Royal Enfield to which Bike- KTM 390? Dominar?

This topic started out with a few RE owning brothers, who shared the RE Himalayan Odyssey with me in 2014. #REHO2014. Few of them wanted to opt out for reasons of reliability and some wanted to tour quicker and faster and were exploring bikes in the sub-3L INR category. Here is a part of that conversation.

The KTM 390 is fantastic touring bike in the sub-400 category. The international terminology for off road is like the road on Morey Plains or Gata Loops and the long U turn after that via Whiskey nalla.... Off roading in Indian terms is what scramblers or dirt bikes do. AND There is not a single dirt bike manufactured in India. So for all practical purposes if you take a 390 and start bashing it around then you will damage your sump, and your radiator and you will blow your front shock seals. No one will tell you that if you come off a jump thats about 4' off the ground and land poorly without throttle on, then you could blow your rear shock too. Which no one will tell you costs about half that of a used 390.

Having owned a CI for the last decade or the Classic series, you probably dont know what off road riding is. Trust me. You have owned and diligently maintained your bike, and this habit will ensure that you will maintain your KTM in the same way too. I mean this with complete humility and not trying to imply that you cannot ride on that stretch to the lake ( was it Tso Kar?)where we stayed for one night off the Sarchu area, if you are asked to.

KTM 390-  the plus points of the bike- fantastic tires, fantastic cornering (see my blog on leaning and cornering), brakes- you will discover the meaning of brakes. Reliability- is very good and you will learn to lube the sprocket and chain far more religiously than you did on your RE. There have been niggling issues with the heat, and you will soon learn the traffic patterns that tend to disrupt your ride. Besides, I think that this particular issue has been well resolved in the 2016 and now he 2017 model.

Anyone reading this and contemplating a switch to the 390, this is what you will do- mentally first. Take that KTM and run it around gently till the first service. and from the service center take it for a GQ ride. 6000KM. in 12 riding days and 4 days for a service and general bike check up and maybe some local sight seeing.

Can any RE do this? NONE.

Buy the bike if you are a gentle rider and someone who wont use the 170 top speed, wont crash- and wont go jumping sand dunes. Ignore the blown front shock seals as you can carry a dozen of them or get them any where in the country. I agree the seals are prone to giving way under abuse- BUT trust me thats like saying the Scorpio can overturn if you take corners fast. Why the hell would you drive it like that- be it the KTM or the Scorpio.

On date the most spirited ride is the KTM 390. And with its increased  capacity fuel tank- it makes a quick ride to anywhere. Adjustable rear shock- amazing. really nothing you can ask for.

That brings me to the Dominar.

The gearing is relaxed- probably the state of ECU tune? Maybe the gearing ratios are easier- so this bike touches 120 in a breeze and stays there for hours. It needs a push to go toward the 140 mark. and higher I could not take it, road and time ran low.

This results in few things, an engine with a lower compression ratio and therefore a cooler engine, a more relaxed run, and then a better mileage. It had issues of cutting out (strangely like earlier versions of the 390 - 2013?) which to the best of my knowledge have been fixed with a recent ECU software upgrade on the Dominar
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Where it suffers is as follows: Brand value, a Harley or a Superbiker would buy the KTM as s second bike, but would seriously NOT look at a Dominar. I know as I am caught in that conundrum. I dont need speed at my age and for my kind of riding, but then the Dominar- would be like wearing a fake Rolex and travelling by autorickshaw. (Somehow I expect you to make sense out out that analogy.)

Going forward what?
1. The Dominar strangely I hear is coming out with an ADV version, that should be something worth looking out for.
2. The KTM modified version for tougher roads- but not an ADV bike is expected soon
3. My opinion will be-  the Suzuki VStrom 650- if you can afford it by Diwali is the launch and later delivery-- possibly Jan 2018- This is a long term buy with many financial strings from buying to ownership costs. Thats another topic.

Precautions to be taken for riding in Ladakh.

Everyone of you reading this has probably taken a lot of effort to make the time and the money of course to literally make this trip happen.

A few points that are to be emphasized to even the hardiest of us low altitude dwellers to make sure that the trip stays successful and also a very enjoyable one- and with fond memories.You will see the extremes as depicted in both images below.

1. Dress in full sleeves jackets, tee-shirts, shirts. All day long. The reason for this is that at altitudes of over 10K, the UV radiation is severe and you will burn your skin- Typical places of sun burn will be forearms and your face- lips, nose, cheeks and chin as the sun shines down on you when you ride all thru the day.

Combating the cold is rather simple- multiple layers of tee-shirts under your riding jackets- ideally atleast 2 if not 3  when leaving the hotels in the morning. At subsequent stops you may remove the inner most ones, as the day and heat gets on.

Carry a box of surgical gloves, one box for the whole team and give every rider 4 or 5 every morning. This can be worn under cheap woolen gloves- 50-75/- a pair kinds as all you need is the layer and that they can get in your regular riding gloves. It is imperative that you try what I am saying so that you are able to make preparations for extreme cold at altitudes, where while riding you could easily have temperatures of about -10C. Do NOT buy insulated or spend on cold weather gloves as that is a waste and will be useless for half the day anyway.

Long johns or full length thermals under riding pants usually suffices and the engine heat ensures that the lower half of the body stays warm.

Layers for Clothes and surgical gloves and cheap woolens under the riding gloves for hands. Thats the picture.

2. A very strange phenomenon that affects riders in the hills is the glare and the strong sunlight. Please make sure you buy a very good quality pair of goggles, like Ray Bans or Oakleys and the like and make sure that it fits in your helmet with ease and does not cause your ears any discomfort. Take your helmet to the store when you are buying the glares.
The glare from the sun is very tiring and you will realize this especially on your way to Deskit from North Pollu and also on your way back from Pangong to Karu, as these stretches are typically in the afternoon. UV radiation is also harmful to the eyes and this simple but necessary advice will save you a lot of high altitude grief and headache.

3. Other than riding, please avoid all kind of physical strain, running, brisk walking, hiking- lifting baggage. You will be at an average of 11000' above mean sea level and it will take atleast two days for our body to even acclimatize to that altitude. So what can you do to ensure you don't get into trouble. Relax and drink water. Drink like 200ml every hour and do not visit the local market for the first 24-36 hours of your arrival in Leh. Stay in your hotel and relax. IF you doubt this please visit Norbu Hospital in Leh and see what the condition of the non-believers is. Please remember that if HAPO or HAPE hits, then the only solution is to get to an oxygen tank and the next flight to Mumbai. Once the 'episode' begins there is no relief. You will spoil your trip and that of every one with you and you will fly to Mumbai and spend about 15000 on getting your bike to the plains. There is a store that specializes in bike return- i kid you not, next to the RE showroom at the fuel Pump in Leh.
Rest compulsory and drink lots of water. Avoid smoking and alcohol. No one has to get critical due to HA issues, and the idea is not to panic but to calmly remember the last army post and hospital, and take the concerned person there and get him on a Oxygen tank and stabilize him. move him to Norbu and then put him or her on the next flight home.

4. Refuel your bikes at every opportunity. All the fuel comes from Ambala and the whole area is dependent on this life line. So refuel at Leh and then 50Km later, on the way to Pangong or Tanglang la, refuel at Karo again,  albeit 2 or 4 litres.
At this time I feel there are 4 roads in India that can really make you feel that you accomplished something in the adventure segment.

Sonmarg- Manali via Zoji La to Leh and then over Tanglang la, Jispa, Keylong and Rohtang- a portion of this may not be possible for political reasons- sad but no loss.
Chandigarh to Manali- via Lahaul- Spiti (via Reckong Peo and Kaza) and back via Rohtang.
Siliguri to Gurudongmar Lake in Sikkim
Guwahati to Tawang/Bum La and Sangestar Lake via the OK-SRT route in the NE

Do well on this one so that you are eager as hell to do the other three as well.
@thereallyslimkd