Travel Diary of CrazyIndianRider

Day 19: Guwahati-Kohima-Imphal I had to do about 500 kms to cover before sundown so I started off early towards Kohima as I targeted to reach Imphal by evening, I started off by 5:30 AM. By about 6:30 AM I was near Nagaon Paper Mill. I stopped to video how much they were pollution the environment with a huge smoke emitting from their Mill. #StormShadow is overshadowing Grey Stallion Selfie with #StormShadow Mount a Train? I then rode on towards Nagaon & reached Manja Assam. The roads till Kacharipara were 4 lane and awesome. The road ahead till Manja passed through a dense forest and the road was awesome. I reached Manja by about 10:00 AM. So by about 10:00 AM I had already covered half the distance. That reassured me of reaching Imphal by sundown.  Suddenly I saw loads of trucks lined up as soon as I reached Manja and so were quite a few cars lined up too. I got the sense that all was not well. A little ahead a cop stopped me and told me that ther...

Day 18: Siliguri -Gangtok- Guwahati I woke up all excited to start my ride after a long break of 5 days including an overnight Train Ride. It was 6 am I came down to the basement with all the luggage and mounted it onto #StormShadow. Meanwhile I checked on to see if I could see the bikes of my friends. They had told me they would be starting early. I found out they had already left quite early. I finally started off & rode towards Gangtok. A few kms ahead before Sevoke, I met these guys. The bike they hired from Siliguri had issues. It was not in the best of the conditions. So Vinoth, the guy who had rented the bike turned back and the other continued on with their ride. I stopped for a while to see if they required any help but they said they could handle it so I went ahead. The roads started out smooth but then it got worse. To add to that the water on the road from previous night's rain made it a little messy but were nothing compared to the South Assam roads. B...

Accessories I have on Versys Rear tyre to Michilin Rigid Spots auxiliary LEDs Resonate USB Charger RAM Mount for mounting Mobile Barkbusters Handlebar Protector Crashguard/Engine Guard Radiator Guard Bosch Dual Horn Saddlebag support Rear extender on grab rails to mount bags Front & rear Fork Sliders Cruise control Luggage carriers/bags. Drybag 350 (Very good waterproofing. Not a single drop of water entered the bag even in huge downpours. I have all my electronics in this) Saddlebages from NH4 with the top rainproof cover. (Worst part was the rainproof cover would hold water thrown from the tyre& this water would then seep into the saddlebags.) Hydration bag A water repellant pouch on the handlebar to keep change and spare mobile & purse. Touring essentials I carried Tent. Sleeping bag. Mosquito Repellent Medicine kit & Oral Rehydration Packets Electrical sp...

Day 17: All set to restart the run. Damn Excited.. Yuppie!! Damn this train is chugging so slow. I so wanted to reach Siliguri ASAP and pick Storm Shadow and ride off immediately. Well but I had to have a few basic checks before I rode off so I controlled my emotions and said to myself "Hold your Horses Buddy" Travelling along with me were 3 other guys. One of them was Abhishek from Bihar. I reached Siliguri by about 12:00 PM. I then went straight to the hotel, checked myself in and called on this Versys owner who was stuck with his friends in Siliguri because of a bent rim. Meanwhile I called a mechanic and he asked me to meet him at about 5:00 PM so that we could go and get Storm Shadow and get it going. We then went and checked the bent rim and it was quite bad but not so much as to scrap it away We asked the guys if they could remove the bend, they said no.We then asked them how long would it take for a new rim. As always, the guys at ASC said 30 days to get the ...

Day 16: Oasis in a Desert. This morning I got up at night well not like this  https://youtu.be/Tvqcf8-SF0E  but seriously since I slept by 9, I got up at about 2 am so I don't know if it is morning or night so I would say "This morning I got up at night". I sat in my bed wondering should I call off my ride or should I continue also if I have to continue then how and on what? I started browsing all the second hand bike sites and could not find anything around which would fit my budget. I had already spent about my life savings plus loan taken from family & friend on the Kawasaki plus another big chunk on accessories and riding gear & had kept a smaller chunk for this tour and now I am left with no extra money to buy even a second hand 100 cc bike. But still hope in my heart I kept browsing looking at and second hand bikes expecting that somehow I could get something at dirt cheap price. As  I kept browsing, I went to sleep again. It was about 8 and I got up ...

Day 15: Finally the head Mechanic reached Silchar. Hifzul-The Head technician working on Grey Stallion while his assistant watches Hifzul poses for a photo He inspected the bike, now we come to know that the clutch assembly is fried up. All the plates badly worn off, in the assembly the nut is jammed into the hub. The drained oil is burnt & lesser in quantity.The reason given by him is 'The clutch assembly is burnt off and jammed because the clutch assembly did not have enough supply of oil.' That's what is jammed. Black deposits in the clutch hub. Kawasaki Versys died on me in just 12 days and about 6,300 kms since the tour started. So much for a Tourer. Since parts are not available the bike has to be shipped either to Delhi or back to base ie Bangalore. Don't know what's going to happen but before I started my ride, many of my friends & riders said, 'The Kawasaki' will do 18,000 kms at a stretch withou...

Day 14: Waited for the head technician, went to Dildar's shop which is into sales of Helmets and Riding accessories called Helmet House. Helmet House In the evening went to Nahaz Goldighi Mall. Surprise surprise I found a Thanco's Natural Ice cream Parlour which supplies Ice cream from Bangalore to Silchar Assam. Dildar and me had an Ice cream Party, gobbled a couple of Ice creams and watched a movie. Cheers in the name of Biking Brotherhood. Thanks brother for sticking along with me He then dropped me to the hotel and I lay in my sleeping bag waiting for the next day & the head technician to arrive.

Day 13: A day in Silchar We reached Silchar by about 8:00 AM. The bike was then unloaded at KTM Silchar. I had to pay an extra INR 800 for towing. As we were 3 guys cramped in the front of the RSA 3 wheeler goods auto, I could not sleep even a minute. I was completely exhausted and down because of the accident. With Syed & Shamshul the RSA guys. Waiting for them to open Did not sleep the whole night. Sitting and wondering what's next. Parked inside till technicians arrive. This guy Dildar Hussain came in like a sunshine in the Antartica for me Me with Dildar &Zubi What I did? Rested for the day while the technicians removed the clamp & got it was welded and fixed it back. We started the bike and put in gear and it switched off. So we sent a distress alarm to send the Head Technician back to Silchar from Guwahati where he had gone for a training. There was another sweet guy Soumitra Bose at the SVC who helped me a lot. The ...