I was hooked onto riding. I was enjoying riding the Royal Enfield Classic 500 and already riding regularly for small day rides with Cruising Godz, Enfield Riders Club of Nashik.
With my interest in bike riding increasing and the safety gear providing the additional confidence, I decided that it was time to ride for my first out-station ride, an overnight ride to the beach town of Daman. The distance of 300 kms. between Nashik and Daman could be covered in under 4 hours and the coastal town offered a fun time.
Out-station riding turned out to be more enjoyable than I had expected. A mix of twisties in the ghat section after Jawhar and some open stretches of tarmac on the Mumbai – Ahmedabad highway ensured that I tasted all riding styles. I was hooked and never looked back from there.
My first long distance ride exposed two major drawbacks of the RE Classic model bikes. The first was the seats. The vibrations (especially at high speeds), could be felt through the seat and going a pothole felt like a kick up one’s spine. The second was the poor light visibility of the standard headlight.
On returning to Nashik, I realized that I had to get serious about customization of my bike, if I intended to continue my riding. In my opinion, there is no better bike to customize in India than the RE. It’s like a blank canvas waiting for riders to reflect their style and personality.
Top Tip: Some of my major customizations included:
v Seats – I installed “Perfect” brand seats on the recommendation of some riders, and they were awesome. They came without springs but the vibrations were minimized due to an air cushion design. I have completed more than 10000 kms. on these seats without any back trouble. The seats can be installed on the original RE seat mounts and no customization is required on the bike itself.
v Handlebar - Since the new seats came without springs, which resulted in a lower seating position, the standard handlebar didn’t quite feel right. Thus, I decided to change the handle to RD Extended type handlebar (available in most motorcycle accessory stores in India). This handlebar is available in MS and SS quality. I recommend using SS, as this avoids rusting over a longer period.
I also fitted a bar in the middle of the handlebar. This served the dual purpose of reducing the vibrations in the handlebar and also as an ideal position to mount my Gopro camera. SS handlebars with the rod pre-fixed are also available readymade.
v Lights - The low visibility of headlight was resolved by installing 2 x 27W LED lights from A2Z Motorcycle Store, Mumbai. These lights are very bright. However, I must confess that on dark highways at night (Indian highways generally do not have street lights, like city roads do), the LED lights were not as effective as the focused beam from the standard headlight. A2Z has an excellent collection of focused and normal LED lights.
v Engine Guard – I installed an engine guard below the engine, right behind the front bumper. This is a great tool for avoiding any damage to the engine from debris on the road and also during off-road riding.
v Crash Guard – I found out the hard way that the stock crash guards fitted on the RE are very flimsy and cannot take the weight of the bike in case of a fall. Luckily my bike slipped off the side-stand and the front crash guard was completely bent. I decided to replace it with an SS quality heavy-duty guard. Again, this is available in any motorcycle store.
v Strobe light – This is a must for riding on the highways. Good quality strobe lights have visibility of over 2 kms. and warn other drivers of our presence, especially during night time. Many cities have banned this light for use in the city. So ensure that you install the strobe light with a switch so that it can be switched off in city and switched on while riding on highways.
I was satisfied with the final outcome of my customisation, and it took the joy of riding to another level. I was now ready for my first long distance ride. Read my next post on my preparation for long distance bike riding in India.
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