[shyamg28]

Congratulations @TheVaas! Thoroughly enjoyed re-watching Inception...or was it Tenet? :P

This is one motorcycle I have heard nothing negative about. I wish you both many miles of happiness on the new steed

[TheVaas]

Originally Posted by VellVector

Congratulations on your AT. Amazing that you found this unicorn in the used market. I really enjoyed reading your journey to find and buy the AT.

I test rode the AT before buying my 1250 GSA and the only two things that stopped me from going ahead with the purchase were Honda's attitude of we have no idea when we will deliver and that the India spec AT had the ESA removed.

Thank you VellVector! And apart from India spec AT having the ESA removed, it was also was the Asia-spec lowered model. So compared to Euro-US models, the suspension travel and ground clearance was lowered by about 20-40mm approx.

Originally Posted by shyamg28

Congratulations @TheVaas! Thoroughly enjoyed re-watching Inception...or was it Tenet? :P

This is one motorcycle I have heard nothing negative about. I wish you both many miles of happiness on the new steed

Thank you for the wishes shyamg28! Hahaha whether it was either - the 'PROTAGONIST' remains the same with a tri-color backpack!

[Turbosailor]

Originally Posted by TheVaas

CHAPTER EIGHT: “The Dark Horse Rises!”

Exceptional style of writing brother, in one go I completed reading your post. What a journey and your truly blessed to get such buddies and a life partner. As you said AT is a Gem. Wishing you safe miles ahead and looking for more such great write ups.

[Ray379]

What a brilliant write up! Congratulations @TheVaas on the beautiful bike.

Although I am not a bike person, loved reading every experience! Here's hoping many safe and adventurous miles on the bike!

[bf1983]

Congrats on the new acquisition. When I first met you the Z650 was just sold and you were still contemplating what bike to get and now you have sold off the Tiger and gotten an Africa Twin! Loved the write up. Wish you many more happy miles of riding.

[MileCruncher]

Many many congratulations on finding the successor to your XRx. AT is a truly wonderful machine capable of great things both on and off road.

Its great to read that you have already tested it in its terrain i.e. Zanskar.

Wishing you many more happy miles and also taking up road less travelled!
Will be glued in.

Would be keen to understand if you faced any issues with wheel alignment of spoke wheels on the long expedition and also puncture on tube tyres.

It has been one of my dream bikes not only for it Dakar heritage but also the way it looks. But alas too tall for me and a dream that will remain unfulfilled.

Originally Posted by TheVaas

I While the search was on, we kept ourselves busy watching Motology Films / Adam Riemann’s excellent series about his 1992 Africa Twin called ‘The Warhorse’.

That whole series about the Warhorse right from the shed in Norway to Australia and its rebuild put a keeda to get a classic!

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

It has been one of my dream bikes not only for it Dakar heritage but also the way it looks. But alas too tall for me and a dream that will remain unfulfilled.

The 2020 ATAS sold in India is one of the most accessible big ADVs out there from a seat height perspective. I think it’ll be very comparable to your XRx (perhaps below 820 / 810 mm maybe) although TheVaas could clarify the number or even the comparative feeling.

[TheVaas]

Originally Posted by Turbosailor

Exceptional style of writing brother, in one go I completed reading your post. What a journey and your truly blessed to get such buddies and a life partner. As you said AT is a Gem. Wishing you safe miles ahead and looking for more such great write ups.

Thank you Turbosailor for your kind words and wishes!

Originally Posted by Ray379

What a brilliant write up! Congratulations @TheVaas on the beautiful bike.

Although I am not a bike person, loved reading every experience! Here's hoping many safe and adventurous miles on the bike!

Thank you Ray379! Since you've now ventured into the 'bad lands of motorbikes', I do hope you have a change of heart!

Originally Posted by bf1983

Congrats on the new acquisition. When I first met you the Z650 was just sold and you were still contemplating what bike to get and now you have sold off the Tiger and gotten an Africa Twin! Loved the write up. Wish you many more happy miles of riding.

Thank you bf1983! Yes we've crossed paths at eventful junctions. Hope you also find a new steed!

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

Would be keen to understand if you faced any issues with wheel alignment of spoke wheels on the long expedition and also puncture on tube tyres.

Thank you for the kind words sir! And I'm glad you're also enjoying your XRx to the maximum. With regards to wheel alignment issues - nothing of any sort whatsoever. Neither with me or with the other ATAS owners that I know of. Even on cruise control - the bike rides as straight as a bullet (fired from the gun and not the brand!) Also, these are tubeless spoke wheels - so puncture fixing would be easier and simpler unlike tube. Again, no issues on this front as well in my trips so far.

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

But alas too tall for me and a dream that will remain unfulfilled.

That whole series about the Warhorse right from the shed in Norway to Australia and its rebuild put a keeda to get a classic!

As Axe77 mentioned, the ATAS is as friendly with respect to the height as your XRx. In fact, the seat height is the same 810-830mm (my next post will talk about this in detail). Yes, it is tall in every other aspect - but I feel it's manageable once you get a hang of the ergonomics and the weight management.

If the Warhorse saga wasn't enough, his Nepal-Zanskar ride video released just before we were heading there. Man! If you watch that, you'll definitely be bitten by another keeda!

[MileCruncher]

Originally Posted by TheVaas

If the Warhorse saga wasn't enough, his Nepal-Zanskar ride video released just before we were heading there. Man! If you watch that, you'll definitely be bitten by another keeda!

Don't want to hijack this thread, but do check his trips and trail riding on the Tenere T7. That is a bike for solo fun on trails.

And for dope for your next keeda, do check out the Husqvarna Norden 901 Expedition.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDvZ0ONCSLA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3iOHRozZGM&t=404s

[TheVaas]

“Ride the Lightning”

That’s the feeling I get when I sit on the saddle and roar out of the parking lot. Well, ‘roar’ is a slight exaggeration - ‘low growls and snarls’ is more like it! The ATAS has a very distinct exhaust note - so it’s really hard to describe it. And since I’m on the stock setup - it’s actually pleasing to the ears and one kind of gets used to it as the days go by. Ok sorry back to the present, err, a few months back to the present - APRIL to MAY 2024!

Scene of crime: Building parking lot!

Most of my comparisons would be with my ex-ADV, the Triumph Tiger 800 - since that’s the bike I’ve been riding the past four years. And with so much riding, one tends to think that the transition from one ADV to the other would be easy. HELL NO! The world of ADVs might look similar but their inhabitants are not! After each test ride I’d come home and remind myself - “There’s a learning curve involved here. I will need to RE-LEARN a few things all over again and implement it on the newer steed!” The most important thing to note is that, no matter how many reviews, videos, opinion pieces you consume about your bike (or anything in general), you are starting from ground zero. It’s good to have theoretical knowledge and know-hows pat down - but it is the practical, real-world scenarios that will make or break your experience with your motorcycle.

When I rode the ATAS the first time post delivery - my muscle memory was of my Tiger 800. A completely different machine and setup from this one. Early on realised the difference between the Twin and the Triple - when shifting gears. After a few days of riding - around the city, following were my observations -

**

ENGINE
The Honda powered 1100cc engine is the most forgiving engine you can ever find! (Yeah I know I said my comparisons were with the Tiger 800, but you get the drift). It’s not a 0-100km in 3 seconds fast, but it will be if you want it to be. At the same time, if you want it to just glide over the bad roads/potholes/bumper to bumper traffic - it’ll do that as well. At no point would you feel that the engine will stall or give up on you. The power delivery is pretty linear and ‘progressive’. Yes - it doesn’t have the ‘get-set-go’ character of the triple, but it’ll definitely keep running the whole day - and you wont feel fatigued. Honda Magic at play I guess.

(Note: The ATAS has a taller 1st and 2nd gear (reiterated by Added_Flavor during our post purchase discussion) as compared to the Tiger. This took me sometime to get used to - more on this and the quick-shifter later on in the ownership.)

**

CLUTCH
I'm not kidding when I say that one of the most sought-out feature of the ATAS is the ‘manual clutch’. Honda’s DCT tech is touted to be fool-proof and I’m sure it is, since the 2024 GoldWing is now available only in DCT. I wasn’t adamant on the M or DCT aspect when I was looking for the ATAS in the market. The pre 2020 models were all DCT and there was (still is) one DCT 2020 model doing the rounds somewhere. Anyway, got the Manual and that’s some time and energy saved in “re-learning it all”. Most of the ADVs that I rode came with hydraulic clutch - which in simpler terms is ‘smooth like silk clutch movement’. The Tiger 800s were infamous for very hard clutch and every service meant copious amount of WD40 or engine oil being sprayed/poured into the clutch cable assembly for smooth operation. I imagine that a Truck’s clutch would be smoother than the Tiger’s. In the case of my ATAS, the previous owner had issues with the clutch plates due to the hard operation. So he got the entire assembly changed and also installed the “ALT-RIDER Clutch Arm Extension”. I think Pro Spec in India makes a similar type of system for the Himalayans, Tigers etc.

Yup. That's all there is to it. A total game changer.

I may not be great at explaining this but will still give it a go. What this does is that it acts as an ‘extension’ of the clutch arm and balances (or takes on) the load between the lever and the plates. This balancing relieves the stress from our hands and what we get is a very smooth-almost feather like clutch operation! If any ADV rider here has trouble with clutch operation - I’d highly recommend installing an apparatus like this. Trust me it is one of the best ‘accessory/modification’ one can hope for! And it is almost zero maintenance. Just keep checking the clutch free play setting during check-ups or service and you’re sorted for life! (pun intended)

**

HEAT
The heat management is negligible or non-existent in the ATAS as compared to the 800. I kept checking my thighs every two minutes and was surprised that they were at ‘room temperature’. The 800 heats up a lot and within no time. So this was a boon for me! The twin radiator setup has two fans and it directs the air ‘outwards’ away from the rider instead of ‘inwards’ towards the rider.

LHS - Radiator fan


RHS - Radiator fan


Note the Coolant bar at 3. No matter the ride/weather etc., it never goes above 3! And this has been echoed by fellow ATAS riders as well. Honda magic?

**

BRAKES
The braking on the Tiger was much better and tighter - since the front was Brembo and rear was Nissin. ATAS has Nissin - front and rear, so one could feel the difference. I’d give it about 8/10 as compared to the 9.5/10 for the Tiger.

Front - NISSIN


Rear - NISSIN

**

ENGINE BRAKING
I have made this a separate point because this was one thing that bothered me a lot. On the Tiger 800, Pawan had taught me to ‘engine brake’ early on in the riding days. I used to be a 60 Front, 40 Rear brake person. But once I got the hang of ‘engine braking’ - it made life much easier and also helped in stabilising the bike when riding downhill or coming to a stop at a junction etc. The ATAS has absolute no EB. There is a setting in the riding modes called EB - with three modes - 3 being the least intrusive and 1 being the strongest. (Yeah everything is reverse in HONDA-verse)

Note the EB at '2'. Different modes have different EB settings.

I did a few uphill and downhill practice rides in my parking lot (it helps that there are 4 levels of parking in my building) and figured early on that the bike just smoothly rolls off if you close the ‘ride by wire’ throttle. Very unlike and unsettling for me. Added_Flavor was consulted again and he basically told me to erase all engine braking memories I have and to re-wire my brain to the way ATAS engine responds to throttle inputs. He also mentioned, which is a very solid observation, that the ATAS compression ratio is 10:1 - Honda did this so as to make it more fuel efficient and better functioning of the engine; thereby resulting in lower power figures than the competition. The Tiger and the BMWs have around 13/14/15:1 compression ratios, which is why the engine braking is strong.

This is why I love TBhp - the amount of real-world experience and knowledge shared by the members here without any hesitation is just This theory was seconded by the Africa Twin Rider Forums as well. So well, my philosophy of re-learning was put to test here.

**

SWITCH-CUBE
"No you cannot fly an Airbus 380 with it even though it looks like you can". In true Honda style, the horn and turn signal indicator switches are interchanged as opposed to the norm. This took some time to register into my muscle memory! To make matters simple, Honda website actually has a simulator of the dashboard and the LHS-RHS switchcube that you can familiarise yourself with. Well if not the Airbus, I can still make-pretend I’m flying on with this ‘simulator’. Haha!

LHS - Too many switches, but do notice the position of the horn and the turn signal switch. Honda-verse at play!


A rather boring RHS view. That is the cruise control switch (gray) and the speed +/- toggle. The blank space above them is where the DCT controls of D/M/S usually reside.

Note: The cruise control works like a charm. More on that later on in the ownership experience! Also, the buttons seem overwhelming at first glance - but soon one gets used to it.

[TheVaas]

RIDING MODES
There are five riding modes - URBAN, TOUR, GRAVEL, OFFROAD, USER 1 and USER 2. Self explanatory I guess. The best part is that you can switch between riding modes WITHOUT the need to close the throttle or bring the bike to a stand still. “Triumph I’m looking at you!”

Ok before you ask me the difference, I’ll clear it out. GRAVEL has the least power delivery at 4 and OFFROAD is set to 3. Both have their own use case scenarios which I found out the hard way during our Zanskar Ride. I’ll keep it brief here and explain in detail during the Zanskar chapters -

GRAVEL Mode with the least amount of power at '4'


OFFROAD Mode with decent amount of power at '3'

If you’re going uphill in a rocky/offroad terrain and need some power on tap but don’t want the Traction control and ABS to kick in, OFFROAD mode is your friend. If you’re going downhill in a rocky/offroad terrain or are going through slush/black ice/water crossing (OR Bumper to bumper traffic as I found out) - where you need minimal power just to get you out of the mess without any wheel spins or rear tyre power loss - GRAVEL MODE!

One thing to note, as with all things in HONDAverse - the power circle works in reverse order where 1 is maximum power and 4 is minium power!! Yeah what did I say about RE-LEARNING?!

HSTC - Honda Selectable Torque Control (aka Traction Control)
WC - Wheelie Control (aka Front wheel slip control)

Both of these have values from 1 to 7 (with '1' being least intrusive and '7' being the most). One can turn it off by long pressing the back button - this is usually advisable for USER modes where you can create your own preset, but it also works for the PRESET modes (described above). The only drawback is - if you switch off your bike and start again, the bike will display the last 'riding mode' selected by the HSTC and WC will default to 1.

**

WEIGHT MANAGEMENT
Surprisingly for a 240kg wet bike, it’s very well balanced. The seating, leg positioning for both the rider and pillion is excellent (outscores the Tiger here). All round ergonomics are great. It feels well planted 2-up in traffic (with/without luggage) and with all things ADV - “you don’t feel the weight when in motion!” But having praised it - the downside is that it weighs a ton the moment you are past the ‘safe lean/tilt’ angle. Best to let it rest on its own, absolutely no point fighting it. Solo lifting it is relatively easier - but without luggage. The thing I realised in my 4 month ownership is that it is next to impossible to tip over or fall from the ATAS when in motion - it is that stable in terms of weight distribution. This was a sore thumb with the Tiger - because even in motion it sometimes used to overwhelm you when it came to the front heaviness.

Powerlifting an ATAS with luggage SHOULD be a new category in the Olympics!

Note: Putting the bike on a center stand is easier on the ATAS than on the Tiger. That’s a win for Honda.

**

SEATING + GROUND CLEARANCE
Keeping in mind the average Asian Male height, Honda launched a lowered version of the ATAS in 2020. The models that came after that in 2021 and 2022 were with the same India spec. What does this mean? Well, in simple terms - the overall height/suspension travel is reduced by approximately 40mm from the international ATAS models. GoBlue had mentioned it in his ownership post as well. So anyway, compared to my Tiger 800 XRx, the seat height of the ATAS is the same - 810mm (low)-830mm (high). In both the bikes I could flat foot easily, though its easier on the ATAS because of the way the seat tapers towards the tank (rally-esque seat design). This design also helps in gripping the tank whilst seated and/or standing up. The ATAS pillion seat is slighly wider but flatter than the one on the Tiger 800.

As mentioned earlier, one of our priority 'upgrade' requirement was ‘pillion comfort’. According to Prerana, the GS wins this battle by a mile, followed closely by the Tiger 1200 (partly cos of the superior suspension). But surprisingly, what works in her favor in the ATAS is the way the pillion footpegs are placed and positioned. It’s slightly more relaxed at an almost 90 degree angle - something Royal Enfield has mastered over the years. The seat, being wider, and the position of the grab rails - gives her more confidence during the long rides.

The angle makes it look like a single seat, but it's infact two different one. Note the rally-esque seat tapering towards the tank.

Ground clearance of India spec is 210 mm according to the promotional PDF on the Honda Website. And safe to say, the ground clearance is actually MORE than my Tiger 800. How do I know this? Well, elementary my dear time-travellers. We no longer scrape or bottom out at the usual suspect speed breakers or undulations in my locality. Yes fully loaded we did manage to scrape the bash plate and bottom-out a few times during our trip - but nothing that was earth shattering (as it used to be ‘sometimes’ on the Tiger).

Another way to prove my findings was that, with full load and pillion, I used to have a tough time putting the side stand on the Tiger 800. I always had to tilt the bike to the right side a bit and then get the side stand out. A risky manoeuvre which was mastered over time. Now with same setting on the ATAS - I can easily put the side stand down (even with the foot extender) and this basically proves my point PRACTICALLY - that the ground clearance is higher. I assume the 21” front also plays a role here compared to the 19” front on the Tiger. The reason why the ATAS GC seems low is because of the way the OEM Bash plate is designed - all encompassing like a spaceship underneath the bike! I do not have any pics to prove this because the camera angles make the ground clearance seem deceptive. Maybe eagle eyed readers can spot it in the past, present and future bike pictures on this thread!

**

FUEL/MILEAGE
The ATAS being the ‘Adventure Sports’ variant comes with a 24.8L tank - which doesn’t seem overwhelming because you’re seated IN the bike as opposed to over it. When I had taken delivery, the dashboard showed me a mileage of 16L. I filled up the full tank and let it go well past reserve to understand the real world capacity - this was something I was curious about. The reserve indicator shows up when the 'distance to empty is 75km but the actual 'distance to empty' is when it comes down to 27km. How did I find this out? Well, I was about 500m away from the petrol pump when the “range showed 27km” and within the next 200m it showed “- -“ which according to the manual means “Completely empty tank”.

About 9 bars of Fuel - this is full tank! Range shows around 460km.

Thankfully, I had a fellow ADVenger member, Viraj on his 1250GS with me. The bike stopped midway at the junction and he helped me push the bike into the petrol pump. “Pushing the ATAS” - another Olympic category recommendation! Ironically, 25.3L of fuel went into the otherwise 24.8L tank! So that was also surprising. Checked with the ‘All India AT whatsapp group’ about this “25l fuel tank and 27km to 0km fuel range” issue and didn’t get any satisfactory answer. Instead was told to “Don’t try stunts. Just fill it up when the reserve light hits” etc etc.

In this regard, the Tiger had a more accurate fuel gauge. I’ve ridden it when the distance to empty was showing 2km. Heck! Pawan and Dominic have ridden it at absolute zero - not as experimental as me but because there were no petrol pumps in sight. So with this test of mine, I figured that the whenever it shows “50km as distance to empty” - I make it a point to fill it up. A big negative point for me :/ Oh and the four month average - I got it up to 21 kmpl. The tiger used to hover around 22-24 kmpl.

**

SUSPENSION
The ATAS has Showa inverted front and uni-shock rear suspension. The Front three settings - a SPRING PRELOAD and REBOUND DAMPING and the COMPRESSION DAMPING (which is near the bottom of the forks).

The Rear also has three settings - Spring preload, Rebound Damping and Compression Damping.

LHS and RHS have the same -Spring Preload (blue) & Rebound Damping (gray nut)


Compression damping (lower side of the forks) - need to lie down flat to access it!


Rear - Spring preload


Rear - Rebound damping - the black dot/screw (Chain side)


Rear -Compression damping (Behind Rear Brake cylinder)

During the delivery, the previous owner stiffened the rear preload since we were riding two up. He had got his suspension setting done according to his weight at one of the suspension experts in Pune - but he didn’t have the exact figures. After a bit of researching online and watching a few tutorials on ‘setting SAG’ etc. I managed to get the front and rear suspension adjusted to our liking (and weight). I won’t say it is 100% right - I gave a bit of buffer as well since luggage would also play an important part. To sum it up, I kept the front a bit stiffer than the rear and I feel this has helped in the overall stability of the bike - feels more planted and confidence inspiring while cornering and also in the off-road sections that we faced in Zanskar (Won’t jump forward in the timeline here, I promise).

**

TYRES
The bike came with the PIRELLI SCORPION RALLY STR (ridden about 1200kms approx). The ATAS has a 21” (90-90/21) front and an 18” (150-70/18) rear - both tubeless spoke wheels in Gold color. Tyre pressures are weird - If SOLO then Front is 31psi / Rear is 36psi. And if Rider + Pillion then Front is 33psi / Rear is 41psi). Most of the ADVs especially the tigers were Front 36psi and rear 42psi - so this is something that I’m still not used to.

Rear tyre - Rally STR - almost nearing its end of life. Note the Sensairy external TPMS sensor protruding out


Rear tyre - Metzeler Tourance on my erstwhile Tiger 800

Now I was used to the Metzeler Tourance on my Tiger - a great 80/20 ish tyre - great for highways, wet conditions and some basic off-road patches. I had only heard a lot about the STR and so this was the first time I was riding them. And to be honest, I didn’t fall in love at first ride. I found it too bouncy on the tarmac and a bit slippery while cornering. Their life is also not that great. But then my middle-class upbringing voice advised me, “I shouldn’t be complaining. Be happy with what you have!” And so I stopped worrying and started loving the RALLY STRs. These tyres were excellent during our Zanskar trip and I stand corrected - if the usage isn’t ONLY touring (on flat, boring highways) but a mix of Touring and trail/off-roading - then the STRs are a great choice.

Speaking about tyre pressure earlier, I got myself the Sensairy external TPMS monitors. They are bluetooth compatible and you can check the tyre pressures via their mobile app. After a bit of hit and miss, I figured that the range is pretty much accurate with an error/difference of 2psi - so far so good. And they are waterproof as well - tested it in virtually every water crossing we came across in Zanskar.

<Tape Glitches and stops>

I think in the last 3 paragraphs I must have mentioned ZANSKAR about a hundred times. Is this a sign? Should I just forward time and chronicle our Zanskar ride and then come back to the present to the boring ‘spec-sheet talk’ and ‘personal riding experience’ bits? Hmmm the future is tempting no doubt but it is also very important to be in the PRESENT. So instead of deep diving ahead, let me just tease you of what is to come in the ‘near future’ *evil laugh*

The tarmac welcoming you to Padum


Somewhere between Padum and Lingshed (enroute Leh) / That's Pawan's 1250GSA named "LEO"


Boys and their toys with the mighty, holy mountain 'Gonbo Ranjon' in the background!

**

Hope you'll are enjoying the experience so far?

[Aditya]

Exceptional, unbiased & detailed ownership reviews of bikes have started going to our homepage reviews box. It's the ultimate stamp of trust from Team-BHP (as a platform) because lakhs of visitors every month check out reviews from there & make purchase decisions.

Your review has also been included here. Thank you so much for sharing .

[MileCruncher]

Originally Posted by TheVaas

Attachment 2648358
Boys and their toys with the mighty, holy mountain 'Gonbo Ranjon' in the background![/center]

**

I see a couple of more ATs in this pic. And this video came up my YT timeline about two AT riders.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ud-aFhVaf3g&t=419s

[TheVaas]

“Wherever I MAY Roam”

The timeline is now set to May 2024 (See what I did there?)

After having binged the Owner’s Manual and memorised all the technical specifications - it was time to saddle up and ride the bike out on the highway. Weekend was still far - so at any given free time, I’d go down to the parking spot and keep ogling at the bike. I’m sure the security guards checking the CCTV would also be wondering about my suspicious lurking around the area.

I don’t usually get the time to ride every weekend, so the time that I do get to ride - I tend to make the most of it. My usual riding partner, Pawan mostly comes up with a location and a route map which we then tend to mull over and try maximising with the time at hand. The end result is usually what we call a ‘Circuit ride’ - Leave from A, reach C via B and then return via D - a loop. Also we ride irrespective of the weather - be it summer, rains or cold. Usually the mumbai monsoon months aren’t very ride friendly not because of the rains but the transformation of roads into moon’s surface - full of potholes and craters. ADV bikes are usually the ones that you end up seeing with most of the naked and super sports found hibernating under the rain covers.

Right from our Tiger days, our monsoon pilgrimage visit to the Tamhini Ghats has been a constant. The place transforms into another realm - full greens and the temperature drops are just fantastic.

August 2023: My T800 with Pawan's 1250GSA (Pawan's first Tamhini ride on his new steed)

With the weekend fast approaching and the excitement of a new-old bike in the group - Pawan and me decided to try out Tamhini Ghat but in the deadly heat of May. Just for kicks. The idea was to leave early, so as to avoid the direct sun - complete our circuit and be home by lunch time.

Leave A (Home), Reach C (Tamhini Ghat) via B (Pune bypass) and return via D (Pali-Khalapur)

Now the whole point of this ride was to not explore an already oft-explored location - but for me to explore the ATAS’ capabilities on the highway and maybe find some rough ‘unsettling’ patches to ‘settle’ me in - for the (in the near future) Zanskar trip. I guess enough word-play for the day!

Sunday arrives and we leave around 5:30am making our way through the outskirts of Mumbai and then joining the NH48 (old Mumbai-Pune highway). A quick photo break at our usual spot at Khandala top and then a pretty straightforward ride to our first break point - ‘Joshi Wadewale’ aka breakfast point. Nothing fancy about this place - it usually less crowded than the eateries around it.

Our usual photo spot (we only stop if it is foggy, else we just ride on)

Confession #1: We usually ride long at one go - never stopping for a quick stretch or chai break. This helps us cover the distance faster and gives us enough (read: ample) time in exploring a particular region. This is a practice that we developed over the years of riding together and learning/re-learning from each other’s riding patterns. Hence, as mentioned above, our actual major stop was after 150 kms from Home.

So far so good. I won’t write “The ATAS performed well” because that’s a generalised praise or feedback that has now become cliched. Instead I will rephrase it as “The boys (ATAS and I) played well!” - haha. Well, it took some time on the throttle and brakes to open the innings though. Unlike the Tiger, the ATAS is a bit more laidback when it comes to power on tap. You need to open the throttle a bit more than usual to actually get the ‘feel’ (growl) and ‘power’ (grunt) of the bike. It is here when you miss the extra cylinder of the Tiger - which enabled that your power delivery was always smooth and linear. As mentioned in the previous post, the engine braking is non-existent and I was having a hard time trying to rewire my muscle memory to actually pressing the brakes. The NH48 has a lot of speed breakers in the initial portion as we leave the city limits and that served as the perfect practice pitch for my braking skills. Once you bypass the town of Khopoli, the curves and uphill Khandala ghat ascent starts towards Lonavala. Confession #2: I am not a great “hugger of curves” or a “Leaner of Arabia”. I see myself as a safe rider when approaching curves or sharp turns - just sticking to the line and not Moto GP-ing pro max.

I was being extra cautious this time around because I am not used to a 21” front wheel. The Tiger with its 19” front gave me a confidence boost and I did ‘Moto GP’ a few times in the past. But with the ATAS - the learning ‘curve’ took its time (pun intended). The Pirelli Rally STR tyres aren’t very confidence inducing either - they tend to slip a few times probably the lack of grip on the curves - I don’t know. So anyway, the ‘curves were navigated with care’, with me making mental notes of the Do’s and Don’ts for next time. Once you cross Lonavla it’s almost a straight up highway till Dehu Road (where the Expressway merges) and then again a straight road that bypasses Pune towards Satara/Kolhapur side. I had been riding on URBAN mode all this while because I didn’t feel the need for extra power and also because the road was twisty and riddled with speed breakers. At one of the straight stretches, where the vehicles were sparse - I changed the mode to TOUR. And instantly you can feel the throttle response becoming smoother as if an obstacle has been removed from its path. The bike suddenly seemed to behave in a very sophisticated way - a far cry from the grunt and growling animal that it was a minute ago. TOUR mode needs to be ridden with care - because one can get carried away with the unhinged power on tap. Think of it as the SPORTS mode on the TIGERs or the DYNAMIC PRO on the BMWs. Happy to report that I didn’t break any land speed records, just wanted to give the mode a try and promptly reverted to URBAN once the traffic started to build up.

The roads leading to Tamhini from the Chandni Chowk mega-loop flyover to Mulshi Lake were fully constructed - oscillating between Tarmac and bouncy Concrete patches. There were still some patches that were being widened and hence no roads at all - but nothing that was a deterrent to the ATAS. So post breakfast we decided to ride up leisurely, with the intent of doing a small photoshoot with the bikes. The temperatures had already risen - Pune weather usually being cooler than Mumbai was already feeling like a furnace. We thought probably once above the ghat the mercury might cool down - alas! Anyway, the whole idea was to see Tamhini in summer and obviously the stark contrast was evident. A few pictures -

August 2023.


May 2024.

Surprisingly, there were a lot of bikers on the stretch. And many of them were on the Triumph Speed 400 - which I assume has been a runaway hit in the 400cc segment. A few superbikes also passed by us - Ducati Multi V2, Triumph Tiger 900 Rally Pro, a 2017 Africa Twin Standard (DCT), KTM 390 Adventure etc. And pretty much most of them were slowing down and turning their heads to see the sight of the 1250GSA and the ATAS parked at the side. Time for a photoshoot -

I had a few close calls during the descent from Tamhini - not serious or so, but more related to the handling. Now the ATAS weighs a ton when at standstill - moving it around requires a bit of postural skill. But when it is in motion, it is the complete opposite - effortless and light despite the almost full tank. Now in my mind, the last time I came to Tamhini was with my front heavy Tiger 800. So muscle memory kicked in each time I entered a curve. I was so used to the front heaviness - that I had to shift my body accordingly. But with the ATAS, all of that goes for a toss because by the time you adjust/shift your body you’ve already exited the corner. I’m not sure if I am able to articulate the actual sequence of action; that’s why I related it to the handling. So the close calls were more due to ‘enhanced confidence via the ATAS’ and less due to human error!

The other thing to note was the lack of fatigue. I’m pretty much light weight with less bum mass - hence ‘seat-numbness’ has never been an issue for me. There was not one moment that I had to signal Pawan to stop for a quick stretch of limbs. The Honda engine is just so forgiving and nicely chugs all the way - highways, curves, bad roads etc. And because of the assured handling, one doesn’t feel stressed or drained during tight manoeuvres. And this makes long rides even more pleasant. With the Tiger, I had to build up the stamina to endure long stretches without breaks. Maybe that has stuck with me physically and mentally - but I didn’t expect to be so ‘at home’ with the ATAS! "Less said about the 1250, the better - I feel one can keep riding the whole day on it and still not feel an ache!"

So with no fatigue but the severe heat plaguing us, we decided to go straight to our usual lunch spot which is near Chowk (once you exit Khalapur road and join the NH48). Nothing eventful post lunch which included more fluids than solids - just rode at our own pace till the food got digested and reached home by 4pm approx. Total distance covered was 300km approx and it took us around 10 hours.

The point to be made here is that - this was the first time I rode the ATAS for a longer duration and on a mix route (highway, road construction patches, traffic etc.) The test ride I had taken was within the city only and that too during night. I somehow can never align myself to the thought of taking a longer test ride, keeping the bike for a few days etc. Partly due to the fact that -
a. It is not my bike
b. I overthink a lot and need a lot of time to mentally prepare myself for any such decision.

Hence I was a bit skeptical post the purchase about the bike’s longish ride performance as compared to the Tiger - which had become second skin. A peek into my overthinking mind - “What if the ATAS fell short of the Tiger? What if I made a wrong call and should’ve instead gone for the 1250? This heart over mind logic works only in stories and films, reality is very different!”

"The ATAS is a keeper!"

Having parked the bike, I took a moment to just soak in the day’s ride. A sense of contentment filled my heart and I took a deep breathe and erased all the aforementioned doubts from my mind.

**

[TheVaas]

Originally Posted by Aditya

Exceptional, unbiased & detailed ownership reviews of bikes have started going to our homepage reviews box. It's the ultimate stamp of trust from Team-BHP (as a platform) because lakhs of visitors every month check out reviews from there & make purchase decisions.

Your review has also been included here. Thank you so much for sharing .

Thank you so much! Means a lot!

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

I see a couple of more ATs in this pic. And this video came up my YT timeline about two AT riders.

Yes, we had an ensemble cast of 2 1250GS, 1 1250GSA, 3 ATAS (2020) and 1 310GS. "FOLKROAD" actually has 3 AT riders and do give it a watch for a mix of adventure and music!