Ownership review - Yamaha Gladiator SS 125

The Gladiator Stylish and Sporty 125 (SS in short) was a revamp for the earlier Gladiator model, which entered the 125 cc segment to cater the void left by the RX 100, 135 series when there wasn’t much aesthetic appeal needed for commuter bikes, and mileage was king. Sporty when the mood is right, calm and peaceful when you just want to commute, this bike was one of a kind in the 125 cc segment. It’s a shame this bike was discontinued due to perceptions that carried over with the YBX, which was considered a failure model.  Despite many auto magazines giving thumbs up to this sporty 125 cc of a commuter and many satisfied owners including me, it failed to attract new buyers due to the arrival of Honda’s own 125 cc commuter, the CB Shine which became an instant success when launched.

I bought this motorcycle back in January 2010, after much pondering. FZ? Unicorn? Pulsar? All those were very accomplished motorcycles with great track records but also needed deeper pockets. I was looking for a good looking sporty motorcycle in my budget range for my daily commute to college and to hone my skills as a rider. The Gladiator just about seemed to check all those boxes after I rode one of my friends’ SS125, from college to back home, many times. So, after much convincing and pestering later, my dad bought me this shiny new Gladiator SS 125, which looked every bit stylish as a ramp-walk model! The joy of riding your shiny new bike to college, back home and to various other road trips was nothing short of exhilarating!

Looks, features and design

The SS 125 is a visually pleasing motorcycle. The sculpted tank with extensions, the side cowls and the engine fairing cover with the impressive decals make it an attention grabber. The boomerang-shaped tail lights with integrated clear lens indicators is a welcome change from the amber color indicators of the earlier version. The grab handles also blend well with the design. The instrument console has an analog speedo, tacho, fuel indicator, and odometer. The all black windshield has an air vent; the number plate sits on top of the headlamp on the windshield. Though many won’t appreciate the design, it doesn’t feel awkward. The flat handlebar position allows for a relaxed commuter and highway cruising. Some of the features were much ahead of its time and not available in any bikes in the 125 cc class like the engine kill switch, the all aluminum foot pegs, sporty brake pedal,  5 - spoke alloy wheels, black finish for engine, and toe only gear shift. The stylish exhaust with its machine gun inspired end piece looks simply beautiful.   I personally like the rear three-quarter view of the bike, which makes it look mean and smart.

The controls are also placed in an easily accessible way, fit and finish of switchgear is top notch in this segment. Add to it the red and silver combination of colors, the sleek look of the bike with all the curves at right places making it one of the smartest looking 125cc motorcycle in its class and can put bigger 150cc bikes to shame.

Engine and performance

The heart of the SS 125 is a 123.7cc 4 stroke single-cylinder air-cooled engine that produces a peak power of 11 PS at 7500 rpm and 10.4 Nm max torque at 6500 rpm. This engine is coupled to a silky smooth five-speed manual gearbox and the power is transmitted to its rear wheel via chain drive. This gem of an engine is one of the most refined, vibe free in the segment. The engine loves to be revved and has a sporty top end grunt that makes people sit up and take notice. But due to its small capacity, it isn’t suited for aggressive riding. The short gear ratios make it feel like a performance motorcycle but it feels short footed when riding on highways as it makes your left toe to go up more often for that extra gear. The motorcycle can also be moved from the second gear if given the right amount of twist of the throttle, without any protest from the engine.

Ride and handling

The SS 125 is a nimble motorcycle and city riding is where it shines. The compact dimensions combined with a light weight of 125 kgs and the short gearing make it a quick motorcycle to navigate tight spots with ease. The tall stance gives a better view of the way ahead even in traffic snarls. The handling improves vastly when riding on hills. Throw her a set of winding roads and the fun begins; tackling corners is done effortlessly. The seats are very comfy and make long distance riding fatigue free. The suspension setup is slightly stiff and aids in the dynamic characteristics well. Braking is taken care by a 240mm disc brake at the front and 130mm drum brakes at the rear with sufficient bite to bring it to a stop without any fuss. The skinny MRF Zappers take away the fun and handling are grossly affected at speeds more than 60kmph. An alternative is to go for wider tyres with bigger buttons to get better grip and handling but fuel economy will take a hit. A gamble worth taking to exploit the bike’s full potential. 

The maintenance cost of the motorcycle is reasonable, except for some plastic parts which are absurdly expensive (the side parts, cowl, windshield assembly) to replace. Overall this is a very dependable motorcycle, oozing style, still looking fresh after 7 years (and counting) amongst newer competitions.  

Chandigarh - Kufri - Shimla on a Royal Enfield Himalayan

Chandigarh, the capital of both Punjab and Haryana in north India is the best-planned city in India. After a visit to Chandigarh, one begins to wonder when other cities in India would become like it – like how the shops and residential areas are far from the main roads with service lanes, pavements and lawns spread in between them, the green cover for the roads in the form of trees by the side of roads, a Maruti Suzuki Gypsy with armed cops at every sector chowk and the best part – whatever time of day, even during the rush hours, traffic keeps moving and there is never a jam as the roads have minimum two or three lanes and even road discipline is better. All these things I happened to notice during my travel to Shimla via Chandigarh. It serves as a getaway city when one wants to travel to Shimla or other places in Himachal Pradesh.

En route to Chail, a hot cuppa and pose time for the Himalayan!

The plan was to go on a bike trip to Shimla, as my college friend Anbu came to visit me in Jalandhar from Jaipur during Christmas’16. He hadn’t visited Himachal and this gave me another excuse to visit the enthralling state. We headed to Chandigarh in the evening to spend the night there and head to Shimla in the morning. The bus ride from Jalandhar to Chandigarh is 153km. The three-hour journey went in a flash as we had a lot of catching up to do as I hadn’t seen him since college.

En route to Chail

The next morning, we headed to the bike rental Rana Cabs Pvt ltd in Chandigarh, where we booked for a Royal Enfield Thunderbird for the ride earlier through the phone. After completing the formalities, we were shown the bike. I was excited. I had never traveled to Himachal on a bike and that too in a Thunderbird 350. So imagine my excitement when a bloke in a 410 cc RE Himalayan stops right before the rental office citing a silly “it’s too cold to ride up there dude”, reason and gives the keys to the bike rental. And so the bike changed from Thunderbird to Himalayan in the next five minutes. The dude again told about riding in the cold weather and to take a cab to which I hurriedly replied: “yeah, okay thanks dude, we’ll take it from here”.

The entire route from Chail to Kufri presented this sort of scenery

The RE Himalayan stands out of the crowd, no doubt. The design is a distinct one with the touring abilities kept in mind. The tall stance gives a commanding view of the road ahead. The high rise visor also provides protection from the wind blast above speeds of 80kmph in the highways. The exhaust note is a throaty growl which has the ability to turn heads where ever it goes. The seats are comfy enough and the rear monoshock is a first in a RE. Navigating in and out of Chandigarh is very simple with the city neatly divided into sectors and becomes much simpler when Google maps show the fastest route out. The Himalayan felt firm-footed and speeds between 80 and 110kmph are where the Himalayan feels happiest on the highways.

The Himalayan never fails to excite..!!

The maps showed heavy traffic in the usual route to Shimla via Shogi, so we decided to go via Chail, which is a longer route but it had least or no traffic at all during the entire ride. The route also has a narrow road with full pine and eucalyptus trees on the side of the mountainous road. This deserted route gave us the chance to stretch the Himalayan’s legs and it was an absolute joy to attack the corners in the narrow roads. Once we reached Chail at around 4 pm, we decided to head for Kufri for the night, which was the best decision we made on spot instead of going to Shimla. Just before 6 or 7km before Kufri, we spotted ice on the roadside and as we neared Kufri it was snow all around and the temperature dropped suddenly and I could feel cold creeping through my gloves. As it was holiday time, we were afraid that we wouldn’t get a decent stay considering we just packed our backpacks without any plans to stay at specific hotels. Luckily for us, we found a comfortable stay at the Kufri holiday resort in Kufri. The location and view from the hotel was simply captivating. The night temperatures reached 1 – 2°C at Kufri.

It snowed just a day before we reached..!!

Kufri holiday resort, Kufri

View from our cottage 

Sunset in Kufri

The Himalayan was a blast in the hills. The bike pushes you to ride harder and there was an ease of leaning it while cornering hard, but due to the bigger front wheels and long front suspension the bike felt uneasy to handle sudden inputs in direction changes. The able chassis of the bike meant excellent handling and while in certain roads cars were lined up on roads due to broken tarmac the Himalayan felt at home handling some off-road situations with aplomb, tackling broken roads with ease.

En route to Kasauli

The next day we rode to Shimla from Kufri, which is a 17km ride downhill. The capital city was so crowded with holiday goers, that we decided to skip visiting the famous Mall road, as we had to park the brand new rented bike some 1km away in the parking. Disappointed, we headed downhill slowly navigating in the bumper to bumper traffic. As we passed Solan downhill we saw a signboard with Kasauli showing 13km by taking a detour to the right. I have heard about this quaint little hill station and I wanted to visit this as we still had a good 3 – 4 hours before we could ride down before dusk. The 13km stretch has narrow roads and it’s better to ride slowly as the roads also weren’t that great until the last 4km or so. Kasauli has its own charm, and it's a total contrast to the busy town of Shimla. I recommend spending time in Kasauli and see Kufri, Chail and give Shimla a miss unless you are serious about seeing the Mall road in Shimla or experience the toy train which runs between Kalka and Shimla.

A church in Kasauli

A memorial dedicated to the hockey legend Major Dhyanchand in Kasauli

After some exploring and having lunch we rode down from Kasauli at around 4 p.m and made it to Chandigarh before 6 p.m. We rode a total of 340 Kms in two days from Chandigarh and back. The highlight of this entire trip was no doubt riding the RE Himalayan in the hills, the scenic places of Chail, Kufri on day one and the totally unexpected surprise in the form of Kasauli on day two. As a whole 2016 gave me a chance to visit three captivating hill stations in Himachal Pradesh - Manali, Dharamsala and finally Shimla. The year couldn’t have ended in a better way with a trip to Himachal with my college buddy as I was moving out of Punjab the next week for a new job in Pune, Maharashtra. Still, there are many more surprises left to explore in the majestic Himalayan region, all in good time to come. But for now the misty hill stations in Maharashtra and the white sandy beaches of Goa await...

My friend, Anbarasan

Dharamsala - the noodles destination!

Summer in Punjab can be quite scorching, with temperatures soaring up to 45˚ C. And when you get a break to escape the heat, with the cool Himachal Pradesh nearby, you dash for it. This time it was the splendid Dharamsala in the Dhauladar range of Himachal Pradesh, we chose to celebrate the Independence Day.  Being in Jalandhar is quite an advantage, as the distance is just 170 kms to Dharamsala. Riding or driving to the hills on a bike or car is always rejuvenating. Clearly that wasn’t the case as our Maruti 800 with 5 people wasn’t in a condition to handle the unpredictable terrain the hills would throw at it. So, we took a night bus to Dharamsala from Jalandhar.

HPTC busses ply regularly to Manali, Dalhousie and Dharamsala from Jalandhar. The bus takes a route from Jalandhar – Adampur – Hoshiarpur – Chintpurni – Kangra.  We reached Kangra town at 2:30 am and from Kangra, local buses were available to Dharmsala at that time! A half hour, 17 km bus ride again to Dharamsala was pretty cool, as the weather too turned like that from the hot and sweaty Jalandhar. The biggest surprise was waiting as we got down at Dharamsala. The night sky from there, dotted with stars, the view of Milky Way galaxy was just too awesome and gave a jolt of energy for the weary traveler within us. Surely a sight for the sore eyes. 3 am isn’t a great time to go looking for hotels in a deserted town, and we spent a good one hour looking for one in vain until a taxi driver came to our rescue and dropped us to a decent hotel. The cozy hotel bed was a welcome change from the constant roller coaster bus ride.

The HPCA stadium, one of the highest cricket stadiums in the world

The next day started at 10 am, waking up to the foggy mountain view, freshening up and having a breakfast of Maggi and orange juice. The day was spent in a relaxed way, us just sightseeing the local tourist spots hiring a taxi. One of the the most picturesque cricket stadiums in the world, HPCA is located in Dharamsala at an altude of 1457 meters above sea level. The entry is free and the stadium is nestled amidst the Dhauladhar mountain range. Another noteworthy place is the Dalai Lama temple which is a monastery, located in Mcleodganj. The temple gives an insight to the Buddhist culture and their way of life. It is located in the lively market of Mcleodganj. As it was a three day holiday weekend, scenic hill station was full of life with tourists and locals alike. Naddi is another place where one can see the sun set and sun rise point. It also offers some great views of the mountains around. Dharamsala houses some great Tibetan restaurants and we decided to try Tibetan cuisine for lunch. Tenyang café in Mcleodganj market is located near to the Dalai Lama temple. Momos, chowmien,  thukpa are some of the famous Tibetan delicacies. I tried the thukpa, which is essentially boiled rice noodles in soup, with cabbage, onions, carrots and tomatoes. It was a light, simple and tasty food.

Market in Mckeodganj

Lunch, Tibetan style !

Bhagsu town, weekend rush. Bhagsu is also the base point for Triund trek

We decided to stay at Bhagsu for the night and headed there. Bhagsu is just 2 kms from Mcleodganj but the insane traffic took us half hour to get there. For the unplanned backpacker, finding hotels at a peak holiday season can be a nightmare. It’s always a better idea to find one in Dharamsala or Mcleodganj due to limited options in Bhagsu. Dharamkot is also a good option. The famous Bhagsu nag temple  is located in the heart of the town and the Bhagsu waterfall is behind the temple, a short hill trek of 1.5 kms. The night visit to the falls was fascinating, as the half moon lit up the mountains with a faint glow and the milky white waterfall gave it a divine outlook. The fewer crowds at that time made it a more peaceful walk up the falls. German bakery in Bhagsu is a famous restaurant for its varieties like Isreali, Mexican, Continental, Tibetan, Italian, German and of course, Indian cuisine and the current favorite of all of us being Thukpa and chowmien, and some non veg sizzlers.

                                            The Himalaya tea stall, Dharamkot

en route to Dharamkot

The next day, two other friends were to join us for a one night, two day trek to Triund hill. This is a famous route, at an altitude of 9760 feet above sea level; it is the gateway to Indrahar pass. Some of the famous places like snow line, Galu devi temple are in this route. The trek route starts at Bhagsu, where our trek organizer Manu Adventures arranged a guide for the camping equipments. We started at around 1130 hrs from Bhagsu. It is a 2 km walk through the forests up the hill, to the village of Dharamkot. The trek up to Dharamkot through the forest on a cloudy morning, with lush greenery all around and the cool mountain air simply energizes you.

The Himalaya tea stall is a meeting point for refreshments on the way and a landmark. From there, it is a 7 km trek all the way to Triund. It’s always better to travel with as little baggage as you can and also eat light. Energy bars, chocolates and liquids keep up the energy and prevent dehydration.

There are a number of food stalls on the way up, with Maggie being the default meal found and preferred everywhere and I wasn’t complaining. Magic view point half way up the trek with its small maggi stall overlooking the mountains offers some of the best views.

The trek up was nothing short of marvelous. The ever changing scenery, every turn up the hill presenting another spectacular view of the mighty mountains, with rain pouring down was a delight. The trek took us 5 hours to reach the top of Triund hill. The view at the top, needless to say, was amazing. The rest of the evening was spent taking pictures and selfies. As night approached the mountains were illuminated faintly by the half moon, some of the rocks brilliantly reflecting the faint light.

  The landscape at the top and while climbing up was something out of a GOT scene. A dragon flying above would have completed it. But it was just the cows and horses grazing peacefully, not bothered by the number of people occupying its grazing land with tents and camping equipments. Dinner was served in a forest guest house, which was roti, dhal and potato curry.  Sitting on a rock, looking at the starry skies above lit up by half moon with other camp mates playing music, singing and dancing,  as we chatted away,  it had to be one of the best evenings I have spent atop a hill. At close to 2330 hrs, we called it a day and hit the bags. Our tent was set up on a slightly sloping surface and I found myself regularly at the entrance of the tent,  sliding my way in the dead of night from the opposite end in my sleeping bag!

Triund peak, campsite

The next day started at 7 am, waking up amidst the super cool mountain ranges, freshening up, having a breakfast of Maggi (yeah..!!), bread and tea. The descent down was fast, and this time it was a misty climb down the hills. As we reached down, it was pouring at Dharamkot and Bhagsu.

           We headed down to German bakery for lunch and next place to visit was Shiva café. It is nestled 1.5 kms from Bhagsu nag temple, atop Bhagsu falls, and offers excellent view of the valley below. Shiva café is famous for its hippie happy atmosphere, location above the falls, food, music and the gypsy crowd.

Shiva cafe, nestled atop Bhagsu falls

Bhagsu falls

From the perspective of a guy who loves noodles, Dharamsala is the noodles destination! At every turn during the trip, it was an 'awesomeness reloaded’ feeling both in terms of nature and noodles.

The Flash & Gang

Looking back and looking forward : Atom

The odometer reads 96275 Kms.  For a first time car owner, it is a matter of pride to own a car that put the nation on wheels. The ‘people’s car’ as it was fondly called was a dream come true for middle class Indians to own a car so affordable. It was a total shift from the Ambassadors and  Premier Padminis at that time. I am bit late to share my opinions of a legendary car that was launched way back in 1983 and since received numerous facelifts and upgradations over the years, but I now understand how people at that time might have felt to own a car that was light in the wallet, commute to office and weekend getaways, become the guy next doors’ envy and their family’s joy.

 But my initial perspective of the car was the opposite of what I feel as I prepare to sell the car which I learned to drive, had numerous outings and became the perfect companion for fun. Whether it was the movies or out for dinner with friends, the nimble Maruti 800 was effortless to navigate the narrow, crowded streets of Jalandhar with its 1440 mm width. Not to mention the ease of parking in given its 2175 mm wheelbase. It grows on you, building up your confidence in driving. Be it scorching summers, monsoon rains or harsh winters in Punjab, Atom (my car) braved it all and that built to last feeling of the car became quite apparent. Speaking of built to last, the sturdy bumpers don't seem to be bothered even when a Swift banged Atom's front bumper while taking a reverse (the Swift's rear bumper became loose !)or when Atom hit a lamp post when my friend was behind the wheel.

The rack and pinion manual steering compared to today’s power steering cars might take a little effort but the compact dimensions of the car helped a lot maneuvering tight spots. The water cooled SOHC 796 cc, 3 cylinder carbureted engine churning out 37 BHP @ 5000 RPM never ran out of breath, impressing us with its quirky acceleration. The 4 - speed manual gear box has a rubbery feel and takes time to get used to it. The car is equipped with drum brakes in all four wheels and needs to be worked more to get it to a stop without any drama. Even after all the rugged use, broken roads you throw her way, the suspension handles without any complaints and the 170mm ground clearance ensures the under body isn’t affected at all. Spending five thousand rupees on service and other maintenance made the 800 almost as good as new. A music system with aux input and USB port sealed the entertainment quotient of the car. The quality and easily available spare parts never burned a hole in the wallet when Atom was due for service. We had driven the car for more than  4200 kms in 10 months, driving mostly for office use and weekend city runs. Sadly we never got a chance to take Atom on a long drive to assess her highway manners.

It’s hard to find fault in the car that has stood the test of time, for 18 years and still feels eager to rev, has the same enthusiasm that you feel like the engine has never really aged. So, as I write this column sitting in my office on Dec 31 and reflecting back on 2016, it has been a full - on car-nival ! With a lot of mixed feelings I have to part ways with Atom. Adiós Atom! 

Mfg year:        1998                                                                                                              

Month acquired:  Feb 2016

Total mileage:     4235 Km

Fuel:                    368 liters

Economy:           11.5 kmpl

Yamaha FZ 16 and Fazer to Anaikatti

Coimbatore is one of those unique places which give wanderers like us something new to explore, and this time it was Anaikatti. This scenic place is located 28 kms from Coimbatore and shares its border with Kerala. The reason this quiet little hill got our attention was one of my friend, who has a farmhouse up there. Our ride for this one day retreat was the Yamaha FZ 16 V 1.0 and the Fazer. Both these machines are able handlers when it comes to riding them on hills or plains.

road after Kanuvai

Nearing the foothills

We started at 9.30 in the morning from Coimbatore, and the route is very much straightforward. You have to take the Thadagam – Anaikatty road, passing Edayarpalayam, Kanuvai, Mankarai to reach the foothills. The traffic eases up pretty much after crossing kanuvai and that allowed us to stretch the FZ’s legs for a while, managing around 80 – 90kmph, making it to the foothills in just 20 minutes. Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, a research institute and a famous bird sanctuary, is located 4 kms before Anaikatti. 

at Sholayur

small hillocks near Sholayur

The straight line stability of both the bikes is good and inspires confidence. The brakes have sufficient bite and stopping power is good. The front sports a 267 mm disc brake and the rear comes with drum brakes. Both the bikes make 14 PS of power and 13.6 Nm of torque and are eager to rev all the way to the redline and employ a constant mesh, 5 - speed manual gearbox in a one down, 4 up pattern. Telescopic forks are used in the front and monoshock suspension in the rear. The suspension setup and chassis make both these machines rider oriented; and for the pillion rider, it gets uncomfy for long rides on that small seat. Also while the stiff chassis is great for cornering, the ride becomes bumpy on bad roads. On the looks department, both are sporty and are best looking in the front three - quarter view. The dials are simple and functional and have the digital speedo and rev counters with trip meter. 

the FZ 16 and Fazer

Anaikatti at an altitude of just over 700 meters above msl, makes for a quick climb and we made it before 11 in the morning. A little further down the main road, we took an unmarked left turn, which leads to Sholayur, where our friends’ farmhouse is located. The narrow road was much like an off road terrain with potholes and big stones, but the 160 mm ground clearance meant not much harm to the underbelly of the motorcycles. The diamond chassis of the FZ 16 makes it a sporty handler and tackling corners are a delight. On a rainy day, a lot of focus was needed to navigate the narrow, terrible road to Sholayur. Thankfully, our friend’s farmhouse was just 4 kms from the main road. We took a break there and headed further to explore the vastly unused terrain.

cloudy and rainy throughout the day

windmills st Sholayur

A little further there are roads branch from the Sholayur road, and these lead to windmills located there. The cloudy and rainy weather transformed the mountainous region to a scenic location, due to which a lot of time was spent taking pictures and hiking small hillocks nearby. There are small eatery joints in the village of Anaikatti to satisfy your hunger, but don’t go expecting tasty meals. We started the ride back to Coimbatore by 4.30 in the evening and made it in less than an hour to Idayarpalayam and stopped for tea. The grippy MRF radials in the front and rear, made the bike handle rainy conditions in an effortless manner. The FZ 16 and Fazer also had the widest rear tire (140mm) in its segment when launched which had a positive impact on the handling characteristics of the motorcycles. For a quick one day getaway to Anaikatti, the FZ and Fazer proved to be fun motorcycles to ride and the weather being in favor to us making the locales wonderful.