Best Bike For Your Road Trip or Trip to Leh Ladakh
Friends, sometimes people ask me which is the best bike or best motorcycle for the Leh Ladakh bike trip? Or sometimes they may already have a motorcycle and want to know. If that motorcycle is the best or good motorcycle for a road trip to Ladakh or not.
Today, in this express FAQ series on traveling to Ladakh. I am going to talk about this volatile topic on the best bike for a Ladakh bike ride trip. So, let’s get started.
Well, some of you may not agree with me but in my honest opinion. There is nothing as such called, the “Best” bike or “Best” motorcycle for the Leh Ladakh trip. A lot of factors depend upon calling any bike or motorcycle, the best one, for one or the other trip.
What is best for me, may not end up best for you and this is very important to understand. Every rider has his own set of preferences and forcing one make or model or style onto him or she is not something I vouch on.
So, I am not going to call out a single bike name in this post. Rather I will provide you some important pointers that will help you decide. Which bike or motorcycle is the best fit for you based on your own preferences. Let us look at these factors one by one.
1. Comfort of riding and control of bike
Well, for me, on any day, the best bike for a Ladakh trip or any Himalayan trip is the one with which you are comfortable controlling and riding. If you cannot control a bike or you are not comfortable with the riding position. Then that is not the best bike for your trip.
One benefit that comes to my mind is that the sitting comfort and posture is better in cruiser motorcycles than sports motorcycles. Keep in mind that almost every day. You will be doing long duration rides on such Himalayan trips to places like Ladakh, Spiti Valley, Pangi Valley of Zanskar Valley.
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So, if you are not used to a particular bike posture then you are subject to suffer from fatigue and other issues. All this will not help you enjoy the ride up there. Also, the road conditions within Ladakh, on Srinagar Leh Highway or Manali Leh Highway, are not always in great shape. You may face slush stretches or water crossings.
So, you must have full control of the bike all the time while riding. If the bike is too heavy for you to control or uncomfortable, then well, you are bound to fall sometimes. And, believe me, that it is not a good place to fall or get injured as the help may not be present nearby.
Hence, comfort and control of the bike should be your topmost criteria. When picking up a motorcycle for such Himalayan trips.
2. Bike Riding Skills Secondly
I am sure that you will agree with me when I say that riding skills play a very vital role in making a successful trip to the trans-Himalayas.
So, a lot also depends upon the rider and his grit to venture on such an adventure trip.
So, it is always best to have some riding experience in the hills with your bike. Before venturing to places like Ladakh or Spiti Valley.
You will feel more confident especially when curving on the turns or gliding through the slush stretches.
3. Horsepower of the Bike
Now discussing the horsepower of the bike. Every year people travel to Ladakh on different types of bikes. They range from 100cc bike to a Scooty or scooter to Royal Enfields. To the Ninjas to the Triumphs or BMWs, sharing a range of horsepower.
So based on many real-life examples of such rides, the high horsepower of the motorcycles is not a mandatory thing. But is always preferable for a smoother and hassle-free ride on such challenging roads in Ladakh or Spiti Valley.
While a low-power bike does struggle a bit in terms of speed and ascending any high gradient road, it is lighter in weight which has its own advantages. In one of the articles of this series, I have already talked in detail about riding to Ladakh on a 100cc bike or a scooty.
So, if you have not checked that yet and you plan to ride on a 100-150cc bike or a Scooty, I will highly recommend that you go through it once.
4. Support for luggage and extra fuel
Finally, as you know that a trip to Ladakh or Spiti valley will be quite a long trip in most cases, you should prefer a motorcycle that can give you support for carrying luggage or spare fuel.
This is where the cruiser motorcycles like Royal Enfields with Ladakh Carriers on them wins over the other ones. So, friends, these are some of the things that you should consider before calling any motorcycle, the best motorcycle for the Leh Ladakh trip for yourself.
And please, DO NOT go copying others who may be used to riding their own style of bikes. If you are in doubt about the power of your bike, like I said, you should have experience in some hilly area for riding to Ladakh on a 100cc bike or a Scooty.
So these four most important points I said will help you to find the best bike or best motorcycle for the Leh Ladakh bike trip. In my next post, I will share some important tips and tricks for tackling the water-crossings on your motorcycle when traveling to Ladakh, Spiti Valley, or other parts of the trans-Himalayas. So, stay tuned my friends. Now, In the end, if you found this article helpful then do not forget to share it.