Chennai to Rameswaram ride on my Yezdi Adventure + Riding Gear review

I had always wanted to ride to Dhanushkodi on my bike but kept pushing the ride due to various reasons such as not having the gear, the money or the mental strength to push through.

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11k kms update and Rameswaram ride

I had always wanted to ride to Dhanushkodi on my bike but kept pushing the ride due to various reasons such as not having the gear, the money or the mental strength to push through. However, I knew at some point I had to get serious about my riding or what was the point in buying a strong touring bike at all? Could have just used any regular commuter/everyday bike and get done with it. Funnily enough, I had the full gauntlet gloves and the tailbag at home which were gathering dust from the last 6-8 months or so. The only thing left to kickstart a proper long-distance ride was a riding jacket. I had ridden without a riding jacket to Pondicherry and even Bangalore and felt exhausted after reaching the destination to the point where I felt like I needed an entire day to recover. I was aware that it was risky from a safety standpoint but an equally major yet unspoken must is a proper jacket to protect you from the high fatigue you will experience due to constant windblast. Experienced tourers reading this will find it obvious to say the least but for riders wanting to do serious distances (myself included), this is the tool you will need to unlock the distances. Try searching for advantages of riding jackets and even directly asking this question in Google, all articles will talk about safety, but nowhere will they mention about the fatigue protection. I started wondering about this aspect specifically because safety was obvious and I did not need any convincing on that front. I thought about 2 different things which started connecting the dots for me. First, being the need to have your helmet visor down after a certain speed. Secondly, I remember wearing a ZEEL full rain suit (jacket + pants) during one of my office commutes in the rain. The interesting part is I felt less tired after reaching the destination and started to wonder why. These two thoughts started to connect and made sense. So much so, that I thought why not take a short ride with the rain jacket on a dry day at highway speeds and test out my hypothesis. Maybe even use it for small rides as a temporary solution till I get a jacket. Just the things you try to do when you want to save money lol. But I understood that even if it did work, I would at some point have to buy a riding jacket anyway for the safety part so there was not really much to be gained and I decided to take the plunge with a good jacket itself.

Note - I am not related to ZEEL brand in any way. They do make good rain jackets though. So thick, that if you're caught in heavy traffic, they'll make you sweat. Some water does seep in sometimes during heavy downpours but still great quality rain gear if you are looking for it.

The Riding Gear Buying Drama

With all the above thoughts and having decided to jump in, I started researching riding jackets online, reading tbhp thread on riding gear etc but was still confused. At first, I decided to go with Solace brand because they're the only ones claiming 700D material construction on almost all their jackets whereas brands like Rynox, Viaterra are 600D only. DSG claims 900D material on one of their jackets but since it was more racing oriented, I decided not to go for it as I wanted a more touring friendly usage in mind.

And this is where the actual frustration and helplessness begins. I cannot stress this enough to anyone buying riding gear - 99% of the times you cannot buy these things without trying them on. You have to experience it for yourself and go with what suits you best. I faced the same thing when buying gloves and jacket too. You would think that, living in a major city like Chennai, one would surely have access to most of the Indian brands such as Rynox, Viaterra, Solace, Raida, DSG etc. It is honestly pathetic that you have almost no or limited access to most of these products for trying out in person except Rynox with a dedicated store. Yes, they'll deliver to Chennai without hassle once you order them but good luck trying to find ones to try out before buying. For gloves, I wanted to go with the Raida AeroPrix but as usual, only one store had stock and even they had other models, not the one I wanted and not even in the size I wanted. The brand is practically non-existent. Same with Viaterra, good luck asking for anything other than the Grid gloves or Claw Mini tailbags. Jackets - what are those? Even the gloves, good luck with the sizing and color options. The stores which are listed as official distributors had no stock of anything and weren't even interested in having a conversation upon calling them. I thought no stock meant that it will eventually be restocked in a few days but nope. The one store which had some options didn't have the sizing and/or colour. Moreover, I didn't like their attitude towards customers. Initially, they seemed friendly however became pushy and wanted to force a sale even ridiculing my preferences. Leaving a glove for a colour preference might be a non-issue for some people however I told them upfront if I am going to buy this and it's not going to be cheap, I am damn well going to demand whatever colour I please from the list of options. I left the store disappointed in how they were trying to push a sale by making me feel guilty for even checking out their gear, but all this was just more proof to me I did the right thing by walking away. Went home and ordered Grid gloves going by their size chart and in the colour I wanted which promptly got delivered.

For jackets, it was mostly the same story again with no shop to try out stuff. I had decided for Solace brand with certainty because 700D > 600D from most other brands. Went to a store and they had some jackets in stock at least which was a breath of relief. Weirdly they didn't have the size I wanted as per the size chart on their own website, so I tried one size bigger and even that was a tight fit which didn't inspire confidence at all and the staff also suggested against it. They suggested for 2 sizes bigger which didn't really seem like a positive for the product itself. Here's where we had an eye-opening conversation. The guys at this store were helpful and I was talking to them a lot about various Solace jackets, comparing them with other brands etc. to which he asked me - "Why are you so certain that you should buy only a Solace jacket and not any other brand?" I gave him my reasoning and he showed me 3 different jackets - priced at 7k, 10k and 17k and asked me to go through the material feel. Since all 3 are claiming to be 700D, they should all feel similar. I checked them out and just by touch itself, the jackets felt different. He wasn't telling me to avoid Solace directly, but he did suggest trying out other brands too. It was late that day and the Rynox store was about to close so I just went home and decided to check them out the next day.

I had Rynox Tornado Pro 4, Stealth Air Pro in mind. Went to the store, they had Stealth Air Pro in stock, in the size and colour I wanted. Even if not, they suggested it would be easily available upon order. Within 30 seconds of putting on the Stealth Air Pro jacket, I knew this was going to be the one for me. The fit was just perfect, we also had a small chat on the differences between this and Tornado. Stealth Evo 3, which is their top-of-the-line jacket would have been overkill for me. I knew this was it and went ahead with my gut feeling and bought it for 10k. Although some suggest that this is an overpriced jacket, I am thoroughly satisfied with it and don't mind the price I paid. Looked at Viaterra jackets too but you'll find a reasonably priced used Toyota faster than trying out their jacket at a store in Chennai. Since Rynox fit the bill perfectly, I was too happy with it and didn't want to spend more time being frustrated.

Finally, the ride begins

Before plastering more walls of text, I would like to post some photos from the ride to the one of the last lands of India!

Crossing the 10k mark!

Just 100 kms away from Rameswaram at a petrol pump

Achievement Unlocked!

Entering Pamban at night

After checking in to a hotel, just went around for a small walk nearby at night after dinner

Group of 4 Triumph Speed 400s from Kerala

Just after entering Dhanushkodi. They do charge a small fee for waste cleanup/maintenance but only from cars apparently. They did not stop me nor did I notice them stopping other bikers

At Arichal Munai, the last road of India. Saw many bikes and cars from other states as far as West Bengal, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Haryana and Chattisgarh. Spotted multiple GSAs on the route!

Such a scenic place for photoshoots no less than an international destination

Inside the temple

Pamban during daytime. Although there were no parking on the bridge signs, the cops on duty didn't seem to mind at all. In fact, they were even helping a group of people in clicking photos

Post-ride cleanup the next day after reaching home

Back in glistening form! Picked up some chain lube and applied it to the chain. Next time, will carry it with me on rides and apply it during the ride itself as the chain had become quite dry.

Excuse the potato quality. My phone got damaged by the recent rains in Chennai and this is the aftermath. The camera is basically destroyed beyond hope. Have ordered a new phone!

Trip Details

Route Taken - Chennai - Chengalpattu - Tindivanam - Ulundurpet - Trichy - Pudukottai - Devakottai - Devipattinam - Ramanathapuram - Rameswaram

Upto Ulundurpet, couldn't build up the pace because of traffic however post that, the roads were smooth highways all the way. There were heavy crosswinds at points though, so much so that I had to slow down considerably as I was finding my riding posture and the bike itself a bit tilted fighting against the winds.

Saturday morning - started around 8:30 am reached Rameshwaram around 8:30 pm. Same trip back the next day, started around 10:30 am. Met our forum's senior member PrassanaDhana (aka Prassy) and then continued on the way back home.

Since I didn't have much time and other places didn't seem all that interesting to me, I focused only on the riding and Arichal Munai.

The bike is a cruise missile built specifically for touring. I was sustaining triple digit speeds all day long and it did the entire journey without any stress. It does get vibey being a single cylinder when cruising at 120kmph and my hands were feeling that tingly sensation from the vibrations. However, 100-110 kmph all day long, feels like a locomotive at full speed. Simply amazing performance. I did not track the fuel economy as usual lol, I guess I should document more of that. In total, I filled somewhere around 45 -50 litres for a distance of 1190 km which comes out to somewhere between 24-26 kmpl. but to be fair, not all of that fuel was used. I still had around half a tank left after reaching home.

Riding Gear Review

Viaterra Claw Tailbag - 10/10. Stayed in place no matter what speed you did and how many ever hours you did. Worth the money!

Viaterra Grid Gloves - 6/10. Honestly, felt very uncomfortable to use with the sliders on. I was not able to get the accelerator and clutch action smoothly. It was going either too little or too much. So much so, that at one point, I removed the gloves and rode without them for a few hours. I was told that it will get better with break-in. I rode for around 1000 kms eain total wearing it and it did open up a bit which I think is a good enough distance but it is still uncomfortable. I wear it out of necessity more than preference. Maybe it's the wrong size but I don't want to go through the whole riding gear purchase saga again so I'll live with it for now.

Rynox Stealth Air Pro - 10/10 Perfect fit jacket though on the heavier side. While buying it, the Cerros armours felt very soft and lightweight unlike the Knox ones but upon wearing it the entire day, it was actually pretty heavy with soreness on the shoulders and back from the weight of it all. It didn't make me feel exhausted, does an excellent job at protecting from windblast and keeping the rider cool. It has Level 2 armours all around which checks off the safety aspect.

Next on the list would be riding pants and boots which are also required for safety but lower on the priority list for me. I am more inclined towards Rynox for pants but boots I am not so sure because I have gigantic feet at size 14/15. I checked some out and it seems like would have to go for some international brands only. However, buying footwear that too expensive ones without trying is even more of a recipe for trouble. Will have to figure this one out later.

Overall, had a tiring but satisfying fun trip with great memories. This trip was my new personal best at being the longest. Also, the bike does meet my reliability test of just getting up and start riding for days without fuss. I also learned a lot about ride prep which I will implement in my future trips. Looking forward to post more such experiences! Ride safe and ride long!

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