Re: Himalayan Odyssey on 125cc

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Re: Himalayan Odyssey on 125cc

Since last 2 years I have to shelve my plan to visit Ladakh on motorcycle due to lack of time, money or company. I’m not fond of solo travelling hence visiting alone was not an option. This year everything was falling in place. Earlier this year I casually asked my friend, let’s go to ladakh this year on motorcycle and he immediately agreed. My friend owns RE CL 350. I believe RE owner's prima facie are always ready for touring. As you own RE and not ready for tour is an offense....[emoji2]. Later on my cousin also agreed to join us. I got super exited after both of them agreed to join me. I applied for leave in office, surprisingly my 15 days leave was also approved without much hesitation.

Our team....



As we wanted to explore both the routes (Srinagar to Leh & Manali to Leh) which would be difficult & very costly on hired bikes. Also we are more aware about our own bikes and how it behaves in difficult times. Hence, we decided to travel with our own bikes. My friend & cousin owned RE & Avenger respectively. Although, I do own 125cc commuter bike but I was sure I will be able to successfully complete ladakh trip. I read travelogues of many people who have traveled to ladakh on small bikes. I got big confidence booster when I read travelogues people who travelled to Ladakh on 100cc splendor, Mahindra Gusto that too with pillion. I became more confident of completing ladakh trip successfully on my small bike.

Lot of people ridiculed my idea of travelling to ladakh on 125cc bike, I simply ignore them and we carried on with our plan. We were getting very excited as day of our travel coming closer. 5 days before the travel I have shipped mine and cousin’s bike from Mumbai to Delhi) through private courier as it was more hassle free than railways though a bit costly. My friend who was coming from Patna was going to meet us at Delhi. He bought his bike as luggage in train in which he was travelling.

On July 15th morning our trains were on time & we reached Delhi. We booked a hotel near New Delhi railway station to get freshen up before starting our journey. The courier company promised us delivery on 15 July by 11 a.m. however they totally messed up with delivery & we got our bikes only by 5pm. By the time we got out of Delhi traffic & reached sonipat it was already dark. We decided to call it a day as we have made a rule of not driving after sunset. (Which we broke very next day, only for once in entire tour).

We were totally disappointed as our entire schedule of day 1 has gone for toss. That day we wanted to cover approx 175 to 200 km and all we could manage was paltry 60-65km from Delhi. As per initial schedule our plan was to reach till jammu on 2nd day, but that seem very unlikely as we were approx 550km from Jammu. Next morning we got up early and were ready to move by 8 a.m. We decided to stretch ourselves and planned to reach as close as possible to Jammu. We never thought we could reach Jammu that night as 550km in a day was difficult task for amateurs riders like us. Neither of us has any experience of long distance riding before & especially since I was having only 125cc bike there were limitations on our speed. I we started riding on day 2, we realized that the roads are in great conditions. We could effortlessly cruise within range of 60-70 kmph. I thought going beyond 65-70 would put my bike under undue stress and it could be risky to go beyond that speed with small engine & skinny tyres. Initially when I bought bike, I was not happy with company fitted TVS tyres on my bike. But they were damn good. Till date after 11k kms including 2.5k in Ladakh my bike is only punctured once.......

I asked my friend and cousin not to go beyond 70 as it would be difficult for me to match with them. In no time we covered 100km, may be in less than 2 hours. We were nearby karnal when we took first tea break. That initial 100km gave huge boost to our confidence. We thought, maybe we could reach jammu that night itself. Slowly but steadily we were moving ahead. Taking 5 minutes break every 1.5 - 2 hours to give some rest to our bikes as well as our butts. Our butts were getting numb as the day was progressing. By afternoon around 1.30 we reached Ludhiana. We saw there was massive traffic jam in Ludhiana. Later we came to know that highway was blocked by people in protest of some incident took place in city. No vehicle was allowed to proceed ahead towards Jalandhar. We have asked with locals for some way out. Locals showed way going through some small lanes that would take us ahead. We somehow escaped the road blockage, but still our half an hour got wasted in Ludhiana. We had lunch just ahead of Ludhiana in roadside dhaba. It was very hot day. Only rains could give us respite from the heat. However, on any given day we would have preferred riding in heat rather than in rains. Just as we crossed Jalandhar, it started raining heavily. We took a break to get our raincoats on. Rains continued for 1-1.5 hours. No matter what kind of raincoat you wear, water somehow manages to enter through raincoats & makes you wet at unwanted placed…………….we all have experienced this………………..[emoji13]

Somewhere on the road to Jammu....


Slowly we were moving through cities & villages on national highway 44 & finally reached Jammu by 10 pm. It was only day when we ride after sunset. We were so exhausted after riding for 14 hours earlier in scorching heat and then in rains, we stayed at first hotel we saw once we enter Jammu. Had we know earlier that our marathon effort is going to be in vein next day due to unavoidable circumstances; we wouldn’t have stretch that much & stayed before Jammu.

Next day we got up late, exhausted due to previous day marathon ride. Started our day by 11 am, roads from Jammu to Udhampur were in good condition however from udhampur onwards roads were in totally pathetic condition till Chenani nashri tunnel. Those 35km from udhampur to chenani tunnel took us almost 2 hours. We had lunch after crossing the tunnel and moved forward. It was almost 4 p.m. by the time we reached Ramban, where we have been stopped from going forward by J&K police. We were informed that tourists are not allowed to move towards Srinagar after 12 noon. Outsiders coming to J&K must cross Ramban / jawahar tunnel before 12 noon, due to security reasons. These steps were taken in view of recent attacks on Amarnath yatris. Even amaranth yatri vehicles were only allowed in convoy which was heavily guarded by security forces. Since entering J&K state we realized that entire Jammu Srinagar highway is heavily manned by security forces. Security personnel were present after every 1km or so. Our day 3 was abruptly ended by 4pm. We found a nearby hotel in Ramban and stayed there.

We were kept falling behind our schedule due to unavoidable circumstances. Anyways we were enjoying our ride and decided that we will not follow any fixed schedule further & will just ride till we enjoy and call it a day whenever we fill tired or before it gets dark. Next morning we got up early, rather we got awakened early morning at 4.30 a.m. by loud noise of motorcycles. There was big group of bikers on ladakh expedition staying in hotel next to us. They left for further journey at 4.30 a.m. getting inspired from them we also got out of bed up by 5 am and after morning ritual left hotel by 6.6-15. We thought as we left so early, we may reach Kargil that day itself. Ramban in early morning was pleasantly cold. Weather was totally cloudy and atmosphere was showing signs that there was heavy rain during night. We were enjoying our ride early morning on not so good roads. Hardly after 30-35 kms just few kms before Jawahar tunnel at one of the camps of Amarnath yatris; we have been stopped by security forces. Rather all the traffic towards Srinagar was halted till further instructions. Volunteers of camps were gladly welcoming all the travelers who are stopped by security forces offering them snacks and tea. We were chit chatting with fellow travelers, bikers during our forced halt. One thing I observed that bikers get lot of attention everywhere. Seeing our Maharashtra number plates on bikes lot of people enquire us about where we are going, lot of other bikers were surprised that I intend to travel to ladakh on this puny bike and even asked me whether it will be able to climb the steep ascent in ladakh.

Almost after 2.5 hours, traffic towards Srinagar was allowed by security forces. We realized that we will be not be making it till kargil. Just as we were allowed to go ahead, it started raining. We have no choice but to ride in rains as we already have lost lot of time. We wear our raincoats and started riding. As we crossed the jawahar tunnel and moving on highway along with adjacent towns and villages, I realized that situation is much normal than what we think about kashmir or rather what we are shown daily by electronic media. During our 2 days ride in J&K till sonmarg we never felt unsafe. Wherever we halted for tea, lunch or dinner, we were gladly welcomed by locals. They were happy that at least few tourists are coming to Kashmir. Last couple of years due to all the circumstances tourism and allied activities really got affected in the Kashmir. We reach Srinagar and halted for lunch in a roadside hotel. The hotel looked empty. We stopped our bikes outside hotel; the hotel owner came outside and was very happy that we came in his hotel. It looks as if from last few days there were no guests in his hotel.

We were having casual chat with owner. We told them we are heading towards Sonmarg and then planning to go to leh. To our surprise he told us we are on wrong way. This road head towards gulmarg and not Sonmarg. We have taken some wrong turn somewhere. He told us not to worry we just have to take detour of 1km. There is one by lane which connects road to Sonmarg. Even son of hotel owner accompanied us till that by Lane as it was not very prominent. We were happy that we were able to see the brighter side of Kashmir than what is depicted in the electronic media. Soon we are on our way to Sonmarg. Road to Sonmarg was beautiful. Lush greenery was there on both sides of the road. However, security forces personnel were constantly present after every 1km or so. Road from Srinagar to sonmarg was in good condition. We were nonchalantly cruising on road at lower speeds as on that day we only wanted to reach till sonamarg which was not far and it was hardly 4 pm. We took multiple breaks for photography and just to enjoy natural beauty of the region.......

Re: Himalayan Odyssey on 125cc

Great travel log.
How much bike transport costs you?

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Re: Himalayan Odyssey on 125cc

Thanks...
The courier company charged us 9000 for both bikes my Honda shine and cousins Avenger. They did picked up bikes from my house in Kalyan but refused to deliver in Delhi in our hotel as promised. So we had to go to his warehouse and collect bikes. The bikes were packed properly and received without any damage. While returning we shipped bikes by railway. It was much cheaper and we got it packed properly and received without a scratch.

Re: Himalayan Odyssey on 125cc



cc does not matter, guts do

@manish_kay ji

Re: Himalayan Odyssey on 125cc

Well done. Small is beautiful...

Re: Himalayan Odyssey on 125cc

CCs hardly matter - from a fellow 125cc rider!
Nicely written brother!

Re: Himalayan Odyssey on 125cc

Nice Travelogue bro.. Keep rocking...

Re: Himalayan Odyssey on 125cc

We reached Sonmarg well before sunset. We have plenty of time to enjoy the beautiful place. At Sonmarg, we have stayed at Hotel Sonmarg glacier. It was very good hotel for its price. They charge d us Rs.2700 for 3 people, but the hotel was really beautiful. Staff was also very attentive. Sonmarg was colder than any other place we stayed before. As we had replenished our stock of old monk at Ramban....... staying warm was relatively easy.............

Till Sonmarg our bikes was not really tested. That day we left early from Hotel. We wanted to cross zojila as early as possible to avoid water crossing if any. I very much remember how zojila was during my 2014 visit. There was no plain surface then at zojila. In car we felt as of we are traveling in boat as the car jumping up and down and moving sideways continuously for an hour or so. This time zojila was much better. It doesn't mean crossing zojila was easy. With 125cc bike it was never going to be easy. Slowly and steadily we are able to cross zojila. Mostly on 2nd gear. I remember at one point I was driving continuously on 2nd gear for half an our. but we were taking lot of breaks in between so engine could not overheat.

we had a breakfast at zojila top it was 10 am in morning. Goggle map showing lamayuru is 204 km away. We were under the impression that we could easily reach lamayuru. 204km doesn't seem much distance. But in hills 204 is a big distance. We had taken a break at war memorial. Had lunch at roadside dhaba and proceeded for further journey. Just after Kargil my friend stopped and told us that he is not filling well. May be due to high altitude he was feeling a bit dizzy and tired. Then there was no point in attempting to reach lamayuru, because to reach lamayuru we had to cross fotu la and namik la. Riding a 2 wheeler on high Himalayan passes when u r not fully physically fit is not a good idea. We decided that we will stay at first guest house will spot on our way. We found accommodation at mulbek. It was simple homestay like guest house exactly opposite to the famous chamba statue at mulbek.

That night in mulbek we met a middle aged man from Maharashtra in his late 40s or early 50s who was on 100cc bike Bajaj platina. He was riding all the way from Maharashtra. He has been to ladakh and on his way to Baltal for amarnath Yatra. He told us while on his way to Leh via Manali, he lost his wallet that had his ATM cards. Since then he has no money and he is taking help from fellow travelers. he's planning to go till Jammu. Where his friend stays and he will get help there. We requested our guest house owner to help the man for that night. He readily agreed and even refused to take money when we offered him to pay for food and accommodation of that man. He told us it is our culture to help people in difficulty. We were really touched by noble gesture of guest house owner.

Mulbekh was situated at an altitude of approx 10500+ feet. Next morning I also felt signs of altitude sickness. I was feeling a bit tired. However did some breakfast and left for leh. After crossing namik la i was feeling suffocated inside helmet. I took one diomox and had some water. I started feeling better after 15-20 minutes. We took first break at fotula, did taken some photographs and we were on our way to leh. From mulbekh road till leh was in excellent condition. It was fun to ride motorcycle through such roads passing through the eternal beautiful land of ladakh. Road was passing through dry , brown mountains and under the beautiful blue

We visited places that falling en rout to leh like lamayuru monestry, conflux of Zanskar and Sindhu rivers at nimmu, Magnetic hill, Gurudwara patthar sahib etc.and finally after 5 and half days we have successfully reached leh by 1.00 pm. We were very happy that we were successful in reaching leh without much trouble to any of us or our bikes and especially considering it was our first major tour on motorcycle. We had lunch and took rest for remaining of the day.

Next day also we have kept buffer for obtaining permits and bike servecing. We went to DC office for permits. Obtaining permits from DC office is surprisingly an easy task.Tourists just have to fill requisition form and show their ID proofs. Within 10 minutes you are out of DC office with permits. For the first time in my life i was out of any govt office within 10 after completing work that too without paying any bribe........

In leh we stayed at Tongspong guest house where i have stayed during 2014 visit. Leh city looked much different this time. Narrow streets half of them encroached by parked vehicles on road side, traffic jam in main market area, honking noise, all this reminded me of suburbs in Mumbai. We have taken our bikes for servicing on rest day. Asked mechanic to thoroughly check the bikes. He told even though we did not have any problem till reaching leh, we must do carburator setting so that our bikes did not trouble in high altitude. We don't know what he did with our bikes under the pretext of 'carburator setting' but our bikes did not trouble us till we reach Chandigarh.

Re: Himalayan Odyssey on 125cc

After rest of one and half days we were all set to explore ladakh. On July 23 we went to khardungla. Road from Leh to south pallu was in excellent condition. It was completely tarred road without a pothole. However, last 10-12 km till were in complete mess. We could not found any plain surface till khardungla and to make the matter worse it started drizzling while we were on our way to khardungla.*

When we Reached khardungla intensity of the drizzle has increased. I was not sure whether it was a rain fall or snowfall. By the time raindrops were reaching to land surface they were converted into ice crystals. Temperature was suddenly dropped due to such weather conditions. Anyways I was enjoying such atmosphere. I have never experienced live snowfall till date. After spending 15-20 minutes on khardungla we were back on way to Leh. We Reached leh by afternoon. Spent rest of the day roaming in leh market.

Next day we left early morning from leh towards Pangong. Start of our tour I realized that distances take much more time when you are on motorcycle and especially at a place like ladakh. Earlier we had planned one day return from Pangong lake. Last time we did one day return from Pangong lake to leh by car. After leaving early morning from leh we were back at leh by 6 pm.

We thought maybe we would require couple of hours more on motorcycle. But we were completely wrong. Road to Pangong was in horrible condition. Worst road conditions we have experienced so far. It took us almost 7 hours from leh to reach Pangong lake. Road till Karu was in good condition. Once we took turn towards pangong, the nightmare started. Entire stretch of 40-45 kms till Chang la was in complete mess. There was road work going on just ahead of Karu. At some point we felt as if we are passing through river beds as big stones, loose pebbles were strewn on road.

It was very difficult and painful to ride motorcycle through such roads. Many times I have to engage 2nd gear to climb the steep ascends enroute to chang la. There is old saying no pain no gain. It was very True in this situation. If u wish to visit the most beautiful lake in the india, if not the world, then u must endure the pain of riding through these horrible roads. We deserved beautiful view of Pangong.

We reached pangong by 3.30 pm. Initially there was bright sunlight. Due to bright sunlight we could experience heavenly blue colour of Pangong Lake. No other word could describe the blue colour of pangong lake under bright sunlight. Thereafter weather suddenly turned cloudy and windy. There was lot of crowd at pangong as compared to our last visit. Stalls and hotels have also increased in the vicinity of pangong lake. I felt huge increase in tourist activity in ladakh year after year.*

It was already clear that we cannot reach Leh same day. But we do not wanted to stay at Pangong as it was at very high altitude. 2 of us had already got glimpse of altitude sickness and how uncomfortable it was, we never want to take risk again. We came back to tangtse for stay. My friend who visited ladakh in June this year told me about the hotel Pangong residency located at tangtse. It was very good hotel with very attentive and friendly staff. Food served to us was also of good quality and tasty.

We decided that we are not going to come back to leh again and would directly proceed towards Manali as we did not have much time left. From tangtse we left for early morning towards manali. Again we have to take that horrible road until karu. Chang la was much more colder early morning. On many ascents my bike was refusing to climb even on 2nd gear, hence I had to engage 1st gear frequently. While riding motorcycle on that route again, I felt as if my bike has lost power overnight or my bike was in shock of yesterday’s abuse that it was refusing to travel on that road again…………...

We came back to karu to fill petrol and proceeded towards manali after lunch. It was 1pm when we finished our lunch & ready to leave from karu. We have asked some local car drivers about road conditions. We were told that road till pang was in excellent conditions and we could reach pang before sunset. Roads were really in excellent conditions even at high altitudes on Tanglang la. BRO really deserves applauds for maintaining such roads in harsh terrains. Wherever possible the roads are in good condition in ladakh. Off course there are exceptions like road to chang la but due to environmental factors.

Tanglang la was the most beautiful pass in ladakh out of all the passes I felt Tanglang la has the most scenic views from top. When we reached tanglang la top, apart from 3 of us only 2 ladakhi boys were present at tea and snacks stall run by them. No tourists were found at tanglang la. Soon after crossing tanglang la we have reached moray plains. It was the most colour full region we have visited so far. Mountains in various shades of brown, green grassy land surrounding the mountains under the beautiful blue sky and bright sunlight is like icing on the cake. The entire region was beautiful beyond description.

We reached pang by 6 pm. Pang seems to be temporary human settlement raised for stopover for tourists and truck drivers. We never wanted to stay in tents due to cold weather.There were very few permanent structures present at pang. We found one such home stays run by local ladakhi family. It was for the first time i was staying in home stay and it was really good experince. Our hosts were a young ladakhi couple. It was simple home stay with very basic amenities. However, our hosts made our stay really comfortable even with limited resources they have.

Next day early morning we left towards manali. Road towards sarchu was not in good condition. At many places some work of placing the cables beneath road was going on, hence BRO people were halting the traffic for 5-10 minutes. Till sarchu, only section of Gata loops was in good condition. We reached sarchu by 12.30. It took us 4 hours to cover 75-80 kms. We took lunch break at sarchu. Sarchu was very windy. Strong winds were continuously blowing. Even at 12.30 in afternoon it was very uncomfortable to face such windy conditions. These strong winds may be the reason that lot people who stays at sarchu overnight suffer from altitude sickness.*

At sarchu, we met a biker from Kerala. He was travelling on small 110cc bike Honda twister and carrying only a small*backpack. We got curious no know more about him as he was travelling alone and with very little stuff. He told us it is his 75 day on the road. He left his corporate job sometime back and now travelling without fixed itinerary and schedule. He started riding from Kerala and so far covered Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and now planning to explore ladakh. We were really astonished by the story of the biker. We wished him all the best and proceeded towards baralacha.*

Whenever we met any bikers at Hotels, tea shops or dhabas; we always made efforts to interact with the bikers, groups. Especially travelers coming from opposite direction could tell us about road conditions ahead, weather or any special precaution to be taken at particular places. While in leh we spoke to few groups who have come to leh from Manali to gauge the road conditions. Many bikers suggested us to carry gumboots as there will be lots of water crossings on Leh – manali route. Myself and my cousin bought pair of gumboots in leh market. That really helped us while navigating through many water streams we came across at Barlacha and we don’t have to worry about getting our feet wet in freezing water.*

After lunch we proceeded ahead. We are targeting to reach keylong that night. Road signs were showing Baralacha la to be 33kms. If road from Pang from sarchu to bad, road ahead till Baralacha was even worse. There was no tarred road till we reach ascent of Baralacha. This entire stretch was passing Kaccha road full of dust and stones. We started baralacha ascend during afternoon around 3.30 that time flow in water streams was at its peak. My lightweight bike had no problem while crossing water streams but having both your feet on the ground is must while negotiating water crossing that gives you additional leverage in case tyre skidding. If you try to cross water while both feets on footrests to avoid getting your feet wet there is high possibility that not just your legs but your entire body along with luggage and bike may end up in that water stream. I have personally witnessed this.*

At one of the water crossing my friends RE got stuck. Somehow we managed to push his bike out of that stream. Pushing RE out of water even for 3 people was difficult task. We got breathless while pushing the bike out of water. We have taken a short break on other side of water stream. There was group of biker group came near the water stream. One by one they were crossing the stream. A biker in that group may be afraid of getting his feet wet and tried crossing the stream while his feet on footrests and in middle on that stream he fell down his luggage fell down in that stream. We immediately rushed towards him for his help. He’s group members also helped him. He was ok, but his luggage and clothes got wet.*

Baralacha descend was relatively good. But good roads didn’t last for too long. Just after we descended Baralacha, kaccha road full of dust, stones started and it lasted till we reach Darcha. Weather was getting warmer as we were moving towards manali. We took tea break darcha. We saw one road diversion at Darcha. There was right turn for Leh and other road will take you to Padum. Road towards padum was looking like it is under construction stage. We reached keylong that night and stayed in Hotel Chandrabhaga of HPTDC. It was decent hotel. Hotel charged us 2700 for 3 people that includes room rent dinner and breakfast next morning. The room was big enough to accommodate at least 8 people.*

Keylong is beautifull small town located in hills. There was beautiful view of mountains from our hotel room. After check in and keeping our luggage in hotel, we had gone for walk in Keylong town. Keylong has very much small village feel with laid back lifestyle of locals. I found Keylong much better than over crowded manali. However, not much tourists visit Keylong. Most of the people visit keylong just as stopover enrout to Leh or Spiti vally. Due to lack of time we also could not stay for long in such beautiful place.*

After reaching Keylong I thought nightmarish road are behind us and we could travel on better roads. But I was completely wrong. Most pathetic roads in the region were awaiting us at Rohtang base (Leh side). Entire ascent from Leh side till the rohtang top was in pathetic situation. It took us more than an hour to complete the distance of 10-12 kms. The road was full of boulders, stones, mud, river streams. It was very difficult to ride on such road. As we were moving towards rohtang top we could feel increase in wind flow. Winds are so strong that I could feel my bike moving sideways. I was feeling as if some force is pulling my bike in the direction of wind.*

There was huge crowd at Rohtang top. Vehicles parked on road were causing traffic jam at Rohtang. We saw some groups were playing loud music in their car and dancing on Road. Then I realized I’m coming very close to civilization and journey onwards will not be as beautiful as it was over last 10-12 days. Now going to Manali and onwards to Chandigarg through lot of noise, pollution, heat and traffic is hardly going to be enjoyable.

We have completed our memorable journey without any major trouble. We are all amature bikers. We have taken a big risk as none of us had any idea how to fix bike in case of breakdowns. We were just relying on fact that all our bikes are relatively new and if anything happens we will get help………We were damn lucky nothing unwanted happen during our journey. Overall, travelling on motorcycle was fantastic experience. We met lot of fascinating people during our journey. This journey gave me inspiration and confidence to take more such journeys in India.

Re: Himalayan Odyssey on 125cc

Nice.
Just one question - did you alter the afr?

Re: Himalayan Odyssey on 125cc

Did bike servicing in leh. Mechanic did some "carburator setting" so that our bikes did not trouble in high altitude. We don't know what he did with our bikes under the pretext of "carburetor setting" but our bikes did not trouble us in entire tour. After coming back I asked my regular local mechanic to check carburator. He told me mechanics in leh insert a metal pin in carburator it decreases fuel consumption at high altitude.

Re: Himalayan Odyssey on 125cc

Keep it up mate..