Our group consisted of KarthikK on his Kawasaki Ninja 1000, Dr CD on his Triumph Tiger Sport 660 and ebmrajesh on his Honda CB500X
BHPian neil.jericho recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
Given that I also have a Duke 390 in my garage, its been quite a while since the Suzuki Gixerr SF 250 was wheeled out for a breakfast ride with TBHPians. This past weekend, KarthikK suggested that we do a short ride to Sangama Mekadatu, and as I headed out of my apartment, I was all too happy to pick up the keys to the Suzuki. .
We met up in South Bangalore at 6.15 AM and got onto the occasionally bumpy Kanakapura Road to escape the city. As soon as we were on the outskirts of Bangalore, the temperature perceptibly dropped, most unexpectedly. While this is not a new phenomenon to any of us, what was a shocker was how low the ambient temperature actually was.
All of us have been complaining about how warm Bangalore has become in the last couple of weeks, and here the biting cold was forcing me to reset my perspective on how much of a concrete oven the city has really become. When we crossed some small towns as late as 7 AM, I spotted people walking in sweaters, gloves and with their faces covered up, to keep themselves warm. And there I was in my mesh jacket, on a motorcycle with the tiniest OEM windscreen ever made, with the cold air hitting my body with all the finesse of a jackhammer that was crushing obstinate concrete that refused to yield.
Back to the motorcycling, this was the first time that I was on a ride when ebmrajesh had brought his Honda CB500X. Prior to this, I have ridden with him for thousands of kilometers when he was on his Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 (sold), KTM Adv 390 (recently exchanged for a Japanese twin cylinder motorcycle) and his Kawasaki Ninja 1000. While each of these 3 motorcycles proffers very distinct riding experiences, I have never seen him be as calm and relaxed on a motorcycle, as he was while riding the Honda CB500X. Good roads. Bad roads. Potholes. Sweeping corners. The Honda handled everything with a gentle finesse that takes a seasoned rider to first notice, and then appreciate. Is it any surprise that the Suzuki GSXRRRRRRR250 channels a lot of the exact same virtues that the Honda CB500X brings to the table?
Our group stopped at the popular viewpoint for some time, which was recently off limits because of wild elephant sightings. To complete the ride, we threw in the few hair pin bends that you encounter while going to the Galibore Nature Camp Entrance and then took a u-turn for a relaxed return to the realities of our big city lives. Overall, this was another fabulous breakfast ride on the Suzuki GSXRR250.
Dr CD standing and riding his Triumph Tiger Sport 660
What a lovely sunrise!
The bikes all lined up with special security
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