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**Sachinnair** · 02-08-2016, 12:23 PM

Re: LOST in Sikkim

Originally posted by nirbhayabhi View Post

Inspiring..truly inspiring.
Did you have any issues with the low ground clearance..I guess 130mm..of the ninja ?

Yes. I did have issues with the ground clearance of Ninja 650. Ground clearance of Ninja 650 is 130 mm which has always been sufficient for me when riding solo. I never had issues with exhaust scrapping even when riding in mountains apart from one or two odd hits which is acceptable. The game changes completely when you have pillion with you, even though my wife weighs only 55 kilo's I might have scrapped my exhaust at least 5 times every day throughout the ride. It's very annoying to hear that thud sound from the bottom of your exhaust and all you can say is ouch

When riding on national highways, it's a not an issue but as soon as you take the bike off roads where you need clearance it suffers. My exhaust had an extremely bad hit in return trip in one of the bad sections and now the exhaust has a very small hole which needs to be fixed.

**forcooler** · 02-08-2016, 12:32 PM

Re: LOST in Sikkim

Truly awesome ride Sachin( and the LOST team) ! I was a trip to Sikkim in March this year on my ol' darling '07 P220 and can only imagine what an experience it must've been to take these bikes to the Zuluk loops and Nathu La ( Sadly Gurudongmar was closed due to snow when I was there, waiting for section on that stretch

), since we're on the topic of ground clearance, I would like to know how the cbr 650 faired in that aspect ? I'm looking for a sport-tourer me-self and am considering the cbr despite the premium price tag.

**Shreeni0403** · 02-08-2016, 12:35 PM

Re: LOST in Sikkim

Originally posted by Sachinnair View Post

My exhaust had an extremely bad hit in return trip in one of the bad sections and now the exhaust has a very small hole which needs to be fixed.

Do you get any non under belly exhaust? Can that improve GC ?

**Arsenic** · 02-08-2016, 06:12 PM

Re: LOST in Sikkim

Originally posted by forcooler View Post

Truly awesome ride Sachin( and the LOST team) ! I was a trip to Sikkim in March this year on my ol' darling '07 P220 and can only imagine what an experience it must've been to take these bikes to the Zuluk loops and Nathu La ( Sadly Gurudongmar was closed due to snow when I was there, waiting for section on that stretch

), since we're on the topic of ground clearance, I would like to know how the cbr 650 faired in that aspect ? I'm looking for a sport-tourer me-self and am considering the cbr despite the premium price tag.

The CBR 650F has 130mm GC, which is not that great but will get you out of moderately large potholes/bad patches without the exhaust scraping. Trust me when I say that during my entire trip I think only on 1 or 2 occasions the bike bottomed out, probably because I was going a bit faster and couldn't avoid the larger potholes - the impact wasn't worrisome though. Otherwise, as long as you ride without a pillion the ground clearance is just fine even to take on some extremely bad roads.

**Sachinnair** · 02-08-2016, 09:34 PM

Re: LOST in Sikkim

Originally posted by Shreeni0403 View Post

Do you get any non under belly exhaust? Can that improve GC ?

There are after market exhaust which are not under belly like Scorpion, Leo Vince, etc. but apart from being very loud they are ridiculously expensive. Then you also need to add PCV since it is a full system. Better than that, I can let the exhaust scrape and live with it

**AbhiAvvy13** · 02-10-2016, 01:05 PM

Re: LOST in Sikkim

Sachin vai, where is the next update? I'm missing those beasts very badly.

**Sachinnair** · 02-10-2016, 03:20 PM

Day 6 | 24 Dec 2015 | Darjeeling to Pelling

Day 6 | 24 Dec 2015 | Darjeeling to Pelling

Route: Darjeeling - Pattabong Tea Garden - Tukvar Tea Garden - Jorethang - Nayabazar - Legship - Pelling
Distance: 75 kms
Road conditions: Bad roads overall with random good patches in between.
Stay: Hotel Kabur, Upper Pelling

3:30 AM, the alarm woke me up perhaps when I was in my deepest sleep cuddling myself inside a blanket doubly my size. Brrrr….it was super cold and getting out of the bed at such an early hour was an absolute struggle. Perhaps riding to Khardung La is easier than waking up at such an oddly hour to see a sunrise. The cold was such that no matter how many layers we wore, it could still find its way and make us feel its presence damn well! We had decided to give some rest to our bikes and rather go in local taxi which took us till the spot. While some of us did feel, What’s the big deal about Tiger Hill Point as Sunrise can be observed from the window of our hotel room too. Much to our amazement we found a huge crowd already present, I am positive the number was over 500 and all of them eagerly waiting for the sunrise. Finally as the sun rose, far away through the clouds and painted the sky pink creating a colorful aura which is every artist’s dream painting followed by the epic entry of Mt.Kanchenjunga. The snow capped mountain although covered in clouds when the first rays of sun kissed the peak but soon peeked through the curtain of clouds and sight was breathtaking. Though not in the best way we were still happy as we got to sight this majestic mountain and the painstaking process to wake up was worth it.

We took our happy heads back to Darjeeling where we spent some time roaming in Batasia loops followed by lip smacking chaat and famous Darjeeling Tea without which the trip would have felt incomplete. Batasia loops was a war memorial created in memory of the Gorkha soldiers of Indian Army and allowed us to check out the toy train up close too. It was time to say adios to Darjeeling, saddle up and enter Sikkim now.

“Two roads diverged in a wood and I – I took the one less traveled by.” – Robert Frost

Well, this is by far the best way I can express our journey from Darjeeling to Pelling. We took the road which was more or less in bad shape but more scenic, a road where you will not find the hustle bustle of vehicles or too many eyes to notice you. It’s a road which passes through tea estates, where the aroma of tea leaves make you feel fresh and the discreet sound of the surroundings makes you feel alive. For a moment, I got nostalgic as this beautiful panoramic views of Pattabong tea estate reminded me of evergreen Valparai hill station in Tamil Nadu. We stopped by to click some pictures, something to look upon years down the line and remember these moments which we lived together.

After crossing the lovely tea estates we rode all the way till Jorethang, a small town where we had lunch before we headed to Pelling. Although the lunch was not so cool as the journey, it’s something we could live with and move on. We were welcomed into West Sikkim on the way and it was a job well done to the entire team who rode all the way from Mumbai to experience the mountains of North East in extreme cold. Battling the bad roads, occasional slush and landslides we made our way in Pelling just before the sun set. Finding a hotel was not a difficult task as there were sufficient hotels in Pelling and at ridiculously affordable prices. We settled in our nice cozy rooms and the cold was much more bearable than what we encountered in Darjeeling which everyone was happy about. It was a day to remember as we went through our photos and videos of the trip while relishing Sikkimese delicacies one at a time. Today was special as it marked our entry into Sikkim and we were ready for an adventurous week to look forward too. More stories to be unravelled as the LOST in Sikkim journey continues.

Sunrise at Tiger Hill Point, Darjeeling

The beautiful Kanchenjunga Peak

The beautiful Kanchenjunga Peak

Batasia Loops, Darjeeling

Toy Train

Frozen Moments

Memorial at Batasia Loops for Gorkha soldiers of Indian army

The tasty momo's

Beautiful ride through the tea estates on outskirts of Darjeeling

There's a kid in all of us

The beautiful tea plantation

Dedication!!

Finally, Welcome to Sikkim!

Not all those who wander are LOST

**andy0104** · 02-11-2016, 12:17 AM

Re: LOST in Sikkim

Excellent narration and delicious photos !! Hooked

**AbhiAvvy13** · 02-11-2016, 05:01 PM

Re: LOST in Sikkim

Another set of awesome captures. Waiting for the next update.

**Sachinnair** · 02-13-2016, 12:24 AM

Re: LOST in Sikkim

Originally posted by andy0104 View Post

Excellent narration and delicious photos !! Hooked

Thanks buddy.

Originally posted by AbhiAvvy13 View Post

Another set of awesome captures. Waiting for the next update.

Thanks. Next update might be late as preparing short write up and consolidating pictures for the magazine. But stay tuned, I wont keep you guys waiting for long.

**chiyaanchinnu** · 02-13-2016, 04:59 PM

Re: LOST in Sikkim

Beautiful thread and awesome pics brothers. I'm LOST in those pictures. Awesome, keep it up.

**backlash4u** · 02-16-2016, 06:14 PM

Re: LOST in Sikkim

Keep it coming brother.... Loving it so far.... You are sort of a motivator for people who often hide behind excuses...

**road_shredder** · 02-17-2016, 04:18 AM

Re: LOST in Sikkim

literally lost with LOST in t-log Sachin bro. as enthralling and refreshing as always. also kudos to the whole group for the organising such a wonderful journey. truly motivating for the office creatures like us

**sanat_raja** · 02-17-2016, 07:27 PM

Re: LOST in Sikkim

Wow! Nice travelogue and great pics bro! I personally feel that a ride becomes even more interesting when you get to ride with your partner!

Could you please let me know if the Ninja 650's pillion seat is comfortable for longer (400-500KM) rides?

**Sachinnair** · 02-18-2016, 08:14 PM

Re: LOST in Sikkim

Originally posted by chiyaanchinnu View Post

Beautiful thread and awesome pics brothers. I'm LOST in those pictures. Awesome, keep it up.

LOST in pics. Haha. Good one!

Originally posted by backlash4u View Post

Keep it coming brother.... Loving it so far.... You are sort of a motivator for people who often hide behind excuses...

Next edition will come latest in the next couple of days.

Originally posted by road_shredder View Post

literally lost with LOST in t-log Sachin bro. as enthralling and refreshing as always. also kudos to the whole group for the organising such a wonderful journey. truly motivating for the office creatures like us

I am an office creature too. But once a year such a trip is welcoming to rejunevate from the usual chores of life.

Originally posted by sanat_raja View Post

Wow! Nice travelogue and great pics bro! I personally feel that a ride becomes even more interesting when you get to ride with your partner!

Could you please let me know if the Ninja 650's pillion seat is comfortable for longer (400-500KM) rides?

Ninja 650's seat is decently padded and I use gel seat from Red line plus for additional comfort for pillion seat. Having said that it also depends to a large extent on the pillion if they can manage such a tedious journey. Some manage it with ease and some might start complaining after few hours

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