How to improve average? Seventy percent of the queries I get at cybersteering ask this question. Truth is, each bike is designed for a specific performance. A Cheetah, which weighs 50 kg, can run at 120 kph (bhp) but you cannot ride it. It does not have the carrying capacity (Torque). An elephant can carry 20 people, (high torque) but cannot run faster than 40 kph. A Cheetah lives for 12 years and an elephant lives for 100 years. The giant turtle of Galapagos lives 500 years, but its speed is just 20 metres (65 feet) per hour and it eats very little. The quantity of food (fuel) which these creatures eat (consume) is also very different.

It is the same with bikes. The faster you drive, the higher will be the rate of fuel consumption. That is why the "STANDARD CONDITIONS" at which most manufacturers advertise their bikes' fuel consumption is at steady 40 kph. Indeed, fuel consumption at 20 kph in 4th gear would be even lesser (turtle).

Thus a Bullet Lightning 535, driven at a constant 130 kph would consume fuel at 16 kms per litre while at steady 40 it would give 37 kms per litre. A Hero Honda CD100 driven at steady 30 kph would easily give 85 kms per litre while the same bike driven at steady 80 kph (its top speed) would give hardly 43 km per litre.

Thus Bullet, Eliminator, Pulsar, Fiero, CBZ, CD100, Challenger, K4-100, Luna, ALL are built for different purposes, perform differently and consume differently.

Using bikes, is not just about riding around town, though that is what 90% of people do with 90% of the bikes 90% of the time. Yet this 90% is NOT what bikes are all about. This 90% is a necessity, so that the remaining 10% can be a luxury. Thus if as when we want to go for a biking holiday, we go on whatever bike we have. We do not have a special separate bike for holidays and another bike for day-to-day use. We cannot afford it. Also it is more necessary that our bike perform without problem during a holiday than in day-to-day activity, because in day-to-day use in town, there are always alternatives available, but a breakdown in the middle of nowhere ruins a holiday.

With this objective in mind, I decided to test SIX different bikes in the economy category. The cheapest model in the 100cc category. One from each manufacturer. Thus we took Bajaj Boxer, Yamaha Crux, LML Energy FX, Kinetic Boss, Hero Honda Dawn and TVS Victor. The objective was to determine the VALUE-FOR-MONEY index for this class of bikes. Thus the deciding factors would be buying price and fuel consumption PLUS breakdowns (if any) plus cost of spares required (used) if any and charges paid to mechanics if any, as well as AVAILABILITY of spares at out of the way places.

In view of the fact that monsoon had already set-in on the Konkan coast west of Pune, and my rule being, "eat dal-roti in dhaba, shit in jungle, wash in river and sleep on roadside in order to cut costs", we decided to head east from Pune, instead of west. So we decided to go to LONAR crater. Lonar crater is an absolutely circular, natural bowl, about 2 km in diameter and about 250 feet in depth , formed when the earth was hit by an asteroid sometime between fifty thousand to one lakh years ago, when Dinosaurs (Jurassic Park type) ruled the earth. This LONAR crater is a unique geological / geographical formation such as exists nowhere else on earth. It is located in the southern part of Buldana district of Maharashtra.

Recently, it was reported that some Maharashtra minister inaugurated a sarkari resort there and he "Threw open the crater to the public". (As if the crater was closed before that!!).

Far as I know the crater was "opened" by an asteroid one lakh years ago and has been always open since then, and no govt. has the money or technology to build a dhakkan of two km diameter! The crater was filled with water when we went, as it had rained some. As rains progress, more water will accumulate in it. Along the circular coast of this crater-lake, there are many temples built at varying periods in the last two to three thousand years. Between the water's edge and the crater wall there is thick foliage inhabited by many peacocks. We heard many mating cries of peacocks and saw a few of them, all resplendent in their feathered-finery in view of the rains, which is their mating season. There is also a small community living and farming in the crater, growing bananas and some grain. Even above the crater, along the rim, there are many temples dating from various times. However, the ugliest thing about this crater is that all along its rim, there were millions of lumps of human shit. It seems there are no toilets in LONAR township and everybody shits along the rim. I wonder the minister who went to "throw open the crater to the public" did not deign to do something about cleaning up the shit.

We set out for Aurangabad on Sunday 9 July. There were six riders, five male and one female. This convoy of six bikes was followed by a back-up Mahindra Max Jeep. Petrol for bikes and diesel for the Jeep was sponsored by the well- known, equity research firm, WAY2WEALTH SECURITIES Pvt. Ltd. for which I am extremely grateful.

We reached Aurangabad late on the same day (9 July). On 10th, we did some local tourism, visiting Daulatabad Fort, Panchakki, Bibi-ka-makbara. Tyrant's Tomb and of course Verul (Ellora) caves. On Tuesday 11th, we visited Ajanta caves and on Wednesday 12th, we visited LONAR. On Thursday 13th, we returned to Pune. The whole journey was around 1200 kms. Some of the bikes did a few km less than 1200 km and some did more.