it is almost the same....... not much change........ but few more tourist spots nearby Kalimpong........ its good to go to Kalimpong than to Darj.......

Its always better to be friendly with locals........ you dnt have to dig a mountain to da that........ just few words with them will do.........
its on my trip to Kalimpong....... just chatting with a guy at tea shop....... he lead all the way to Kalimpong which helped a lot and saved us around 30min of journey......... it was easy especially around the spiral turning.........

@Hippie---- it was awesome reading your post....... its too good....... thanx for all the info.......

hey aryan & DCS thx for reply

I read the whole lot of tips from the Seniors here like Lovemax, Hippie, Bunny.....and damn man... these words which have been put down here, reflects the vast and massive experience these people have Jesus Christ I am really fascinated by this thread and hats off to these bikers....who did something when we started to think about it..... would be a pleasure and honour to meet them.. thanx for all the tips brothers

Hii...
I am planning for leh in R15 during august end....
Well I have a doubt over my R15 tyre...wheather it will be OK in road with layers of ice.... at what speed is advisable above 10,00feet??
Any guys have drived in R 15 & faced any problem.... so I could take some necessary kits......

@ Lovemax
Nice info.
@ Hippie
Great writeup.Specially the permit info.

And about the kidney support, i had serious backache after my 540km stint from Pune to Goa on Pulsar, wish had known this then. Thinking of buying TBTS just for touring

Bunny u there ?

Lovemax u there too ??

this may look silly but , i have a question ,,
in cold places like manali etc ,, what happens to the petrol ,engine oil ,,coolant
what if they get freezed ?

If the tyres are in good condition there shouldnt be a problem. With layers of ice on road or if you meant to say "Black Ice" the R15 stock tyres would slip but if and only if you are giving the throttle in wrong way or braking too hard. As it is Black Ice is something where all experience ends as per me. You should always ask locals if there is black ice on road ahead, and just maintain your line, without flicking or accelerating too much or braking too hard.
About speed of bike above 10,000feet, it completely depends on you, if you want to fly or take off from the mountain you can do 100+kmph or you can ride in normal 40 or 50kmph if you wanna stick. Remember Speed of the bike is directly proportional to the comfort of the rider.

Check the touring threads to know how many R15s have gone to Leh and have come back smiling. These are hard machines, if you know about it you will ride anywhere at ease

Well if the pipeline gets freezed then its a problem a few shake to bike< letting it soak in sun for sometime and all would be back to normal. and if the bike starts then you got it all right. Just let the bike idle for sometime say 15-20mins. You should ask this question in R15 thread, you will ahve tonnes of answers

awesome for starters