![]()
the Busa pops up a small wheelie – big deal due to lack of oxygen and the resultant drop in power!
Recently a bunch of guys from Delhi did something which might sound a bit crazy. They took the 1340cc Suzuki Hayabusa to a land which it was surely not built for. These riders were Naveen Jangid, Amneet Pal Singh, Jasminder Singh, & Gurpreet Singh Auluck. The speed machine was hauled up all the way to Ladakh and back by Naveen. A credible feat indeed. We had a quick chat with Jasminder about their trip followed by a short log of their ride:
xBhp: Anything special needed to be done to prep the bike up?
Jasminder: No
xBhp: Did you carry extra fuel?
Jasminder: Not really. We had two Bullets with us; the fuel was stored with them. We carried around 20 litres in certain sections. The fuel bought at the pumps, we would put in the Hayabusa, while the fuel bought from roadside stores was used in the Bullets. We only had to this on the Leh to Nubra section. We did carry and use octane boosters though.
xBhp: Did you have any problems with the bike?
Jasminder: No we did not have any problems at all. There was only a power drop at high altitude.
xBhp: What were the reactions when you told them that you are taking the ‘Busa to Leh?
Jasminder: People told us that we will encounter massive potholes and the ‘Busa would eventually have to be loaded onto a truck and sent home. People did warn us, but we ignored the warnings. We said, if we are doing something new, then we are bound to face challenges. Only if we brave these challenges would we be able to do something new.
xBhp: Did the low ground clearance ever cause any problems?
Jasminder: Not really. Only a few places where the road was really bad, we needed to manoeuvre the bike slowly, else no problems.
xBhp: What was the reaction of bikers and people who you met in Leh?
Jasminder: Well, most people were positively surprised and lauded our efforts. We received a lot of appreciation for getting the bike there. Even seasoned tourers who had been traveling there for a decade thought we were crazy to ride till Pangong.
xBhp: Advice for someone who would want to take the Hayabusa or a similar bike to Leh.
Jasminder: Obviously, the rider should have the skill to ride the bike there. But the most important thing is a person’s will power. That is the only thing which will get you to the top. You have to be prepared for the worst. The bike will get there without too much problems, what matters is the mental strength of the rider. The fact that we were riding together in a team, gave the ‘Busa rider the confidence to ride ahead. The knowledge that you have people looking out for you is very helpful.
The Log
Days: 16th midnight to 29th June 2016
Group of 4 friends on 4 bikes, Suzuki Hayabusa, Bajaj Avenger and 2 Royal Enfield Classic 500
Day to Day Routes and Stops:
Day 1
Thursday Evening Flagoff from Rajinder Da Dhaba, Safdarjung Enclave. Started the ride at midnight after good tasty dinner at Rajinder Da Dhaba towards Amritsar.
Around 6 AM we reached Jalandhar where we took the first stop for morning tea. The reason for stopping at Jalandhar was to visit a friend’s relative on the way. So we enjoyed 2 hours of chitchat and rest at his place.
Around 8-8.30 we headed towards Amritsar. Around 11am we entered Amritsar and the first thing we did was to park the bikes at a friend’s place which was 20 minutes away from the Golden Temple. We left our luggage there and took our bikes and went to visit the Golden Temple. It was very hot and humid there, so we decided to take rest as we were tired too because of riding the whole night. So we took an AC room for 4 hours and rested there.
In the evening around 6.30 we visited Golden Temple, took a holy bath in the sarovar. Later we went back to the friends place and moved towards Pathankot which was our night halt destination.
30kms from Amritsar around 12.30 am we got our first major breakdown, one of the Enfield got a starting issue which we investigated was due to a faulty fuel injector. We tried to repair it ourselves but we wasted 1.5 hours at a petrol pump. The problem was not solved. The bike refused to start. Then the last option we had was to pull the bike with the help of a pulling chord. So we pulled the bike with the help of another bike and stopped 30kms before Pathankot at 3.30 am and took a hotel for the night.
Day 2
Next day we left the hotel at 12noon and pulled the bike 30kms to Pathankot Royal Enfield showroom. Where unfortunately the part was not in stock. So the manager of the workshop went 35kms with one of our riders to bring the fuel pump himself. The whole process of bringing the part and fitting took 4-5 hrs. But at least the bike was fit again so we started towards Jammu. We reached Jammu in the evening around 8pm and we rode little more to Udhampur which was 40kms approx. from Jammu. So the night halt was Udhampur.
Day 3
Started around 8.30am towards Srinagar, all went smooth and we reached Srinagar around 4pm. We went directly to Krishna restaurant. One of the popular vegetarian restaurants in Srinagar. After treating our taste buds we reached a relatives place which was on Dal Lake adjoining Gulmohar Garden. Upon reaching we rested for 1 hour then took their car to go sightseeing in Srinagar.
Overnight stay was at they place.
Day 4
Started from Srinagar around 9am we crossed Sonmarg and reached Zozilla Pass which was the toughest pass on this route. It was all dusty and broken. This was the time when we felt that the real adventure of the trip began. Crossed the pass and reached Drass which was totally off-roading. Upon crossing Drass we experienced ultimate roads of Kargil along with great natural scenery. We crossed Kargil around 7 and thought to ride little more towards Lamayuru which was 60kms from Kargil. So we reached Lamayuru around 11pm and took a hotel for night.
Day 5
This was the day when we all knew that tonight we will be finally Leh’d. Started around 12 from Lamayuru, first visited Lamayuru Monastery which was very beautiful, then on the way we enjoyed photography and off-roading especially on Hayabusa at the Magnetic Hill. Afterwards we stopped at Gurudwara Pathar Saheb before Leh and then finally we reached Leh and took a hotel.
Day 6
We were happy and wanted an excuse not to ride for the day. So we enjoyed the city, had good food at good restaurants, visited Leh’s Royal Enfield showroom for basic repairs and service for the bikes.
Day 7
This was the day we were very excited because this was the day which was to be mentioned in history with bold letters. The first Hayabusa in the world was about to reach Khardung La. So we started the day around 9am. Reached Khardung La around 1.30pm and the feeling was amazing. Got many pictures clicked and we also danced there in joy of making it possible. From there we carried on towards Nubra Valley and the roads were pathetic with many water crossings. On this route we encountered our first water crossing which were 2 foot deep. In the night we reached Nubra Valley and we took our night halt at Dikshit around 9.30
Day 8
We went first to visit Diksit Monastery where there is a very tall stature of Buddhist goddess. Then we went to Hunder 15kms from Diksit where we experienced the rarest scene. The high altitude sand dunes and double hump camels which is a rare species of camels. And around 12pm we left from Hunder to reach Pangong via Agham Shylok Valley which was once the old silk route of India. This route of 150kms was the toughest till now as it was 80% off road and there was hardly any human being on this route, just one shop which was operated by army. We had Maggi and juice there and carried on. Around 4.30 pm we finally reached Pangong Lake which is one of the highest and longest altitude lakes in the world. The view was spectacular. We enjoyed photography there as the light was perfect just before sunset.
Day 9
Enjoyed sunrise at Pangong and spent some good time near the lake. Then started our ride towards Leh. Reached Leh around 4.30pm. Upon reaching the Hayabusa rider decided to take the same Srinagar route to go back to Delhi solo and the rest three wanted to go via Leh Manali highway which is more extreme as compared to the Srinagar highway.
Day 10
This day we started to ride back towards our home destination. We started around 8am and reached Jispa at night. Overnight stay was in the camps there.
Day 11
From Jispa to Manali, it took 5hrs to cross 140kms where the roads were in very bad condition. Reached Manali and took a hotel for night stay. Upon reaching Manali we had a word with the ‘busa rider and got to know that he reached Delhi around 10am and made another record of riding solo from Pangong Lake to Delhi in 48hrs.
Day 12
Manali to Ananadpur Saheb was difficult due to too much traffic, dust and smoke of trucks. We reached Ananadpur Saheb at night.
Day 13
It was very hot in the day so we started the final stretch of our journey from Anandpur Saheb to Delhi around 3pm. Three of us reached Delhi around 9.30 safe and sound.
HIGHLIGHTS
Out of 4, 3 were first timers to Leh and that to extreme riding. Generally groups take backup vehicle and mechanic on this trip while we took none. The trip is very tough for normal bikes but we completed it with a superbike.
Met 1000s of bikers from all over the country and all were amazed to see the Hayabusa in that region. No major falls and breakdowns.
![]()
Kudos, Naveen for making it to the top of the world on your Suzuki Hayabusa!
![asr2]()
![20160620_113844]()
![20160620_191810]()
![20160620_185030]()
![20160621_124513]()
![20160620_171337]()
![IMG_0165]()
![IMG_0167]()
![IMG_0291]()
![IMG_0161]()
![20160621_145322]()
![20160625_081923]()
![20160625_083108]()
![20160621_122205]()
![]()
The Team : (Bottom to Top) Naveen Jangid, Amneet Pal Singh, Jasminder Singh, & Gurpreet Singh Auluck
P.s.: In 2010, xBhp had also taken a superbike, a Suzuki Bandit, to Khardung La, which to the best of our knowledge was the first time a liter-class had gone there. We had made a short documentary on that ride, which you can watch here?
Click here to see more pictures
![Wordpress-Discuss-button]()
The post Riding Hayabusa to Ladakh – the roof of the world! appeared first on xBhp.com.
