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Tire Trail on the Himalays

Chapter 1

A Wish

It had been one of my wishes to be in North on a Motorcycle trip. In order to this I was seeking a right bike which should be stylish, comfortable and should at powerful enough to climb extreme slope of North Eastern Himalayas. My search upended when I realized which was my most appealing bike that wanted to buy since my high school days and that was Yamaha FZ. This is a sweet little motorcycle with agile design and performance, however in terms of performance I knew that I had to tinker it to get more from it. In search to buy a used one, I went to Chennai and I was fortunate enough to find that limited edition from 2010, which used to be my most appealing of its time with golden rim.

**Chapter 2 **

The Project; Yamaha FZ

I brought the Bike for about 440 dollars, which was absolutely a good deal. I was flamboyantly happy admiring myself for the deal. Knowing, it was good deal but at the same time aware I had to spend my time and money so as to have it ready for the trip. The bike was technically “ripped off” a short quote from a friend of mine.

The project, by start restoring the motorbike body paint, that alone took more than a day. The hardest part was the Engine, Fork, Steer bearing and the entire electrical part was a great challenge. Understanding the gravity of the situation I being working on my new restoration project. I remember working all night long just on engine cover and seals.  Then comes the fork and front, with the help of my love American friend, I made it possible restoring the entire front.

Blinkers was easy to restore but took almost 13 hours of work, beginning it from scratch till painting drying and cleaning and installing bulbs. The electrical system took about a week as I had to remade the entire system using its electrical circuit diagram. Overall this was challenging and fun project that took about 21 days.

 After the completion of the project I had to earn money so I can buy tyres, in order to have that I join a sustainable community project, which has been discussed in my project page. I was earning 120 dollar a month wage. With my first month Salary I spend sum of 86 dollars on my tire which left me with only 33 dollars. Well those were the hard days learning to manage within the small amount of money.  That was the month when I understood the need of have balance between your passion and your living. The horrific month is now over, and my days were soon to come which I had planned for long.

It was the month of September and I am still saving money for the bike’s customization, then the miracle happened when friend gave me 200 dollars with commission to bring him the distinct musical instrument which is only be found in the north eastern region of India. Just before the trip I went to Chennai, and brought custom brake levers, Exhaust and Air filter for more air intake upon high Altitudes, After Installation I was all set for the trip.

 Chapter 3

The Train:

Indian railway is the largest in the world, employs millions of people and it serve as the life line of India. About millions of passengers travel each day, and using railway as an efficient way of transporting of goods including motorized vehicle like car and motorbikes interstates.

 For the trip I had use train in order to transport my motorcycle from the Chennai city in south till Guwahati a major city of North Eastern India. To do this I had to book the luggage ticket in advance and have to board in the same train for convenience of the journey.

Well India, the most prevailing and cheap commodity which can be found everywhere is the bribe. In such railway ticket counters there is scam which operates underground within luggage courier department, that means they asked you to pay ticket for your vehicle Including the extra amount of packing and shipping as a bribe. Since I was capable of packing it up for the transportation I decided not to pay the packing and shipping and do this part myself. It was tough fighting for my principal, however I keep up my fight and at last they were agreed to charge me a fair amount including packing and shipping. The total cost was about 78 dollars for one-way shipping.

 Chapter 4:

Arrival on the wonderful Land

Arriving in Guwahati, I took the motorcycle out of the train and begin my journey from Tawang a wonderful region town located in east to Bhutan and south of China. I visited many places for 2 moths across North eastern India. While travelling I had a distinct experience being in the different places of North East.

The North Eastern Region is so vivid and with dynamic in its culture and local tribe and food, which is unique in the entire world. They are the most wonderful and welcoming people. But remember, there are few places like Tawang, Nagaland, Changlang, Manipur where you need a special as a westerner and as an Indian to access the sites. This is the central government initiative in order to protect the delicate culture which they believe can be damaged by the outside influence.

Be in astonishing North East and take a journey toward self. It is Incredible!