The 400X performed fairly well across various riding conditions. Like a true jack of all.
BHPian was excited recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
DIWALI WEEKEND BIKE TRIP
It was the long Diwali weekend and 4 of us rider friends decided to go on a bike trip from Bangalore. The destination locked was Kodaikanal and its surroundings. The trip was for 3 nights and 4 days. The chosen places to stay were off the beaten path and not easily accessible.
4 musketeers on their steed. Two BMW 310GS, my 400X and a BMW GS1250.
It was a wonderful trip comprising of good national highway, some country roads and lots of twisties and hairpin bends. We choose the route to include less travelled roads. The road conditions were such that it could be placed under off-road category. We all love trails so bad roads were not at all an issue. Not to mention the views were breathtaking, weather was great, and camaraderier was top notch.
We stayed at couple of lovely remote place on the hill and in forest, where the scene around was changing like a kalidoscope. One moment its nice and bight and the next moment the entire valley is engulfed in fog. And throw in some intermittent rain to make things interesting.
We did some general exploratory ride around the Kodai and Kookal region. As this was long Diwali weekend, the regular tourist spots including the entire Kodai town was heavily crowded. We tried staying away from the crowd as much as we could. We encountered multiple waterfalls, lakes, valleys, and beautiful and lush green terrace farming.
We also encountered some rains on the hill but were adequately prepared for the same. There was a brief period of anxiety when i misplaced the bike key due to sudden onset of rain and us rushing to a near by shelter. But the key was soon found to a big relief from the group. Phew! ( i was carrying a spare key, which was at the place of our stay).
Food has always been an integral part of our trips. We try and look for outlets which are known for local delicacies and relish the same. So much that the food is mostly over by the time the thought of taking a picture crosses mind.
That brings to the end of a lovely weekend outing to the Kodai hills, the clouds and the fog. Some paced highway riding. Puttering along some scenic country roads. Lots of ghat sections, never ending & winding mountain roads and even road blockage due to fresh land slide. On the way back, we did enounter the heavy rush of long weekend returning traffic but being on two wheels made it all passable. It was sad to see the folks stuck in their 4 wheelers on long jam of crawling traffic.
The 400X performed fairly well across various riding conditions. Like a true jack of all. I was a bit worried on spending long hours on the saddle without any wind protection. But there was no issue at all as along as one was maintaining sane speed.
On the hill, bike did have a stationary fall. I had parked and walked a few steps away when I had a heart wrenching ‘thud’. Turned back to see the bike fallen on the road. I suspect it was due to the bike standing too straight on the side stand. I have decided to reduce the length of the side stand to increase the lean angle, will share the DIY details on the thread soon.
The stationary dead fall did result in some damage to the bike. The tip of front brake lever broke. the plastic knuckle guard on the brake lever side cracked and broke. There were scratches on the lower engine guard and the silencer. The bike had the Hepco top box as well, but thankfully it held fine with some minor scruff marks.
All in all It was a memorable trip and ride experience.
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