The Suzuki Hayabusa can break records on the tarmac. Infact, it is one of the fastest production motorcycles ever. But can it tackle the treacherous terrain of Leh-Ladakh? YouTuber Jasminder Singh who runs a channel JS Films and owns a limited edition Suzuki Hayabusa, took on a herculean challenge to conquer the Delhi-Srinagar-Leh-Manali-Delhi circuit on his 1340cc hyperbike. This is the first recorded instance of the Suzuki Hayabusa completing the challenging circuit. In the 12-day road trip to the mountains, Singh was accompanied by four other riders who were astride:
- Previous-generation KTM 390 Duke
- Current-generation KTM 390 Duke
- Bajaj Avenger 220
- Bajaj Pulsar 220
These four riders were riding to Leh for the first time while it was Singh’s third trip to the hallowed land of the Himalayas. As per the ride experience shared by Singh with Motoroids, none of the riders suffered a crash or a breakdown during the challenging ride and the entire road trip was concluded without any support vehicle. Check out the teaser video of his ride experience below:
What route did they take?
- Day 01 – Delhi to Jammu: The group started their trip early in the day and rode through the hot and extremely humid conditions to Amritsar. Here they rested for a couple of hours and then embarked on their journey towards Jammu where they reached late in the night.
- Day 02 – Jammu: The group decided to go for local sightseeing and a scheduled service of the Duke 390.
- Day 03 – Jammu to Srinagar: On the third day, the group managed to reach Srinagar just at the right time to experience the picturesque sunset at the Dal Lake
- Day 04 – Srinagar to Kargil: Day 4 of the trip involved manoeuvring the mighty Hayabusa through the extremely treacherous stretch of Zozila Pass.
- Day 05 – Kargil to Leh: This was a very challenging day of the trip as it was raining heavily. The group, however, decided to continue on their expedition and they reached Leh late in the night.
- Day 06 – Leh: The group decided to rest for a while upon reaching Leh. During the day, the riders explored the city, the magnetic hill and Gurudwara Pathar Sahib.
- Day 07 – Leh to Nubra via Khardung La Top: On day 7 of the trip, the group conquered the hallowed turf of Khardung La post which they proceeded towards Nubra Valley where they stayed for the night.
- Day 08 – Nubra to Pangong via Agham Shyok Road: While there weren’t any breakdowns or accidents on the trip, not everything was perfect. The mighty mountains are notorious for their unpredictability. Here, the riders encountered massive river crossings en route Pangong Tso and one of these water crossings was so difficult that it took the group two hours to navigate through 100 ft.of distance. Here Jasminder also executed the highest wheelie in the world on his Hayabusa.
- Day 09 – Pangong to Leh
- Day 10 – Leh to Jispa: Unperturbed by the heavy snowfall at Tanglang la and with almost zero visibilty due to foggy conditions at Baralacha la, the group started their journey back to Delhi via a route which is generally not opted by many superbikers.
- Day 11 – Jispa to Manali: As the group continued their descent towards Manali, little did they know that this day would involve the most challenging stretch of their road trip. There was a landslide on this route when the group was in Jammu. The route between Keylong and Rohtang pass had broken roads which were full of thick slush. However, Jasminder successfully managed to ride his Hayabusa in these extremely slippery surface.
- Day 12 – Manali to Delhi: They group safely reached back to Delhi in the wee hours of the 12th day of the trip.
Check out more images from the road trip below:
