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Duke 390 trip to Barot, Himachal Pradesh

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  • Duke 390 trip to Barot, Himachal Pradesh

    I recently purchased a Duke 390 in April 2016 after 10 years of owning an Apache 150 and as soon as the first service was done it was time to do some mile munching
    Teaser
    Click image for larger version

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    About Barot. Barot is a nice quite town in Himachal. Most notable landmarks are Mandi and Joginder nagar
    Barot mainly has a hydro power plant built by the British and has some Trout breeding farms.

    Route taken:
    While going
    Delhi-Sonipat-Ambala-Mandi-Barot
    While coming
    Barot-Joginder Nagar-Palampur-Una-Chandigarh-Delhi

    Total trip: The total distance covered was ~1200 km and trip took approx 10-12 Hr one side

    Main attraction: Sight seeing, some quiteness and hiking in the forests

    Bike experience: Being the first trip on Duke I was a little anxious but it all went really well
    1: Got the chain lubed and cleaned 3 times in this journey (first KTM Mandi, then KTM Palampur and finally at KTM Patpatganj Delhi)
    2: Scraped the hell out of the knee pad. Easily rubbed off the 4th bending mark on the rear tyre and 5th bending mark on front.
    3: Bike really behaved very well on corners, really enjoyed that part
    4: Rear Metz got punctured once in Ambala (stupid nail) but took the mountainous part with ease.

    Road condition:
    Delhi to Ambala is super good
    Ambala to Mandi is decent till the kullu hghway comes
    After Bilaspur 15-20 km of stretch was really bad
    Mountain area, as usual, was bad. Even when there was tarmac, it was so uneven that I felt I was riding on small Speed breakers

    Overall experience:
    Stayed for 2 days and the stay was very peaceful to say the least.
    Some more pics coming soon
    Busy finding peace

  • #2
    Re: Duke 390 trip to Barot, Himachal Pradesh

    Travelogue Approved
    Biking is not about what you have between your legs, its all about how well you use it!!!!!!!

    Give your details here if you want to help your fellow xBhpian stranded in your city

    Touring Blog: Cycling in Mongolia!

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    • #3
      Re: Duke 390 trip to Barot, Himachal Pradesh

      Some more pics from the trip
      Ovange resting someplace after Vilaspur
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      Evening shot of Uhl river as seen from Forest guest house
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      Barot as seen from a distance. The house with the green roof is the Forest guest house
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      Me wandering in the hilly forests
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      Ovange Overseeing the valley enroute Bada Gram
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      Another view of the river Uhl
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      Transport trolley which used to transport goods between Barot and Joginder Nagar
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      Another view of the valley enroute Bada Gram
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      View of the Baijnath Temple
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      ----consecutive posts auto-merged-----

      Some more info regarding this trip.
      I always look towards these details in every travelogue I read so just mentioning these
      Time: 20th May 2016 to 23rd May 2016
      Temperature: Day 20-25, Night 15-18
      Duration: From Delhi I took off at 3:45 AM. Reached Barot at around 5:30 PM Although I reached Mandi at 12:30 PM most of the time was lost due to rains and bad roads at some parts.
      On returning, I started at 9:30 AM visited Baijnath Temple, Bir and Billing and reached Delhi at around 1:00 AM
      Overall weather was very comfortable and a big relief from Delhi.
      Total expenditure: 8000 including Bike servicing, stay, food and fuel
      Who should go: People looking for some quite time.
      What I enjoyed: The hilly area and the twisties. While the corners were not always super smooth it was fun.
      What I hated: Although I enjoyed Dukes sound on the highways and corners, I absolutely loathed it's mechanical puttering in the quite valley roads. Would have loved to ride a mojo or thunderbird there. But, like always, we can't have everything now can we

      Thanks for reading and enjoy the pics.
      Last edited by Hemant Singh; 06-01-2016, 12:33 PM.
      Busy finding peace

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      • #4
        Re: Duke 390 trip to Barot, Himachal Pradesh

        Awesome clicks!
        Keep on enjoying.

        Sent from my Xperia L.
        A bike on the road is worth two in the shed.

        Weekend Rides Around Kolkata
        My Ride To Sunderbans -
        Hemnagar & Samsernagar
        Saagar Kinare - Bakkhali Calling

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        • #5
          Re: Duke 390 trip to Barot, Himachal Pradesh

          Simple and accurate narration .. Loved the river pic ...

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