Car driving test

It's been almost a decade since I came to the UK and it's been over 9 years since I received my Learner license. In all these years I've never felt missing a car or the urge to take my car driving test. The only time I was seriously preparing for the car driving test was after my marriage. After failing the test with 3 minors and 1 major (left reverse round the corner - went wider than is allowed in a narrow side road), I lost the drive to retry. It's not that I can't drive or something, if I've survived driving in India on city/highway roads then I certainly can drive in real life situations.

With my photo license due for renewal in the next few months, I wanted to give one final try. I contacted my bike instructor and booked classes through 1 Stop Instruction. The problem with me was my comfort in driving as an experienced driver. It took me some time to act like a learner driver. I can tell that it is not easy at all to act like a learner driver. I just wanted to prove the test examiner that I can safely drive a car and no more silly excuses from my end. I took the test in Barking, statistically the worst place to take your car driving test. I've to admit that in some ways I was lucky with the test. There was unusually heavy traffic and it was school holiday time. Due to the traffic we ended up in a "dead-end" road, did a reverse parking and turn in the road and I was back at the test centre after doing a few side roads. I was told I had passed the test with 5 minors - two for undue hesitation, one for dropping a wheel on a pothole and one for gear change (whatever that means), one for slow driving.

After the test, the examiner asked me what motorcycle I'd (after seeing my pink license). I told him that I ride a Gixxer Thou. He was sort of amazed and said "I'm sure you don't drive/ride like you did today". I imagine I've done my best to "impress" him. So there you go, I've proved a test examiner that I can drive safely in the UK.

Ride outs on my Gixxer Thou

It's now about 2 weeks since I first rode my Gixxer Thou and I've already done 250 miles on it. I'm amazed at the difference in the performance level between the FZ1-SA and the GSXR 1k k8. I was reminded enough times that the Gixxer Thou is a completely different beast to the FZ1-SA and I now know why that reminder should be respected.

First ride:
My first ever ride was a very tentative one. The switch (from FZ1) was dramatic in every sense of bike riding. It took me a while to get used to the low-sporty seating position. To my height, the Gixxer doesn't pose a problem to the knees or neck. I've been using the engine map mode-A all the time except when I took it on my test ride.

First 100 miles:
The first 100 miles included a two-up with my wife on A406/M11. The bike handles pretty well when filtering through stationary traffic. With the FZ1, when I used to ride two-up I'd always be extra-cautious as the mirrors were very wide, but on this it's so easy to squeeze through. And the bike is far lighter to easily manoeuvre.

Riding solo with cross-winds seems to be less of a problem on a Gixxer than the FZ1-S with a full body cowl. I'm not sure if the "Steering Damper" helps in reducing the effects of cross-winds but it certainly makes me feel more confident.

Performance:
There are enough websites to tell about the performance of the Gixxer Thou K8 but what I'd like to share is how it differs to my previous bike. FZ1 was by no means a sluggish bike. To my level, I've accelerated hard, braked hard, did 70(mph) in 1st, rode it well on the country roads. But when compared to the Gixxer Thou's acceleration and deceleration, FZ1-S is a mile away. One factor could be the weight and the other the close-box gear ratio. I remember an instance when an R1 left us for dead at the traffic lights earlier this Spring. I thought that I wasn't accelerating hard enough to keep up with the R1. But having ridden a Gixxer Thou I now know that it's just that R1/Gixxer accelerate far more quickly than an FZ1. Nowadays with the Gixxer, when I leave the traffic lights I get to the road speed limit even before I can physically say "I've reached the road speed limit", that is how quick the bike is.

The deceleration achieved when closing the throttle in the 1st or 2nd gear is scintillating. Unless you anticipate this, say for a new rider never ridden a big superbike, it could potentially spell doom. I've now tried closing the throttle at various speeds in the bottom gears and can now anticipate the effect of deceleration.

More experimentation:
Last weekend took the bike out to learn more about the bike's behaviour in various combinations of speed/gears. I tried various gears on the M11 Motorway doing 70-75. In 1st, the engine does about 8k revs and the bike feels as a proper sports bike. Switch to 2nd, the revs doesn't drop that much and the bike still feels quick. In 3rd, the bike feels very comfortable and there is very minimal vibration. In 4th, there is significant vibration that could be felt through the legs and the engine does exactly 6k revs. Fifth gear is a no-go, as the bike seems to die out and sixth is certainly to be avoided as there is no response from the engine and the engine does 5k revs.

The Gixxer feels very happy to get in/out of corners/bends. I feel more confident in leaning into a corner. Taking the left-hand off to look for blind spots is so easy even in cross-winds as the bike feels very stable.

Problems:
The only problem I find with this bike is the lack of a fuel meter. I'm having to calculate using one of the two trip meters to find out how much fuel I'm likely to have. The other problem is the windshield noise, seems to be worse than the FZ1-S. I have tried various riding positions, tucked-in completely but still can't do anything about it. I'll think about having a double-bubble screen to reduce the noise and start using the in-ear plugs.

Am I good enough?:
There is no need to answer this. Unless you are in the 1st gear on Motorways, you are not even going to touch the envelope of performance of this bike. The Gixxer is one of my dream bikes. Taking it out is enough to live that dream.

First ride on GSXR 1000 K8

It's been over a year now since I rode a litre street bike, my Yamaha FZ1-SA. I'd a great time with that bike. Over the last year, I got so comfortable with it that I decided to go touring with my wife. That was the highlight of owning that machine. I did some riding last winter and lots of miles in pouring rain. After a year and 3750 miles, I thought it was time to switch to a litre supersport bike, Yamaha R1 or Suzuki GSXR 1000 both 2008 models.

I've always been an ardent Yamaha fan. It's certainly due to two factors, one being Grand Prix racing and the other being the then famous Yamaha RX100 (in India). Having said this, the only other production sports bike I liked was the Suzuki GSXR 750 SRAD. For some reason, I never had a strong affinity to Honda or Kwaki bikes.

When I decided to buy my next bike, it was a simple choice between the R1 and Gixxer 1000. I know very well that I'll never be good enough to take these machines anywhere near to what they are capable of doing. But it's the pride of ownership and a dream come true more than anything else. If not for the undertail exhausts, I'd have gone with the R1. After a lot of deliberation, I decided to go with the Gixxer Thou.

When I went for my first test ride, I was told that the power/response difference to my current bike would be significant. With the showroom staff around I just went for a very short stroll in the showroom front to have a feel for the bike. I was assured by the staff that I was smooth on the throttle and should not have a problem. I started with the "C mode", where the bike behaved more like a tame 600cc street bike. After a mile or so, I switched to the default "A mode", with full power, and I could find the difference between my FZ1 and this. The throttle response was so much sensitive that I'd to keep an eye on the speedo to keep within the 40mph/64kmph speed limit. Compared to the FZ1 the brakes were phenomenal, perhaps it is due to the significantly lower weight. Every bump on the road was transferred to my shoulders and this was very new to me. I've never felt the bumps on the FZ1. Well, that is what a supersport is supposed to be. I did a few miles on my first ride and I was already getting used to the power and the brakes. I practised a few roundabouts and tight turns just to see how I was coping with the very little movement of the bars.

I just can't wait to get my new bike delivered. I hope to do a few miles before the winter and hopefully will have this bike for some time.

Motorcycling holiday in North Wales-Day 1

It's been a very long time since I'd taken a proper holiday. The last time I'd been on a proper holiday was in August 06 to the Andaman islands. I was planning to tour the Shetlands or Ireland. But to certain constraints I suddenly decided to tour North Wales. My wife was happy with the location as well, I suppose. With the location and travel dates finalised, I'd to quickly book the accommodation and there weren't many available. Finally managed to book a room in Bryn Bella in Betws-Y-Coed for our stay as this had a secure garage for bikes. We went and bought new sports panniers for my bike for the tour and was eagerly waiting for the tour to begin. On the weekend before the tour began, took my bike to have a general check-up. Everything was now as planned and we were just waiting for the weekend to over for us to start our tour.

We began the tour on Monday. We wanted to leave our place by 1030 or 1100. But it took us a while to fasten the panniers to the bike which meant we managed to leave the place just after 1200. The bike felt very strange with the extra weight, to the extent I was able to touch the ground very comfortably. After fuelling up at Barking Tesco, the real journey to Betws-Y-Coed began. The weather prediction for the day, and for the week, wasn't great. It was predicted to be a washout week. At least we started in the dry. We took to A406 to get to A1/M1. We had no rain for the first 50 miles or so. We were cruising on M1 when the heavens opened and the visibility from spray was so bad that it slowed us and the Motorway traffic to about 40/50mph.

We had the first break at M1 Watford Gap Services. We had covered 90 out of 240 miles. The eateries in any Services is a rip off. After having a good lunch and changing gloves, filled-up the bike and continued our journey. It had stopped raining and I was quite eager to eat up the miles before the next break and the rain. The next 50 miles was rain-free. We stopped again in Shrewsbury A5/A49 junction Services for some tea and petrol. The rain continued unabated.

I've read a lot about the scenic roads in North Wales. The first taste of the wonderful biking routes I've read about was when we entered Llangollen. From there to Betws-Y-Coed, the A5 was fantastic with sweeping bends and some flowing corners. To our joy, the rain had stopped but the road was still damp. The one thing I hated was getting stuck behind a truck or gaggle of slow moving cars. Enjoying the scenic roads we reached the B&B just after 1830. We had done 240 miles on that day in the worst rainy conditions I've ever ridden. The bike looked like a dirt-bike. Anyway I wasn't going to clean it as the rain was expected for the next few days.

In the evening we went to the town to have some take-away and explore by foot. With the first day of our trip finished we went to bed early to have an early start to take the 0900 Snowdon Mountain train.

Motorcycling holiday in North Wales-Day 2

The main interest of the day was to go to the Snowdon Summit by Snowdon Mountain Train. We had booked tickets for the 0900 train as it was offered at half-price. I wasn't sure if there was any safe parking for bikes at the train station. The B&B host assured us that loads of bikers get there so it shouldn't be a problem.

The route we took was A5/A498/A4086. To get to Llanberis we had to ride through the Pen-Y-Pass and Llanberis Pass. Mountain passes are always beautiful and on a bike it feels extra special. I was cautious not to get (too) excited while riding downhill. At places, there isn't a big room for errors on he Llanberis Pass. The downhill left/right/left flips have to be experienced first hand. The only place where I made a misjudgement was at a very sharp right-hander leading to a very narrow stone bridge. After leaning I found out pretty quickly I was never going to make the turn. So it was time to put theory to practise - sat up and loaded the front as much as I felt it was safe. We managed to get to Llanberis all intact in one piece.

I parked the bike at a nearby hotel parking that was manned. With less than 5 minutes to get to the ticket office to collect the tickets and board the train, we had to literally run from the parking. By the time we got to the train, they had closed the gate and the option of travelling at half price was gone. We waited for another hour before boarding the lovely steam Snowdon train.

For some reason, I felt so nostalgic about these steam trains. Perhaps its the smell of steam or the sound of the engine that makes me feel so. The journey to the Snowdon summit was wonderful. It was only partially cloudy and was not raining. We were able to see the Llanberis Pass from half-way up the summit. The walkers path runs close to the train track and we could see a lot of walkers of all ages. The views on our way were simply stunning.

After the Snowdon Mountain train ride, we had our lunch at the station cafe. There I met a group of 4 bikers who had come from Liverpool on a day ride to Snowdon. I went to check if they had any chain spray with them as my chain's lubricant got completed washed out in the heavy rain on our onward journey. I got the chain spray and then We'd a long chat about our trip. After they had left I continued my cold lunch and continued our day tour.

Our next stop was Caernarfon Castle. Though Caernarfon was a few miles from Llanberis on A4086, We decided not to take that route and instead re-traced our morning journey to Llanberis and took to A498 to go to Porthmadog and Caernarfon. A498 is another scenic route with some good view points. There is a mini waterfall couple of miles from A498/A4086 junction. We stopped at every view point on this section and enjoyed the views on a rain-free day.

Caernarfon Castle is one of the 4 big castles in North Wales. This castle seems to have been well preserved. We had an hour to go around the Castle. The striking feature in all these castles is their Tower. The climb on the dark and narrow spiral stairs of the castle towers are great, especially when you get two-way traffic. We climbed all the towers and walked along the castle wall as well. All around views from the top of the castle towers were not that great though.

After the castle visit, we went to Bangor to take the A5 southbound to return to Betws-Y-Coed. The scenary is quite beautiful and dramatic once we got past Bethesda. We stopped at a parking near Llyn Ogwen and climbed the initial part of Cwm Idwal. The views from the hilltop are fantastic. As we were in the mountain range, the rain clouds were bearing on us and threatening to come down at any moment. After taking some nice pictures, we were just in time to wear our gear before it started raining again. The ride on this section of A5 was very rewarding. I'd have liked it stayed dry for a little bit longer.

We had a great day out and for the most part it stayed dry which was a great bonus. On our return to the B&B, we went into town to get some dinner and buy snacks for the next day.

Motorcycling holiday in North Wales-Day 3

Our plans for the day were to visit Trefriw Wollen mills, Conwy Castle and town, Llandudno and Colywn Bay. The Trefriw Wollen Mills can be found on B5106 at the entry to Trefriw. We saw a demonstration of hand spinning. Visiting the spinning and weaving section brought me memories of my aunt's silk looms. The sound of the machines took me to my childhood days when I'd spend my summer holidays at my aunt's place where there was this constant running of weaving/spinning machines that produced a nice repetitive but loud noise. There were posters displayed about different types of wool, their quality, grading and not to mention the 50 or so varieties of sheep in the World.

After spending an hour or so at the wollen mills, we continued on B5106 to Conwy. B5016 is another good road to ride. We entered Conwy and went through the ancient town wall to a parking next to the Castle. There was a dedicated parking bay for motorcycles which is a nice thing to have at such places of interest.

Conwy castle, like Caernarfon, seems to have been well preserved. The town wall surrounding the castle is pretty much intact. We climbed on all the towers and walked along the castle wall. We spent quite a lot of time enjoying the views of the town from the castle towers and wall. After getting out of the castle, we went along one of the main roads to get a full view. From this distance, the castle looked quite magnificent. The weather had improved dramatically with some nice sunshine but with the riding gear it was getting unbearably hot for us.

We had lunch in one of the restaurants and headed to the Tudor House which was built in 1585. Again, this house has been well preserved with a lot of original features. One could see the excess of Tudor lifestyle, be it in accommodating guests or the choice of food or in employing the "latest technology". The house has been lined with solid oak. The roof trusses made of solid oak are simply breathtaking. It is great to see most of these have stood the time. There was also the "modern toilet" found in one of the floors. In one of the rooms there were posters displayed about the treatments for various health problems. Most of them are really funny and we should be happy that we don't have to go through such treatments.

It was time to leave Conwy to Llandudno. Our main interest in Llandudno was the Great Orme. To get to the Great Orme Summit, there is a Marine Drive (one-way) that runs by the mountain-side. This toll road offers fantastic views to the sea and bay. We stopped at various points on the road to enjoy the views. We also saw a group practising rock-climbing.

A road separates from the Marine Drive leading upto the Great Orme. There are a couple of hair pins on this road and it was my first experience tackling it on a litre bike. The views from the Summit are magnificent. As the sky was very bright and clear, we were able to see quite a lot of places, including the Conwy Castle. We could not go to the Great Orme copper Mines as it was closed. We spent quite a bit of time at the top enjoying the views on a sunny evening. We slowly descended from the Summit taking the Marine Drive and rode to Colwyn Bay. We rode along the Colwyn Bay Promenade and Cayley Promenade before stopping at Colwyn Bay beach to have some drinks/ice cream. There were a few people enjoying the evening on water jetskies. It was a great weather to be in the beach and soaking up the glorious views from it.

We returned on A470 to our B&B. This was another flat and fast road. The entire day went very well and with a balmy weather we could not have asked for anything more.