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Talking from experience, I don't think a *very high* GC is a very big requirement for a Leh Trip. Stick to the CBR250R.

Stick to CBR250R as low end torque is what you gonna require more than GC..CBR150R produce power at high rpms but 250R's power distribution will be perfect for that sort of place..moreover sitting position of CBR150R is a bit sportier than that of CBR250R & I found 250R more comfortable for long tours..

First things first. Neither the 150 nor the 250 are ideal bikes to take to Leh, regardless of what people have done. I have a CBR but did not take it to Leh for two main reasons - the complex electromechanicals and the lousy stock tyres. So, if you are getting the bike just 'cause you want to take it to Leh, think again. If you do take it to Leh, your gain and .... your pain too

Ground clearence issues will emerge on the 150 as badly as on the 250 on the Ladakh trail so the issue is 19-bis ka sawaal.

Low end torque in the 250 is NOT akin akin to the super low crawler on a Hummer. It is better than on the 150 but if an M80 can do Leh, the 150 will fly as well as the 250.

Which is the better bike is subject to individual requirements in terms of cost of purchase, power etc etc. YES, for the extra couple of 1000 bucks, one gets 100cc more which IS a big jump.

And with a 250, you will never be branded a commuter.

Stop dithering, pull out your cheque book and get the 250 else get a Pulsar 150 - heck, you want a 150, why get a CBR then? Get the best 150 in town, the P.

dude go for cbr250r. if you buy 150r just for the sake of trip to leh,
you will regret this thought very badly in future
so my suggestion is rent a royal enfield there and fulfill your dreams.

As a owner of CBR 150R Im saying better goto CBR 250R. The low end torque is ok in 150 but still 250 is better.

dear icemang

though i hate the cbr for lot of other reasons its surely not an issue to be taken for a terrain such as ladakh especially when new.

I say this from personal experience taking the cbr to a lot worse terrain on stock tyres after completing some 14k on odo & physically I am a short statured thin guy

so for TS, please go ahead with the 250

A new CBR 150 or 250 won't matter if you have done your 1st service. The only think is it's better if you cover some 6k atleast on odo before such terrain, due to engine stress and pressure it will feel in those terrain.

Now as far as low range torque are concern, 150/250 behaves same as per their engine and capacity.

It's any time a + point for 250 to go with.

But yes i guess you should change teh tyre of 250 at least as they are continental ones.

Mod,
Vaibhav (Kurtrules) after his Leh marathon on a CBR250R mentioned in one of his posts that GC was an issue in CBR250R and the under-cowl scrapped few times during his trip. Thats why I had a doubt about GC.

Diablo,
I actually didn't know that sitting position is more sportier in 150R. I thought both were same bikes with just different engines. Thanks for pointing out.

Icemang,
The bike will not just be for Leh but for many other trips as well. So buy one bike and use it for all trips. As for the Conti tyres, I guess I will change the stock tyres to PSD maybe. I know the bike has complex electromechanicals but I just might have to trust Honda's quality on that so as to not spoil the trip. And I am not interested in a Pulsar. No offence to other brands, but I have been a Honda fan. I currently own a Stunner and a Brio and feel CBR250R or CBR150R will be the next big thing for me. From reading the posts now I am more inclined to go towards CBR250R.

Praj,
Renting out an Enfield scares me. I know nothing about Enfields and have not ridden one. The quality of a rented out bike is circumspect. So I am ruling out this one. Personally, I have to do the Leh trip on my bike only and not a rented out one.

Mulli,
Thanks, After reading the posts I guess I will be going for a CBR250R now.

Somen,
Thanks, Will keep that in mind. Will make sure the bike has done 2 services (6000KM on the ODO) before such a big trip. As for the stocks tyres, I might change to a PSD or Dunlop depending on the grip.

Hmm.. Could you point me to these posts of his (So that I can recall the terrain which I experienced)? Because I never had any GC related trouble anywhere en route. Maybe once in a *big* pothole 6km before K-la, but nowhere else. And here too, I didn't exactly bottom out or anything. Of course the GC of a P220 is about 20mm more than a CBR250R, but there was nowhere where I felt even mildly challenged.

What you will definitely need is loaads of torque, low down. There is a reason why the Bajaj M80 can do the Leh circuit easily, thats its high low-end torque due to its 2S engine. CBR150R lacks in this dept., CBR250R excels here. There is a particular stretch of road while climbing Chang-La, just 1-2km before the top when climbing from Pangong Tso side. Thats where you need all the torque you can get or you could very well get stranded on the wrong (China) side of Chang La at an altitude of ~17k ft. And believe me, being stuck at such an altitude is not a particularly comfortable feeling. This particular stretch of road is second only to the Rohtang Pass slush in terms of difficulty.

It seems you are adequately researched about the Leh circuit so I need not elaborate the benefits of higher torque when crossing Rohtang, the clutch killer.

Mod,
The link to the post is below:



There is a point in the post where Vaibhav waits at Marhi for the rain to subside before ascending Rohtang.

In his own words:
"6am, me astride the CBR, began our ascend.




Also in one of his replies:



"The Ceeber was superb at high altitudes. FI combines with the good low end saw me flying at passes above 16000ft. The GC is an issue, the undercowl got scratched multiple times whilst crossing Rohtang pass."

Well, when I crossed the Mighty Rohtang, the date was 13th August 2012 (exactly 350 days later). The slush was even worse than the pics show. If you stand in the mud, your legs would sink till knee deep. I happened to walk there for about 150 meters. I crossed over after dark so don't have pics. The difference being that I was going the other way, i.e., for Kurt, the slush was when going uphill, for me, the same slush was when I was going downhill.

But the thing is, Rohtang is just creamy mud. Not rocks. You *might* drag some mud along the way, but you won't break anything . I was actually surprised when I reached there since its very hard for such soil to be at such high altitudes. Its similar to the alluvial type of soil that you get in the plains of North India (if you know what I mean). The soil at all other mountain passes is coarse, such soil can never form such slush/mud. Rohtang is the only special one apart from Zozi-La which is the baby version of Rohtang. Zozi-la can be exceedingly slippery, but stuff doesn't sink and stuff.

Anyways, it is only a matter of couple of years now. The Rohtang Tunnel should get completed by 2014 and the Zozi-La tunnel construction was recently inaugrated (last month I guess) by Ms.Sonia Gandhi, Mr.Rahul Gandhi apart from Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, so that should complete by 2015/2016 too.

Edit:
The only real *modification* I recommend on the CBR for crossing these 2 'GodZilla's is On-Off road tyres. I was using the Michelin Sirac with the following tread pattern and Zozila was really a cakewalk with this one.

PSDs won't give you any more traction in such terrain.


You could get a cheap Ceat Vertigo Sport or something similar looking for the Leh trip. Discard it once you are done.. or put it up for sale for any other CBR rider who might be interested in using it for his ride. I happen to know FZ riders (which also has a 140 section rear tyre) who have used the Ceat Vertigo Sport 120/80 R17 for their Leh rides.

Mod,

Thanks a bunch for the info on Ceat Vertigo and the Michelin Sirac tyres. Will certainly look into it. One of my friend has brought in Duke200 into the picture now. So as of now I have 2 choices. Have already test ridden a CBR250R, but not a Duke. So will test ride a Duke (as well as a CBR250R one more time ) and then finally decide on what to go for. Also, I plan to do the trip in Jul-Aug 2013. I want to experience the Rohtang pass and not the Rohtang Tunnel for my first Leh trip.

@whencut86 - Before Thanking...did you check if CEAT has stock size tires in SIRAC in the sizes of 110/70-17 or 130/140/150/70-17? Did you ask yourself, if you're going to ride in Rohtang & Zozila or atleast Leh, Ladakh & Kargil everyday?

why don't you go with Hero's impluse?? Rather than thinking and modifying the cbr. One think is for sure you are not a cbr lover? Else one model would have been selected?? Impulse is the best for ladakh in all sense along with comfort.....additionally it will save you with good money for gears! Isn't it a nice idea??? Even impluse is good in city...