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**groupbhp** · 04-28-2009, 07:38 PM

-Diomax should only be taken in Manali at night for the day ahead
-Doing Delhi-Manali is no tough task in a small group. The distance is around 560km and doable in 12-13 hours very easily

**groupbhp** · 04-28-2009, 07:43 PM

Originally posted by rossiter View Post

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).

And not the Karizma? Isnt the ZMA the best tourer and sports tourer in India? Again and again the same has been discussed across forums
Secondly, how can you overlook the P200's hard seat pal?

Originally posted by kurtrules View Post

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.

My take on your post:
1. DAY 7 : why not add an attempt to Marsimek la (Bike India guy did it last year)
2. Day 2 : AMS is for sure to set in. Every rider who takes a night at Manali and next at Sarchu is bound to get it. Diamox and lots of water just helps combat it to an extent though
3. Keylong to Leh isnt that of a rush. The last 80km to Leh are in a very good condition. So leaving at 7am from Keylong can easily see u in Leh by 6pm. That is if u r in a small group
4. If not Kashmir, i would say do Spiti. Worth it.

**hitanshu** · 04-28-2009, 07:46 PM

Originally posted by prabhubravo View Post

Sirji, no bike gives above 30 there..

Nopes. P180s easily give 45ish mileage fully loaded.

But yes, most bullets don't give above 30 - but I guess we need to expand the definition of bikes here, I guess.

Originally posted by groupbhp View Post

3. Keylong to Leh isnt that of a rush. The last 80km to Leh are in a very good condition. So leaving at 7am from Keylong can easily see u in Leh by 6pm. That is if u r in a small group
4. If not Kashmir, i would say do Spiti. Worth it.

Umm. Kashmir IS heaven on earth and worth driving through. If nothing else, just Sonamarg and a rip through will do.

7am Keylong and 6am Leh? 2007 May, not even sumos managed those kinda speeds. Average speeds of 33kph mean much faster riding, no breaks/pics etc.

Not happening. Esp since you'd be a hero to try and take on Tanglangla at ~3pm.

**groupbhp** · 04-28-2009, 08:02 PM

Originally posted by hitanshu View Post

Umm. Kashmir IS heaven on earth and worth driving through. If nothing else, just Sonamarg and a rip through will do.

7am Keylong and 6am Leh? 2007 May, not even sumos managed those kinda speeds. Average speeds of 33kph mean much faster riding, no breaks/pics etc.

Not happening. Esp since you'd be a hero to try and take on Tanglangla at ~3pm.

Tau : I quoted him like the way he said 'IF' you wanna skip Kashmir. I just gave another option.
Keylong to Leh is around 360km. Do you know that normally from Sarchu to Leh, it takes around 7 riding hours? About 10km after Tanglang la, roads turn into tarmac for the last 99km or so : doable in 2 hours. trust me : there are stretches where you can cruise at 80-85km/h for miles with ease

That said, Keylong to Sarchu is very much possible in 5 hours, taking the whole timing to 12 hours
360km in 12 hours is very much possible. I assume you havent done Leh last year : the roads have really improved. Any decent guy on a good bike can easily avg 35km/h or so on the whole 360km stretch. Again, my 2 cents

**rossiter** · 04-28-2009, 08:02 PM

Originally posted by groupbhp View Post

And not the Karizma? Isnt the ZMA the best tourer and sports tourer in India? Again and again the same has been discussed across forums
Secondly, how can you overlook the P200's hard seat pal?

Just which part of "My weapon of choice is a P200" did you miss?

P200 has a hard seat? Really?

**kriss** · 04-28-2009, 08:10 PM

Originally posted by rossiter View Post

Just which part of "My weapon of choice is a P200" did you miss?

P200 has a hard seat? Really?

Yes man, its a hard seat... Wont be as puffy as zma...

How good is your r1 seat then ??

**groupbhp** · 04-28-2009, 08:12 PM

It doesnt? I think it does as compared to other Indian bikes...

**hitanshu** · 04-28-2009, 08:45 PM

a. This whole hard seat soft seat is like mine is bigger than yours. I'd say buy any bike, put a bullet seat foam on top. Gives comfort a new meaning.

b. My bad. I assumed that you'd want to take pics et al. Good pics. Without that, no issues.

And my experience is limited (and will stay that way in future) to late May. So if you want to experience Baralachala like:

, then at 9am, you get a building snowstorm at Tanglang La like this:

So I personally would shudder to take on TangLangLa at 3pm. And by your above logic, you foresee taking it on at 4pm. I know someone who lost all sensations in four fingers for nearly 2-3 days while crossing TL La at 3pm in late May. But I guess everyone of us has their thrills

PS: Rumtse to Leh was a racetrack even then.

**groupbhp** · 04-28-2009, 08:49 PM

That someone who lost sensation was Praveen right?
And those pics are true, but for some months between may and october. If u go at the right time, the roads is quite devoid of snow / slush. I dont buy that theory of doing the pass before 3pm. If I am not wrong, the guys who did leh last year (Bunny / Vivek / Nitinjit team etc), they were at Baralacha la when the sun was going down, which means around 6pm. And they were all cool about it - no clouds / snow/ rain. So, i guess even doing tanglang la at around 4:30pm to 5pm wont be a big deal.

Tau, my 2 cents

**TheRedPill** · 04-28-2009, 09:14 PM

And Tanglang La in July last year was like this:

We passed TL at around noon time. Depends upon the time you are planning your trip. Climatic conditions keep varying with time so people going in May can plan differently and people going in July or later can plan accordingly.

**groupbhp** · 04-28-2009, 09:27 PM

Exactly my point

Anyways, yes, for first timers, Keylong to Leh will be a hard push.
I have heard of dhabad camp sites before the climb to baralacha la starts. Even Darcha can be a good night stay to avoid Sarchu

**Aryan** · 04-28-2009, 09:30 PM

Originally posted by rossiter View Post

P200 has a hard seat? Really?

Hard or not, it sure ain't comfortable for longer rides Rossi! The arse starts to go numb after about 2 hours of continuous riding on the P-200, which was not really the case with the Pulsar 180 Classic!

**dcs** · 04-28-2009, 09:53 PM

sir jii, I did LEH last year and on a pulsar 150dtsi with a luggage load of not less then 15 kgs. I know I was not so wise but I had almost everything for the rainy day. we reached Leh on day three...again very bad of me but believe me, I was not there for a record breaking event. our first stop was at darcha, second was at sarchu and reached leh on day three. Despite the fact that we spent a lot of time on the ride, we enjoyed it to the max, clicked photos at every nook and corner. was kind of over whelmed with the joy of riding to leh.my say is every bike is capable of doing Leh, if you have a heart and soul of doing it. so, rather then discussing which bike is best to do the trip, lets say...what bike do we own. I would also say, better do Leh on your Discover or platina than borrowing a bullet or Zma from someone..at least you know the good and bad of your steed and will have a better control in the times of need. rest, is all a matter of personal choice. But ride for sure...you will love it.

**groupbhp** · 04-28-2009, 10:56 PM

^ Like our very own Chanderjeet who reached Leh on his 110cc LML Energy! And then to Khardungla too!

**Aryan** · 04-28-2009, 11:03 PM

Originally posted by groupbhp View Post

^ Like our very own Chanderjeet who reached Leh on his 110cc LML Energy! And then to Khardungla too!

Man, people like Chanderjeet, Tau, lovemax are in a different league altogether!

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