Completing my Africa Twin's first long ride; A sense of contentment!

I was a bit sceptical post the purchase about the bike’s longish ride performance as compared to the Tiger - which had become second skin.

BHPian TheVaas recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

“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.

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