my bike like it was a tree. Another rider on his Unicorn arrived and we got talking. His name is Aadarsh and he was returning from a ride to Goa. Nice dude. I felt much better after having some food in ma belly and talking to a fellow rider. Time to go again!
Aadarsh on his machine.
The final 200kms were just a blur, I have no recollection of doing it. It’s just sound of wind blast, engine and blank thoughts in my brain. Suddenly the roads became small, a flyover appeared and speed bumps joined the party. This was the only time in my life that I was happy to see bad roads, auto rickshaws and speed breakers, the city must be close!
I stopped to ask for directions, the auto drivers were extremely helpful. They asked me where I had come from, I said Mumbai. They said when did you start? I said today morning. You should have seen their faces.
Bangalore is a weird city. It seems like the city planners were high on meth when they designed the place. Wherever they felt like they made residential areas, then they went on to make buildings for companies. Finally, they remembered that roads were also required, so they put them in all the blank places. I had to ask for directions quite a number of times before I finally made it, at 6:20 PM. 14 hours!
I would have taken a man’s life for a bed at that moment.
It was one of those nights when you can’t remember when you slept. Whatever position you lie down in, you wake up the same. I slept with the sweet lullaby of engine sound and wind blast drilled through my head.
Next day was spent in recovery. I had little pain in my back, but my fingers were aching like hell. But friends don’t care for your troubles, so I went out and met a bunch of them. Needless to say, I forgot most of the pain with them, until I got back home.
Spent most of the week vegging out, until it was weekend again. I did one good thing though, in spite of my incredible laziness. I needed a new helmet that suited my new bike, and Let’s Gear Up had a stock of my favorite helmet, in my size! Went there, spoke to the owners, Sapna and Sukesh. Incredible people. If you are a real biker and you live in Bangalore, just head over there someday and talk your heart out.
Think my new lid is suuuuweeet or what?
Sunday was the day when I had planned my return trip for want of less traffic. Got up at 3 am, thought would wake up in 5 minutes, and it was 3.35. I have no idea how that happens.
Finally started the ride at 5 am on 5th January 2014, seemed like I had spent a year in Bangalore! I had already done recon for the road, I knew there would be nobody there to give me directions at 5 am. But as expected I took a wrong turn and ended up on one of the most beautiful roads I have ever seen. It is a new flyover that goes towards Bangalore airport. The reflectors gleamed in the dark, the black asphalt looked yummier than chocolate. Even though I knew I was going some place else, I just kept on riding! Turned back after 5kms and onto the correct road again.
Indian people are obsessed with speed breakers. I have seen speed breakers just before a flyover, speed breakers just after a toll station and speed breakers in the middle of a highway. I mean what the hell? The NH4 is particularly nasty about it. It will give you an amazing piece of road for 50 odd kilometers. It will gain your confidence and push your bike near its top speed. Then when you least expect it, there would be a black-as-7-day-old-shit speed breaker in the middle of the road. You go flying into the air, spend 2-3 seconds there and then return back to reality. Crazy.
I have been planning since long to do a Saddlesore. For people who don’t know about it, it’s just riding 1000 miles in 24 hours. To prepare for the Saddlesore, I made a decision on the return trip, stop only for fuel. I am happy to say that I stuck to that resolution, even though my ass hates me for it.
At one point, because all fuel stations were across the divider and I kept looking for one on my side, I ran out of fuel. I had expected this, and was carrying 1 liter extra, but it was a scary situation to be in. I was once stranded in front of Bandra station for 2 hours, when I came back from Ladakh. The bike had arrived in train and hence had no fuel. No one else seemed to have any either. I literally stopped people on the road and begged them for fuel. Bad memories.
Anyway, on the return ride I hit the magical 173kmph mark. The bike is so stable that you would think you are still cruising at 80. It’s only when you lift up your head that all hell breaks loose. The hand guards also did a good job protecting against the wind blast and bugs. Speaking of bugs, they seem attracted towards my helmet visor. It seemed to be the perfect holiday cum suicide destination for them, for some reason.
I was doing speeds over 145kmph, so naturally I was in the right lane. Then some prick in a Verna shows up on my right side and throws up his hands in the air like I fucked his wife or something. Dude, first, get a better horn. Second, if you are doing 160kmph, you already don’t care about traffic rules. So feel free to overtake me from any of the 3 lanes available on the left side.
I didn’t stop for food anywhere. Whenever I stopped for fuel, I would munch on some Snickers I was carrying, cool off my butt, piss into some dirty toilet and ride again.
Lonavala arrived quick. This is where I had my first scary moment of the trip. If you’ve been to Lonavala city, you must have seen those assholes that park their cars on that narrow road and go out to masturbate in the trees. It is because of these guys that the road generally remains jammed. I was making my way through the cars when the driver of an Innova, which was parked on the side, suddenly opened his door all the way out, and we were on collision course. Reflex actions took control and I must have missed it by less than a millimeter. I looked back to see who the fuck it was, and the guy didn’t even care.
The second scary moment arrived when I had entered Panvel. On a flyover I was following a WagonR. As I always do, I was following its left wheel. Car drivers generally avoid potholes by riding over them, so if you follow them dead center, be ready for a bumpy ride. At one point, the WagonR suddenly darted to the left, there was a dead dog on the road. Reflexes again took over and I followed the movement of the car, narrowly avoiding a squishy death.
Dogs may be man’s best friend, they sure are biker’s worst enemy.
Got stuck in the Navi Mumbai traffic again, why do these people start construction and then never end it? Reached my home at exactly 5pm. 12 hours!
My ass was on fire, my fingers hurt badly. But I was smiling, like the smile you have after the best sex of your life. I went to my room, stripped down to undies and slept like a baby.
Would I do this trip again? I don’t think so. Riding 1000kms a day is fun, but you don’t get much time to do photography or enjoy the road. It’s just a mad dash to the destination. I would try to keep my distances at around 500 a day from now on.
If you are looking to do this ride, you definitely can. Just man up, fuel up and suit up!
Stats:
Total distance: 2110kms
Total time: 26 hours
Total riding time: 23 hours
Total fuel: 6000 rupees, 74 liters
Average speed, 86kmph
Top speed: 173kmph
U r experience is very inspiring bro. I am from Navi Mumbai and even I had planned to ride 1500 km from Mumbai to Lucknow for my sister’s marriage on my Royal Enfield. Will be riding on 7 Dec 2016. Flag off time would be 9 PM. Timings mentioned in google to cover 1500 km is 23hr 50 min and i am planning to complete this in a single stretch. THINGS TO FOLLOW: No stay, limited halt, lots of caffeine, water, chewing gum, protein bar and with some fruits. oooohh yes luggage too. Dam sure that my ASS will pain a lot but bro i am a riding freak and i love riding. My dad booked flight ticket for me but they don’t know that i have a different plan. crazy naa. I am in IT industry too and on every weekend i go for a short and some time in long spin. Clubs which i am in (Royal Enfield Family Mumbai – REF Mumbai) & (Mumbai Mean Machines – M3). One is RE club and other is sports bike club. I have both the bikes. So basically i am writing this to take suggestions from you and from others that what to do and what not to. I swear no one had suggested me to complete this withing 24 hours except my club members. As of now i am ready with my Gare’s & RE default accessories.
Oh yes one more thing I am taking Mumbai Agra highway so is that safe right.
Starting from Navi Mumbai – Nashik – Bhusaval – MP – Bhopal – Jhansi – Kanpur – Lucknow.
People informed that there are many Naksalvadi’s flay people on highway. Now that is the only thing which i am scared off.
Your suggestions are highly appreciable.
Don’t do it in a single stretch, there is no need to, and there’s no advantage of doing it.
Royal Enfield isn’t the perfect bike to do this distance on either. Your bike comes with tube tires, punctures can be a big problem.
I am not certain of the route since I haven’t done it myself, there’s a group on Facebook called HV Kumar fan forum and message board, join it and ask there.
If I was in your situation, I would probably this stretch with a single night halt. That will give me time to enjoy the ride, relax, and take photos too. However, on a Royal Enfield, it might even make sense to plan for 2 halts.
Nice one
Hey enjoyed reading your post.very relevant stuff. I’m off driving to b’lore this weekend. Hoping to have a blast as well.
I’m sure you would 🙂
Hey man! this site is a saviour just when i needed. I have done 500 Kms in a day on Thunderbird (i know you hate it and i do it too and i am gonna buy a KTM soon but for now..) and would be riding mumbai-bengaluru. do i need to be cautious as this shit has tube tyres and not many people can repair that. also, did you take NH4 or mumbai-pune expressway? thanks for any help man!
Bikes aren’t allowed on the expressway, you’ll have to take the old highway.
Tube tires suck for sure, but I don’t see you having any options. With tubeless tire, you can keep riding even after a puncture, which you can’t in a tube ire. With a tube tire the repair process is much more complicated than a tubeless. And most importantly, tube tires deflate much faster than a tubeless, so high-speed vehicle control may be compromised.
Ah, did it. Was a brilliant ride just as you mentioned. Took me 18 hours though thanks to Thunderbird’s tremendous capacity of 110 kmph max. Was 100 kms from Bangalore when the rear tyre shit scared me. Was at 100 kmph and it wobbled a bit. I thought its a puncture but it wasn’t. Not sure what can I do with it? Change the tyre till I get my hands on KTM? The treads are in place and this isn’t the first time it has happened. No mechanic has been able to fix it as well. I’d be getting RC 390 but I really would want to not die till I am riding the Thunderbird.
U have 350cc bro??
Yes my man!
Are you on fb.. Can i connet with yu??…:)
icaditya
Instagram or fb bro??
350cc?? Bro
Bro in express way two wheeler is not allwoed. You will have to take the old mumbai pune highway. From there take the Pune bypass. and then straight ahead!
“Bangalore is a weird city. It seems like the city planners were high on meth when they designed the place. Wherever they felt like they made residential areas, then they went on to make buildings for companies. Finally, they remembered that roads were also required, so they put them in all the blank places.” – So True 😀 😛
Hahahahah , I can’t stop laughing . a very good review with a bold sense of humour .keep it up dude . I have been meaning to do Mumbai -Bangalore – Salem . Salem is approximately 250 kms from Bangalore .but since I have my relatives staying in matthikere will be stopping over for a day and then on my way to Salem.
I guess jus like u said ,man up ,fuel up and suit up .
🙂
A very well written article and it’s inspirational too. I am riding from Hyderabad to Pune this weekend(19th Dec 2015.) on my Honda Dazzler. Have never covered 400+ kms in a day and was very skeptical about undertaking this ride. Accidentally(and fortunately), landed here and it gave me hopes that its very well possible. Thanks a lot.
Awesome, how was your trip?
It was awesome. The road till Solapur was a bit messy. From Solapur on wards, the bike felt underpowered. The road was too good and i managed to cruise at 110+ kmph for major stretches. I took 10-12 halts including for breakfast, lunch & snacks. Visited a jaggery plant at Patas and bought some ‘Kakavi’ 🙂 Covered the journey under 10 hrs. The things that I learned is that an 150 cc bike can definitely manage 600-700 kms in a day. Prefer a cruiser over a sports bike since that will definitely help your back. I am planning a trip from Hyderabad to Pune on 3/4th Sept, 2016. This time, it would be 2 guys on a bike and that too in a rainy season. Lets see how it goes.
🙂
Hi, Recently i bought Suzuki gixxer 150. I drove 2800KMs in 2 and half month. Now Im planing to go long ride its around 550 KMs. Can you suggest me shall i ride 550KM in my gixxer. I dont have previous experience like long riding. and sujjest me what and all need to carry with me and i am planing to go with my friend.
If you haven’t done 550 in a day before, it will be tiring, but not impossible. Start early, be disciplined, take lots of photos, drink lots of water, don’t ride on an empty stomach. I have written article about solo/group riding tips, check them out.
You sir are my inspiration now for all things Biking in India.
Anyways, I’m planning to do a Mumbai-Bangalore in the first week of June. Wanna do it nicely over two days, but since this will be my first trip further than Mahabaleshwar on the bike, what all do i need to be prepared for? and could you suggest a place I can stop for the night?
Hey man, which bike do you have? For any non-RE bike, nothing much preparation is needed 🙂 Just take it easy, enjoy the ride, and take lots of photos.
I think Belgaum would make sense to stop for the night.
Hey Brother, Nice writeup. I am planning to do a thane – bangalore – chennai – Trivandrum on my avenger 220. How much riding is good in a day.. Haven’t done a long ride ever on a bike. How safe are the roads? Do i need to carry any tools with me? The saddle bags can hold a camera? is it safe?
Hey man. If you have never done long rides before, it’s better to start small. Aim for 350-400 kms a day first, take ample rest, photos and go easy. Then try and aim for 600, then 800 and so on. Final ail should be to ride from sunrise to sunset and cover as many kilometers as possible.
Roads are safe on this entire route.
Basic tools for chain tightening and puncture repair would be a good idea, I always carry them!
Yep reasonably big saddle bags can carry your camera and other stuff. You can get a tank bag too for easy access for photography.
No, it’s not 100% safe, but that’s kinda the fun 🙂
Cheers!
Akhil, well written and a crisp article, thank you for the share. Full-Riding-Gear is always to be adhered to, whether 20 or 120kmph, i like your safety precautions. Regarding fuel capacity of KTMs, this issue runs even to top end model of KTM. KTM has given us a cross country motorbike, its the riders who make it cross-continental 🙂
The max i ever rode is 850kms between my hometown Ranchi to across suburb of Kanpur enroute New Delhi in thee summer of 2006 in 14hrs. The route was not completely covered in tar, construction of the Golden Quad in NH2 was underway across the states of Jharkhand, Bihar and UP. The ride was my trusty Enfield Lightning535, max speed was around 80-90kmph for most of the stretch…yes i have never stressed my Lightning535 although its capable of 145kmph, bcoz of lack of oil cooler. Lightning535 tends to heat up vigorously after 110kmph. I took halt in a Reliance A1 Plaza fuel pump beside the NH2 across Kanpur that evening. By 12 at midnight i woke up to no more sleep, as my body and mind sensed. So after just 3hrs of sleep i felt the urge to ride again at midnight towards Dilli(around 400kms more). I once thought of taking forced sleep to help body recover after the day’s 850kms, but my heart&body was screaming for more rides…eventually at 12:30am i kick started my 535 back to life to the amazement of the pump guards who salamed me good bye towards NH2 at owl’s hour! I completed that stretch of Ranchi-New Delhi including stops in 18hrs flat…its the same time the Rajdhani Express takes between the two cities.
This is one of the amazing rides out of total of 12rides i did between Ranchi and New Delhi on my Enfield535 and an another Bullet350. Those years i never did for once took air, rail or bus travel. My family members at the beginning were scared at my adventurous lifestyle but soon became accustomed.
Thank you for reading my not so boring words.
Akhil, keep riding keep blogging 🙂
Sushil K Pingua,
Ranchi.
I have more or less the same story Sushil, just that I did such travels on my Pulsar 150 🙂 The fact that you did all this back in 2006 commands respect mate! Hope you are still glued to the saddle?
What’s up?!
Okay, so I own a Duke 200, bought it on 10th October, on and Today I clocked 4200 Kms.
Frequent trips to Lonavla and Mahabalashwer and Alibagh are to blame.
Anyway, I’m planning to go to Banglore ( With my girlfriend) on Saturday (Leave at 2pm because of her college), Surprise her best friend for a B’day, and Head Back the Other day.
Wish me luck, she Needs to be at Pedar Road by 8am.
Happy Riding.. 🙂
Thanks for the information!
Good luck man! Keep some extra petrol, you’ll need it 🙂
Nice! always good to see like-minded folks doing the right things. I woke up one friday this february (’14) and decided I wanted to see my girlfriend in bangalore. 19 hours and 1100 kms later we were getting drunk and playing dumb charades at her apartment. Good things happen to those who ride 🙂
Always 🙂 Thanks for your comment, cheers!
Thanks a lot for writing your experience . Needed it badly .
Glad to be of help.
hey AK i am planning for 1.2k in a day in my all new duke 200 ! i am 18 and only few times i had driven my r15 200-300 km continuously . you have experience about this things 10 times more then me so can you give any tips any guidance ??? and am going to do pune to bilaspur ( chattisgarh )
Well, my first advice would be DON’T. Riding 1200 kms in a day is not only dangerous, it’s also incredibly boring. There’s absolutely no reason for you to do so many kilometers in a single day. Break it off into 2 days, if not 3. Have fun, take some photos, make some videos, meet and talk to people. If you do it in a single day, it’ll be just riding and riding and riding.
You doing this alone or with friends?
amazing, we have travelled from delhi to Mumbai now planning Mumbai to banglore to kanyakumari to kerala to Mumbai.. reading your story boost my plan futher.
Good luck Barkha!
hey guys i have royal enfield 350cc classic i i ride 2000km i 10hrs i ride 580km ….
Ride safe Raj! Good luck.
I have a 390 and plan to do this route too. Will one saddle bag suffice? Also, this will be my first ride above 500 kms and I’m curious what preparations I need to do and be ready for!
Yes Keshav, one saddle bag like a Velox or bigger will be enough.
There’s isn’t anything special that you need to do! If you are an experienced rider, this will just be another long journey. Some tips that I follow would be:
1. Ride every 180-200 kms and then take a fuel stop.
2. Stop for breakfast, lunch, and snacks in between. Don’t ride on an empty stomach.
3. Start early (5 AM), and you’ll reach Bangalore around 8 PM very easily.
4. Keep a liter of extra fuel. There are some stretches on this road where fuel pumps are not available.
5. Lube your chain after about 500 kms.
6. Buy ear plugs. They will protect your ears from the noise of such a long ride.
Hope that helps!
Thanks a ton Akhil :)!
Is it a good idea to go on a trip from India to Myanmar around 6000 KM (UP & DOWN) on bike ? 😀
Not right now man, and I mean to Myanmar. It is a scary place of of now, with civil unrest and Military rule. We have been planning since long to cross Myanmar to reach Thailand, but hasn’t happened till now. Better option is to go to Bhutan, Nepal and rest of India.
hi ..
I am planning to go to – Run Of Kaccha – from pune.. on 12th Feb… Do i need to carry any tool box.. or any thing for machine…
I have never been to Kutch, but from what I have heard it is quite a harsh environment.
Even when I went to Ladakh, I didn’t carry any toolkit except an air pump and puncture kit for the tubeless tires. No matter how remote an area, there are always repair shops. I would say you don’t need to carry anything much, just get your bike properly serviced before the ride and keep checking all the way.
Good luck!
Hey Akhil hats off to u, your’s was an endurance ride indeed. How well does the Duke 390’s suspension put up on broken roads, potholes, ridges, undulations……….the types Bombay is filled with? Is it possible to go touring two-up on the 390? BTW I too had done a Bombay-Belgaum through NH4 on my Pulsar 220F. Pune to Satara stretch was screwed up but post that, it was pure bliss. How many fuel stops were required during your Bangalore to Bombay trip?
Thanks Reeto!
The Duke’s suspension is quite hard, so every pothole, ridge and undulation can be felt right up your butt. Need to keep the speeds below 15kmph.
Touring two up on the 390 is possible, but not for long distances. The rear seat is too small, so if the pillion is anything bigger than a size zero supermodel, there will be some pressure on your back. Anything longer than even 100kms, you will have trouble.
It took me 6 fuel stops from Bombay to Bangalore. Got an average of 29kmpl, with plenty of high speed action on the way!
Thanks for replying Akhil. Any alterations to the pillion seat is also difficult coz there’s hardly any space remaining. 6 fuel stops is crazy…………..KTM seriously needs to offer a larger fuel tank as an option.
Think of what the seat on the RC390 would be! Plus the fuel tank will be reduced by 1 more liter 🙂
These are the thoughts that help me survive.
Hahahaha very true. Appreciate your honesty in this regard, had completely forgotten about the RC390. I was a bit optimistic earlier that the Duke 390 will survive 300 kms on a full tank, if speeds are maintained below 130 kmph……considering I generally don’t exceed 120 kmph on a highway/freeway. However, the small fuel tank range of 200-220 kms sort of turns me off.
Dude, you won’t be able to keep it below 120 ever 🙂
Wow! 1000 km in 12 hours! Would never imagine doing that!
It does feel good to achieve a ‘milestone’ you set for yourself. And clearly, you did have fun! 😀
I totally did man! It’s an endurance run, a race against boredom, pain and fuel stops 🙂
Hey Asshole, never comment of any city so light, I know how fucked up is mumbai too, u assholes dont have land to live and mendling with us for Belgaum.
?
@akhilkalsh:disqus 😀
Haha! Somehow missed this comment 🙂
Yo city so fat, it takes 3 hours to cover 10 kilometers in it.