The R15 can very well take on Leh, but what cud be worrying is the light-weight alloys which might not endure the rough terrain.

Saar my 220 is a low mileage one! The one that I speak of usually gives 45 kmpl!

But shall tell my kmpl there soon!

Nothing happened to other bike's fairings that toured here in September/October...

As such, replacing all panels + fairing + tank on a ZMA costed abt Rs 11K to SreeKeerthy (those were ZMA R panels. Old ZMA panels cost lesser). GIR team paid Rs 25K to KRP for custom paintjob on R1. 30K is outright day time loot.

There are a lot of pieces. 4 side panels, 2 under belly panels, 1 front panel, 1 head light cowl, 1 bubble screen, 2 black top panels upon the side panels.

With a good ground clearance and unless the roads are too narrow to fit more than just two tyres between rocks (considering R15's wide front), you don't need to remove the panels. The panels offer good aerodynamics, air flow onto the engine and protection to the radiator & silencer... even if hit by stones / rocks, it costs less to replace them than risking the radiator or silencer

For that matter, which 150CC or above bike gives well above 30 KMPL if you rip at full throttle from tank full to empty? The list would be very short and the R15 has its place in it. I don't mind being proven wrong but I am optimistic about the R15's mileage factor because of the reasons stated in my previous post.

That still doesn't discount the need for carrying extra fuel.

alien skills - to the biker or to the bike

R15 can take on but the rider will struggle. I'm discounting that damage to alloys thought too... I believe the terrain is rough enough that you won't get a chance to have enough speed to hit something that might damage the alloy... but, fingers crossed! carry a spare tube.

Dude, im not saying that R15 is not good in mileage or something, but since its the first time an R15 is making to Leh and with a compression ratio of 10.4, it is safe to assume low mileage and carry enough fuel.
Its just my 2 cents and its upto to the rider to take it seriously or cautiously. peace

^^ Guys Thanks.What I meant was the overall money spent on the zma repairs.didn't go into details but will catch up with him over the weekend & than get all the details.

Getting farings off R15 is very easy.we paid Rs.200 to a mechanic who removed them,fitted with extra headlight than refitted for the power1 event in Mumbai.

Pic attached for ref.(tht's anirude's bike)

My two cents in all this. The rider maketh the bike not the other way around, and deals with the terrain. I'm pretty sure a litre bike can make if it comes down to that.

The bike that you decide to use on a Leh trip is all down to how difficult/easy you want your trip to be. Otherwise, any bike will go.

But my preferred weapon of choice on a Leh trip would be a P200 (problem-free, in every which way), or an RX135 (which would of course involve logistics).

+1 on that. been repeated many times now.

Guys perhaps you should worry about the various nullahs that cross (paagal, whiskey to name a few) the road, 12-14 hour bumpy ride almost all the way from Manali to Sarchu, AMS, toilet problems rather than just revolving around which bike to take!

The basic itenarary you can follow ex-delhi is: (Including Kashmir)

Day1: Delhi - Manali
Day2: Manali - Sarchu
Day3: Sarchu - Pang - Leh
Day4: Leh and around (Visit the various monastries and arrange the permits).
Day5: Leh - khardungla - Diskit (Falls in Nubra)
Day6: Diskit - Hunder - Panamik - Leh
Day7: Leh - Pangong Tso
Day8: Pangong Tso - Leh
Day9: Leh - Kargil
Day10: Kargil - Drass - Sonamarg - Srinagar
Day11: Srinagar - Jammu - Pathankot
Day12: Pathankot - Delhi

Some tips and suggestions (Any bike you take!!)

* On day 2 you would be rising from 6500 feet(Manali) to 14,200 feet(Sarchu). So there is a good chance that you might be hit by AMS. Have a tablet of diamox the night before you leave for Sarchu. And have it everynight till you reach Leh. It worked for me. After spending another day in Leh you would have acclamatized to the high altitude, so no issues

* For the permits you may ask your hotel receptionist if you are not in a mood to travel to the DC office for the permits.

* You may also want to stay in keylong on day 2 and then make a rush for leh the next day (around 14 hours). This is to avoid AMS.

* Try to avoid spending night at Pang (14,400 ft). Its normally known as the vomit heaven

* If you are skeptical about travelling to Kashmir than you can come back via the same route(manali - leh) and add tso-moriri in your itenarary.

Ride safe and be light hearted.Be optimistic The bike you will take will NOT break down on you! Carry proper spares and tools. Am sure you are not keen on travelling solo. Puncture hua toh tyre khol lena, and if by chance your bike breaks down, fling on a truck and carry it to the nearest work shop, you have one in keylong, a few repair works in Sarchu and then its Leh!! Done..no worries..no issues ...have fun

Its just another road, not the end of the world!

For any other information feel free to ask.

This trip shouldn't about proving supremacy of any bike. It's about enjoying ride admire the beauty of the Himalayas.
To hell with which bike gives more mileage or more power in Himalayas. Just keep your bike in pristine condition, take all necessary precautions and just ride out there.
For many of us (including me) this trip might be once in lifetime so try to make most out of it.

Now coming back trip planning. Try to keep in mind the forces of nature too. You would want to take into consideration at what time you will be crossing the naallas. Generally after 1 o clock you wouldn't be able to cross big ones as the ice will melt in the peaks, you would have to wait for the next morning. Which is what happened with us when we got stuck on Paagal Naala enroute Pangong Tso. We had to stay there for the night and start next morning. This happened twice in our trip and eventually we lost one whole day because of the two overflowing naalas.
So plan accordingly.

Awesome piece of Info.. iam so bent on traveling this time around..just looking to build a nice gang to travel with.

Leh.... am cominnggg.!!!

@kurtrules, v_310 & others who did it before..

against the day wide route plan you guys have given please mention teh approx distance between places and terrain & nallah warnings. that would be great to get an understanding of the demand ahead of us for each day.

@all .most of the doubts will be cleared thru this link.

Main Page - BikeNomads

this will save time

for other queries we can trouble our fellow members for additional info

cheers

@kurtrules: Not sure if recommending diamox everyday is a good idea. IMO, if we keep ourself hydrated and sleep well the previous day and follow the altitude rule while sleeping, medication is not necessary. I made it in 2004 with just a dull headache, but I kept myself hydrated with 2 litres of bottled water spiked with Electral.

I'm no medic but I'd prefer resorting to medication as a last resort.

The rest of the info looks good, but again as a small addition, trying to make a dash from Keylong to Leh is very doable, but sort of against the point of the trip, and will be a bit strenuous IMO. Not recommended. I stayed overnight in Pang which was where my headache started. But I could comfortably ride to Leh the next day at my own pace and made the best of the route. Not something one should ideally do. But if there is a time constraint, then the schedule you posted is quite alright.

There are tons of itineraries with all kinds of permutations and combinations floating around on the Net. A simple Google search will suffice

Do you really want to stretch yourself that much?
I suggest take it easy, why do you want to run away from the places in between manali and leh.
Rest all looks ok to me.

Well, I went all the way without diamox but i have actually seen people running short of breath and puking madly just because of the altitude gain. Better safe than sorry!

But then again, to each his own!

If you please, you could make this a three day itenarary! Its your call, you can modify it your way. Many do it in 3, many more do it in 2. Either way, it zeroes down on you. Punctuality is the key here. You wake up early, cross all nullahs before noon, and you'll face no problem and do stretches with ease in 12/13 hours ample breaks and clicks to add. But then if you are a lazy starter, you might get stuck up in many places.