India: Delhi through Kashmir on a Royal piece of....

[LashLarue]

Now we know why Sean Connery was a Highlander!

[GB]

Oh man, this is comical from a distance... glad you're cheerful about it. It's all part of the adventure I suppose. Thanks for the updates and detailed posts

[Joe Motocross]

Just in case you're wondering about how sweet these frames are.


Kinda reminds me of these:

[Jishnu]

Finally a thread, I can really relate to and contribute to.....

About Royal Enfield....guilty as accused...true to the point, but it is pretty much among the decent touring bikes one can get in India (you also have a really nice touring bike in the Karizma ZMA with a 225 cc)...Have been using one or the other RE bike for the last ten odd years and the one thing I know for sure is there is a mech in every village (no matter how remote) in India who knows about RE bikes, (most obvious reason, the bike has been around for few generations with not many changes to boast about)...

The latest breed of RE bikes the UCE Engine (350/500 cc) and the slightly older AVL 350/500..are pretty reliable and do not have the nagging issues of oil leakage and electrical probs which happened to be a feature for the earlier Cast Iron Bikes....

I have had the chance to tour India (though yet to go to Leh, North East India and the Rann of Kutch) in my own capacity for a few years now and have enjoyed the ability of a RE to take the hit, you can cruise on highways at an easy speed of 100 kmph (60mph)...and occasionally blast at 130 kmph which is like the top speed for the LB 500.....(130 is pretty fast in India)....

Thats about it from my end...
Thank you...
JC

[TWC4]

Love this RR,

[Old Blue]

This report and this ride ROCKS Sub-scribed

[Joe Motocross]

DAY 10:
Baralachala…………….BARALACHALA!!!

We were a bit nervous about the upcoming pass as well as the overall state of the bikes even though we'd just given them a thorough once over. So we packed up early and rolled out of Keylong. We passed Yogi who was riding into town for another day of Enfield Triage. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and the road was not too bad with stunning scenery.



We rode up the road until we found a spot for a bite. A bunch of locals were hanging out which we take as sign of a good place.



There were a group of ladies knitting and doing their morning "cluck clucking", probably bad mouthing their husbands and catching up on the local gossip!!



Our girls had an instant connection of course.



We were definitely feeling deeper in the Himalaya. I'm not sure how to explain it but the people started to look more like what you'd expect in the Himalaya. The food was starting to change a bit as well with more meat in the diet. Buuurrrt and I ordered what the rest of the boys were getting, mutton mo mo which is goat dumplings. They were EXCELLENT and I believe we ordered a second round.



We started off toward Baralachala and started coming across the Boarder Roads organizations road sign campaign trying to discourage drunk driving. This is NOT photoshopped, there are signs with these kind of sayings all over up here.



We catch up with some Indian friends we'd met back in Keylong who were getting their Enfields attended to at Yogi's. One of them had dumped their bike while crossing the river here. He was alright. Buuurrt and I cross rivers for fun in the Utah desert so we found these crossings even more fun with the chicks on the back.



To our relief the road up to Baralachala was in excellent condition. Just a smooth gradual climb. We were just babying the bikes hoping for no issues.



Our adventure was progressing nicely. The bikes were doing their job slowly climbing this pass. The valves in my bike are ticking louder and I'm a bit nervous. I would learn that this seems to be common that things will clack when the bikes heat up and quiet down again when they cool. I would continue to monitor the valve clearance closely as I just couldn't get used to this tapping.



Here's the classic shot that I've scene other photos of. The lake near the top of the pass.



We make it to the top!! Things are going well. SWEET!!!



It is very desolate out here as we've left all the villages back in the valley that Keylong sits in. There are tent villages up here.



The high country here is most excellent and we continue to putt along this beautiful terrain.



We thought things were going to smoothly with the bikes. Sure enough, at this rest stop I noticed the rack on my bike had snapped. You can see it's obviously cocked of to the right. Well, we can't blame this on Royal Enfield. I mean, we've got a ton of extra gas and I've got a gallon of oil for my thirsty pig which is still chugging it like it's going out of style. A broken rack could happen to any bike, but still, we need to take care of this issue. Some webbing is the temporary fix and we continue. I also note that our back tire is bottoming out on the fender much more then it was previously. Hmmmmm.



It was awesome having the girls on the back of the bikes for taking photos. They would just snap them off all day which was good to keep the pace going.



We were really enjoying this high country and the route through it.



The road was on and off as far as conditions. Overall, the pace was slow but totally enjoyable.



It's mid day and we're starting up some switchbacks to the next pass which is right around 150000'. Buurrt's clutch is still acting up and not functioning just right.



It was actually two passes right close to each other with this one being the highest we'd climb to on the entire journey. It is very desolate up here. You really feel like you're out there.



We start down this tight valley and we're starting to notice the effects of the heavy rain and recent flooding. There are large wash outs all over and you can see that the drainages were flowing HUGE!!



Just a slow and steady cruise……



……with magnificent scenery.



We make our goal of the tent city of Pang. It's a small tent village that is assembled for the summer season of travelers when this route is open. Otherwise it's buried in snow even more desolate then now.



We choose a tent and have a quick shot of booze. We're sleeping at a little higher then 15000' so we're not going to have too much. We drink lots of water and get a good dinner. We're wondering if our Indian friends are going to make it who'd actually left Keylong before us this morning. It's just after dark and they roll in!! They are COOKED and we're feeling their pain.



Looking at the day, we did pretty good, advancing to our goal of Pang which is only 180km from Keylong!! I do consider the broken rack a "break down" in which we had to stop and take some time to fix it. So up to now we've only had ONE day where we haven't had to wrench on the bikes. Nonetheless, it was an awesome day!!

[squonker]

That scenery is absolutely stunning!

[hzoltaan]

Guys, absolutely amazing trip! Go on, and good luck on the road.

I'm travelling to Cambodia-Thailand-Malaysia on the 10th and I already decided to plan a trip to India afterwards!

Great!

[morrellt]

Great story! Keep them coming. I truly admire your guts and fortitude in riding bikes that are barely worthy of a scrap heap through a foreign country under extreme conditions. Bravo!

[UpST8]

Great report!

[uraldog]

Originally Posted by Joe Motocross

Just in case you're wondering about how sweet these frames are.


Kinda reminds me of these:

This video is private.
Sorry about that.

[robsmoto]

This is a great trip report. I appreciate the time you took to post the photos and share your experiences. I agree with prior comments - the adventure comes from things NOT going smoothly.

I'd actually consider an Enfield - what other bike has a repair step that involves banging the end of the crankshaft on a large stump? Also, would other makes of bikes have the widespread number of mechanic shops? Well, perhaps there wouldn't be the need for as many, but just think of the experiences...

[dragoon]

Originally Posted by robsmoto

I'd actually consider an Enfield - what other bike has a repair step that involves banging the end of the crankshaft on a large stump?

[Joe Motocross]

We'd heard about the all the repair shops and that was one reason for choosing the Enfield. However, it seemed like there was no problem getting any of the small Jap bikes repaired either. Really, for riding two up, I'm not sure if there are any better options easily available in India.