The mecca for motorcycle enthusiasts in India, the journey to Khardungla is quite special. Every year, when the roads are suitable for motoring, flocks of bikers head on to the mountains for this epic ride. The ride takes the bikers through some gruelling roads and is not an easy task to undertake, for both man and machine. One needs to be riding a reliable machine, because if there were to be any breakdowns, help would be kilometres away. The newly launched Benelli TRK 502X, however, has proved to be up for this task and successfully completed the journey. The TRK520X, without any modifications, was taken from Manali to Khardungla, covering Jispa – Baralacha – Sarchu – More Plains – Tanglang La and Leh on the way.
Post this achievement, the team, along with the Benelli TRK 502X continued to ride into the deserts of Nubra Valley. After that, the team rode onto the Pangong lake followed by an off-road stretch of around 150kms to the Tsomoriri Lake. Furthermore, the Benelli TRK 502X marched on to complete the ride back to Manali without facing any technical or performance related issues due to ice-cold weather, varied terrain or even the high altitudes. All this was done without having the need to modify or do any mechanical changes to the machine.
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The TRK 502X is powered by a newly developed 502cc parallel-twin engine from Benelli which produces 47.5 ps of power at 8500 RPM and 46 Nm of torque at 6000 rpm which rests in the centre of a steel trellis frame. The power is sent to the rear wheel via a six-speed manual transmission, which comes with a gear shift indicator, telling you the right time to switch gears. Suspension duties are done by a 50 mm USD suspension which is not adjustable but the rear monoshock offers adjustment for pre-load and rebound. Anchorage duties are done by 320 mm dual discs in the front and a 260 mm disc at the rear which offer a switchable dual-channel ABS system. Moreover, grippy Metzeler tyres, measuring 110/80 – 19-inch front and 150/70 – 17-inch at the rear provide optimum grip and performance. This adventure tourer is priced at INR 5.5 lakhs (ex-showroom, India). To know more about this bike, do have a look at our in-depth review, linked below.