The Dual Sport Dream

The idle wondering times of the day pass by gazing out of the window, sometimes flipping through old pictures distracting me just enough momentarily from the longing of going on a next excursion. Sitting idle and daydreaming has been the job lately. Spring brakes in this month marking the advent of summers and thawing of snow and the clearing of roads, luring they call. Bored, I now drop pins over the maps and curbs on the expenses eyeing to the high roads, passes and the Himalayas.

                       

Less driven this winters and the past season my motorcycle has been strolling itself through some engine and chassis malfunctions. The steering races has been a pain in the ass and the engine`s out of its order. Already into 45000kms on the ODO the mill needs an overhaul and the chassis some reconditioning. With the month gone by in struggling through the steering races, though all ending in vain, engine is up for a complete overhaul.

Eyeing forward to the high passes and long trips I long to get off the armchair and hop on the bike. Ride through the plains of Morey at Pang and the loops of Gata, gather some more landscapes from the saddle and more adventures on my dirt bike.

Well not a dirt bike but a dual sport motorcycle. Not a dual sport in fact either. Well that’s what the ambiguity is, I think, of the sole dirt/dual-sport bike India has, the Hero Impulse. The sole motorcycle launched back in 2012 and discontinued in the same year. The adventure purpose built bike was in turn an adventure for the guys at HeroMotorCorp getting some rise in their sale figures, unlikely to happen the bike was phased out leaving the dual sport enthusiast deserted with a spark of hope in the name of Impulse. Less applauded by the consumers and the biking crowd Impulse still has less recognition and thus a handful of owners. Thus is the sad state of the dual sport motorcycles in India. Yet to comprehend and contemplated by the biking enthusiasts, the dual sports will take a long time from now to seep in to the biking culture of today. Meanwhile we ride the sole off roader manufactured in India (thus making us potent to own it). Also the RE Himalayan.

Coming to RE (Royal Enfield), the “desi katta” of the Indian biking culture which to my liking and comprehension is a 200kg worth of iron which I love to ride to over smooth tarmac roads with a thumpy feel at the saddle. The torquey engine thumps itself to high speeds with less rpms on the tacho and vibes at the bars which I love riding on RE. This very emotion rooted deep has made RE what it is today, synonymous with long distance riding and adventure tours apparently. Hard as it always has been for me to understand the RE with adventure riding I take a slight inclination towards the Himalayan. The Himalayan launched last year with name “Himalayan” portrays the travelling/touring gesture of the travelling culture that’s hard wired between the biking enthusiasts and RE. Launched targeting the motorcycle tourers of India, and their very emotion of the same as a prey, Himalayan was looked upon and still is as a potent adventure bike which RE has built to go through all what the tourers may face while travelling in India and that’s true.

Apart from Impulse the Himalayan as a dual sport bike is a boon momentarily once offroads are concerned.  Himalayan is a great machine potent enough to get one through bad roads and river crossings and almost all high passes and Ladakh easily making it desirable and with a small price tag a great bang for buck but not to my liking though. To me it’s a soft tourer that’s it. What I think is, RE couldn’t just let go off its genes plonking a thumpy, long stroke, under-squared engine on, what they claim, an adventure bike. Loaded with off road goodies like the 21inch front and 17 rear, spiked foot pegs and less weight (only comparing to other Enfields) it surely gives a more practical off road feel to the machine. But nowhere close to what adventure bikes are, not even the same ballpark. Impulse with dirt oriented ergonomics and even on less power accommodated by less weight is more likely to be driven with ease and better maneuverability over long stretches of broken roads and adventure riding. But the whole discussion over the scenario of the only two dual sport bikes we have and what`s close to being a dual sport bike or a purpose built off roader or a terrain tamer is futile.

I admire dual sport machines like the Honda CRF 250, the Kawasaki KLRs, the DRZs by Suzuki and the XRs.  Driven by travellers over long distances crossing countries and borders on a saddle that was every ounce of worth it. A dual sport dream of travelling across the Latin America through Bolivia Chile and Argentina is yet to be accomplished someday meanwhile I drool over the pictures of those who do. I too eye forward for a dual sport machine manufactured in India thus easy on my pocket. The emotion meanwhile satisfied with mighty Hero Impulse which is under a lot of changes and up for Ladakh this year but in a whole another way. I can`t just wait to hit the roads after Manali to Pang and then the roads of Korzok where I shall charge through the long gravel road on the foot pegs and the water crossings and the famous Paagal Nala where the high ground clearance will get me through ease pass the boulders and rocks and the corners at dirt will be scraped fish-tailing the bike all possible and best done on a dual-sport machine.

But for the meanwhile bike gets reconditioned, I think of the roads and my last bitter experience of Ladakh. Anyways …for now the weather outside is dull and so is summers when not ridden, counting hours I flip through the old pictures still gazing out of the window with in mind a dual sport dream.

Just You and Your Motorcycle

I was alone so thought to ride and I hopped on my motorcycle, rode to the end of the driveway and turned right. At the first intersection, I turned left. Then right, left, and so on. My only goal for the ride was to keep to that pattern and see where it led me. This was with no cell phones and GPS, but I wasn’t too worried about getting lost. My home is in Dehradun Uttarakhand, pretty much surrounded by the great scenic views and forests. So i got away that day.

Sure enough, after a couple of hours I ended up at a tiny village along a river. A couple of my turns along the way had been dead-ends, and at one point I wound up circling the same roads in a subdivision, but for the most part I had stuck to my right/left/right pattern. I had no idea where I was, but — just as I figured — a short ride along the river put me at a fairly major town with familiar road signs. So I figured out where I was and soon bolted back home on a more direct route. Turns out I was late for dinner and I think my mother was pretty worried about me. Anyways nothing that was very spectacular about the ride; the roads in the area are mostly straight and flat, I had kept a mellow pace, and didn’t encounter any excitement along the way. Still, even after many years of riding on great roads all around with friends to several places, it remains one of my most memorable rides.

I was always a bit adventurous in exploring new roads on a motorcycle. I am definitely not comparing myself to some of the real adventure riders that are more deserving of the moniker, but my curiosity always seems to get the better of me. When my commute is normally around the daily Sahastradhara Road, I can’t go by a strange road more than a few times before having to turn down it and see where it leads.

I often strayed from the scheduled route and went exploring on my own. When you’re that far from home, literally every intersection is a new road just begging to be ridden. Luckily, I have a fairly good sense of direction and could usually find my way home without too much trouble, if a bit later than planned. Over the months I have found some fantastic roads and great places that I otherwise would have never found, just by wandering off the beaten path and doing something different. And, to be honest, I have met some nice people when stopping to ask for help — my sense of direction is not that good.

My point in all this is that we, as sportbike riders, can easily lose track of why we ride. For some riders it becomes all about style and looking the part. For others, it’s the camaraderie of hanging out with fellow sportbikers. Maybe it’s about having the latest bike with all the right go-fast accessories, or working hard at riding techniques, or following the races — or even being a racer. There are so many distractions in our niche sport that it’s easy for the actual riding to become a small part of the total experience, and then it becomes MORE WORK THAN FUN. The bike gets shuffled off to a corner of the garage and left to collect dust for months at a time, maybe even permanently.

I love doing  an afternoon on the rusted bike, a morning breakfast ride or even just a detour on the way home from the office. Sometimes, all it takes to rekindle the enjoyment of riding is just that — hopping on your bike and going for a ride. No pressure to look good, to work on your riding skills or to impress your buddies; JUST YOU AND YOUR MOTORCYCLE.

I say begin your Sunday ride by simply going in the opposite direction than you usually go. Or turn down that road you’ve always gone past on your way to the office and never checked out. I’d say don’t forget to take a map or your GPS, but…where’s the fun in that?

MotoTravel : Chanshal Pass

Spring breaks in with opening of high passes around Uttarakhand marking the start of riding season and thus we rode from Dehradun to Himachal this time to Chanshal pass that bridges Uttarakhand and Himachal at 12000+ft ASL. From well laid tarmac to hard grueling torn off roads, from bright hot sweaty sunny days to cold freezing nights, from clear skies to snowstorms and from zero to 600+kms on the ODO we went through all what the venture had to offer.

Ice walls enroute

Raging storm

Riding along Pabbar river

To Chirgaon roads are mix of tarmac and offroads with lots of dirt and debris along the patchy road but post Chirgaon to Larot & Chanshal is a nightmare. Hard roads beaten and broken at several places take a good toll on your vehicle and you too. Speeds are low on that climbing terrain to 12000+ft ASL. Best done on Impulse and its fun once you are on the footpegs crouched forward clinged to the bars on a short gear at high rpms charging through the trail. The bike dangles across the heavy deep sand at some patches one might witness after Larot. The climb gets more steeper after larot and roads worsen up even but the landscape becomes more beautiful. The high meadows show up all snow laden. One might witness some snowboarding or ice skiing marks on the snow slopes of Chanshal.

With some exploring around we went on searching for a campsite to accommodate 8 bikes and 4 tents. Gathering wood for the night fire was another concern given the high altitude and the no trees. Down two bikers descend for few kms to gather wood qhile the other guys pitch up the tent and a lone guy in the corner searching for network. Meanwhile a storm and some raging clouds gather up towards the north-east of the sky engulfing the Himalayas approaching us and it minutes it gets all windy. High speed winds and fear of a snowfall or a windy storm made a fear creep in. Mixed opinions of descending to lower altitude or Larot came up. It was 6:30 by evening and sun was setting in the horizon calling for a firm decision to come up. None it was. With almost all the preparations done for the night camp majority of us decided to stay there itself. 

It rained with snow for few 15-20 minutes and the sky cleared up in an hour so beautifully that no one could spot a cloud up in the sky. Stars came up bright and clear and wood was gathered up to lit the bonfire. Not windy anymore no one could ask for a better cold calm evening by the fire more. With food and a little booze all start to talk. I start to click some night skies. With few hours by and the day full of physical toll eyelids were heavy and one by one guys called it off to their respective tents.

I hate writing to be honest and on this note ill let the reading part finish here and let the pictures do the talking. Not as good they are but a mere attempt to capture the moments as much as I can. So to am up the night was cold and Im not able to sleep well in a sleeping bag so I didn't had a good sleep. Night was windy again with tent flapping and disturbing as I'm not a sound sleeper, I sleep alert as a dog. So I got up early too as nature called me into the bushes. The leftover cinders were fiery enough to keep me warm untill the sun came up the next morning. When we gathered all what we had, packed and off back to Dehradun via Hanol & Mori. 

Camps for the night

and the morning bliss

VAGUELY : THE MOTORCYCLE SAFETY

As far as you, I or any other random guy who knows about the safety as a biker is pretty much acquainted with the general principles of motorcycle riding and precisely the attached safety to it and which is pretty much every biker`s rant or a lullaby one recites giving one a mental picture or a momentary freedom from the anxiety of one`s awareness of the inevitability of a major fall while riding thus getting injured. Why am I so concerned, I ask, while I write.  Maybe because I give a little too much damn about things and biking circles and people around me that happen to bother me every now and then. Maybe the camaraderie I believe in is less of a brotherhood and more of an old age group constantly reminding me of the finite and the strict regime of under which one maybe called a biker or a motorcycle enthusiast in today`s world. Anyhow the bottom line is that, this all sucks, it stinks of the disgust these people have towards the raw and bare fun of the exposed madness some people(riders) boast and loath too.  

ATGATT (all the gear all the time) they`ll say.

Without a doubt every biker`s lullaby, on the tip of their tongues thus vomited forth at the drop of a hat and balls perhaps. 1000rs Knee guards (check), 1000rs elbow guards (check), 7-8000rs ECE approved helmet (check), 2500rs gloves (check), 2000rs neck rest (check), 8000rs Jacket (check), 8000rs riding pants (check), 10000rs riding boots (check), manly balls (ohh uncheck). Reminds me of the last time one had a clear look down there, fondled his balls long enough to mark their presence which apparently got lost as the old times passed and new so called Bikers of today robbed the sheer fun and pleasure of motorcycle riding and long gone are the ways of just what a raw, old school and an un-fashioned motorcycle rider/enthusiast was looked upon as.

I bet it`s no long time now that these free floating bikers will be spotted buying things down the vegetable store 2kms from their houses, all geared up, colors matched to their bike`s paint looking no less than a fucking power ranger amid the crowd.

My point is not how much gears are important. I think they are equally important as my balls are, as my intact face is. I too prefer riding geared up over long runs and short weekend stretches too but I keep a line between my safety (gears while riding) and carrying a biker tag (all geared up, every time.)

So i recall the motorcycle events from the old times that remind me of a simple emotion of plain unadulterated joy of motorcycle riding, that they used to carry. The un-doped pleasure of wind across your hair, dead bugs between your teeth, brown dust on your eyelash, frost on your knuckles and the squish of wet leather boots is long gone now, robbed by the pseudo-bikers of today.

Thus said in the early times (and can be interpreted in this manner i guess) by Ernest Hemmingway, a great philosopher born in 1800s that “There are only three sports: bull fighting, mountaineering and motorcycle racing, rest are mere games.”

What he saw then, are we seeing now?