[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Service Experience #7: Tyre Change @ 21,500 kms
Gear Gear Motorcycles

After ~21,500 kms - decided to retire the old Michelin Road 5 tyres - the rear still had some life left but the front was hitting the wear indicators. More than that - I had three instances over the last two weeks were the front lost grip and the ABS cut in hard - so played it safe and didn't push it any longer.

I'm surprised the front gave up before the rear did - as the Versys did 2 front to 1 rear. Is this common with the Michelin Road 5s or could it be due to CSS trackday?

As mentioned in a previous post, the replacement is the recently launched TVS-Eurogrip Roadhound (120/70 R17 and 180/55 R17). With all the negative feedback on Madhus - I decided to get it installed from Gear Gear Motorcycles, with the actual tyre change and balancing done at Madhus.

Less crowded day at Gear Gear:



Checking the brake pad condition with the tyres removed. Guess I was wrong earlier (when I bought replacement EBC pads already)! These pads should last a few more months:



Ample width at the rear too!



With the rear tyre installed and the front taken to Madhus:



I arrived there by 11:30AM and by 1:30PM the work was almost completed.



The tread pattern on the TVS Eurogrip Roadhounds. The rear:



And the front:



All set to roll:



Paid Rs 3,623/- for the tyre change process with Rs 2,325 being the charge from Madhus to change the tyre and balance it. Are these the usual rates now?

Madhus charges for tyre change - Rs 1180/-
Madhus charges for balancing, including the weights- Rs 1145/-
So total amount charged by Madhus - Rs 2,325/-

Gear Gear labour charges for removal and fitment - Rs 1,298/-
Total came to 3,623 for the tyre change - so not very economical but comes with better peace of mind.

I'm not sure if the labour rates are justified for Madhus though - 1200 for taking two tyres off a wheel and putting it back sounds quite high to me! Is this normal? In comparison, what are the rates like at Indimotard?

Upcoming work:

While doing these, we discovered that the coneset needs to be removed and greased, while the chain/sprocket set needs to be replaced as well. Will put these for next month.

[ToThePoint]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

[h3]Service Experience #7: Tyre Change @ 21,500 kms

Attachment 2667157

Trying to understand the logic behind the separate changes for Labour & tyre removal/fitment

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by ToThePoint

Trying to understand the logic behind the separate changes for Labour & tyre removal/fitment

Labour charges I mentioned was from Gear Gear Motorcycles. They removed the wheels and took it to Madhus for the rubber change.

The other two charges amounting to 2,325/- was charged by Madhus to remove and fit the tyre on the wheel and align it.

Why the two step process? More context here - https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/banga...ml#post5848533 (Madhus Tyre Centre - Wilson Garden, Bangalore)

Edit - Added more clarity to the above post as well.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Minor accessory addition - Mototrendz Traction Pads

Nothing much to talk about - let the pictures do the talking

Cost was 1,699/- including shipping

[Chugh_H]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Service Experience #7: Tyre Change @ 21,500 kms
Gear Gear Motorcycles

Hey CrazyDriver,
Noticed your bike on Triumph's Insta story. If it's really your bike, then do share your experience with the training academy, I had been desperately wanting to go but the dates did overlap with my Zanksar trip. How technical was it, was the course different for newbies vs experienced riders, did you you find it challenging enough and did you take home something that you think you'd be able to apply?

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Chugh_H

Hey CrazyDriver,
Noticed your bike on Triumph's Insta story. If it's really your bike, then do share your experience with the training academy, I had been desperately wanting to go but the dates did overlap with my Zanksar trip. How technical was it, was the course different for newbies vs experienced riders, did you you find it challenging enough and did you take home something that you think you'd be able to apply?

Hey thanks!

Yes that was me - did the Triumph Training Academy course with School of Dirt over the weekend. For a newbie like me to offroad - it was a really good experience. Covered some basic skills and involved riding in a lake course, deep water crossing, forest trail and sand course.

More importantly - it was a big boost to confidence and taught me the bike is way more capable (despite street tyres and all that jazz) than a rider like myself can push it to!

Of course -.nothing like a Zanskar trip - I would have happily traded places with you

Will do a more detailed report once the pics are in! Meanwhile, leaving this here -

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Triumph Training Academy Chennai with The School Of Dirt

"This is the dirtiest that I've ever seen a Tiger Sport 660!" - Ouseph Chacko



I'm not sure what was the impetus for me to sign up for this program- I do remember that the messages and the brochure came in different whatsapp groups and was also forwarded by a Triumph Tiger owner I got acquainted with at CSS - but then offroading was never my cup of tea. Neither did i consider the Tiger Sport 660 as an adventure bike - it is a sport tourer in the best definition - one that is heavily road biased and tries to offer the best mix of corner carving, commuting, touring and adventure - all rolled into one package. In fact, I so believe the Tiger Sport 660 is more road oriented, that I took it to the track during CSS earlier this year.



I have been following Ouseph Chacko from a very long time and have always admired his skills as well as the courses he conducted, but never really signed up because I thought it was beyond me and my machine to go for anything like that!

But then the brochure said basic skills and drills and the ride was open to all the owners of Tiger 1200s, Tiger 900s, Tiger 800s, Scrambler 1200s and Scrambler 400s along with the Tiger Sport 660. The training hoped to imbibe owners with balance and techniques they needed to handle these machines. Not sure what finally clicked - but in a moment of impulse decision making that I can't even vaguely recollect anymore - I decided I need to learn these skills and filled up the form / paid up for this Triumph Training Academy course in Chennai.

What exactly did I sign up for?







Closer to the dates - the reality set in! What am I supposed to do - how do I not make a fool of myself! How do I ensure I learn something - despite turning up with a motorcycle having a 17inch front wheel, just 150mm of ground clearance, mediocre suspension travel and street tyres. Well - the least I could do was to service the bike and change the tyres!

Hence - as seen in the earlier posts, the bike was taken to Gear Gear Motorcycles and the tyres were changed to a fresh set of TVS Eurogrip Roadhounds (Yes, excellent choice for offroad, i know! ) and the vitals were checked and found to be good. The motorcycle is all set to go then! Just a week to go!

And then it began to rain! Chennai went under flood alert with just five days remaining to the event. At this moment, I secretly started wishing for the event to be just canceled because I had this feeling in my gut that I was about to chew a ton more than I could swallow.


Image Source - The Hindu

T-3 days: Triumph starts a whatsapp group with all the participants, but no information about the program all day. I am still left hoping that the program is going to be cancelled due to the weather. They said they are monitoring the weather and will communicate accordingly. IMD predictions said the depression which caused the flood was supposed to make landfall on the day our training was scheduled.

T-2 days: Ouseph Chacko introduces himself to the group and communicates the schedule for the weekend. Things get even more complicated for me. What I signed up for - was a basic drills session in Chennai, but now it involved riding to Mahabalipuram and Pondicherry too! Anyways, too late and excited to back out at this point.

The general plan for this weekend is as follows:
Saturday (19th October)
7:00am: We meet at the breakfast point (will share location shortly).
7-8am: Breakfast
8:15am: Ride to The Farm Chennai (approx 2km from the breakfast venue)
8:45am: Briefing and start of training.
We aim to finish the exercises by approximately 2pm after which we head out for lunch.
3pm: Ride to Pondicherry for the night’s stay and discussions.
The ride to Pondicherry should take approximately 2.5 hours.

Sunday (20th October)
We have breakfast and head to a short forest trail approx 7km from our night stay.
10am: Finish forest trail, pick up luggage and head to Mahabalipuram for a river bed trail and sand training.
12pm finish sand training.
End of Training Academy, riders head back home.

Riding Gear Requirements

Please note:
We insist on full riding gear and that means:
1. ECE, DOT, ISI or similar rated FULL FACE motorcycle helmet.
2. ⁠Motorcycle riding jacket with shoulder, elbow and back protection OR body armor with the above protection.
3. ⁠Motorcycle riding pants with hip and knee protection OR jeans with knee guards. Knee guard with regular pants will not be allowed at it offers insufficient protection from abrasion.
4. ⁠Motorcycle riding gloves.
5. ⁠High ankle motorcycle riding boots with adequate ankle flex protection. Track riding boots, decathlon, woodlands and the like will not offer enough safety for what we do.

When they opened it up for questions - I just had only one query -

Can the Tiger Sport 660 handle this?

[17/10, 09:39] S J: Thanks Ouseph/ Ankit,

Looking forward

One query - I'm joining with the Tiger Sport 660 which runs street tyres. Was told since we are doing basic drills that should be able to keep up.

Wanted to check if we see any increase in difficulty levels post the rains?

[17/10, 09:42] Ouseph Chacko: There is a slight increase in difficult right now thanks to the rains but since the skies are blue (and it looks like it’s going to stay that way), things should get easier by Saturday. I’ve ridden the 660 off road on street tyres and it is a capable machine so all we have to do is teach you the techniques to handle it

T-1 day: Bangalore - Chennai

Since the Saturday meetup was too early in the morning to ride down from Bangalore, I decided to ride down to Chennai on Friday evening itself - post work. Weather was still a problem and it was raining towards my area even late in the afternoon on Friday. Looked like a rainy start to the day!



Smooth and fast progress on the Old Madras Road till Chittoor:



Refuelling at Chittoor, but since I had navigation on audio on the Sena instead of the phone being mounted on the holder - ended up missing the highway diversion from Chittoor and rode through the old state highway roads and towns, delaying the progress significantly. It was already dark when i crossed Chittoor town so the two-lane became significantly more tiring than the highway:



Had booked my stay at Fairfield Mariott, Chennai OMR. Reached there pretty late towards the night - but thankfully their hospitality was on point! Room was already allotted, check-in was immediate and all I needed to do was to order dinner, take a bath, have the food and crash for the night. Meetup place was just a km or two from here in the morning:



At the meetup place the next day morning, Mr Ouseph Chacko waiting for everyone to turn up:



I parked with the 400s in the group, letting the big Tigers be on their own space on the other side. Lol!



Couple of pics, courtesy the official photographer for the day - Teny





Ouseph's 1200 Rally Pro looks a size bigger even when compared to the 900s in the group:



TN, KA, AP and KL - Good representation from all the southern states then!



Post breakfast, we proceeded to the training venue - the Farm Chennai OMR.



This is an usual destination for offroad bikers and 4*4 groups - just that the most of it was under water from the recent rains.



All the luggage kept together on one side, the Tiger Sport changed from tourer to commuter (and hopefully offroader mode!) with the pannier boxes removed and kept aside:



Everyone had to sign the indemnity forms from the School of Dirt, acknowledging the risks of the activity:



The track area which was prepared for the initial exercises:



This area would be used for activities like balance drills, slalom, U-turn, etc:



Looks good in green, but was a slush fest when observed at a closer range. And here I was on street tyres! Lol!



(To be continued...)

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Triumph Training Academy Chennai with The School Of Dirt

(... Continued)

Balance drills, slalom and U-turn drills

Ouseph started the training by explaining the basics - body positioning, weight transfer, traction strategies for various surfaces etc.



But before we got into the midst of the action - the most important thing to learn was how to pick up the bike when it falls. This would come in very handy for many of us during the day. Thankfully, the Tiger Sport fell only once, that too in sand.



Taking precautionary steps into the world of riding in low traction conditions - all of us are asked to go out and have a couple of rounds around the field to get an idea of the surface we are working with!



Condition of the track at various points - wet green grass is something I was always a bit tensed about wet green grass - but here it was the best surface to hope for:



As the rest of the track consisted of slush:



Slush which got loosened up quite a bit after the bike went through a few rounds. I expected the road tyres to not have much grip on these surfaces, but the bike was still controllable and the fear about the tyres faded in a couple of rounds. Of course, the tyres won't help me get any major offroading done - but it surely wasn't going to stop me from learning today.



Green grass soon started becoming a slush mixture thanks to the bikes doing the rounds:



After a couple of rounds and getting a feel of the track, we were asked to follow Ouseph's lead for a while:



Riding along the sand banks to get some tree cover, so that the sessions can continue:



Parked under the trees. Ouseph asked us what we thought of riding in this new (for many present there, including me!) environment and proceeding to the next drill - adjusting the bike as per the rider.



Met BHPian Sathee46 at the event, who, co-incidentally would also be my room-mate for the stay later during the day. Thanks to him for recognising me with the bike and coming forward to meet. He attended the event with his new steed - the Triumph Scrambler 400X.



Posting the picture with his permission - where Ouseph is asking him to saddle and also sit as per his stance and then suggesting a handle bar position which would be mid-way comfortable between the two.



I chose a position which was half-way between the sitting and standing positions. Took some time getting used to - but I'm good with this position even on the road now. Strangely - it also gives a more substantial feel to the motorcycle, may be because the bar ended up in a slightly raised position than earlier:



A closer look at the new position:



With that done, it was time to get back on the track and to try out some more rounds:



Started out a bit weary, looking at the obstacles and being worried about losing footing:



Slowly building confidence with more rounds, telling self to concentrate mainly on vision - for that itself is 60% of the job done:



To trying out different techniques as shown by Ouseph, riding without the throttle hand, riding with one leg up on the seat, etc:



Next up was the slalom course - Ouseph explaining how to transfer body weight and also the vision required to get the bike through the cones:



The first time I tried it, I didn't think even the idling speed would be too much for the turns, ended up overshooting the cones!



Had to re-visit the technique a couple of times more before getting the hang of it:



Before finally getting some tighter lines through all the cones:



Moving on to the next course - it was time for the standing U-turn. Ouseph and teny laying down the cones:



Ouseph shows us how it is done and makes it look way too easy:



The one time I tried to go up to this motorcycle in the showroom - I was intimidated so much I didn't try to even sit on this monster of a 1200. Ouseph was riding it like the weight didn't matter at all!



In fact he made it look too easy - I'm all set and ready to go in and try my luck:



Go in wide, look at each step, weight transfer... and



Running wide, only to be reminded by Ouseph what I am doing wrong:



Waiting in line for the next re-attempt, while a fallen 900 gets back on its feet:



And another reminder from Ouseph, especially to get the vision right:



Time for some practice around the coconut trees



Going in again!



Made it! And a bit of appreciation from the master:



(To be continued...)

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Triumph Training Academy Chennai with The School Of Dirt

(... continued)

Farm Trail

This post is just going to be a photo dump from the official photographer- because unfortunately I forgot to switch on my camera in the excitement. And this was also the most challenging and exciting part of the day!

Riding along the lake to get to the farm trail:





Slushy environment all around. Ouseph shows how to blast through it:





Others follow in on the fun:







I'm riding more cautiously because my rear got almost stuck and lost traction in a previous pool, ending up giving a mudbath to a Tiger 900 owner.



Photos of the aftermath, what happens when a stupid owner on street tyres meet a pure slush course:





Poor Tiger 900 was caught behind me! Thanks to him for being a sport about it!

Lake Trail:

This was the most dangerous activity for the day, for there was a serious danger you could hydrolock your motorcycle in case of a fall. Ouseph shows how its done:











Few of the more adventurous owners try it out.

I'm waiting in line - but did i try it?

In all honesty - i didnt. This was the only course i chickened out. Reason - 1. Ouseph warned the area was used by Jeeps for 4*4 and there are some deep ruts dug for those activities before the area was covered with water during the recent rains. He asked to follow the exact route he took and to hit the kill switch immediately if you hit a rut or fall. It would be RSA from then on! And 2. Simple math - If i drop it, can i afford to pay 5-6L or more for engine repairs? No. And that, ladies and gentleman, was enough to scare me away. Lol!



Was it useful to do all this on street tyres?

In terms of learning to overcome fear, in terms of learning to balance, in terms of not panicking when your motorcycle starts moving around, in terms of trying not to ride the throttle when getting stuck and do the opposite of watching the traction - I think I did learn quite a lot because the bike perhaps did the least for me as compared to the more offroad adapted machines in the group there. So yeah, may be wasn't such a bad idea at all!

(To be continued...)

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Triumph Training Academy Chennai with The School Of Dirt

(... continued)

Chennai - Pondicherry

With all the exercises done for the day and parked for the departure to Pondicherry. Mirrors were removed before the trainings by the Triumph technician and promptly fitted back before the road ride, as you would see in the later pics:



Condition of the riding gear before starting the road ride.



Making it out of The Farm on to the road:



Getting out of Rajiv Gandhi Salai on to the East Coast Road:



Smooth progress on the East Coast Road till Mahabalipuram:



Lunch stop- Delhi Dhaba at Mahabalipuram:







To say we were all tired, scratch that - famished, would be an understatement. The physical effort needed, the scorching Chennai heat and the fear of dropping the vehicles had all taken everyone to their limits of exhaustion. So lunch was much awaited and very enjoyable. I enjoyed the Mutton biryani and paneer goli soda served here, the latter was a revelation and I asked for a repeat as well:



Spy shots served on a platter, with a 3xO EV parked right outside the restaurant. More pictures were shared here - https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/elect...ml#post5862193 (Mahindra XUV 3XO EV spotted testing)



Condition of the bike post lunch when the mud had all dried up:



One for the thread, shot by a Team-Bhp reader participant who identified the bike and asked me about it at this time. Immediately I shamelessly asked him a favour to click me



Back on the road towards Pondicherry:



I used the evening ride to observe how Ouseph Chacko was riding and learn from his approaches:



Was a very memorable evening ride behind him, almost till Pondicherry where he stopped for fuel:



Had forgotten how beautiful ECR was - its been a decade since i migrated out of Chennai. East Coast Road still remains a beautiful road to ride on:



And the sunset added even more beauty to the ride, quite a memorable day overall:



Turning off the main road into a long off-tarmac road to the night's stay:



Hey a small jump! Wee...



And right into cattle. No wee...



Arriving at Inn Pondiville near Auroville campus, rather late in the evening:



Beautiful offbeat resort / large homestay that felt quite welcoming:



Quiant pathways that lead to seperate rooms:



Large swimming pool / discussion area, which is also covered:



Settling down for the evening with some good food and company:





(To be continued...)

[AtheK]

Looks like a lot of fun, it's been so long that I have been thinking of going to Big rock dirt park. My recent adventures in Leh made me realise how important it is to learn riding on sand, though I did not fall, was always scared of a fall. This training should help.

Good to see you putting the bike through it's paces, I would have also not done the lake part, sometimes it is better to let common sense prevail then trying to be a hero.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by AtheK

Looks like a lot of fun, it's been so long that I have been thinking of going to Big rock dirt park. My recent adventures in Leh made me realise how important it is to learn riding on sand, though I did not fall, was always scared of a fall. This training should help.

On a very serious note, please do let me know if you plan the Bigrock training. Would like to attend as well

Originally Posted by AtheK

Good to see you putting the bike through it's paces, I would have also not done the lake part, sometimes it is better to let common sense prevail then trying to be a hero.

True

But yes the two days were a lot of fun and the bike, although out of its element, did it's best to dismiss whatever was thrown its way. There was a participant who told me initially that he was not sure if the Tiger Sport was a good idea, and told me at the end of the training that it didn't fare bad at all!

Over the long term, need to plan for more specialized motorcycles in the garage to compliment this all-rounder.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Triumph Training Academy Chennai with The School Of Dirt

(... continued)

Triumph Training Academy- Day 2 - Forest Trail

Was hoping there would be some rainfall at night and the bikes would get cleaned up, but that was not to be! We woke up to a misty morning in Pondicherry:



Wonder if he talks to the motorcycle? The way he handles that 1200 does make you wonder



Ouseph having a very animated discussion with us while waiting for the others to assemble for the morning trail ride:



Ready to roll finally:



Ouseph leading the group to the trail grounds:



Wasn't too long a ride before we started getting proper challenges:



This turn was a bit tricky due to all the soft slush and the turn needed. Was a good workout for the tyres and also a good refresher of the techniques taught the previous day:



The Tiger 1200s and the 900s on 80/20 or 70/30 tyres can really take a lot. I was also very impressed by the Scrambler 400x - the light weight also seem to help the baby Scrambler riders to overcome many challenges.



Soon the confidence starts building and the speeds increase - roads like this where I would have been very careful earlier start appearing like some of the better sections where I can catch up to the others in front:



Good mix of riding conditions - slush was soon followed by sand, though the rains did help our case here:



Quick chat and feedback session with Ouseph while waiting for the others to catch up and regroup:



Soon we are into the trees, where the turns were getting tighter and tighter:



And the canopy cover made it difficult to saddle at many places:



Keeping the head low through these sections was the only way.



Canopy cover almost done, the trail starts opening up into a narrow pathway:



Opening up nicely into this pathway we could blast through:



Soon we turn back, but the return was more difficult because the tyres had loosened up the surface quite a bit- so guys like me on road tyres had to be even more careful with lines and techniques:



Trying to cover up the gap again:



Only to be slowed down by more slush loosened up from our tyres:



Back to the canopy cover:



Hiding behind the windshield, but I was also worried my Prospec will get knocked off by some tree branches. Lol!



Waiting for everyone to re-assemble at the clearing and also for a group photo:



The pic, courtesy the official photographer Teny:



Was at this point when Ouseph came up and said - "This is the dirtiest that I've ever seen a Tiger Sport 660!". Clicked one picture for that moment



Trails done, the group riding back to the stay:





One quick feedback session with the master before we split for breakfast and get ready to depart:



The full group of participants with Ouseph:



(To be continued ...)

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Triumph Training Academy Chennai with The School Of Dirt

(... continued)

Sand Training - Palar River Bed

And return to Bangalore via Mahabalipuram- Kanchipuram- Ranipet -Chittoor

Of all the big adventure bikes here - the first to make it out is the Sport 660 - Ouseph

(PS: That statement is not a testament to my skill, nor am I boasting of the abilities of the bike - just that I got a fun chance and took it - explained towards the end of this post!)

Anyways, continuing from the above timeline - With all the confidence gained from the rides over the last 1.5 days, I gathered the courage to ask Ouseph if i can sit on his bike and check it out! To those wondering what is the big deal in all this - here is a conversation from the start of this month:

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Nice to know you found it welcoming!

I tried the 1200 in the showroom and frankly was too intimidated to try it on the road. May be with a much fatter bank balance - I could have tried it

Originally Posted by Axe77

You’re a big lad CD you’ll manage it just fine I’m very sure. It is (like Shyam said) beautifully balanced with an absolutely delightful suspension to boot. You must give it a go when you get a chance.

Originally Posted by shyamg28

I think both CD & I are above average height (India). For me, even the V Strom 650 seems overly intimidating at standstill. Heck, even the Himalayan 450 does
But it's only when you get going that the motorcycle makes its dynamics amply clear no?

..
Take a test ride. I'm fairly confident it will surprise. Positive/negative I can't guarantee.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Now that I have tricked you into answering your own apprehensions - let's go for your longer TD and booking.

I'll tag along with you!

Was just going through my gallery and found the awe shot I took during the showroom experience - just the sheer size of the tank and the front end was intimidating

The Tiger 1200 was one bike which had truly intimidated me and hence just sitting on the bike and feeling it felt like something relevant - especially since this one belongs to Ouseph has been been through quite a lot! Anyways, somehow the weight and the fear seemed to disappear soon as I was astride the motorcycle. Felt beautifully balanced and not even as intimidating as the Versys 650 I owned earlier!

Anyways, no bank balance to think much of all this further! Time to start for Mahabalipuram:



Whole group waiting at the outskirts of Pondicherry for a couple of bikes to tank up before heading back to Mahabalipuram:



The site chosen for sand trails was off Mahabalipuram on the dry Palar river bed. Was a very hot and tiring day and quite sunny when we reached there. During an earlier re-grouping near the main road - I fetched a couple of bottles of cold water from a local shop and not only distributed along for drinking, but also poured a bit on the body to cool down - it was THAT HOT at the main road. However, thankfully, the gods were more empathetic towards our cause and a blessed us with a cloud cover by the time we reached the river bank:

But the terrain didn't look any to share any such empathy! This was just plain sand - the type where walking becomes tiring because the shoes will dig in! I am in two minds whether to attempt this course or not!



As usual - Ouseph shows the way and the technique. Thats a very steep slope down to the sand though!



With the lowest ground clearance in the group by far, I can't even take the straight line approach here. While Ouseph is just blasting straight through here with his 1200 Rally Explorer - I would have to approach this from the extreme right of this image where the underbody won't hit and then take a right turn at the softest section of the sand seen there:



Teny, the photographer in action:



The image - He makes it looks so easy and smooth:



Couple of bikes take the lead and follow him in! I get ready, but as mentioned earlier - by taking the extreme right side: Only problem is the right turn I need to take once I'm done with the slope. Oh yes and one more thing - remember to turn the TRACTION CONTROL OFF!



Yeap! Gravity still works! Apple on Newton's head, Red TS 660 on my leg and feet trapped under

In hindsight - trying to recollect what happened - I think I had more pace from the slope, was too much bothered about the grip and the front end, and may have (Not sure - but i suspect) used the road reflex of lightly tapping the front brakes. Anyways, the sand was quite forgiving in that nothing happened to the motorcycle - nothing at all except for a lose mirror! Only problem - my leg was trapped under.



Help was quick to arrive:



The staff doctor and a Tiger 900 owner were the first to reach me and help me pull the leg out:



Up on my feet - no pain or issues anywhere:



Taking a couple of breaths to relax:



Making sure the bike is in gear before attempting to pull it up:



And we are back on the bike again:



With the fall done, mind had gone slightly blank and the mentality was to try and make it across somehow:



A ton of sand to cross to the other side:



Making a major mistake here - which Ouseph would later come to me and point out. I was trying to 'power through', more of a reflex reaction to the feeling of getting stuck. I was not watching the traction I had or feeling the amount of work that the rear is doing - but I was trying to overcome the feeling of getting bogged down with more accelerator input.



'Powering through' as seen in the speedometer reading here - no way I was doing 20 kmph - just the rear wheel spinning due to lack of grip:



Almost there anyways - that was the only thing in mind for this particular stretch - to get across:



Finally! Made it across and parked:



Turned around and saw others falling at various stages - it was my turn now to help them out a bit:



I run to the first bike to help him out, but our photographer Teny comes running before me. But no - it wasn't to pull the bike up, it was to capture the images of the fall



Helping a brother back up - part 1:



The sand baits another Tiger:



Helping a brother back up - part 2:



With everyone across on to the other side - it was time to regroup with Ouseph and listen to some feedback. As mentioned earlier - my primary feedback was that I was trying to 'power through', more of a reflex reaction to the feeling of getting stuck. I needed to watch the traction I had or feeling the amount of work that the rear is doing - I needed to relax more and listen to the bike:



Time to have some fun, we ride around for sometime without traction control - trying to learn the varying effects of throttle control and body balance:



Time to gear up once again and head back to the river bank, across the sand. My bike wouldn't make it up the original entry for sure - so I was wondering what to do, when Ouseph mentioned to try an alternate bank to the right side of the earlier entry, ending his sentence by saying that if we are smart - we would attempt it before the others soften it up! Lol



More inspirational words have never been spoken, I make a run for it:



Unlike what the images suggest, the return was much more calm and composed - I was being cautious not to throttle too much and except for this one occasion where I lost balance - was able to saddle most of the way back through too! There was a group of local villagers who had assembled at the river bank to watch us play it out on their backyard - who encouragingly clapped and cheered me as I made it up the sharp slop and back on to the road. Some came to shake hands, some requested for selfies with the bike and some just picked up on small talk.



Once everyone was back on the road, Ouseph rides back - once again making it look so easy:



The little 660 had taken quite a lot in its stride over the last two days - water, mud, slush, sand and what not! Now it had the job of carrying the panniers and me once again and flying back to Bangalore post lunch:



And this is where the beauty of the Tiger Sport 660 shines through - After a day which started early, a day in which we did forest trail in humid Pondicherry, a day in which we did an extremely tiring session of sand riding at Mahabalipuram - it still didn't miss a beat picking up the touring boots and doing a comfortable Mahabalipuram - Bangalore run in 5 hours 20 mins, through Kanchipuram, Ranipet and Chittoor.

If you ask me - what an all-rounder of a machine this is!!! Take a bow...



Reached back home by 9pm:



The hard-earned certificate. As mentioned earlier - the objective was to learn and not to achieve anything - and the machine did not come in the way of that! In terms of learning to overcome fear, in terms of learning to balance, in terms of not panicking when your motorcycle starts moving around, in terms of trying not to ride the throttle when getting stuck and do the opposite of watching the traction - I think I did learn quite a lot because the bike perhaps did the least for me as compared to the more offroad adapted machines in the group there. So yeah, overall - it was a weekend well spent:



Some good memories with the group and Ouseph too! He is a very good coach and I surely would try to attend some of his courses back in Vattavada, but that would need to wait till a more specialized vehicle joins my garage:

[t3rm1n80r]

Thank you for sharing your experience @CrAzY_dRiVeR.
The first image on your post #232 is gorgeous. The golden sand accentuates the tyre grooves. It reminds me of Tron

I feel off-roading and getting comfortable with the feeling of the bike sliding around is an essential skill for all types of riders. It would help in not panicking in uncontrolled environments. Top MotoGP riders are also very good dirtbike riders.