[ramgkulkarni]

As most of you know, my twin brother and I brought KTM adventure 390 earlier this year.
Link to that thread: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motor...ure-bikes.html (Twin brothers twinning with their 2 KTM 390 Adventure bikes)

With a lot of personal setbacks, we didn’t have a chance to ride the bike much. To give you an example, I did a couple of Blr-Mysore runs and overall clocked only about 1700 kms when we set out to Goa on 7th Dec. My brother did use his bike a little more than me and had clocked around 3500+ kms on his bike.

Finally, the biking gods gave us a break and gave us an opportunity to ride our way to IBW. We both had planned time off around the same time and the IBW timing was pretty well in the same window. We started planning 3 weeks before the departure and first thing we wanted to do was book the stay in Goa. We decided that we would reach Goa on 8th, stay a couple days, and depart on 10th. We found a fantastic place in Morjim right opposite the beach. Our initial plan was as below:

1. Depart on 7th – Travel from Bangalore to Hubli, stay over with family there and depart early on 8th and reach Goa in time for the festival.
2. Stay on 8th, 9th night and again ride back to Hubli was another layover on 10th.
3. Finally travel back to Bangalore on 11th.

7th December – Day 1

We thought our initial plan was the right thing to do since we haven’t ridden more than 300 kms at a time at this point. Goa is roughly 630 kms from where we stay in Bangalore. The Hubli-Goa route is through the mountains and is quite a fun drive. On the day of the ride, we thought if we felt good, we would continue to Goa rather than stop at Hubli. Since it was December, good weather and Bangalore-Hubli road is brilliant, when we did reach Hubli we felt like we could do another 200+ kms, we left at 7 AM and reached Hubli by 1 45 PM with many breaks in between. By the time we finished lunch and stretched our legs, it was close to 2 30 PM. Little did we know what was in store for us.
Once we crossed Hubli, the roads went from 3 lane expressway to a single road with moderate traffic. The road condition also was unpredictable throughout and some stretches had barely any road but they were far and few in between. The 200 odd kms on the stretch took over 4.5 hours and we reached out resort around 7-7 15 PM. Our bums were sore but we were in high spirits and looking forward to some high spirits of our own. After a quiet night in Morjim and some sumptuous sea food, we dozed off.

First fuel stop in Chitradurga


New Chitradurga to Hubli highway


In our Kits



Pitstop before Goa


Panaji


Final Destination


8th December – Day 2

The IBW starts around 2 PM in the scorching Goa sun. We knew this was unrealistic for us and didn’t want to be so early for IBW. We decided to head to the sea and enjoyed the water for a couple of hours post breakfast. Then we roamed around Morjim and Vagator. Found a place to play some pool and found the perfect little place to have a Goan fish thali. Then we went back to the room, enjoyed the AC for a small while and reached IBW(Vagator) around 4 30 PM. We roamed around the grounds, there were some impressive custom builds and we both loved some Royal Enfield and Harley builds. There were dirt tracks and some phenomenal dirt track riding. We visited the experience center which had some great offers from a lot of biking accessory brands such as Rynox, Sena, Bluarmor and many others. The whole place smelled of petrol, sand and leather. And not to forget – barbeque! The entire place was one big party and we were there to experience it all.

Was it loud – definitely! Some folks loved revving out their big bikes and custom exhausts. There was an entire stall to just do burnout. What else to say! They had something for everyone.
I met a unique gentlemen who rode the OG TVS50 (with peddles) from Kanyakumari to Khardung La. He also had his small collection at the IBW – RD350, Jawa 350 type 640. There were some not so great buids, really obnoxious exhausts but hey! We just enjoyed the whole atmosphere.

Fish thali


Dirt Track at IBW


Vespa from Italy


RedBull


Java 340 type type 640


This sums up IBW


Jatt Prabhjyot collection


Another collection



Aprilia Launch


Just wild things at IBW


A bronco that travelled from Canada


Vagator



9th December – Day 3

The day started the exact same albeit with no hangover. We had heavy breakfast and headed to the sea for a dip. What was supposed to be an hour turned into 2. But it was just what the doctor ordered, the tiredness and soreness of the riding from day before had just given way. We found another lunch place which bettered the fish thali from the previous day. Today was the last day of the festival and we reached again around 4-4 30. Spoke to a few people, played a few games and finally admired all the custom beauts. Suzuki Jimny was offering an offroad experience at the same place. We got into one of the cars and were blown away by the experience. Jimny does the off-road bit really well! However, it was too tiny for my brother and I. It technically is just a 4-seater. Its cute but not really a conventional big truck. We then headed to the main stage for the winners of the bike build off and Bulleteer customs took the price away for building a café racer out of the X440. There was a scrambler build too which I liked very much. There was music and party after that which we stayed for a bit before making our exit. We refueled the bikes and had a quiet dinner before heading back to the resort. While having dinner we met an Englishman who now stays in Goa. He has travelled with his BMW 800 from England to India and Twice! The characters we met in Goa was the most diverse.

Another Fish Thali:


Custom Bikes





Biker Build off sponsored by Harley Davidson
First price - Cafe racer

First runners up - Firefly

Second runners up


10th December – Day 4

We set out at 6 30 AM from the resort in Morjim. By 8 PM, we were just outside the Ghat section. We had a light breakfast and quickly headed off into the mountains. By 10 30 AM, we were in Hubli. We managed to grab a decent lunch at Davangere around 1 30 PM. This is where we rested for about 30 mins while having lunch. We also had a young future biker who was quite inquisitive about our bikes. He wanted to know where we went and how long it took! He waited for us to leave and stayed with us near the bike while we left. I m sure the bug has bit him. Around 120 Kms from Bangalore, my brother was mentally exhausted, and we decided to take a tea break. Again, we had a small gathering by villagers to ask us about our bikes and our attire. Very friendly crowd who loved the story of our trip and wished us well on our way back. This really perked my brother up and found the energy to ride back home. We made one final fuel stop before reaching home at 6 45 PM. 12 hrs and 15 mins after departure. It took my brother another 10 mins to reach his.

Learnings from this ride:
1. Anything more than 8 hours(for me) is difficult and probably not advisable
2. Good riding gear and luggage make a whole lot of difference. My brother had a solace bike bag mounted on the tail which hardly moved a bit. Whereas I had strapped on a mountain bag and no matter how tight I would tie it down, it kept sliding into me. I had to constantly move it back to avoid it being intrusive. Purchasing good tail rack and luggage is on the wishlist now.
3. It’s not about the destination, it about the ride. Giving sufficient breaks, hydrating yourself and enjoying the ride is more important than reaching a point because you preplanned it.
4. Finding the right set of people to ride with. My brother and I have very similar tastes, preferences and find the right compromise if we can’t agree on something. We once did a KTM ride and it was not so pleasant experience. Riding in large groups is not our taste and we didn’t want to go with any groups in particular. We have a couple of other friends who ride too but they couldn’t plan the PTO with us, so we decided to go ahead.
5. KTM adventure 390 seats really need an upgrade or at least an air-gel seat if I have to endure another longer stint on the saddle
6. The bike really did everything it was asked for. It gave us the confidence to do triple digit speeds all day long and the courage to break and turn in the mountains.

Gear we both own:
1. Rynox 10th anniversary Tornado pro 4 jacket
2. Rynox airtex pants
3. Rynox gloves
4. Tripmachine boots
5. LS2 helmets
6. Bluarmor c30

Before you ask yes! we own the same merch pretty much except the helmets are of different colours.

Thank you for reading.

[SedanGuy]

I think IBW is one of the best events organised and managed in India. There were plenty of food options and numerous watering holes (if thats your thing). Ample parking spaces as well. There were no unnecessary frisking or checking and ticket collection was also hassle free. All in all one of the best events I have been to. I also wanted to highlight a few things about the IBW event itself.

• OEM stalls (Harley, triumph, Suzuki, Kawasaki, etc.) all showcasing their latest and greatest machines. Some even launching their bikes at IBW (Aprillia wink wink)
  
• Rider gear expo- all riding gears for all type of riders. Rynox to dainese, eyeryone was there.
  
• After market stalls: exhausts, aux lights, luggage racks, etc.
  
• Music - some of the best music being played throughout.
  
• Biker merch - great place to buy you favourite biking merch. Bandanas to T-shirts and everything in between.
  
• Racing action- pro motocross action and amateur racers battling it out.
  
• YouTubers and influencers- everyone who’s remotely associated with biking or automotive content were spotted in IBW mingling with fans.
  
• Motorcycle clubs - all big MCs had a stall and you could register with them.

Most of the stalls were giving away swag like stickers and keychains to folks who interacted with them. I have a bag full of that stuff.
Definitely one of the unique experiences for an automotive enthusiast. I highly recommend coming to IBW atleast once.

[100Kmphormore]

Doing long distances will come easily provided, you maintain good fitness, find a good seat, and finally, you ride your motorcycle regularly. I have done a 700 km day to Varkala and numerous 400-500 km days to Dandeli, Mangalore, Kudremukha etc and the trick is to remain hydrated on the go and mentally calm at a constant cruising speed, tank to tank for atleast 200 km at a stretch. Purchase a nice hydration bag with a liter of water in it or Rasna/Tang/Electral if you feel you need the extra minerals/salts. Even seating position matters, for instance I found out gripping the tank or atleast holding lightly onto the tank with your thighs and leaving the arms, neck free which resulted in easily leaning the Himalayan into corners and subsequently no back pain at all, keeping wrist straight etc dramatically changed as to how comfortable I was. Even at the end of that 700 km day, I was only a little sore in the buttocks as the seat is narrow for my build and no pain thanks to the beautiful touring seat.

[SedanGuy]

Couldn't agree more on the fitness part. I have had a tough year and fitness has taken a toll and I could have done this more easily had I been more fit.

[surajram]

The KTM seats get better with saddle time being clocked. Would highly recommend waiting before modifying the seat.

[ramgkulkarni]

Thanks Suraj. But can you elaborate?

I have been riding cylces for sometime now and i agree that the hard seat takes some getting used to but eventually you ll get over the pain.

For me, when I was doing the long ride home the seat started paining my backside after about 200+ kms. I made a point to stop every 80-100 kms to give a break. One of the other reason was being cramped in seat with the bag pushing me front. getting a tail rack and having better fitting bagpack would probably do the trick.

[100Kmphormore]

Originally Posted by ramgkulkarni

For me, when I was doing the long ride home the seat started paining my backside after about 200+ kms. I made a point to stop every 80-100 kms to give a break. One of the other reason was being cramped in seat with the bag pushing me front. getting a tail rack and having better fitting bagpack would probably do the trick.

KTM seats are probably the best seats ever without needing to modify them. Spend some more time with them and it will get friendlier. Softer seats compress faster and the vibrations creep in causing back and butt pain. One more way is to try out the seating position I detailed in my previous post it helped me resolve upto 60% of my issue, the touring seat resolved the rest.

Regarding the luggage, get a tailbag. They are easy to tie down and wont move as easily, if left covered, people wont even find it curiosity inducing for a week on end in a parking lot in my experience. Bungee cords require to always have a look when uou take a break, fasten them if necessary etc. If you install a tail rack, having a pillion sit on the bike can be a troublesome experience as many don't climb on the peg and sit but swing their leg over and hit the rack causing them pain in their ankles, foot etc. I would say don't take a topbox also as it causes a yaw movement on expressway speeds I was considering selling off mine after a couple of rides but use it for city purpose.