The ride will require fitness and perfect equipping of the Rider and the Machine. We will cover the equipping of the rider in this post.
The ride will cover more than 1600 km within a time boundary during winter & hot conditions that prevail in plains of Karnataka and Maharashtra. Riders must equip themselves with:-
1. Protective riding jacket with wind and waterproof inner lining. Leather riding jackets with no protective support will not be permitted.
2. Full face DOT certified helmet with visor. Ensure that helmet fits you well, it’s strap locking mechanism is functional and visor is scratch free and not hazy. It is recommended that riders use night riding goggles with the helmet to prevent glare from headlights of trucks during the night.
3. Protective riding gloves. Leather protective gloves are recommended owing to winter season.
4. Riders must wear shoes/ boots for BaPuBa Challenge. Riding Boots preferably without laces are recommended. No rider will be permitted to wear sandals or slip-ons for BaPuBa Challenge.
5. Protective knee guards of comfortable fitting. Remember that you will have the same strapped to your leg for nearly 24 hours and ill-fitting, tight or lose, would cause irritation and discomfort to you throughout the ride, besides serving no protective purpose.
6. Riding trousers are not mandatory for BaPuBa Challenge, however, they will be preferable. Wear thick denim, at least, to protect yourself from wind chill factor while riding. Warm inner may also be worn by riders at their discretion.
7. It is recommended that riders wear warm high necks to protect themselves from effects of winter and wind. Face mask must be worn by all riders while riding.
8. Riders must wear woolen socks for BaPuBa Challenge. Do not wear brand new socks as the fresh material may cause itching. Use and wash the woolen socks couple of times before using them during the ride.
9. Do not wear new or ill-fitting undergarments during the BaPuBa Challenge as it may cause itching/ rashes.
The comfort during any ride, long or short, depends to a big extent on the seat of machine you ride.
We recommend that you should take a 100 km non-stop ride to test the seat. Should it cause slipping, back-ache, soars etc you would know it needs adjustments, modification or complete replacement.
The shape of seat of your machine should be suited to your comfort according to your body size/ shape and your riding posture. It varies for each rider.
Also, ensure that seat cushion is neither very hard to cause soars nor very soft to make you sink low into discomfort.
The seat cover should be tightly fitted with no wrinkles to avoid rashes.
Fluids pump life into the Machine and thus need to be checked and replaced on time for smooth running.
It’s is recommended that all riders participating in BaPuBa Challenge check and replace clutch & brake fluids and gear box and engine oil before the BaPuBa Challenge.
Ensure that fluids and oils used are of specification and brand recommended by respective companies in the user manuals.
The fluids and oils must be filled in specified quantity or up to level, as recommended by manufacturers of your machines.
Feed the machines well; they will love you back on the roads
Bugs may not kill but they slow down pace of the day by causing itches and irritation and thus need to be taken care of. There are several such bugging aspects which can affect a rider’s pace during BaPuBa Challenge.
It is recommended that such minor yet itch causing aspects are taken care of:-
Get all the cables and spark plugs of the machine replaced.
Get the electric circuit, switches, fuzes and bulbs checked for serviceability and replace where necessary.
Get chains and in particularly sprockets and links checked and replace where necessary.
Do get all nuts & bolts and screws tightened and replace damaged or rusted ones.
NOTE: We strongly recommend that all service and repairs must be carried out at Company Certified Service Centres and that only OEM approved spare parts be used for replacements.
BaPuBa Challenge literally means burning the tyres on tarmac of the highway. Tyres and tubes will play a crucial role in road worthiness of your machine.
It is a common myth that tyres with deeper treads have better grip and that all-terrain tyres are safer bet. We must, as riders know that grip depends on how much rubber is in contact with the surface we ride on and this no way depends on depth of treads. Higher the contact means greater the grip though it also means greater friction and greater generation of heat.
We can modulate rubber area in contact surface by varying air pressure in tyre in any type of tyres. Increase in air pressure reduces surface area and vice-versa. Since in BaPuBa Challenge we will ride on a highway we recommend tyre pressure at 20% above OEM recommended psi.
Check both tyres of your motorcycle for abrasions and cuts. Also check the condition of treads, to ensure they are not worn out beyond 30% of original condition. Of course, ideal condition would be that new tyres are used for BaPuBa Challenge. We recommend OEM fitted tyres and replacement may be done with tyres of same specifications.
Both tubed and tubeless tyres are suited to BaPuBa Challenge conditions. Tubes can take up to 200 kmph speed which is much higher than the maximum speed we will attain in BaPuBa Challenge. We advice all riders having tubed tyres use of new OEM tubes for BaPuBa Challenge.
Riders using tubed tyres must check the condition of inner side of rim and spokes for rust and sharp edges which may cause cut in tube while riding. This should be rectified before participation.
Do get the alignment and balancing of wheels of your motorcycles if you are looking for a comfortable handling of the machine during the BaPuBa Challenge.
Successful completion of BaPuBa Challenge will depend as much on the man (or woman) as on the machine. Advisories No 1 to 5 dwelled upon preparing your machine and riding gear, and now is the time to prepare yourself.
We recommend that you must not indulge in activities that are likely to cause stress, sprain or injury. Stay healthy and fit for BaPuBa Challenge.
We will ride for nearly 24 hours without any sleep and thus will need to be well rested the night before. Train your body clock to sleep by 07:30 pm and to wake up by 04:00 am. Do so for minimum seven days before the ride i.e at least 16 February onwards.
Long travels that commence in early hours often are made unpleasant by irregular bowel movement. To avoid that on the day of BaPuBa Challenge, only eat high fibre, full grain, semi-liquid & liquid food a day prior. Ensure that meals are cooked from clean/washed/ hygienic ingredients at a hygienic kitchen.
Dehydration is another crucial concern. Consumption of 4-5 liters of water mixed with electrolytes, day prior to BaPuBa Challenge will largely take care of it. Electrolytes help in retention of water in the body. Consumption of up to 2 liters of water during the BaPuBa Challenge will see you through it comfortably without forcing to halt frequently to ease yourself.
Completely avoid consumption of alcohol prior to or during BaPuBa Challenge. Alcohol causes rapid dehydration.