Cast Iron at Kutch

Second time to Rann of Kutch. A place no one regrets visiting multiple times. 

Silhouette – Toothless and Rann. Perfect Combo

Only this time, I planned to ride all the way from Chennai. That is 2500 kms one way.
Roads in India are not brilliant. So, this is not doable in a day. I planned to do it in 3!
 
This time I am riding with a Chaddi Buddy. 

I rode my buddy’s Desert Storm till Pune and planned to ride a Cast Iron RE loaned by an old friend for the rest of the journey.

At the start of the Ride

I have ridden all models made by RE with UC Engine. Never a Cast Iron Model.
 Always wanted to feel the legendary thump!!

1200 kms to Rann. Doable with Cast Iron? In a day? I am willing to take my chances.
Only issue was that the Motorcycle was not serviced properly. We made it to Bhuj with just minor hiccups in Cast Iron. Draining of Engine Oil, above all.
Luckily, I was able to find mechanics all along the way who fixed minor issues that arose.
We proceeded to Narayan Sarovar and Guvar/Guhar, as a part of my record to reach all corners of country in four months.
Next day was to the White Rann. Every day during the ride, there were minor issues with the Cast Iron and maintaining it by riding carefully under control was the biggest challenge of them all. Meanwhile my chaddi buddy was cruising in full force in his beast “Toothless” (His Desert Storm). Damn you bugger.

We made it to White Rann. Peacefully

Although there is heavy rush in December coz of Rann Utsav, there is a secret road which leads right into the white rann. You can ride your bike there. And that’s what we did!

I never wanted to take chances in the wilderness coz of my Cast Iron. So, we returned the same day back to Bhuj. Twas New Year 2016.
New Year’s Day, We started riding back to Pune. Suddenly my bike stopped. Again, near a mechanic shop. I don’t know whether to call this ride fortunate or not.
After diagnosis, the results were….. Piston Damaged!
There is no way to fix this issue. I made up my mind and sent this Cast Iron to Pune by truck and rode the remainder of the journey till Pune as a pillion in Toothless.

So much for the Thump….