Taking a mini-vacation with the wife and the Scram 411
The life of an automotive journalist is a hectic one, especially during issue closings. After the last closing, I decided to head down to Mahabaleshwar for a few days to calm my nerves and escape the sweltering heat. I decided to ride a motorcycle down which I admit was tougher convincing the wife than asking Ed for time off. The words “It will be fun” seemed to do the trick though.
The Scram 411 inherits the Himalayan’s touring genes and is up for long distance jaunts. I haven’t modified the Scram save for the LED headlamp which did a brilliant job of lighting up the forested roads in Mahabaleshwar. I am disappointed with the lack of mounting points for luggage on the Scram. The wide grab rail too makes mounting saddlebags impossible. With some jugaad, I did manage to secure my tailbag on the fuel tank.
We set off early to beat traffic and soon were out of Pune. The Scram settled down to a relaxed 90-100kmph rhythm and the wife seemed to enjoy the scenery and cool morning air. At the breakfast stop, an elderly gent enquired about the Scram and requested a photo with the motorcycle.
We hit traffic going up the ghats but we were able to cross lines of cars through gaps. An opportunity to gloat to the wife about why motorcycles make more sense than cars.
The roadtrip also gave me an opportunity to thoroughly use the Tripper. It is quite intuitive and uses colours, arrows and distance markers to show directions. I wish the pod displayed more than show navigation though.
As for the wife, while she still prefers the Classic 350’s pillion seat, she isn’t averse to another trip with the Scram. That counts as a win no?
