Thanks. I don't know that. Maybe.

Thanks. Will do!

Thanks!
Thanks bro! Anytime! I love my SOL

Thanks guys! Trying my best to post the rest as soon as possible.
Thanks dude! I was actually hoping to catch you guys somewhere on Leh-Srinagar route. When you guys were coming back, I was going up!
thanks guys. Already posted some review about Duke's performance in the ownership thread. Check it out. Will do in the logs too!

Thanks guys. Trying my best to post the logs ASAP.

Thanks! I met quite a few riders during the trip, some of them were xbhpians too. Never rode together with anyone though.

Thanks!
Thanks! Hope your trip went well too MAK !

Thanks!

Thanks. Yes, I'm into doing HDR and exposure fusion.

Thanks! Will post pictures and logs explaining everything. My Duke was completely stock, just I had bar end weights and added extensions to front mudguard and rear tyre hugger to reduce water spray when ridden in rain. Look at the pics carefully, they are visible.
Thanks!
Good to hear that. But on 26th I was riding up to Leh !

Thanks!
Thanks. You have been an inspiration, Sirji!

Great and superb pics.

Duke would performed well. For me duke is like a Hybrid a Touring cum street fighter.

Keep posting, I will be glued to this thread. Great this is the 3rd LEH thread in 2 days.

Stunning pics bro, truly stunning. Got to say that these are the best pics for Duke i've seen so far. Bike looks sooo damn evil in those pics. Please keep this thread rolling, i'm glued to it now.

hmmm i dont remember much but i have seen u .

we reached leh same day on 26th @ 8.30 pm.

what about u ?

excellent pics..we definitely have new photographer here!!

Ani: Hats off to your camera work! Brilliant pics.
Eagerly waiting your next posts.

Heavy pics! great effects add to that feel!! Great solo into the wilderness of Leh!
Iam yet to have ma first touch with snow!
Btw have you altered/added cushion on your seats? it looks that way..

Leh trip logs are always treat to eyes... Splendid pics here... So how comfortable were you with the stock tyres?

I wish I could give a 6 stars to this thread. Loved the pics. Thanks for sharing.

Along with HDR fusion the composition of each photo has been good. Clean and crisp...

Stunning pics there.. Ladakh looks much more beautiful through your pictures. And KTM suits perfectly in those mountain..

oh man!! what stunning pics. Jaw dropping. This is some place leh. I have been thinking of riding to leh for some time now. Gurpreet Singh's and later another travelogue planted the idea. Your pics have stoked the fire man. I canot contain the blaze anymore. Awesome.
Great effort on your part!!
btw I have a relatively bad idea of riding from Mumbai to Kolkata come Durga pooja time. How are the routes? Safe enough?

Awesome pictures brother... The moment I saw the Pic felt a sudden refreshment...

Part I : Reaching Leh (Jammu-Leh)

WARNING : LONG POST!!

Spent nights in Kud(Patnitop), Srinagar and Kargil. This route has been the least scenic compared to all other legs of the ride.

Roads were mostly good. Super awesome tarmac till Zozila base, after that till Mulbekh there are quite a few offroad sections. Mulbekh to Leh is good again.

----------

After the busy and blurry last few days of preparation, I bid farewell to my parents and boarded the Himgiri Express from Kolkata with my bike. Used bubble wrap/foam sheets for packing the KTM Duke and thankfully, only other material in the luggage cabin were bags of jute. Bike reached safely. After getting it released, I met Xbhpian and fellow Duke owner Anshuljain at Jammu who was waiting with his black Scorpio. What a nice human being. Takes me to a petrol pump, shows me the way to Jammu bypass, buys me lunch, even offers me to go to his home to freshen up. So this part of the journey must start with a picture of Anshul bhaiya!!



We made conversation over lunch and by the time I started riding, its already 3pm.

My luggage setup. Almost half of saddle bags contained spares/tools. Rest were personal stuff. The bag tied to the pillion seat had 3 2ltr bottles containing petrol, tied with bungee cords. I also had a lowepro fastpack 200 on my shoulders, either on the back or to the front.


Managed to reach Patnitop by sunset. I just wanted to take a bath and sleep in a proper bed after spending a couple of nights in the train, so I checked into a hotel for 1200/- bucks. View from my hotel.

I was up early the next day and started rolling by 6.30am. The bike made me feel fresh. The chasis/suspension setup is a gem. Cornering glory continued. Strong military presence on the road was a surprise. They seemed to come out of nowhere. Soon, traffic started to piss me off. Amarnath yatra traffic. SUVs and Minivans and Buses filled the road. And this would continue till Ganderbal (just before Zozila climb). Roads were fun though.

I crossed Jawahar tunnel. Fun experience.

Stoped at titanic view point for tea. Nopes, no Jack and Rose, I found these guys standing there instead. I decided to wait for 5 minutes, still they kept the spot occupied. So I clicked them.

At titanic view point, first view of Kashmir Valley.

The beautiful Kashmir Valley. The road seen at the bottom of the pic is what takes you into the valley and eventually, Srinagar.

Riding to the valley. Strange experiences, as I was clicking this picture, an innova screeches to a halt and 3-4 guys came out and asked me whether I'm alone or from the Army. Soon they get on the bike and start clicking pictures. Two of them were definitely drunk. Wouldn't let me leave. I somehow talked my way out of the situation. On the flip side, a couple of Army guys offered me lunch when I was taking a break in the valley.

Just before Srinagar.

At Srinagar, I decided to spend the night on a houseboat for 2 grands. Parked the bike in a parking lot beside Dal Lake. Note here that I was carrying a Bike Cover which I used every night. Served it's purpose. I forgot to cover the bike in Chandigarh when returning which resulted in a scratch on the tank.
Shikara ride was okay, but I wanted to visit the places where Skikaras wouldn't go, so found a smaller boat which showed me around. Clicked a lot of pictures. Sharing some of them. But I got bored soon. I was there to ride and that is not what I was doing. Plus roaming around alone in a place where everyone is with their families/friends made me miss my loved ones too.


Dal Lake interiors.

My guide, Omar.

Local with his boat.

A black and white kingfisher

Kid


So I'm up early again the next day and on the road by 6.00am. Traffic again started to get on my nerves. But riding in the valley was good. Reached sonmarg soon and I instantly liked the place. Post-paid Vodafone stopped working so started using my post-paid BSNL from here on. Sonmarg IMO is the most scenic part of the route till you cross zozila.


My KTM at Sonmarg!


Sheep grazing around the hills.

I decided to get clicked as well. My first picture in the trip. But before I could give it another try, this inquisitive tourist walks up and starts firing questions. Oh well.
Had brunch at one of the restaurants and started riding again.



This river flows beside the road till zozila base. I met a group of riders from Mumbai who were coming down and asked them about the road conditions.


Left the traffic finally at ganderbal and I'm a happy guy. Not for long though, it started drizzling. I quickly got into my raingear. Changed the gloves from Cramster TRG-2s to Tundras.

Landslide at zozila. I had to wait for nearly 90 minutes. Blasting went on. Spot the yellow dozer. A group of Bikers gather, 3 from Mumbai and 2 from Delhi. A couple of bulls, impulse, pulsar 150, unicorn.
No other pictures of the climb as it was raining.
Now zozila ascend was a mess. Deep potholes, slush, rocks and to add to that, it was raining as well. I managed to clear it without any major issues though. Bike had a coolant spill from the overflow cap.

Zozila top is paved and I halted to click a picture as rains stopped. But weather remained gloomy for the rest of the day.

First major pass conquered! This uncle from Mumbai group clicks this snap of me at the top. I'm thankful to him

Roads till Drass are not good as well. Now Duke has 25 horses and all of them come alive and start jumping at bad sections. It strongly shows that it hates being ridden on imperfect roads and give massive beating to your arms/shoulders/back. I shifted body weight to the pegs and it made things a tad bit better and much like riding an actual horse. This went on for hours.

I entered Drass. Nothing of interest for me but the board.

Post Drass. Drass to Kargil is either very smooth tarmac or really bad offroad sections. No in between. So I'm interchanging between doing 80+ on curvy roads and offroading, standing on the pegs. This went on for quite a while.

The Zanskar River

Entering Kargil. All those kids who come running to highfive take the fatigue away.

Two Delhi dudes with ZMAs spot me at Kargil as I was searching for a hotel and help me out. I settle for 1800/- a night with safe parking for the ride. I was too tired to find alternatives.

Tanked up and left kargil a little late the next day.

Kargil city.

Offroading however continues till Namik La base. With a little care, doing 60+kmph is easy on the duke because of the chasis and ergonomics. Better tyres and softer suspension, and it can be one awesome offroader.

Every vehicle that passed left me with a coat of dust. Constant powdering if ridden behind one.

Namik la was too much fun because of good tarmac. Cornering glory again.

Maybe I was riding too fast on the descend. Duke showed 96kmpl!! Watch out platinas and splendors, Duke is here

I sense that it might rain and stopped in this village between Namik La and Fotu la to get prepared. This guy who's house is to the left came out and offered me tea. Told me it wont rain. But I was right. I hated being right. At fotu la ascend the tarmac disappeared, and it started raining. Strong crosswinds too. A group of guys and girls were stuck with a punctured tyre of bull. I tried my best to open the tyre but they didn't have the tool required. Felt bad for them. It was raining and was pretty cold.


After the fotu la descend it became sunny again. The descend was pretty rapid and my ears started buzzing and I felt light headed. So stopped at lamayaru for late lunch and took some much deserved rest. Called up parents. I wanted to spend a night here, mostly to click photographs and visit the monastery. But it was 3.30pm and I decided to stretch it till Leh as sunlight remains till 7.45-8pm in Ladakh.


Moonlandish. The views from this point onward were amazing.

Soon I reached the nimmu plains and got blown away. Duke did triple digits, you bet!

Magnetic hill was crowded but I had to click a picture of the board with the KTM. Well it was not actually, but when you're riding solo in Ladakh, 3 guys near a board on the side of the road would feel like a crowd.

Views were majestic.

I decided to click myself again after sonmarg. Placed the tripod, but decided not to take the picture as a truck was coming. Camera decided to click me anyway.

Just before getting Leh'd on the Duke!


Entering Leh.



This epic sky, a couple of dogs and that board welcomed me and I finally got Leh'd!


Next Part : Leh-Hunder (Via Khardugla) : http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/tourer/2...tml#post841898

The pictures speak a thousand words. Amazing shots there.
Waiting for the complete blog to come up. BTW what camera and lens you using on the trip.