Heat is everywhere now. I can't ignore it any longer. The air is like a furnace blast so hot that my eyes under the goggles feel cool compared to the rest of my face. My hands are cool but the gloves have big black spots from the perspiration on the back surrounded by white streaks of dried salt. On the Road ahead a crow tugs on some carrion and flies up slowly as we approach. It looks like a lizard On the Road, dry and stuck to the tar.

Fighting the heat proves to be futile and respecting the sun and our own limitations, we stop off at a roadside dhaba. We could be having a bath on the bikes judging by the sweat that has soaked our hair, T-shirts, pants and even underpants. The breeze under the tree seems like a cooling draft sent straight from heaven. We order some grub and before they arrive are fast asleep on the cots that double up as tables. Other than the two bikes pinging furiously in the shade desperately trying to shed some heat, everything seems eerily quiet and peaceful. Ah, life in the village with cows mooing and the sweet smell of freshly dispensed dung.

Post lunch and rest and tea, we shift bikes and I get astride the Eliminator. Compared to the Lightning, the Eliminator feels different and the feet forward riding stance takes some getting used to. Once accustomed though to the riding stance of the bike, you realise that the Kwacker is far less demanding than the Lightning. Starting with the electric starter that does away with the shenanigans of starting the Lightning. And then once you hit the road you begin to appreciate the excellent ride quality of the bike, far better than any other bike around. Less demanding on the back and frankly it results in faster progress, eliminating the need to slow down excessively for all those minor holes and bumps On the Road. The seat is also much more comfortable, a better friend for my bum.

The less demanding nature of the Eliminator also comes to the fore when tackling the twisties. The Eliminator is more confidence inspiring and the chassis, thanks to twin downtubes is decidedly stiffer, better equipped to handle footpeg scraping antics. The bike handles surprisingly well considering her set up and dimensions are pukka cruiser and not modified street-bike. Adding to the confidence levels are the superb 90/90 17inch front and 130/90 15inch rear tyres, the low saddle height and the compliant suspension that doesn't make too much drama of mid-corner undulations and bumps. The compliant suspension is especially effective through a nadgery S-sequence skimming between wall and rock, using every last inch to smooth the chicane line.

All this is good but where the Eliminator leaves the Lightning for dead is in the braking stakes. Overcook your entry speed into a hairpin and you can be sure that the brakes will bail you out. Misjudge a tightening corner and a tap on the rear brake will tighten your line. And unlike the Lightning where you have to finish all the braking (making generous use of engine braking at that) before entering the corner, on the Eliminator you can enter the corner while still on the brake. No doubt the 230mm front disc is great but what also aids the bike's superior braking Performance is the overall geometry and the kicked out front forks that load up the front quite nicely.

The Lightning on the other hand genuinely struggles to shed speed that it is so capable of accumulating. The rear brake is practically useless with all the braking chores handled by the 7inch twin leading shoe front drum. Which is really not so good especially if you overcook the corner and have to shed speed mid-corner. Grabbing a handful of front brake is asking for trouble in this case. Another limiting factor is the front forks that aren't really up to the task when heavy braking is called for.

Though the Eliminator gives away almost 174 cubic centimetres to the Lightning, the power deficit is limited to two and a half bhp though the torque deficit works out to 13.28Nm. On the Road though, there isn't much to choose between the two. Okay, drag the bikes and the Lightning will leave the Eliminator for dead but then that is not what we are out to do here. Touring is as far removed from racing as chalk is from cheese. What matters here is 'comfortable' cruising speed. Note 'comfortable'! The Lightning can hit 113kmph and the Eliminator 112kmph but then it boils down to a race between who breaks first, man or machine, and neither will last too long.

The Eliminator is capable of cruising all day long at 90kmph in top with nary a word of protest. Comfortably the Lightning doesn't do much more, but she scores in getting to 90 in the first place. The Eliminator, though no slouch, simply cannot match the acceleration of the Lightning, taking three seconds more to get to cruise speed. But then in a journey that takes the better part of a day, three seconds are purely academic and I wouldn't read too much into it. In any case the super brakes of the Eliminator see you braking much later and the better suspension settings don't necessitate slowing down for minor ruts and undulations. So I guess times equal up and both the bikes remain on equal footing.