[ashwinprakas]

Was eagerly waiting to read your travelogue but somehow I missed to notice it for almost a month.

As for the travelogue itself, my..oh..my.. What a treat!!!

Special thanks for sharing every minute detail as it would help many with limited experience of places up North to make plans and ride safely.

Being from the South, one thing that I find hard to digest is the possibility of dying from frostbite in the event accommodation could not be arranged, cause I cannot fathom what it would be like to sleep by a waiting shed or roadside shop in places that experience sub-zero temperatures.

Or am I overreacting?

Cheers,
A.P.

[Vasuki]

Originally Posted by novice_alto

Yes. We were in an Ertiga. The first picture is myself, my son, and my friend (whose Ertiga it is) the second picture is my son with you in the background..

You quoted the picture in reverse order. The First picture is indeed me in the background.

It was pleasure meeting you.

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

Being from the South, one thing that I find hard to digest is the possibility of dying from frostbite in the event accommodation could not be arranged, cause I cannot fathom what it would be like to sleep by a waiting shed or roadside shop in places that experience sub-zero temperatures.

Yes some conditions were pretty extreme. More than frostbite it is AMS you should take care of. I never thought unniettan (kozhissery) of all would get AMS, but he was the one who was deeply affected by it.

In our case frostbite scenario occurred only in the Batal section, yes it was pretty tough, with nil amenities @the the guest house. What to say, we even put on the riding gear over and above thermals and other protective liners throughout the night.

Have never met you, but reading and following your thread and hearing about you from unniettan, have no doubt you can definitely do it.

[PG03]

Originally Posted by Vasuki

Hi. How are you? We also met @Komic, right. If you see the 10th picture in this post, it is you I presume?

Link : https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...ml#post4772150 (Beaky flies north – Spiti on a Suzuki V-Strom 650 XT)

Yeah, that's me in the corner of that picture! I am good. We went to Spiti in February last week again, finally able to tick Winter Spiti off the bucket list.

[kozhissery]

Thanks a lot.

Originally Posted by mh09ad5578

Wow, how did you manage that?

Usually I do apply in January for long leaves every year, if possible take it else you always have the option of cancelling the leaves

Originally Posted by mh09ad5578

Didn't you visit nako? That's the only place I missed in your pics.

That was my mistake. The place where we had breakfast is Nako (thanks Ajay for correcting me). I still remember that I saw a board which had "Nako to right and Tabo to left" after breakfast, but that places is just outskirts of Nako - I did cross verify with the GPS log. Sorry for misleading.

Originally Posted by mh09ad5578

How did you feel with rides so powerful one wrong twist of get wrist to send down hundreds of feet?

I felt more at home compared my previous rides TB350 as well as TB500. V-Strom felt more sure footed and to be frank could negotiate better than TB500, handlebar/steering felt easier to turn. Only issue is when you have to stop somewhere - in TB500 I can flat foot better than V-Strom.

Originally Posted by Vasuki

We did visit Nako, The lake shown is Nako lake, I presume.

Yes, my apologies and thanks for correcting me.

Originally Posted by aghate

1) What care did you guys have to take for getting the bikes started in the sub-zero temperatures please?

Till Delhi, I did not take any care of the bike. But after the loose connection issue near Chandigarh, I used to cover the handlebar religiously so that no water would seep in. V-Strom did not give any starting issue. Apart from that V-Strom has something called low RPM assist which was quite helpful in NOT stalling the bike.

Originally Posted by aghate

2) Did you notice any significant difference in the power delivery of the bikes at those higher altitudes?

No.

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

Being from the South, one thing that I find hard to digest is the possibility of dying from frostbite in the event accommodation could not be arranged, cause I cannot fathom what it would be like to sleep by a waiting shed or roadside shop in places that experience sub-zero temperatures. Or am I overreacting?

What you said is very true. When I did my first Bike trip to Ladakh almost a decade back, I had even carried "Survival Blanket". But from my previous experiences, if you have a buddy (which mean another bike) you can always make to the next destination unless nature is too unkind. But AMS is something which is totally unpredictable, that is what we should be careful. I've stayed in higher altitude (on my way to Lhasa, Tibet) than Chitkul after good ascent but not affected this way - Yes AMS was there but did not weaken me so much that you don't want to ride.

Originally Posted by Vasuki

Yes some conditions were pretty extreme. More than frostbite it is AMS you should take care of. I never thought unniettan (kozhissery) of all would get AMS, but he was the one who was deeply affected by it.

Very true

Originally Posted by Vasuki

In our case frostbite scenario occurred only in the Batal section, yes it was pretty tough, with nil amenities @the the guest house. What to say, we even put on the riding gear over and above thermals and other protective liners throughout the night.

I had 2 thermals and riding gear with inners - so was pretty warm

Originally Posted by Vasuki

Have never met you, but reading and following your thread and hearing about you from unniettan, have no doubt you can definitely do it.

Very true. AP, you can easily do it.

Originally Posted by novice_alto

Great pictures....Had the pleasure of meeting you guys at Rohtang La. That morning when we were having paranthas at Batal dhaba, I saw the three of you starting out. caught up at Rohtang La.. had a picture too but it seems I have misplaced it somehow. Anyway, great to have met fellow BHPians and best of luck to you and your bike for future

Thanks.

Originally Posted by PG03

We met up at Nako and Gue, the couple on the D390. If only I had known you all were BHPians as well, we would have had many more tea and coffee at the Gue dhaba then!

Thanks. Even I did not know you were a BHPian. We could have spent some time over a coffee.


Mod Note : Please do NOT reply to posts using bold text within a quoted post, as it leads to visual discomfort for readers. Additionally, it's inconvenient to quote & reply to such a post.

For the correct way to quote, please see this thread.

Thanks!

[kozhissery]

A personal query was sent by Mr. Brijesh [TeamBhp Handle, jusgetgoing] regarding the performance of bike, specifically Duke 390. This bike in question was of Mr. Lovelin to whom I did forward the message and got the reply.
For the benefit of all users, I feel that query/answer should be posted here. All the answers from Lovelin has been included as inline comments against each question.

I have some questions for Lovelin on his KTM 390 (I own the same model) and I was wondering if you could help me with the answers.

1. Did his bike have any problems in the entire trip?
No.

2. What are the spares he carried?

Engine oil for top-up(500ml), headlight bulb, clutch and throttle cable (Changed them only before the trip. So I didn't carry spare cables), tool kit, puncture kit, tyre inflator (Ajay had this in our group), for chain slack adjustment - 10 mm & 14mm spanner, 17mm & 22mm ring spanner. Chain cleaner, cleaning brush and lube, waste cloth, gaffer tape, cable ties.


3. The Duke 390 headlight looks different. Could he please tell me where he sourced it from?

It is the KTM Powerparts headlight mask kit (Code:90108904044) sourced from Germany. Please note this kit has a BA20D 35/35W bulb that provides LESS illumination than the stock Duke 390 headlight. Lighting duties on the bike are done by a set of Denali DR1 V2.0 and DM V2.0 LEDs (which is mostly used as DRLs).

4. Did he face any fuel shortage issue? I did not see any spare fuel can.

Yes. Even though the Baatal Manali stretch is only 110 kms, I had to top up 4 litres of fuel so as to reach Manali without running out of fuel. This is a stretch where you do not want to be stranded without fuel. We were told fuel is sold in dhabas around Gramphu, but this might not be a reliable option. I use a ROTOPAX 1.75 Gallon fuel pack that gives me additional 6.5 litres of fuel.

5. Finally could he please tell me about his luggage and brand? I saw something strapped to the engine guard as well.

Luggage set up :

• SW-MOTECH EVO Engage Tank bag 7L,
  
• SW-MOTECH BLAZE panniers as primary luggage,
  
• Enduristan Tornado 2 dry bag (MEDIUM) as the tail bag.
  
• Lowepro Protactic 450 AWII camera bag mounted on the rear seat.
• SW-MOTECH DRYBAG 80 are the ones mounted on the crash guards. I carried easy-to-access items like rain gear,puncture kit, tool kit, engine oil , chain lube etc., in these bags.
  

Thank you Brijesh for the questions which would help other riders.

Thank you Lovelin for providing apt answers.

[Mangesh Borkar]

Wow! Awesome Read. Thanks for sharing your amazing experience. Hats off to the Duke 390 and its Rider. The V-storm is known for its cross country capabilities. The Multi, well it can cross continents.

Congratulations to all riders for being able to complete the trip as planned.

Mod Note : Please avoid typing with excessive dots.........like................this.

Will suggest that for your and for the benefit of others, please go through Forum Rules again.

Thanks

[paramesh3210]

The article is very well written with beautiful photos! Most importantly, congratulations on completing the ride! I'm sure you will cherish the memories for life. Keep riding and ride safe.

[kozhissery]

Originally Posted by Mangesh Borkar

Wow! Awesome Read. Thanks for sharing your amazing experience. Hats off to the Duke 390 and its Rider. The V-storm is known for its cross country capabilities. The Multi, well it can cross continents.

Congratulations to all riders for being able to complete the trip as planned.

Thanks

Thanks. What you said is true, Lovelin (Duke 390) is lovely rider and I do bow for his capacity to carry such heavy load on the bike (he had tools for bike including a small portable stand for propping the bike for oiling/chain tightening, DSLR with 3 lenses and flashes, DJ Mavic, multiple GO-Pro with multiple batteries, external HDD and even an extra petrol tank). As for V-Strom/Multi they are made for such roads.

Originally Posted by paramesh3210

The article is very well written with beautiful photos! Most importantly, congratulations on completing the ride! I'm sure you will cherish the memories for life. Keep riding and ride safe.

Thanks.

[Sayan15]

Refreshing story Sir. Rated five deserving stars! Brought back memories of my Ladakh trip in 2018. I was left in trance for nearly three months after spending 15 days up there (no riding involved, but explored and soaked up the place as much as I could).

And although many threads came up in the forum post lockdown, was missing a raw adventure story that punches right in the face. This one just did that! So happy to see Beaky doing what she is born to do. And kudos to all the three of you and your rides.

Cheers,
Sayan

[katoom]

Fabulous ride and smooth narration!
Read it all in one go and the photos painted the picture very well.
Wish you many more such epic rides. Cheers!