Viaje y texto de Vijay Thomas en grupo Pan America.
A little more than a month ago a picture of a Pan America being towed on the back of a pick up truck began to spread on the internet. A few weeks later a video surfaced online made by one of the riders who was on the same trip where the Pan Am suffered a breakdown. The judgement was passed that the very first adventure motorcycle from Harley-Davidson was unfit to make it to the brutal terrains of the Himalayas.
Well wishers and Naysayers both forwarded the picture and the video to me. It wasn’t a pleasant experience to defend a product that I believed was exceptionally capable.
The internet is a fickle place. This news spread far and wide and even random people I met at motorcycle accessory stores became experts and started to give me advise about the “weaknesses” of the bike.
‘It’s got a high compression ratio, so it needs high octane fuel only’
‘It’s good only for Tarmac. Off-road it’s too heavy’
‘The clutch is weak and there are not enough clutch plates on it’
‘It has breathing issues so engine won’t make any power in the mountains’
Dealers began to get worried as potential customers started to get cold feet. Something had to be done and it needed to be done quickly.
Amar, Our dealer principal from Chandigarh, ex Indian National Rally champion is the one who set the ball rolling.
“Let’s go to Kela Pass”, he said.
“It’s the highest motorable gravel road open to public”
If this ride had to be done, the window to do it was quickly closing. A call to Vijay Parmar was made requesting him to help plan this ride for us. The brief was simple. Don’t make it easy for both the bike and the rider.
The next step was to assemble the team. Amar,Vijay and I were on. We needed three more. Ankush Gulati, the north regional director for H.O.G. said yes in a moment.
Vir Nakai had a family emergency that had to be attended to but in a day he too signed up.
Our head of the business, Ravi Avalur agreed to be the back up rider and he drove the D-Max with spares,fuel and our luggage.
On the 13th of October, the group set out from Manali to Jispa but not before attempting the Grampu-Chattru stretch of rocks, boulders and what not. What started out as a sunny day quickly changed with dark menacing clouds covering the sky. It began to rain at first and then came the first snow fall of the season.
Parmar Chuckled and said, “welcome to the mountains in the middle of October folks”
After spending the night at Jispa we proceeded towards Pang. We had to cross both Baralacha la and Sarchu. Parmar didn’t want us to take the Tarmac road over Baralacha la and instead we climbed over via the dirt trail and encountered the most vicious loose granite rock road I’ve ever seen.
At 15000 feet, it took every bit of skill and energy to navigate this hostile stretch.
Then came the dust bowls of
Sarchu. Over two feet of fine powdery fesh-fesh. Parmar’s advise was simple. Trust the bike, don’t wash away the front and
Keep the momentum going.
Amar and Parmar went first taking two different trails followed by the rest of us. The visibility was near zero. But boy was it fun to kick up all that dust.
We arrived into Pang, a remote high altitude village. The temperature was plummeting and soon it began to get dark. Both man and machine spent a difficult night at -11 degrees. The drinking water in our rooms froze.
The next morning only Parmar’s bike would crank. The rest of the Four bikes needed a jump start. This short delay later we were back on the road. This time to find the trail that leads up to the best vantage point to see the Tso Kar.
Off-Road plus mode with the traction control fully switched off, the five us of made up the hill where there were no other tire tracks. We were making roads as we went.
The glorious view of the Tso Kar salt lake was enjoyed and now it was time to cross the Tanglang la, a high altitude pass at 17480 feet. We bought fuel that looked like petrol from a Dhaba at Debring and started the climb.
The Pan America made it with ease. Didn’t show any signs of protest at that altitude nor had trouble with the poor fuel.
Parmar was now beginning to believe in both the motorcycle as well as the group riding with him. This didn’t bode well for the rest of us as the trails he began to take became harder and harder.
The regular traffic took the fine Tarmac winding roads while we were climbing right up the short cuts. It reminded me of the hill climbing challenges that Harley-Davidson was so good at.
A few tumbles happened but each time the bike was picked up and she fired back on the first crank.
It was almost dark by the time 6 exhausted souls arrived at the hotel in Leh. It had been two days since we took a shower and the sight of a clean bed and a hot shower was balm for the soul.
I couldn’t sleep much that night from the excitement that these 5 Pan America’s could be the highest that any Harley-Davidson has been anywhere in the world.
We left at 10 am the next day. I assumed that the Kela Pass roads were part Tarmac and part gravel. There was not a spot of Tarmac when we arrived.
Parmar seemed to relish these sights and gunned his bike ahead. The trail was bumpy, loose and frighteningly dangerous narrow stretches with sharp vertical drops barely a few meters away.
We reached a spot where we had to navigate a level 3-4 stretch. I got stuck in a very steep incline with loose granite rocks. Each time I tried to open the throttle the rear would spin out of control without making any traction.
Gasping for breath and not left with any choice, by pure will of the heart I somehow got out of there and reached the top to find Parmar waiting.
“If she can do this trail,she could go anywhere in the world” he said proudly.
A half hour of climbing later the five Pan America motorcycles finally arrived at the top of a snow covered Kela Pass.
18602 feet. We made history.
Never ever has anyone been this high ever on a Harley-Davidson.
We subjected the Pan America through one of the most gruelling environments possible over the period of four days. Not once did she protest. Not once did we have to shy away from a challenge. If at all we struggled, it was the lack of human skill, not the potential of the motorcycle that was lacking.
It has been an absolute honour to ride in the company of these six men. I will gladly ride to the edge of the world with you all.
The toughest bunch of riders I’ve ever met.
Now, do we still doubt that the Pan America is a capable machine?
If you still aren’t convinced, send us a picture of any place you’ve taken your motorcycle to and we will go there and send you a picture of the Pan America with love.
Peace!
www.todocircuito.com
, sea él, ella, o ello.
